Mr. Ware died at 1:40 p.m. Chicago time in Memorial Hospital, according to Alton Miller, the mayor’s press secretary. Miller said Mr. Ware had been hospitalized since May 16.
Washington learned of Mr. Ware’s death Thursday night from Mr. Ware’s family, Miller said.
The mayor issued the following statement:
”Bill Ware was a selfless, dedicated public servant. He was instrumental in creating a new city administration at a critical time. He knew how to handle the Gordian knot of the City Hall that we inherited–when to patiently unravel and when to cut. He was a sharp professional who never lost the human touch. He had a grasp of the details of his business, but he never lost sight of the great principles. He gave some of his best years to the cause of improving both the face and the soul of Chicago. We have been robbed of a bright young man cut down in his prime.”
Miller said Mr. Ware’s family was with him at the time of his death.
Services are being planned by the family and by the city, Miller said.
Mr. Ware had been ill for several months. Once the mayor’s most powerful aide, he had become a diminishing presence in recent months as his illness forced him to take long absences from City Hall.
He took a leave of absence a week ago and was replaced on an acting basis by Ernest Barefield, the deputy chief of staff.
Mr. Ware was considered an excellent detail man and expert bureaucratic infighter who earned the mayor’s trust when he served as chief of staff while Washington was a congressman. But Mr. Ware was also slow and deliberate, earning him the nickname ”Bottleneck Bill” because he took so long to make decisions and was reluctant to delegate authority.
He also was at times politically naive, which caught the mayor in embarrassing snafus. For example, it was Mr. Ware who ordered a nativity scene dismantled at City Hall last December, an action that created such an uproar that Washington was forced to reverse the decision.
Colleagues described Mr. Ware as an intense, loyal, hard-working aide who preferred to stay in the background.
Mr. Ware was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. He attended Ruggels School, 7831 S. Prairie Ave., and Hirsch High School, 7740 S. Ingleside Ave.
He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in 1969 and a law degree from the university in 1975. Previously, he was assistant director of Project Upward Bound and assistant director of the admissions office at the University of Chicago.
After his admittance to the bar in 1976, Mr. Ware moved to Washington, D.C., where he became legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
A year later, he became director of congressional affairs for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 1980, he was named deputy director for administration of systems programs for the commission.
He joined Washington’s congressional office in 1981, served in the 1983 mayoral campaign and became chief of staff when the mayor took office.
As chief of staff, Mr. Ware had responsibility for running the city agencies and their 40,000 employees.
His personal interests included jogging and riding a bicycle, movies, theater and jazz.
