Dec. 22--Former Ald. Bernard Stone, who represented Chicago's 50th Ward for nearly four decades, has died at the age of 87, according to his family.
Stone's health had deteriorated after he took a fall Saturday, said his daughter Ilana Feketitsch. He died at Skokie Hospital early Monday morning while surrounded by family, Feketitsch said.
Stone was alderman of the 50th Ward in the northeast corner of Chicago from 1973 until 2011. He was vice mayor from 1998 to 2011 but is perhaps best known for his sharp tongue -- he once called then-Ald. Luis Gutierrez a "little pipsqueak" -- and bold personality.
He was one of the loudest critics of Harold Washington during the Council Wars era that pitted Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, Stone's mentor, against then-Mayor Washington in a battle for control of the city. Stone joined Vrdolyak in abandoning the Democratic machine and joining the Republican Party for a brief time in the late 1980s.
"He loved those days," Feketitsch said. "He loved all the excitement of politics. ... He didn't care if the mayor would be mad at him, he always felt to do what was right. He wasn't going to be a 'yes' man."
In the 1990s, in a dispute with the city of Evanston over the construction of a shopping center, Stone had a wall built along Howard Street to separate his ward from the neighboring suburb. Known as "Bernie's Wall," it was eventually demolished, but Stone never backed down.
"The party isn't over until the fat man sings, and I'm the fat man," Stone, who had a round figure, said at the time.
Stone lost his City Council seat in 2011 to Debra Silverstein. He spent the years after his retirement from politics working on his stamp and coin collections, going out for breakfast with friends and movies with his son, and reading the Bible and listening to lectures, Feketitsch said.
"He was a fighter. He fought all the way to the end," Feketitsch said. "He would just never give up. I think he taught that to his kids and his grandkids, to be strong, and to be honest most of all. Just say it like it is, even if it meant that you weren't going to be popular."
In addition to Feketitsch, Stone is survived by two other children, daughter Lori Schlossberg and son Jay Stone. He lost a daughter, Robin Stone, to multiple sclerosis last month. Stone's wife, Lois, died in 1995. He is also survived by six grandchildren.
Services will be at noon Tuesday at Chicago Jewish Funerals' Skokie Chapel, 8851 Skokie Blvd. Donations should be made to multiple sclerosis causes or other charities, Feketitsch said.
