Anne Marie Miles

An independent, gutsy woman who speaks for the concerns of the Fifth Ward, especially those who have no other representation, Anne Marie Miles is an attorney, wife, mother, friend, and upstanding member of the Fifth Ward Community. She has business, social and community ties to South Shore, Grand Crossing, Woodlawn and Hyde Park. 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 public high schools 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 Aldermanic office. An internationally known elder lawyer, she is asked to speak at international conferences. In the 1990s, her husband, Emil Coccaro, joined the faculty at the University of Chicago Medical School and the family moved to Hyde Park. Since arriving in Chicago, Anne Marie immediately found the 5th Ward 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 running for Alderman in 2011, 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 was high school representative, Events Coordinator, and Treasurer of the Parents Association and active in the mother’s club at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Parent’s Association. 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 the Education, Administration of Justice and the Finance committees of the club. She is on the Race Committee at the Jackson Park Yacht Club and is their treasurer. She was Gala Chair for the South Shore Opera Company of Chicago October 2013, which was called the best classical musical event in Chicago in 2013 by the Chicago Sun-Times. Anne Marie also combined her love of dogs with her commitment to the Fifth Ward and founded “Woofinistas: Every dog a fashionista” These custom made dog coats are proudly manufactured in the Fifth Ward. 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 theatres to the South Side.

An independent, gutsy woman who speaks for the concerns of the Fifth Ward, especially those who have no other representation, Anne Marie Miles is an attorney, wife, mother, friend, and upstanding member of the Fifth Ward Community. She has business, social and community ties to South Shore, Grand Crossing, Woodlawn and Hyde Park. 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 public high schools 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 Aldermanic office. An internationally known elder lawyer, she is asked to speak at international conferences. In the 1990s, her husband, Emil Coccaro, joined the faculty at the University of Chicago Medical School and the family moved to Hyde Park. Since arriving in Chicago, Anne Marie immediately found the 5th Ward 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 running for Alderman in 2011, 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 was high school representative, Events Coordinator, and Treasurer of the Parents Association and active in the mother’s club at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Parent’s Association. 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 the Education, Administration of Justice and the Finance committees of the club. She is on the Race Committee at the Jackson Park Yacht Club and is their treasurer. She was Gala Chair for the South Shore Opera Company of Chicago October 2013, which was called the best classical musical event in Chicago in 2013 by the Chicago Sun-Times. Anne Marie also combined her love of dogs with her commitment to the Fifth Ward and founded “Woofinistas: Every dog a fashionista” These custom made dog coats are proudly manufactured in the Fifth Ward. 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 theatres to the South Side.