Published: Oct. 19, 2020, 5:42 p.m.
Dr. Howard Ehrman has been a public health physician and administrator since 1974. He is the former Chicago Dept of Health Assistant Commissioner: 1985-1999 and the former Will County Chief Medical Officer: 2013-2016. More recently, an Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), College of Medicine and School of Public Health. Dr. Ehrman is the grandson of a Middle Eastern slave in Europe who escaped and taught him farming. His father was a UAW Member at the Chicago Ford Torrence Plant who went on strike in 1952. Dr. Ehrman organized Illinois State Mental Health Workers to join AFSCME: 1968-1970, was a community Organizer to Support African Americans and Latinos fighting to become Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Bus Drivers: 1969-1972, and was the co-Founder and Organizer Rainbow Health Coalition (Black Panthers, Young Lords, Young Patriots, Rising Up Angry) and Health/Hospital Workers: 1969-1972. He was on the Cook County Hospital House staff Union: Member of Contract, Strike, and Negotiating Committees: 1974-1975 and formed the first all-union Cook County Hospital Coalition: AFSCME, SEIU, Teamsters, Nurses, Doctors’ Unions: 1974-1976. Howard organized the City of Chicago Workers to join AFSCME: 1978-1981 and was the co-founder and former Board President: Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Chicago, Illinois: 1994-2013. Dr. Ehrman is the co-founder of Mi Villita Neighbors: 2019-Present. Howard has participated in International Health Campaigns in Palestinian Refugee Camps, Nicaragua, Cuba, Tanzania, and Mexico.