Soul food restaurant icon Edna Stewart succumbs to cancer


people understand how small busi- ness owners, like Edna Stewart, were the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. She was a moth- er and friend to so many-and I will miss her down home cooking and her wonderful spirit. This Chicago legend has left a tremendous void on the West Side.”


Stewart was more than a notable cook, she was also an employer who provided job opportunities to the community, including to ex-convicts who often had difficulty finding employment.


“She helped everybody. You won't find a sweeter person than my sis- ter,” McCommon said. “If you do, let me know so I can meet this per- son.”


On Feb. 19 Gov. Pat Quinn recog- nized Stewart for a lifelong contri- butions to Illinois and declared that day Edna Stewart Day.


Edna Stewart owned Edna’s restaurant at 3715 W. Madison. Stewart died after a battle with cancer. The fate of the West Side restaurant is in the air as members of her family contemplate how to carry the business on. Defender/Worsom Robinson


by Wendell Hutson DEFENDER STAFF WRITER


Edna Stewart, 72, founder of the Edna's restaurant, 3715 W. Madison St., died Friday from cancer, accord- ing to her sister, Alice McCommon. She will be laid to rest Saturday following funeral services at United Church, 4220 W. Roosevelt Road. The wake begins at 9 a.m. followed by the funeral. Few would argue that Stewart served up some of the best soul food at her West Side restaurant. But it remains to be seen the fate of Edna's, following Stewart's death. The 44-year-old soul food restau- rant may end up closing this year since there are no immediate family members able to assume the restau- rant's daily management, the family said.


“It's questionable if the restaurant will remain open because there is no one who can run the business,” McCommon, 74, explained. “My health is not good and my brother and other sister have health issues as


well. Her (Edna's) son has health issues and her daughter, who was at her bedside when she passed, lives in West Virginia.”


Since 1966 Stewart had been serv- ing up her hot buttered biscuits and a variety of soul food selections, which earned her a national reputa- tion as a cooking perfectionist, McCommon said. Awho's who list of people has vis- ited Edna's for a bite. They include the civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. Edna's history includes sur- viving the 1968 riots in Chicago when race relations where shattered after King's assassination.


U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-1st Dist., was also among her longtime customers.


“Edna Stewart nourished and fed The Movement and I was one of the countless young people in the 1960s who flocked to her restaurant for down home cooking, wonderful fel- lowship and sage advice,” Rush said in a statement giving condolences following Stewart's death. “Few


“Black History Month gives us a time to reflect upon those who have made significant, positive contribu- tions to the African American com- munity in Illinois,” Quinn said in February. “I want to commend Edna Stewart for her remarkable impact on Illinois, devoting over four decades to serving delicious soul food and second chances on the West Side of Chicago.”


Stewart's family said it was rare to find the culinary entrepreneur any- where but at the restaurant. “She would get up at 6 a.m. and start working. She worked every position from cooking to cashier and had a hard time saying no to people in need,” McCommon said. Stewart was a member of Union Hill M.B. Church on the West Side and served as a mother figure to any- one who came in contact with her, including her big sister.


“Even though I am older she was more mature and possessed the same motherly qualities as our mom,” McCommon recalled about her sis- ter.


Stewarts' parents preceded her in death. She is survived by two sisters, one brother, one son, one daughter and two grandchildren.


Stewart's body will lie in state at A.A. Rayner funeral home, 5911 W. Madison, Thursday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.


4 Chicago Defender • ChicagoDefender.com • June 16-22, 2010


Lewis emerges as new CTU prez, vows to continue fight


by Wendell Hutson DEFENDER STAFF WRITER


Now that Karen Lewis is the new president of the Chicago Teachers Union, she says her firs priority is keeping teachers employed.


“Chicago Public Schools is try- ing to pit teachers against parents by suggesting that if teachers forego their scheduled 4 percent pay raise next year, (CPS) would not have to increase class sizes,” Lewis told the Defender. After a six-year run as CTU president, incumbent Marilyn Stewart was defeated Friday by Lewis in a run-off election. In her concession speech, Stewart pledged her support to Karen Lewis, a chemistry teacher at Martin Luther King College Preparatory High School. “I want to congratulate Karen Lewis and her entire CORE team, and want them to know they can count on me for any assistance I can offer as they take on what will be one of the toughest challenges in the 73-year history of the Chicago Teachers Union,” Stewart said. “For when all is said and done, this election was never about Karen or me. It was about the 32,000 union members whose futures and well-being are now being threatened by an uncaring and insensitive Chicago Public Schools system.”


Stewart, who received 8,326 votes, represented the United Progressive Caucus while Lewis, who received 12,080 votes, repre- sented the Caucus of Rank and File Educators.


Lewis, who takes office July 1, said while her victory marks change, she is more concerned about the school district’s propos- al to increase class sizes to 34 stu- dents from 28, and a massive lay- off of 2,700 teachers to help shrink its $600 million deficit. “They cannot solve this budget crisis by compromising children’s education because education is


about building relatioships,” Lewis explained.


Last week CTU filed a lawsuit against CPS in an effort to stop class sizes from increasing this fall. Stewart had said the increase violates city health and safety codes and puts students at risk should an emergency, such as a fire, occur.


Chicago Fire Department spokesman, Larry Langford, said that as long as a classroom has adequate space, as required by city ordinace, having 34 students in a classroom poses on safety hazard.


Lewis told the Defender she has not seen the lawsuit yet, but did say one was discussed last year. “Not sure why a lawsuit we dis- cussed last year wasn’t filed until a few days ago, before the elec- tion,” Lews said.


One goal for Lewis is to improve resources to all schools, especially those located in low- income communities.


“Fifteen years ago, this city pur- posely began starving our lowest- income neighborhood schools of greatly needed resources and per- sonnel,” she said. “The city has willfully neglected schools in poor communities for years and now they want to completely destroy them by closing them down.” A career educator for 30 years Stewart said she is proud of her accomplishments as CTU presi- dent and hopes those achieve- ments can be maintained and expanded by Lewis.


“I am especially proud of the enormous gains my team was able to win for our members during our six years in office. Gains culmi- nating in a five-year-contract with 4 percent annual raises - won in these tough times - that has become the envy of teacher unions across the country,” Stewart said, pointing out some union accom- plishments made on her watch. “Now it's up to Karen and her team to maintain these gains and fight for future improvements.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40