Blue Line

O’Hare
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926) First woman of African American and Native American descent to earn a pilot’s license

Rosemont
Edith Emerald Johns (1915-1999) Nurse, advocate for immigrants, community leader

Cumberland
Mary Rose Loney (1952-2020) First woman to serve as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation

Harlem
Lynn Martin (born 1939) US Secretary of Labor; U.S. Congressional Representative; professor

Jefferson Park
Mary Ann McMorrow (1930-2013) First female Illinois Supreme Court justice

Montrose
Nancy Faust (born 1947) White Sox organist for 40 years

Irving Park
Edna McRae (1901-1990) Ballet teacher and choreographer who helped make Chicago a major ballet center

Addison
Marilyn Miglin (1938-2022) Owner/creator of her namesake cosmetic/fragrance company

Belmont
Lucy Parsons (1851-1942) Labor reform and women’s rights leader

Logan Square
Eve Ewing (born 1986) Sociologist, author, poet, visual artist and professor

California
Achy Obejas (born 1956) Pulitzer Prize winning journalist; GLBT activist; professor

Western
Nancy García Loza (born 1983) Pocha playwright; Co-Creative Director of the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists

Damen
Sandra Cisneros (born 1954) Award-winning author

Division
Maria Cerda (1939-2020) First Latina member of the Chicago Board of Education; bilingual education innovator

Chicago
Mother Cabrini (1850-1917) First US citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church

Grand
Mary Thompson (1829-1895) Founder, head physician and surgeon of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children

Clark/Lake
Iris Rivera (born 1942) Legal secretary who refused to make coffee for her boss

Washington
Mary Jane Richardson Jones (1819-1910) Abolitionist; opened her home to fugitive slaves

Monroe
Bertha Palmer (1849-1918) Queen of society in Chicago; art collector; real estate developer

Jackson
Florence Price (1887-1953) Classical music composer

LaSalle
Vichitra Nayyar (1945 - 2010) TV producer and talk show host; the “Oprah” for the South Asian community

Clinton
Ellen Gates Starr (1859-1940) Social reformer and activist; cofounder of Hull House

UIC/Halsted
Jane Addams (1860-1935) Social reformer; first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize

Racine
Salima Rivera (1946-2004) Poet; part of Chicago’s Latino literary renaissance of the1960’s and 1970’s

Illinois Medical District
Willye B. White (1939-2007) Olympic track and field athlete; nurse; public health administrator

Western
Zerrie Campbell (born 1951) First female president of Malcolm X College

Kedzie-Homan
Nancy Jefferson (1923-1992) Nurse, social worker, Director of Chicago’s Midwest Community Council

Pulaski
Irene McCoy Gaines (1892-1964) Social worker, organizer and advocate for Black women

Cicero
Mary Bartelme (1866-1954) First female judge in Chicago; juvenile justice reformer

Austin
Gale Cincotta (1929-2001) Community organizer and housing rights activist

Oak Park
Betty White (1922-2021) Actress and comedian

Harlem
Harriette Robinet (born 1931) Bacteriologist; author of multicultural historical fiction books for children

Forest Park
Rebecca Gilman (born 1965 ) Award-winning playwright; professor