Charles Box

{{Short description|American politician (born 1951)}}

{{for|the English physician, surgeon, and anatomist|Charles Richard Box}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Charles Box

| image = Charles Box, first African American mayor of Rockford Illinois.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|2|24}}

| birth_place = Rockford, Illinois, U.S.

| residence = Rockford, Illinois, U.S.

| office = 37th Mayor of Rockford, Illinois

| term_start = 1989

| term_end = 2001

| predecessor = John McNamara

| successor = Doug Scott

| party = Democratic

| spouse =

| children =

}}

Charles Box (born February 24, 1951){{cite web|url=https://rockfordha.org/2017/02/17/black-history-month-charles-box|title=Black History Month 2017|website=Rockford Housing Authority|date=17 February 2017|accessdate=12 September 2019}} is an American politician who served as the first African-American mayor of Rockford, Illinois, then the second largest city in Illinois.

Box was elected mayor of Rockford in 1989, defeating Leonard LaPasso with 63% of the vote and sweeping all 14 wards.{{Cite news|first=Rick |last=Pearson |authorlink= |title= Rockford elects first Black mayor |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|date=April 6, 1989 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/144276488/ |via=Newspapers.com|archive-url=| archive-date=}} A Democrat, Box was the first African-American Mayor elected in Rockford. He was sworn in on April 24, 1989.

Box was elected to three terms as mayor before choosing not to run in 2001. In 2006, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed Box as head of the Illinois Commerce Commission.