Christopher C. Wimbish

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Christopher Columbus Wimbish, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – December 27, 1962) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Illinois. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Maggie Baker Wimbish and Christopher C. Wimbish Sr., he studied at Atlanta University and Howard University, graduating in 1914. He worked in life insurance before serving in World War I as a first lieutenant with the 92nd Division in France. After the war he lived briefly in Philadelphia, where he owned Idle Hour Theater, then moved to Chicago. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University in 1925 and practiced in criminal, property, and civil rights law.

Wimbish was Illinois assistant state’s attorney (1927–1931) and later assistant city counsel for Chicago (1940–41). He married Odessa Ireland, a Chicago public schools teacher.

In the late 1930s he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party. He ran unsuccessfully for the Illinois Senate in 1938, but won in 1942 representing the 3rd district, and was re-elected twice, serving until 1955. He left the Senate after a conflict with William L. Dawson and was not nominated in 1954. While in office, he sponsored the Fair Employment Practices bill, which passed in 1961. He spoke on civil rights, voting rights, criminal confessions, and military service. He was active in civil rights groups and was the only Black member of the Illinois Senate in 1953.

In 1958 he was elected Trustee of the Chicago Sanitary District, serving until his death in 1962. He and his wife lived in Chicago’s Bronzeville and later Kenwood neighborhoods. He belonged to the NAACP, Disabled American Veterans, YMCA, American Legion, and Alpha Phi Alpha, and was Catholic, attending Corpus Christi Church. He died at his home in Kenwood, Chicago, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. The Chicago Tribune called him a leader of Chicago’s Black community. His papers are held at the Chicago History Museum.