2023 Chicago City Council Elections Preview Part One

Drama in City Hall!

Howdy everyone, Uncrewed here! Yesterday, in our look at all the elections taking place in Chicago this year, we looked at the chaotic Mayoral race. Now, we’re looking at the City Council elections! We’ve got all 50 wards up for grabs this year, so let’s start today with the first 25!

1st Ward:

Location: Wicker Park/Logan Square area (north-central Chicago)

Demographics: 63% White, 22% Hispanic, 8% Asian

Incumbent Alderman Daniel La Spata, a Democratic Socialist, was first elected in 2019 when he defeated the then-incumbent Alderman Proco Joe Moreno by nearly 22 points. Moreno was scandal-filled at the time, but that’s not stopping Moreno from trying again this year. Joining La Spata and Moreno are two first-time candidates, attorney Sam Royko and community activist Andy Schneider.

La Spata is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, while Royko has the backing of IL-05 Congressman Mike Quigley, Moreno is backed by Alderman Tom Tunney, and Schneider won the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune. I think one’s going to go to a second round between La Spata and Royko, who seems to have some good momentum and is raising a decent amount of money as of late. Moreno’s only gotten more scandal-filled since 2019, so I don’t think he has that good of a shot at making it to a second round.

2nd Ward:

Location: Streeterville to DePaul University (north-central Chicago)

Demographics: 73% White, 14% Asian, 7% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderman Brian Hopkins is not facing any opponents and has secured another four years on the City Council.

3rd Ward:

Location: South Loop to Washington Park (south-central Chicago)

Demographics: 61% African-American, 23% White, 12% Asian

Incumbent Alderwoman Pat Dowell is not facing any opponents and has secured another four years on the City Council.

4th Ward:

Location: Downtown to Kenwood (south-central Chicago)

Demographics: 64% African-American, 20% White, 11% Asian

With incumbent Alderwoman Sophia King running for Mayor, six candidates have emerged to replace her: State Representative Lamont Robinson, political aide Prentice Butler, attorney Ebony Lucas, teacher Helen West, businesswoman Tracey Bey, and nonprofit executive Matthew Khari Humphries. 

Robinson has the backing of nearly every major political power player in Illinois, from Governor Pritzker to State House Speaker Chris Welch to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, it seems like everyone but King is backing him. In fact, King is backing Butler, who was her Chief of Staff. Robinson should win this one either on Tuesday or in the second round, but if he does have to go to a second round, Butler’s probably the one who will join him.

5th Ward:

Location: Hyde Park area (southeastern Chicago)

Demographics: 61% African-American, 23% White, 12% Asian

With longtime incumbent Alderwoman Leslie Hairston retiring after nearly 24 years on the City Council, a crowded field has emerged to replace her. 11(!) candidates are running: community organizer Desmon Yancy, writer Gabriel Piemonte, Chicago City Chief Engagement Officer Tina Hone, nonprofit official Jocelyn Hare, attorney Renita Ward, businessman Kris Levy, businessman Joshua Gray, community organizer Marlene Fisher, University of Chicago official Wallace Goode, businesswoman Dee Perkins, and teacher Robert Palmer.

Yancy is backed by Hariston and the Chicago Teachers Union, while none of the other candidates seemed to be backed by any major groups. Yancy is the big favorite to make it to the second round, which is almost assured to happen due to how many candidates are running. As for who joins him, that’s more up in the air.

6th Ward:

Location: Chatham area (southeastern Chicago)

Demographics: 97% African-American, 2% Hispanic

With incumbent Alderman Roderick Sawyer running a quixotic campaign for Mayor, 11 candidates have thrown their name in the hat to replace him: pastor William Hall, community organizer Aja Kearney, police officer Sylvester Baker, city planner Patrick Brutus, police officer Richard Wooten, police officer Barbara Bunville, political aide Sharon Pincham, teacher Kirby Birgans, political aide Paul Bryson, school administrator Tavares Briggs, and attorney Kim Egonmwan.

Hall is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Governor Pritzker, Kearney is backed by State Representatives Robyn Gabel, Lakesia Collins, & Mary Flowers, Brutus is backed by the Chicago Firefighters Union, and Bunville has the backing of the Fraternal Order of Police. As for who makes it to the second round (because this is definitely going to a second round), that’s a tricky question. I think Hall makes it alongside either Kearney or Bunville, but it’s a dog fight here.

7th Ward:

Location: Cheltenham area (southeastern Chicago)

Demographics: 93% African-American, 6% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderman Gregory Mitchell is not facing any opponents and has secured another four year term on the Chicago City Council.

8th Ward:

Location: Avalon Park/Burnside area (southeastern Chicago)

Demographics: 98% African-American, 2% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderwoman Michelle Harris is running for her fifth term on the City Council. Harris, a strong ally of Mayor Lightfoot, is facing two challengers: political aide Sean Flynn and community organizer Linda Hudson. Neither of Harris’s challengers have really attracted that much attention, so it’s pretty safe to say that Harris should win easily on Tuesday.

9th Ward: 

Location: Roseland/Riverdale area (southern Chicago)

Demographics: 94% African-American, 5% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderman Anthony Beale is running for a seventh term on the City Council. Beale faces two opponents: radio personality Cleopatra Draper and Rainbow PUSH Coalition official Cameron Barnes. Beale’s incumbency should be enough for him to win it in the first round, but if he is forced into a runoff, I expect him to be joined by Draper.

10th Ward:

Location: South Chicago/Hegewisch area (southeastern Chicago)

Demographics: 61% Hispanic, 27% African-American, 12% White

With incumbent Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza retiring after two terms on the City Council, five candidates are running to replace her: nonprofit director Ana Guajardo, community organizer Oscar Sanchez, police officer Peter Chico (the cousin of former Mayoral candidate Gery Chico), police officer Jessica Venegas (who actually got demoted from being an officer to just working a desk job because she refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine), and businesswoman Yessenia Carreon.

Guajardo has been endorsed by Alderwoman Garza and IL-04 Congressman/Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, Sanchez has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Tribune, and Chico & Venegas are backed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Yeah, this one’s a bit of a battle of heavyweights. I think Guajardo’s going to make it to the second round, but the person joining her is more up in the air. Gun to my head, I’d say Chico gets the second spot in the only ward that his cousin won in 2019.

11th Ward:

Location: Bridgeport/Armour Square area (central Chicago)

Demographics: 51% Asian, 25% White, 20% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderwoman Nicole Lee is running for a full term in this seat after being appointed back in March 2022. She is facing six challengers though: police officer Anthony Ciaravino, firefighter Donald Don, businesswoman Vida Jimenez, teacher Ambria Taylor, teacher Froy Jimenez, and attorney Steve Demitro.

Lee is backed by former Mayor Richard Daley (this district is the home district of the Daley family) and Governor Pritzker, Ciaravino is backed by the Fraternal Order of Police, and Taylor is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Lee should have a spot locked down for the second round, but the question of who joins her is more interesting. If I had to guess, I’d say Ciaravino joins her.

12th Ward:

Location: Brighton Park area (central Chicago)

Demographics: 76% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 8% White

Incumbent Alderwoman Anabel Abarca is running for her first full term after being appointed to the City Council in December 2022. She has to get through community organizer Julia Ramirez first though. Abarca has the endorsements of US Senator Tammy Duckworth, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia and several local unions, while Ramirez is backed by IL-04 Congressman/Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia and Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa. This one is a pure tossup in my opinion, but if I had to guess, I’d say Abarca just pulls it off in the end.

13th Ward:

Location: Clearing/Midway Airport area (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 65% Hispanic, 31% White

Incumbent Alderman Marty Quinn faces a challenge for a fourth term from former Chicago Inspector’s General Office official Paul Bruton. Bruton’s campaign hasn’t really attracted that much attention, so Quinn is the heavy favorite to win on Tuesday.

14th Ward:

Location: Gage Park area (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 88% Hispanic, 6% White, 4% African-American 

After over 50 years on the City Council and a criminal racketeering charge, incumbent Alderman Ed Burke is retiring. Two candidates are running to replace him: Chicago City Clerk’s office official Raul Reyes and political aide Jeylu Gutierrez. Reyes is backed by Burke and the Fraternal Order of Police, while Gutierrez is backed by IL-04 Congressman/Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia. This one’s going to be really close, but I think Reyes’s closeness to Burke hurts him enough in the end to give Gutierrez the win.

15th Ward:

Location: West Englewood to Back of the Yards (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 75% Hispanic, 18% African-American, 7% White

After briefly flirting with a Mayoral run, incumbent Alderman Raymond Lopez is running for a third term. He first has to get through two challengers: political aide Vicko Alvarez and nonprofit director Gloria Williams. Lopez is being backed by the Fraternal Order of Police, while Alvarez has the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union. Lopez should win this in the first round, but if Alvarez is able to hold him to under 50%, things could get interesting in the second round.

16th Ward:

Location: Englewood area (southern Chicago)

Demographics: 68% African-American, 31% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderwoman Stephanie Coleman is running for a second term in this Englewood-based seat and faces two challengers: police officer Carolynn Crump and teacher Eddie Johnson. Coleman has the backing of Governor Pritzker, while Crump is backed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Coleman should win this one, probably avoiding a second round too.

17th Ward:

Location: Marquette Park to South Englewood (southern Chicago)

Demographics: 87% African-American, 13% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderman David Moore is not facing any opponents and has secured another four year term on the City Council.

18th Ward:

Location: Ashburn area (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 53% African-American, 40% Hispanic, 7% White

Incumbent Alderman Derrick Curtis is facing one challenger in his bid for third term, community organizer Heather Wills. Curtis should be the favorite to win, but he has had some controversies pop up over the last few years. He was fined $1,000 for using his ward staff members to help with Lori Lightfoot’s re-election campaign, which is ironic now considering Curtis has abandoned support for the Mayor. Again, he should win easily, but just something to keep in mind.

19th Ward:

Location: Mount Greenwood/Beverly/Morgan Park (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 61% White, 29% African-American, 8% Hispanic

Incumbent Alderman Matthew O’Shea is facing two challengers in his bid to win a fourth term: police officer Mike Cummings and community activist Tim Noonan. Cummings won the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, which is probably bigger here than in almost every other ward because a lot of Chicago’s south side cops live here. In fact, Mount Greenwood is home to probably the most cop-heavy and Republican-voting precincts in all of Chicagoland! That doesn’t mean that O’Shea will be forced into a second round (Beverly and Morgan Park are less cop-heavy and more favorable to O’Shea), but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was.

20th Ward:

Location: Back of the Yards to Woodlawn (southern Chicago)

Demographics: 76% African-American, 19% Hispanic, 4% White

Incumbent Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, a Democratic Socialist, is running for her second term on the City Council. She’s facing two challengers: police officer Jennifer Maddox and minister Andre Smith. Maddox has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, but other than that, hasn’t really made that much noise. Taylor should win this one relatively easily.

21st Ward:

Location: West Pullman to Brainerd (southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 97% African-American, 3% Hispanic

With longtime incumbent Alderman Howard Brookins not running for re-election, seven candidates have emerged to replace him: community organizer Ronnie Mosley, attorney Preston Brown, firefighter Cornell Dantzler, psychologist Kweli Kwaza, police officer Daliah Goree, community organizer Ayana Clark, and attorney Larry Lloyd.  

Mosley has been endorsed by Brookins, Governor Pritzker, and the Chicago Teachers Union, Goree has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, and Clark is backed by former IL-01 Congressman Bobby Rush. Mosley should finish in first here, the only question is if he can avoid a second round. If he does have to go to a second round, he’ll probably face Brown or maybe even Clark. 

22nd Ward:

Location: Little Village area (western Chicago)

Demographics: 89% Hispanic, 8% African-American, 3% White

Incumbent Alderman Michael Rodriguez is facing two challengers in his bid for a second term: community organizer Kristian Armendariz and businessman Neftalie Gonzalez. Neither of the two challengers have attracted that much attention, so Rodriguez should win this one easily.

23rd Ward:

Location: Garfield Ridge to West Lawn (Southwestern Chicago)

Demographics: 77% Hispanic, 19% White, 3% African-American 

Incumbent Alderwoman Silvana Tabares is only facing one opponent in her bid for a second term on the City Council, political aide Eddie Guillen. Guillen hasn’t really done much, but this race is a bit notable for a little bit of inside politics drama on the southwest side. Guillen was the Chief of Staff to State Representative Angie Guerrero-Cuellar, who is also the only major contributor to Guillen’s campaign. So why is Guerrero-Cuellar spending over $20,000 against Tabares? Well, we don’t really know. It’s especially weird because Tabares was the one who nominated Guerrero-Cuellar for State Representative back when Mike Madigan retired. Either way, Tabares should win and popcorn should continue to fly.

24th Ward:

Location: North Lawndale area (western Chicago)

Demographics: 79% African-American, 18% Hispanic, 3% White

Incumbent Alderwoman Monique Scott is running for a full term after being appointed to the City Council in June 2022. Scott will have to face seven candidates though: businessman Creative Scott, Chicago City Department of Sanitation official Luther Woodruff, businesswoman Vetress Boyce, firefighter Drewone Goldsmith, community organizer Edward Ward, perennial candidate Larry Nelson, and businesswoman Traci Treasure Johnson. 

Scott is backed by Governor Pritzker, Woodruff is backed by the Teamsters, and Goldsmith is backed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Scott should have one of the two spots in the second round, but it’s really up on the air on who joins her. Taking a wild guess, I’d say Woodruff joins her, but anyone really could get that second spot.

25th Ward:

Location: Pilsen area (central Chicago)

Demographics: 72% Hispanic, 17% White, 7% African-American 

Incumbent Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, a Democratic Socialist, is facing one opponent in his bid for a second term, school principal Aida Flores. This one has gotten kind of nasty. Flores has hit Sigcho-Lopez hard for voting against the city budget and generally being “divisive,” while Sigcho-Lopez has attacked Flores for being funded by billionaires and big developers. This race has also attracted some interesting endorsements, with Sigcho-Lopez being backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Cook County Commissioner/Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson, while Flores is backed by Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia and IL-04 Congressman/Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia. This is going to be a close one, but I think Sigcho-Lopez ultimately pulls it out. A Flores win would not shock me though, it’s truly almost a 50/50 race.

And that’s it for this preview of the 2023 Chicago City Council elections! I’ll be back tomorrow covering the remaining races in Wards 26-50. Until then, stay excellent!