‘A beautiful person with a big heart’: DeKalb mourns death of former mayor Bessie Chronopoulos

DeKALB - Former DeKalb mayor Bessie Chronopoulos, who served as the city’s third and most recent woman mayor from 1997 to 2001, has died.

Dennis Miller, DeKalb County coroner, confirmed Chronopoulos’ death Sunday, and said it was due to natural causes. Chronopoulos was 72. She died at her residence Sunday afternoon in the 400 block of Gayle Avenue in DeKalb.

DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith said he found out Chronopoulos died at about 6 p.m. Sunday.

“She was just one of a kind,” Smith said. “Bessie Chronopoulos’s passing is going to leave a void in many circles in the city of DeKalb for sure.”

Chronopoulos, a child of Greek immigrants, was a stalwart figure in the community, an avid participator and a known-name to many. She won election to DeKalb’s mayoral seat in 1997, and while she lost a second term in 2001, her participation in local government affairs continued well before her mayoral term and through the two decades since she last held office. Prior to her term as mayor, for which she was only the third and most recent woman to hold the role, she served as DeKalb Alderman, representing the fifth ward beginning in 1975 until her term as mayor.

A Democrat and a Northern Illinois University graduate, Chronopoulos was a frequent flier at DeKalb city council meetings, often speaking before council, throwing her support behind or opposition in front of the local issues of the day, her passion for local government and civic engagement clear.

Chronopoulos was an advocate for local elections, a longtime DeKalb County poll worker and member of the DeKalb County League of Women Voters. She also was an active member in the Democratic Party. The DeKalb County Democrats made a Facebook post in her honor after her death.

“Bessie cared and advocated for Democratic Party values and volunteered often for the party throughout her life,” the post read. “She was also very dedicated to her church and never stopped advocating what she believed in. Bessie made a meaningful impact in our community and will be missed.”

Carolyn Morris, who’s herself running for mayor and would be the fourth woman in the role, said she was heartbroken when she heard the seemingly out-of-the-blue news about Chronopoulos’s death. She’d just talked to Chronopoulos a week ago and said Chronopoulos had mentioned she was making plans to help with Morris’s campaign.

Morris chuckled as she recalled how Chronopoulos once said someone tried to bribe her while she was mayor. She said Chronopoulos told her she proceeded to point to the door and yell at the person to get out of her office.

“She had clear, strong morals and values that guided her every decision and it was really to put people first,” Morris said. ” … In a nutshell, she was strong, a spitfire and not to be underestimated.”

Cohen Barnes, who’s also running for mayor in the April 6 consolidated election, called Chronopoulos a “powerhouse” in the community and said he was always impressed by her ability to gather people to champion a cause, whether it was city-related or school district-related. He said the beautiful thing about Chronopoulos was they could always have open and honest discussions with each other with no hidden agendas.

“Which, frankly, you don’t get that as often as you would like,” Barnes said. “With Bessie, I always knew who I was talking to, which I can appreciate.”

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas, who was also city manager during Chronopoulos’s time as mayor, issued a statement Sunday.

“Bessie was an ardent advocate on behalf of the people she represented,” Nicklas said. “She served faithfully as an alderperson and as mayor in the City of DeKalb and was passionately advocating for concepts that were important to her up until a matter of weeks ago. For decades she advocated for that which mattered to her constituents.”

Smith said Chronopoulos took a special interest in whomever lead the city. After Smith won his election in 2017, she gifted him a framed Thomas Jefferson quote that read, “When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property.”

“She took a personal interest in the lives of folks she met,” Smith said. “So as much as Bess sometimes drove me nuts, there was no way you could not like this woman. She had her heart in the right place.”

Current DeKalb Fifth Ward Alderman Scott McAdams said he spent many hours talking with Chronopoulos and said Chronopoulos ‘was your strongest ally if she agreed with you but was a formidable foe if she disagreed with you.’ But she was never disrespectful, he said, and always worth listening to, given her astute understanding of politics and constant pulse on how the 5,000 constituents in the ward felt about certain issues.

“Her experience and her background gave her the authority to speak that way,” McAdams said. “I don’t have five terms in. I wasn’t mayor. You have to respect that and that seriousness of someone who has spent half her life in city government. ... She truly loved DeKalb and she will be missed.”

A lifelong educator and ‘an advocate for many’

Chronopoulos, originally from Chicago and an only child, was born on July 21, 1948 to Aristotelis and Stavroula Chronopoulos, who immigrated from southern Greece to the United States. She came to DeKalb to study at Northern Illinois University, graduating in 1971 with a degree in elementary education.

Chronopoulos taught at Genoa-Kingston School District 424 for 39 years as an elementary and middle school teacher until she retired in 2011.

G-K Middle School P.E. teacher Tiffany Thurlby worked with her for about 12 years at the middle school, where Chronopoulos taught health and Thurlby taught P.E. When Chronopoulos retired, she helped combine the two subjects in the school’s curriculum.

“She was always free-spirited, fun-loving and always had a smile,” Thurlby said. “She was very likable and approachable and made you feel very welcome. She was the kindest person anyone would ever meet. She’d welcome you with a warm smile and open arms and probably give you a hug. She was never quick to judge and was always ready to strike up a conversation on any topic for a long period of time.”

Thurlby remembers Chronopoulos’s love of frogs and gardening. Chronopoulos was a garden club advisor at the middle school and helped create a garden known as “Bessie’s Garden,” where students can dig in the dirt, pull weeds and plant.

“The garden was one way to beautify the school and make it welcoming to everybody,” Thurlby said.

Angelo Lekkas, who was the G-K Middle School principal, knew Chronopoulos for about 10 years. Lekkas said he will miss hearing her laugh.

“She was always kind and giving and spent a lot of time and energy helping students,” Lekkas said. “There is no doubt that she was dedicated to helping her students grow and mature. She was an advocate for many.”

Bradley Shortridge, G-K assistant superintendent, knew Chronopoulos for about 16 years. Shortridge described her as “caring and passionate to the Nth degree.”

“She cared about her students and their families and was able to connect with them in a way nobody else could,” Shortridge said. “She took care of students that were struggling, not only in her class, but any class, to make sure they were succeeding and ready for high school.

Shortridge remembers her often attending school events, including board meetings, student council meetings, basketball games and plays.

“She was always there, helping the most people she could, often speaking up and sharing her opinions,” he said. “When something was important to her, she was a positive, passionate advocate. She wore her passion on her sleeve. She touched a lot of lives in a positive way. We’re going to miss her greatly. The community has lost a great lady.”

John Rey, who was elected as DeKalb mayor in 2013 and was Smith’s predecessor, said Chronopoulos was his alderwoman and she was the one who appointed him to the police and fire commission in 1997. He said she never shied away from being a strong proponent for public services, especially for some of the most vulnerable populations in the city, unafraid of airing her concerns to those in power.

Rey said he also fondly remembers Chronopoulos having a litter of rabbits at her home and his then-3-year-old granddaughter going over to hold one of Chronopoulos’s rabbits.

“It’s just that compassion for the teaching part of her personality that continued to come through,” Rey said.

DeKalb Second Ward Alderman Bill Finucane said Chronopoulos was always doing what she thought was right for the community. Even when the two disagreed, he said, they always treated each other with respect and she’d take time to explain her points to the council.

“I think she carried that teaching persona into her public life in DeKalb as alderman, mayor and continuing as a very active civic member of the city of DeKalb,” Finucane said.

Joe Mitchell, pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, first met Chronopoulos about 22 years ago, when Chronopoulos attended the church’s ribbon-cutting event as mayor. In the past five years, Mitchell and Chronopoulos became close friends. Mitchell remembers talking to her for hours about religion and sharing ideas about how to improve the community.

“I admired her voice, strength and willingness to stand up,” Mitchell said. “She loved this community, and her death is a major loss. However, her voice will continue to be heard, as well as her advocacy for fighting for what’s right. We will stand on her shoulders, making the community better for everyone.”

A longtime St. George Greek Orthodox Church parishioner

Chronopoulos was a longtime parishioner of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in DeKalb, where she was a member of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society and the church’s Agape ministry, serving meals to the less fortunate in DeKalb County. Through the church, she also helped organize an annual bake sale, Greek Fest and fundraisers for Barb Food Mart, and WLBK 1360AM radio’s annual Freezing for Food and Let’s Talk Turkey.

Fr. Dustin Lyon, priest in charge at the Greek Orthodox church, described Chronopoulos as “a beautiful person with a big heart and a caring, giving personality.”

“I think everyone in the community knew who Bessie was,” Lyon said. “She was always doing something for the community, and it was her goal in life to help others. She really will be missed here for a very, very long time.”

“As a Christian, she was involved in anything related to helping those in need,” fellow church member Soula Bahramis said. “She was very down-to-earth, thoughtful and generous. She sent books and gifts to children and never expected anything in return. Although she never married and didn’t have any children, she treated her church, her students and the community – everyone – like family.”

Bahramis remembers how supportive Chronopoulos was of local businesses and restaurants and how “she always cared about the community.”

“She was always looking out for everyone else,” Bahramis said. “She had so much love for others. She was involved in so much, and she attended local events and fundraisers and meetings. She did everything she did for the betterment of the others. Her voice was heard.”

See also: Photos: A look back at former DeKalb mayor Bessie Chronopoulos over the years