An independent, gutsy woman who speaks for the concerns of the 25th District, especially those who have no other representation, Anne Marie Miles is an attorney, wife, mother, friend, and upstanding member of the South Side community. She has business, social and community ties to South Shore, South Chicago, East Side, Woodlawn, Hyde Park, and Kenwood.

 

Anne Marie’s commitment to making her neighborhood a better place began early in life, growing up in a single parent household in Harlem. She attended a parochial grammar school, graduated from public high school, and worked her own way through college. She began her professional career as a social worker and community activist with the elderly, earning a master’s degree in public administration. She earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and an LLM (Tax) from John Marshall Law School. Following graduation, she opened a private practice focused on elder law, which allowed her to advocate for the rights of the elderly and incapacitated while working to improve their conditions. She knows the importance of delivering good client services and will bring those skills to her legislative office. 

 

Since arriving in Chicago, Anne Marie immediately found the 25th District the best place to raise her family and pursue her passion to speak for those who seldom have their voices heard. She became actively involved with parent associations and local community groups focused on improving children’s lives. She got involved with citywide groups on methods of reducing violence against young people. She started student voter registration drives. She created Bizaarnival, a safe Halloween event for children, which serves over 300 people in the community.

 

After first running for public office, Anne Marie saw the need for assisting those who have criminal convictions with getting a second chance. She volunteers for Cabrini Green Legal Aid and the Office of the State Appellate Defender, assisting with sealing and expungements of criminal records. On a citywide level, she worked with these organizations and the Union League Club of Chicago to develop a brochure for at-risk young people on the issues facing them when charged with a felony. She is taking her concerns about the fairness of the legal system to the bar associations and is working to create a social justice metric for prosecutors.

 

Anne Marie is devoted to the community. She increased fundraising by over 300% and was Secretary and President of the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital Service Committee. She worked for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services providing free legal services to lower income residents of the South Side. She is on the steering committee of Safe Youth Chicago, of the Union League Club of Chicago, and sits on its Education, Administration of Justice and the Finance committees.

 

What truly is the anchor of Anne Marie’s life is her loving and supportive family; her husband, Emil; and their three children, Piper, Michael, and Marrissa. Emil is Chairman of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical School. Her children went to Ray, the Lab School, and Mount Carmel. Her family is involved in the community and Marrissa is working to bring additional theaters to the South Side.