A Breakdown of Key Ward Races in the 2023 Elections

All ward map visualizations are by Cam Rodriguez.

4th Ward

On the edge of the lakefront, the 4th Ward includes parts of South Loop, Bronzeville, Kenwood, Oakland, and northern Hyde Park. After seven years in the position, the current alderperson, Sophia King, is running for mayor, leaving her seat open to the seven challengers hoping to represent the 4th Ward. As of publication, these challengers include Tracey Bey, Prentice Butler, Khari Humphries, Ebony Lucas, Lamont Robinson, and Helen West.

Since 2019, Lamont Robinson has served as the Illinois State Representative for the 5th District. This past November, Robinson was reelected to the Illinois legislature—where he will continue serving if he loses this race—but he has expressed his hopes to bring his statewide experience to more localized community needs as an alderperson. Robinson has the support of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, as well as endorsements from Governor J.B. Pritzker, SEIU Illinois State Council, and several alderpeople and state representatives. Robinson is the Illinois legislature’s first openly gay Black lawmaker and touts a list of accomplishments in Springfield—including securing $15 million in state funding for the construction of an LGBTQ+ South Side community center, sponsoring the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act, and his advocacy to save Mercy Hospital (now Insight Hospital and Medical Center Chicago) on the near South Side. His campaign has raised about $282,000.

Prentice Butler is the chief of staff for Sophia King and has spent the past eleven years in local government working with King and her predecessor, former Alderperson William Burns. In his campaign, Butler has focused on expanding equitable commercial development—zoning in on the $3.8 billion redevelopment of the Michael Reese hospital and expansion of the Cottage Grove retail corridor between 43rd and 47th Street—as well as strengthening neighborhood schools, increasing the participation of community advisory councils, and improving public transit and infrastructure. Butler has the endorsement of Alderperson King. His campaign has raised about $27,000.

Ebony Lucas is a real estate attorney based in Oakland. Lucas is making her third run for the 4th Ward seat, prioritizing affordable housing and commercial development. Her campaign has raised about $13,500.

Humphries served as Senior Director of Youth Policy for the City of Chicago until recently, previously leading The Community Builders and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. With over twenty years of public service experience, Humphries has received endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union and United Working Families. His campaign has raised about $5,000.

Entrepreneur Tracey Bey is an entrepreneur making her second run for the seat after losing to Will Burns in 2015. With a focus on economic development and neighborhood investment, her campaign has raised about $15,500.

Helen West is a retired business executive and educator. Running on public safety issues as her priority, she has highlighted requiring surveillance around homes and businesses to deter crime, economic development, and affordable housing. Her campaign has raised about $5,300. (Reema Saleh)

5th Ward

After a twenty-four year career, incumbent Leslie Hairston is retiring as the alderperson for the 5th Ward. The open seat has been met with a flood of eleven candidates: Marlene Fisher, Wallace E. Goode Jr., Joshua Gray, Jocelyn Hare, Martina “Tina” Hone, Kris Levy, Robert Palmer, Dialika “Dee” Perkins, Gabriel Piemonte, Renita Q. Ward and Desmon Yancy. 

The 5th Ward encompasses most of Hyde Park, including all of East Hyde Park and Indian Village, as well as parts of Woodlawn near Jackson Park and most of South Shore north of 71st Street.

At a January forum co-sponsored by community organizations Not Me We and the Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, nine of the eleven candidates—Hare and Hone were not present—discussed key issues facing the ward: affordable housing development, displacement, public safety and park preservation. 

With $127,269 available campaign funds, Desmon Yancy is by far the best funded candidate in the 5th Ward. A long-time resident of South Shore, he is currently serving as the senior director of organizing and advocacy for the Inner-City Muslim Action Network. Prior to this, he co-founded and was spokesperson for the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability and Empowering Communities for Public Safety coalitions.

He is endorsed by Ald. Hairston, the Illinois Nurses Association, Citizen Action Illinois, JCUA Votes, United Working Families, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Teachers Union, several SEIU locals, Center for Racial and Gender Equity and the Cook County College Teachers Union. Among his priorities are economic development, increasing police accountability, mental health access and community-based violence reduction programs such as Treatment Not Trauma. At the forum, Yancy voiced support for a $5 increase to the city’s minimum wage and more expansive universal basic income programs as one solution to rising housing costs. 

Marlene Fisher is a University of Chicago information technology (IT) administrator and a Greater Grand Crossing-based community organizer. She moved to South Shore in 1998 and has lived on the South Side ever since. In an interview with the Herald, Fisher said her top priorities are economic development and neighborhood beautification, public safety and housing affordability.

Jocelyn Hare is a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy project director. Born on the West Side and raised in Oak Park, she is running for her second time after losing to Hairston in 2015. Her top issues are public safety, affordable housing and promoting equitable economic development across the ward. In addition to her support of the newly-created local Police District Councils, Hare said she would create additional councils with representatives from each precinct. She has $31,500 available in her campaign fund, $18,900 of which she contributed herself.

Tina Hone grew up in Hyde Park, Chatham and Roseland and was most recently the Chief Engagement Officer for the City of Chicago. She worked at law firms and taught middle school in San Francisco after college, later moving to Washington, D.C., where she spent more than 20 years working in the House Judiciary Committee, the Commerce Department and the American Legacy Foundation. Hone moved back to Hyde Park six years ago and served as the Chief Equity Officer at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago for three years and then the Chief Engagement Officer for the City of Chicago for two. She told the Herald her biggest priority is public safety, which she believes can be solved with better—but not necessarily more—policing, economic development and addressing generational trauma with expanded mental health services. Regarding housing, Hone said she supports building affordable housing in the ward but also stressed improving home ownership rates. She has $15,207 available campaign funds.

Kris Levy is a South Shore wine and spirits distributor who lives in Jackson Park Highlands. In an interview with the Herald, he said his top three issues are public safety, economic development and public school funding. Among his public safety suggestions is increasing police presence in high traffic locations like gas stations, grocery stores and bus stops, as well as better community engagement from officers. Regarding development and employment, he said he wants to bring large companies to the ward. His campaign has raised $3,583.

Wallace E. Goode Jr., a Woodlawn native who now lives in Hyde Park, is the former executive director of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce. He was also the Associate Dean of Students at the University of Chicago and Director of the University Community Service Center. As alderman, Goode told the Herald his priorities would be creating programming for teens, reducing gun violence and education.

Joshua Gray is a South Shore political consultant and former aide to South Side Alderman David Moore in the 17th Ward. He has worked as an anti-violence community organizer and served as the Dean of charter school Chicago Bulls College Prep and Assistant Principal at CPS Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy. In 2019, he ran Moore’s successful reelection campaign and worked as mayoral candidate Amara Enyia’s campaign manager. His top campaign issues are addressing public safety, youth engagement and economic development; the latter of which he said can be addressed by building more corporate partnerships. 

Robert Palmer is a special education highschool teacher, Chicago Teachers Union member and a resident of Greater Grand Crossing. An Englewood native, Palmer’s top campaign priorities are increased community interaction with the alderperson, equitable distribution of discretionary funds and more economic investment in the ward. Investing in youth programming and creating an “Afro-centric” curriculum for schools in majority-Black neighborhoods are important issues for Palmer as he believes it will promote  public safety.  

Dialika “Dee” Perkins, self described as “The People’s Champ”,  is a business manager who has worked in corporate tax auditing; she is also a professional boxer. According to her campaign website, her top three focuses are increasing safety in the ward by creating a team of trained, paid volunteers to patrol the neighborhood, addressing housing concerns such as homeownership and affordable housing access and promoting local business development.

Gabriel Piemonte, a community organizer, writer and former Hyde Park Herald editor is running for alderman for a second time after placing third in the 2019 runoff election. He said his major areas of focus are public safety, reparations for Black ward residents, affordable housing and community land ownership. Piemonte has lived in the 5th Ward for more than two decades, first in Hyde Park and then in Woodlawn, the latter of which where he co-founded a coalition to preserve the Shrine of Christ the King in 2015 after it was damaged by a fire and set to be demolished. During the forum, Piemonte voiced support for a citywide eviction moratorium, rent control and affordable housing development. He has advocated for preserving Promontory Point’s limestone revetment and said he would reject a proposed mega-golf course course (known as the Tiger Woods Golf Course) that would stretch from Jackson Park to the South Shore Nature Sanctuary. He has $10,770 in his campaign fund.

Renita Ward is a health care attorney at Northwestern Medicine and associate minister who moved to Hyde Park from Georgia in 2015. Her top issues are youth and public safety, which she said go hand in hand. Additionally, she is focused on government efficiency, economic development on 71st Street and access to health care. She currently has $8,519 in her campaign fund. (Ella Beiser)

11th Ward

Eyes are on the 11th Ward, after a dramatic remapping of the area last year made it the first majority-Asian ward in Chicago’s history. The ward, which encompasses Chinatown and parts of Bridgeport, Armour Square, and McKinley Park, has six candidates vying to replace Lightfoot-appointed Nicole Lee. Lee, who most recently worked at United Airlines as a director of social impact and community engagement, is Chicago’s first Chinese American alderperson and was appointed in March of last year to replace Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson after he was convicted for tax fraud. Her administration’s primary focus has been installing an open-enrollment high school on the South Side, though this has proved controversial with critics calling for more community engagement in the process. Lee has been endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor, SEIU Illinois State Council, and SEIU Local 73, and has raised just over $131,000, more than any competing candidate.

There’s little online presence for Elvira “Vida” Jimenez, former City service representative for the Chicago Police Department, and Steve Demitro, former Chicago Cardinals player and attorney. With vague platforms like “creating dog parks” and “better public schools,” it’s unlikely for either of them to be considered at the ballot box.

CPD instructor Anthony “Tony” Ciaravino’s platform leans heavily into public safety and increased police presence, along with expanding City services for seniors and lowering property taxes. His campaign has raised over $57,000, an amount only beaten by Lee and Ambria Taylor. Ciaravino has received several awards as a police instructor throughout his career, along with two complaints (one sustained); according to his campaign website, he is an active member of Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS).

Froylan “Froy” Jimenez is a CTU member and history and civics teacher at John Hancock College Prep near Midway who pledges to “fight and squash extreme socialist ideas like defunding the police” as Alderman. Jimenez wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune last June criticizing Mayor Lightfoot and County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s guaranteed basic income pilot program, which provides $500 a month in cash assistance to low-income residents for one year, claiming it would disincentivize recipients from finding jobs and could be “counterproductive to economic recovery.” He is in favor of building a new high school and expanding trade schools in the area, as well as ensuring proper time off for police and directing additional resources to the Chicago Department of Environment.

Donald “Don” Don is a former Chicago firefighter and co-founder of the Chinatown and Bridgeport Neighborhood Watch groups. While his family has called Chicago home since the 1960s, Don’s campaign website leaves much to be desired when it comes to an actual platform. He promotes the importance of teamwork to make a community stronger, but has no action plan or specific details on how exactly that teamwork might happen.

Rounding out the candidate pool is middle school teacher and CTU member Ambria Taylor, who cites the 2020 unrest as inspiring her move into politics after a working-poor upbringing. Her platform, according to her website, is being developed with community input, in part via town halls. Notably, Taylor is both the only candidate supporting the Bring Chicago Home ordinance, a grassroots coalition proposing to create low-income affordable housing and permanent housing for those experiencing homelessness, according to a CBCAC candidate questionnaire. A slew of endorsements, including from Chicago DSA and 11th Ward IPO, could up her chances. (Hana Urban)

14th Ward 

This year, the 14th Ward will undergo a change it has not seen in over half a century: a new alderperson. Ed Burke, who has represented the 14th Ward since 1969, declined to file for re-election late last year. Burke was indicted in 2019 on federal corruption and bribery charges; he allegedly approved permits for businesses on the condition they go to his private law firm for tax work and is scheduled to appear in court in November. Running to replace him are Jeylú Gutiérrez and Raúl Reyes.

Gutiérrez is a Brighton Park resident and Mexican immigrant who works as the district director for Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya. She has also worked as a counselor and community liaison in Pilsen’s Benito Juarez High School and Hernandez Middle School in Gage Park.

Gutiérrez is backed by Jesús “Chuy” García, who has squared off with the Burke political dynasty for years. In 2019, García backed candidate Tanya Patiño, who lost to Burke without even making the runoff. More successfully, García backed Aaron Ortiz, Patiño’s partner, who replaced Dan Burke, brother of Ed Burke, as state representative of the 1st district. Gutiérrez is endorsed by Ortiz, Alma Anaya, and SEIU IL, which has donated some $20,000 to her campaign. Overall, Gutiérrez has raised more than $71,000.

In an interview with the Tribune, Gutiérrez said one of her top priorities is making sure each part of the ward gets the same level of service. A common complaint under Burke’s tenure was that to get any level of reliable service—potholes filled, streetlights installed, complaints listened to and addressed—residents needed to have voted for Burke. Gutiérrez also said she wants to address violence by collaborating with police, and provide community centers for the youth.

Raúl Reyes is the other contender for the position. A longtime staff assistant in the City Clerk’s office, Reyes has ties to the Burkes. He helped gather some sixty signatures to put Burke on the ballot in 2019, and his campaign is almost entirely funded by a $50,000 donation from Dan Burke. Reyes ran for alderperson in the 15th Ward in 2015, when he got just seven percent of the vote.

Though he has been hard to reach by news organizations, in a 2015 Sun-Times questionnaire Reyes expressed support for hiring more police and putting money into after-school programs and summer jobs for teens and adults.

The previous iteration of the 14th Ward included a thin strip into Garfield Ridge, where much of Burke’s voting base lives. But in last year’s remapping, that strip was eliminated, so that the ward now encompasses Archer Heights, Gage Park, and parts of Brighton Park and Chicago Lawn. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the area is nearly ninety percent Latinx. (Adam Przybyl)

18th Ward

On the far Southwest Side of Chicago, first-time challenger and community organizer Heather Wills is running for Alderman Derrick G. Curtis’s seat. Finishing up his second term, the incumbent has received close to $65,000 in contributions, with some of the largest donations coming from LIUNA Chicagoland Laborers’ District Council, Chicagoland Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, J.B. Pritzker, Michael J. Madigan, and Rahm Emmanuel. 

Willshas an MBA as well as a Master of Arts in Religious Leadership from the Chicago Theological Seminary. An ordained minister, he has received a little more than $36,000, mostly from the Center for Racial and Gender Equity and family. She is “funded by the people,” she told a crowd at a recent candidate forum hosted by the Xi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. She has also been endorsed by the IVI-IPO, SEIU-HCII, and the Cook County College Teachers Union. Although Curtis doesn’t count with the CTU’s endorsement “yet,” he is proud of his endorsements by the FOP, Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, and many other labor unions. 

The newly redrawn 18th Ward  includes the neighborhoods of Scottsdale, Ashburn, Wrightwood, Parkview, Marycrest, Beverly View, and parts of Chicago Lawn and Auburn Gresham. At the forum, Wills said that, if elected, she believes that “aldermanic prerogative needs to be done away” and promises she will invert the “pyramid of power” by implementing a participatory budgeting process for the ward’s infrastructure funding. She also said that  “TIF districts are erroneous and basically a slush fund” and that she will “double down by hearing people at the doors” and provide  “engagement sessions” in the ward. 

Curtis did not attend the forum, but in a follow up interview touted  his accomplishments in bringing the Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center to Daley College and preventing the sale of Ford City Mall in order for Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development to do an analysis on the future of the site. He also said he called on his eleven years of experience as a superintendent for the previous 18th Ward alderwoman to improve the infrastructure of the ward. He has supported Mayor Lori Lightfoot in ninety-two percent of Council votes between 2019-2021. In the next term he said he will focus on public safety by increasing police patrols in the neighborhoods because “the more police the better” and will advocate to decrease the size of the 8th police district for strategic coverage. (Ismael Cuevas)

20th Ward

Incumbent Ald. Jeanette Taylor is running for reelection in the 20th Ward, which encompasses Woodlawn and parts of Washington Park, Back of the Yards, and Englewood. She’s facing two challengers, Jennifer Maddox and Andre Smith, both of whom ran for the seat in 2019.

Taylor won election for the 20th Ward’s alderperson’s seat in 2019 after Willie Cochran, a three-term alderman, was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. Prior to joining City Council, Taylor was a community organizer who championed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for the Obama Presidential Center and participated in the 34-day hunger strike to keep Washington Park’s Walter H. Dyett High School from being closed.

Taylor’s achievements during her first term include the passage of the 2020 Woodlawn Housing Preservation Ordinance, which requires that 30 percent of units in any redeveloped vacant lots be made available to very low income households among other provisions, and pushing for jobs for South Siders. She is also well known for being a frequent critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. This campaign cycle Taylor has been endorsed by the Sierra Club Illinois, United Working Families and CTU Local 1. Her campaign has around $93,000 on hand, with substantial contributions from labor unions.

Jennifer Maddox is a recently retired Chicago Police Department officer who used to patrol Parkway Gardens and now runs a nonprofit that provides after and summer school support for youth. Her priorities include economic development, public safety, housing and education. Maddox has about $5,000 available in campaign funds.

Andre Smith is a pastor and entrepreneur who’s taking a fourth swing at the 20th Ward seat. A Washington Park resident, he was part of last decade’s fight for the creation of the trauma center at University of Chicago Medicine and has also founded a violence interruption group. His priorities include instituting a property tax freeze, public safety and greater aldermanic presence in the community. Smith has received a $1,000 donation from the Fraternal Order of the Police among other small contributions.

At a candidate forum held on Jan. 19 at the AKArama Foundation Community Service Center in Woodlawn, the candidates addressed residents’ concerns unreliable public transportation, economic revitalization of the 63rd Street corridor; job creation to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Obama Center; and ways to keep youth occupied and out of harm’s way. 

Whereas Taylor leaned on her past four years in office learning how to be an effective alderperson and talked with fluency about potential policy solutions, Maddox spoke of her long-standing commitment to serving the area as an officer, mother and nonprofit leader. Smith called upon his highly visible presence in Woodlawn, even giving his phone number to all those present to call him with any concerns or issues. 

All called for greater transparency and community involvement in the process of performing aldermanic duties and made a point of soliciting resident input on new developments coming into and transforming the area.

A contentious issue in Woodlawn this year has been the City’s repurposing of the former Wadsworth Elementary School as a migrant shelter. On Thursday, Feb. 2,, the City opened the shelter amid resistance from some residents and vocal opposition from all three candidates. Smith, in fact, staged a protest by attempting to block 100 migrants from entering the shelter as they were disembarking from CTA buses, while Maddox led a rally in early January to delay the shelter’s opening.

Though Taylor has lambasted the City’s handling of the shelter and objected to its Woodalwn placement, she is working with community organizations in the ward to provide resources and Spanish language assistance to the new residents. (Max Blaisdell)

22nd Ward

Little Village’s 22nd Ward Alderperson Mike Rodríguez is seeking reelection after a bumpy first term. Despite facing sustained backlash for his support of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the sloppy implosion of the old Crawford coal plant chimney, he has a solid base of supporters who voted for him after former Ald. Ricardo Muñoz’s controversial twenty-six-year administration—and they are likely to vote for him again. Rodríguez tends to vote moderate-to-progressive in City Council, believes in violence prevention programs that work in tandem with the police, and has the backing of his political mentor and mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García, who wields significant influence in Southwest Side politics. Rodriguez supported the mixed-use development of the Saint Anthony Hospital expansion at 31st and Kedzie. Moreover, he has presided over the ward’s independent political organization (IPO), a group that has received criticism for seldom challenging an incumbent.

Candidate Neftalie Gonzalez, a lifelong resident and former police officer, is running for the seat for the fourth time in a row. He has expressed frustration over the rising commercial rents on 26th Street—the neighborhood lifeline—having himself been a music shop owner who had to move repeatedly within the corridor. Gonzalez provides career mentoring to youth on the west side of the neighborhood by referring them and helping them to apply to well-paying jobs. He takes pride in not accepting political donations from contributors who he says will be “owed favors.” The candidate told the Weekly that he supports more training for new police recruits and proposes “a mental health crisis team that works under EMS (Emergency Medical Services), not CPD” because mental health “is not a law enforcement issue.” He added that police accountability should apply to every member of the department, not just patrol officers, including those in positions of command.

Kristian Armendariz is the youngest challenger in the race at twenty-five years old. His name and energy surfaced during the 2020 protests over the police killing of thirteen-year-old Adam Toledo, during which Little Village alderpersons, including Rodriguez, were largely absent (the shooting happened in then-alderman George Cardenas’ 12th Ward). Almendariz works at a bar-and-grill and holds a side job in construction while he pursues his Bachelor’s degree in construction management. Asked about his motivation to run, he said the current alderman “failed us with the Hilco explosion during the pandemic, the [Little Village] Discount Mall [Plaza’s planned closure], the local street vendors, and our environment.” Armendariz has been knocking doors and planning meet-and-greets to gain name recognition, and he recently hosted a town hall at the Little Village Community Council with the support of 25th Ward alderperson Byron Sigcho-López to address the recent armed robberies of street vendors in and outside the ward.

Little Village voters are observing who is responsive to their needs and, to win and maintain their vote, the next 22nd Ward alderperson should address issues like rising property taxes and rents, the negative effects of large-scale developments, the disregard for small business owners and vendors, aggressive policing, and a recurring issue: gun violence and public safety. (Jacqueline Serrato)

25th Ward 

The 25th Ward race is down to incumbent Byron Sigcho-López, seeking his second term, and educator Aida Flores, attempting her second run at a City Council seat. Daniel Montes, who announced his run last fall, dropped out of the race and endorsed Flores. After losing in 2015, Sigcho-López won in a 2019 runoff election, while Flores came in fourth.

Both candidates have deep ties to the community, which covers most of Pilsen, as well as slivers of McKinley Park, University Village, the West Loop, and the South Loop. Flores, born and raised in Pilsen, is a well-known community organizer and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) educator. Sigcho-López settled in Pilsen ten years ago and worked as an adult education teacher at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he founded its bilingual adult education program.

An educator and parent, Flores is deeply familiar with the Chicago Public School system. Currently the assistant principal at Darwin Elementary, she was also previously the principal at Hernandez Middle School, an assistant principal at Kelvyn Park High School, and a history teacher at Benito Juarez High School. She was also a local school council student representative at Benito Juarez High School, according to her website. For these reasons, some of her main priorities are equitable school funding and expanding the Safe Passage program.

Flores, a Harvard and Georgetown grad, has also advocated for public safety, efforts against gentrification, and improved City services. She also plans to gather community input for permits for events and festivals, which is timely, given that community members from her ward and the neighboring 24th Ward voiced concerns about Riot Fest and other festivals last year.

Endorsed by Chuy Garcia, 40th Ward Democrats, and Ironworkers Local 63, among others, Flores has raised over $45,161. Flores contributed at least $12,000 of her own money to her campaign, according to Reform for Illinois’ Sunshine Database. Other supporters to her campaign include Leadership for Educational Equity, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and numerous individual donors.

Prior to being elected in 2019, Sigcho-López was the executive director of Pilsen Alliance, a prominent community organization committed to developing grassroots leadership in Pilsen and neighboring working-class, immigrant communities. As director, he co-founded the campaign to Lift the Ban on rent control in Illinois, one of several accomplishments in the struggle against gentrification and displacement.

During his term, Sigcho-López has focused on advocating for community interests in affordable housing, environmental justice, and public safety. With the recent string of Little Village street vendor robberies, he has been the main alderperson to speak with vendors and draw attention to their needs. Sigcho-Lopez has also continually called for more accountability from the City on residents’ environmental concerns.

When residents protested Sims Metal Management for pollution Pilsen, he spoke at rallies, pushed city and state agencies to test the facility, and sent requests to the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to postpone the scrap metal processor’s operating permit until the tests were complete. Sims ended up being sued by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for violating the state’s air pollution regulations and exposing community members to unchecked emissions from a metal scrapper. He also facilitated and ensured community input on plans for the 18th and Peoria affordable housing development.

Sigcho-López is a Cumberland University and University of Illinois at Chicago grad. A Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, Sigcho-López has also been a key member of the Chicago Democratic Socialist Caucus. He was also one of the few alderpersons to show up to a City Council meeting about the Bring Chicago Home ordinance, a proposal to fund homelessness services that was kept off this month’s ballot when the meeting failed to meet quorum.

Since April 2021, Sigcho-López has raised about $289,652 and currently has $115,115 on hand. He has received hefty support from unions through endorsements and contributions, including large donations from the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU. (Savannah Hugueley)

Correction 2/10/23: The 11th Ward blurb was updated to more accurately represent Alderwoman Nicole Lee’s work background.