N. Atterson Spann, first Black Lake County Commissioner, dead at 83

Wherever N. Atterson Spann lived after he fell ill, he always told Stacy Winfield to pick up an absentee ballot for him.

So insistent was he to get a ballot that in 2019, when Winfield was running for an East Chicago council seat in 2019, he told her that he needed one specifically because he “had to vote for my baby,” Winfield said. While Spann’s vote helped Winfield win that 4th District seat, his friendship and guidance was what propelled her to run in the first place.

Noah Atterson Spann, one of Lake County’s first Black politicians to rise through the ranks, died May 17 in Dyer. He was 83.

Spann, who counted the late Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher and the late Calumet

Township Trustee Dozier T. Allen among his contemporaries, was the first African-American elected to the Lake County Commissioners when it was divided into districts. He also served in the late East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick’s office, first as an assistant in 1972, Winfield said, adding that he was also the youngest person to run for office during his time.

Lake County Prosecutor’s Office Spokeswoman Myrna Maldonado, who worked for Pastrick, described Spann as “stern, but always kind.”

“He was the person you would go to if you wanted to know anything about the city, and he was ready to teach you the minute you asked,” Maldonado said. “He was a believer in relationships and always spoke with authority.”

Winfield, who grew up with Spann as an influence her entire life, said his work paved the way for many African-American politicians in East Chicago and beyond. He inspired her to become active in her community, she said.

“He worked under my grandmother, Freida Dawkins, who was the city’s first Human Rights Director,” WInfield said. “He was a trailblazer in East Chicago, and you always knew when he was in the room because of his voice.

“He stood on (Dawkins’s) shoulders, and now I and many others stand on his.”

Lake County Treasurer Peggy Holinga Katona called Spann “a true gentleman.”

“He was a kind and respectful person,” she said. “He always went out of his way to be kind to people.”

Spann’s legacy took a turn in 1988 when he and former Lake County inspector Rudy Byron, of Gary, facing federal charges, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to extort bribes to help two firms get and keep lucrative contracts to clean the government center and its three buildings: the Lake County courthouse, jail and main office, before the jury was seated, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time. He ultimately served six years in prison.

Spann is survived by four sons — Dwayne A. Spann, Darren A. Spann, K. Tyrone (Michele) Spann and Chisisi C. Gordon; eight grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; one brother, Sanford Spann Sr.; one sister, Mary (James) Brokemond; and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. He’s preceded in death by parents, Emma and Noah Spann Sr.; brothers James Herbert, Kirkston Derek and Cedric Kane; sisters Jessie Mae Spann, Brenda

Jean Jackson-Upshaw and Vanessa Katrine SpannCook; and two nephews Keith R. Jackson and LeRoy Butts Jr.

Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at Antioch Baptist Church, 3902 Alexander Ave., East Chicago.