Mboka Mwilambwe, born 1970 in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was elected as the first African American mayor of Bloomington, Illinois, in 2021. His father was employed as an official for UNICEF, a specialized United Nations agency focused on improving the lives of children and mothers in developing countries. The youngest of seven children, his family relocated to several cities, including Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in 1977 and Dakar (Senegal) in 1983, followed by a move to Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) in 1988. Mboka and his wife, Stacey, are the parents of four beautiful children: Maya, Mariama, Amelie, and Jonah.
Mboka came to the United States after he graduated from high school in 1989 and landed in New York to pursue a college education. Moving to Bloomington in 1990, he enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1990, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1994. That fall, Mboka enrolled in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Illinois where he received a Master of Science in Education. He is fluent in several languages, including French, Swahili, and Lingala. Mboka also learned Spanish in High School.
Mboka was first appointed to the Bloomington City Council in March of 2011 to serve out the term of the previous City Council member for Ward 3 and was then elected to the position on April 9, 2013. He served on the City Council for 10 years. After a successful campaign, Mboka was elected and became the first Black Mayor in the city’s nearly 200-year history on April 6, 2021. In May 2023, Mwilambwe was named by Governor J. B. Pritzker to serve on the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.
Mayor Mwilambwe is a strong advocate and champion for economic growth, quality of life, public safety, housing, and improving the infrastructure of the Bloomington community. As a candidate for mayor of Bloomington, he ran on a promise to achieve five goals: to improve collaboration among City Council members, to foster economic growth, to emphasize public safety, to improve Bloomington infrastructure, and also to keep the community attractive through quality-of-life venues and offerings. In 2021, he facilitated the opening of a Ferrero SpA manufacturing plant, expanded the Bloomington Public Library, and sped up sewer improvements. In 2022, he combined the Grossinger Motors Arena and the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts to reduce losses.
A U.S. citizen since 2008, Mwilambwe has been a leader in both the community and at the University of Illinois where he has been employed since 1997. He has experience in the areas managed by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access, including Title IX, Title VII, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.