Chicago’s City Council held a special meeting today to pay tribute to former Mayor Eugene Sawyer. Sawyer died last month at the age of 73. Aldermen like Richard Mell of the 33rd Ward described Sawyer as a soft-spoken man who brought the city together after Mayor Harold Washington’s death. 

SAWYER:He took this responsibility to heal this city and he did it. He kept Harold Washington’s dream alive. He passed what Mayor Washington couldn’t pass.

After a heated debate in 1987, the city council appointed Sawyer to serve the remainder of Harold Washington’s term. Sawyer passed laws like the Human Rights Ordinance and the Clean Indoor Air Act during his two years in office.

Listen to some aldermen pay tribute to former Mayor Eugene Sawyer.