Gov. JB Pritzker, other state leaders and community members gathered Thursday afternoon in honor of the renaming.
Chicago building renamed after former Secretary of State Jesse White
The building at 115 S. LaSalle St. has been renamed the Jesse White State of Illinois Building: a rare honor for a living individual.
White was Illinois' longest-serving secretary of state and a legendary public servant, a news release from Pritzker's office said.
There were unanimous votes in both the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate last year to rename the building after White, who turned 91 last month.
State Sen. Willie Preston and Rep. Harry Benton led the charge.
"As the longest serving Secretary of State in our history, Secretary White spent his career doing something good for the people of Illinois every single day," Pritzker said. "He championed good and honest government at a time when our state needed it the most - putting us on a path to progress by rooting out the corruption and insider dealing that had defined our institutions. I cannot think of a more appropriate name than the Jesse White State of Illinois Building, which will serve generations of Illinoisans and stand as a symbol of strong, effective government for years to come."
White was born in downstate Alton and served as Illinois secretary of state from 1999 to 2023.
He moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child.
"When I think of Jesse White, it's very simple: what it means to be a very, very good human being," Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said.
He was the first African American elected to that office.
"I am proud to have a State of Illinois building named in my honor," White said. "I hope that the Jesse White State of Illinois Building will inspire future generations of all backgrounds to serve with honor and excellence."
White helped introduce traffic safety laws, improve customer service and advance organ donation efforts, the news release said.
"We wanted to honor him before he passes. He had such a legacy, and he should be able to see this before he does pass. I think we do that the wrong way. We need to start doing that a little bit more in honoring people while they're still here," Benton said.
White was also in the Illinois House for 16 years, and spent six years as Cook County recorder of deeds.
White was also a school teacher.
Aside from his long career in politics and community activism, the retired politician is credited with helping many young Chicagoans soar.
The building houses the Chicago offices for the Illinois secretary of state and the Illinois attorney general and currently accommodates nearly 2,300 employees, officials said.
"It's an honor beyond description. Never in my life did I think there would be a building in downtown Chicago named after yours truly," White said.
White already has an honorary street sign along Division Street, near where he grew up on the city's Near North Side, as well as an elementary school in south suburban Hazel Crest.
"He's an inspiration and a mentor to so many. You would not believe how many lives he's touched," daughter Glenna White Jones said.
But he is probably most recognized for his Jesse White Tumblers, an internationally recognized and famed gymnastics team he started in 1959 to support Black youth.
Before White became arguably one of the state's more popular politicians, he was a minor league baseball player for the Chicago Cubs.
He attended college in Alabama before being drafted into the Army, where he was a paratrooper.
And while White remains humble about his accomplishments and his impact, he says he hopes his legacy will be one of a tireless advocate for people.
"For many, many years, I've been committed to helping to make this world a better place for us to live in every day. I work toward that end, and I was really surprised to be rewarded for it," White said.
White also received congratulatory proclamations from both the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.
White says, since retiring, he's been doing what he loves, working with his beloved tumblers and many communities.