Jacksonville Alderwoman Eren White-Williams speaks with Gov. JB Pritzker during his visit to the city. White-Williams resigned from her position April 7.
Ben Singson/Journal-Courier
Alderwoman Eren White-Williams has resigned from Jacksonville City Council, saying she wants to focus on her health and the health of her family.
She said she might be interested in running again at a later date.
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“My husband’s not in the best of health, my father’s not in the best of health,” White-Williams said. “I have two special needs children, so everything’s on my mind, and I just want to focus on family and myself, as well.”
White-Williams represented Ward 1, which encompasses downtown and the area surrounding it. It also covers most of the northeast portion of Jacksonville to Diamond Street.
A map shows Jacksonville City Council’s wards.
City of Jacksonville
“I’m not stepping totally away from the city,” she said Monday. “I’m still going to be an active voice in this town and this ward, so I’ll still be around.”
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In a resignation letter addressed to Mayor Andy Ezard, White-Williams said she took pleasure in working with him and “learning how the city ticks.”
“I will probably still pop into city meetings now and then?” she wrote. “I hope whoever takes my spot keeps Ward 1’s regular folks in mind. Not just the few wealthy.”
White-Williams, who was chair of the special studies committee, said there were no projects she was leaving behind. The committee she led recently helped construct Jacksonville’s no-camping ordinance. The ordinance, which was passed in February, prohibits residents from sleeping on public property.
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City officials have said the ordinance is a way to move homeless people away from businesses and point them toward social services. White-Williams oppsed the ordinance, though she was unable to attend the meeting during which it passed its second reading.
“I feel for the homeless, especially the ones who are not causing harm,” White-Williams said on Monday. “But I mean, I wanted downtown people to be happy, as well, and it’s very hard to make everyone happy. I’ve learned that very fast.”
She said the person who replaces her should keep in mind that her ward, aside from downtown, encompass some of the poorest parts of Jacksonville.
Of the six city council meetings held in 2026, White-Williams has attended two. She cited personal, health and family obligations as reasons for not attending. Ahead of the March 9 meeting, she was in council chambers briefly before 6 p.m. to update Ezard about why she wouldn’t attend that meeting.
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The former alderwoman was elected in 2017 after she, as a resident, pushed back against the city’s rules against owning chickens in residential areas.
“I was known as the chicken lady, yeah,” she said. “Other people around here had chickens but, for some reason, I was served a code — I guess — violation one day.”
White-Williams would have been up for election in May 2027. With two empty council seats — Alderman Don Cook retired in January — Ezard now has the ability to appoint two aldermen.
“Now having both seats to fill, these appointments will move up on my task list,” Ezard said. “I have had some inquiries and I have also initiated contact in both wards. I don’t anticipate waiting for the consolidated election but will weigh all options.”
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RELATED: Longtime alderman Cook resigns; former police chief served city 54 years
White-Williams said she loved learning about how municipal government works, and she might run again in “five or 10 years.”
“Once I get my health better, my boys get older, there will just be more free time,” she said.
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White-Williams still will be in charge of the citywide yard sale, which will be May 22-24, she said.