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Welcome to The Deep Dish—Ballotpedia’s in-depth look at Chicago’s 2019 city elections.
This week, we're serving up the finalized list of mayoral candidates. Also on the menu: Howard Dean makes an endorsement in the mayoral race, a bunch of campaign finance information for city council candidates, and a deep dive into one of Chicago's most intense topics of debate: police-community relations.
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Voters head to the polls Feb. 26, where they will select a new mayor and decide all 50 city council seats as well as choosing a treasurer and city clerk. For all offices on the ballot, runoff elections will be held April 2 for races in which no candidates receives more than 50 percent of the vote. All offices are nonpartisan and come with four-year terms.
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Click here for more information on how to register
This week's news
Final mayoral ballot has 14 candidates
On Tuesday, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners decided the two remaining petition challenges: Dorothy Brown is off the ballot, and Neal Sáles-Griffin is on. This brings the total number of mayoral candidates to 14—down from 21 who initially filed to run.
The candidates who made the ballot are:
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Gery Chico (former board president of Chicago Public Schools)
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Bill Daley (former U.S. Commerce secretary)
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Amara Enyia (director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce)
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Bob Fioretti (former 2nd Ward alderman)
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La Shawn Ford (state representative, District 8)
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Jerry Joyce (lawyer)
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John Kozlar (lawyer)
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Lori Lightfoot (former Chicago Police Board president)
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Garry McCarthy (former Chicago police superintendent)
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Susana Mendoza (Illinois comptroller)
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Toni Preckwinkle (Cook County Board president)
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Neal Sáles-Griffin (tech entrepreneur)
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Paul Vallas (former CEO of Chicago Public Schools)
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Willie Wilson (businessman)
The board ruled Brown didn't have enough valid signatures (12,500 are required). Brown alleged fraud in the verification process, which the board said she didn't prove. Brown didn't announce plans to appeal the decision but said Tuesday she would consider endorsing another candidate in the race.
Brown was the sixth mayoral candidate the board removed from the ballot. One candidate—Ja'Mal Green—withdrew from the race.
Toni Preckwinkle challenged Brown's petitions. Willie Wilson challenged Brown's petitions as well, but he withdrew his challenge before the board’s decision.
Wilson also challenged Sáles-Griffin's signatures. He attempted to withdraw his challenge the week before the board's decision. However, a hearing officer on the case said Sáles-Griffin appeared to have an insufficient number of signatures and the board would need to follow through with a decision. The board ruled Tuesday that Wilson's challenge was not made in good faith and allowed Sáles-Griffin on the ballot. As of Wednesday, we didn't find a response from Wilson.
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Howard Dean endorses Bill Daley
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean endorsed Bill Daley in the Chicago mayoral race Tuesday. The endorsement was part of a larger Daley campaign event highlighting his proposed citywide referendum on reducing the city council from 50 to 15 members.
Daley's proposal comes after longtime 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke was charged with extortion on Jan. 2.
Dean called on progressive leaders to back Daley, saying, "The only way you get Chicago ready for reform is by electing a mayor who wants to bring Chicago into the 21st Century with reform."
Other candidates have proposed several city council reform measures, including limiting aldermanic power over permitting, banning outside income, and instituting term limits for aldermen.
Other national political figures who have endorsed in the race are U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and former Obama administration senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Both have backed Toni Preckwinkle.
To see our full list of endorsements, including those from unions, PACs, and local figures, click here.
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This week in mayoral forums: Spotlight on police issues
The city’s mayoral candidates participated in two candidate forums Sunday and Monday where police issues were in the spotlight. The forums were held on the heels of major court decisions related to the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald.
Jason Van Dyke, a white police officer, shot and killed McDonald, a black teenager. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in October 2018. On Jan. 18, Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. Three other officers were acquitted of charges that they attempted to falsify reports related to the shooting.
At the forums, the mayoral candidates discussed their ideas for improving police-community relations and their reactions to Van Dyke's sentencing. Click the image below to be taken to a video of Sunday's forum.
See our roundup of candidate forums with links to additional coverage here.
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Quick Bites
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Early voting was scheduled to begin Jan. 17. As petition challenges are still outstanding, the start date was delayed. The projected date is now Jan. 28.
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In 2015, the state legislature revised an election law, moving the early voting start date from 15 days before an election to 40 days before.
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The 2019 municipal election is the first municipal election for which that revision is in effect.
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Early voting in the 2016 and 2018 primary elections for county, state, and federal offices was delayed in Chicago (and some other parts of Illinois) due to outstanding petition challenges as well as testing and programming of voting equipment.
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City council campaign finance update
Shoutout to The Daily Line, which compiled figures from quarterly reports for 174 candidate committees, as well as other committees associated with candidates, from the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The data show funds raised and spent between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018, as well as cash on hand through Dec. 31.
Of the $15.7 million in cash on hand among all candidates, $4.5 million was Ald. Ed Burke's (14th Ward). Reports were available for two of Burke's three remaining challengers: Jaime Guzman reported $12,000 on hand, and Tanya Patino reported $16,000.
The 10 city council candidates with the most cash on hand as of Dec. 31:
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Ed Burke (14): $4,487,057.33
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Brendan Reilly (42): $1,332,631.96
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Walter Burnett (27): $676,848.69
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Joe Moreno (1): $560,863.28
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Silvana Tabares (23): $478,758.38
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Michelle Harris (8): $411,219.31
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Tom Tunney (44): $409,052.57
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Brian Hopkins (2): $305,134.64
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Austin Baidas (44): $287,766.13*
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Derek Lindblom (43): $275,153.05*
*Denotes non-incumbents
Two incumbents above—Reilly and Hopkins—are running unopposed.
Challenger Derek Lindblom (43) has raised $351,251 since his campaign began in May. Incumbent 43rd Ward Ald. Michele Smith didn't make the top 10 for cash on hand, but she had $237,436 in the bank at the start of 2018. Smith raised an additional $284,186 in 2018. Four other candidates are also running for the 43rd Ward.
Ald. Tom Tunney (44) began 2018 with almost $190,000 in his candidate committee account and raised an additional $327,054 during the year. Tunney also received funds from the 44th Ward Democratic Organization. Challenger Baidas began fundraising later in the year, bringing in $361,380. Elizabeth Shydlowski is also running for the 44th and had about $16,000 on hand.
See our city council election page for a table with campaign finance figures.
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City Clerk Anna Valencia's two challengers removed from ballot
On Jan. 18, the elections board decided to remove city clerk candidates Elizabeth Arias-Ibarra and Patricia Horton from the ballot, leaving incumbent Anna Valencia unopposed—at least for now.
Horton said she plans to appeal the board's decision, and both she and Arias-Ibarra could still run as write-in candidates.
Valencia is running for her first full four-year term. Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Valencia to the post in December 2016, replacing Susana Mendoza, who won a special election to become state comptroller.
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Candidate survey replies of the week
Ballotpedia's Chicago candidate survey was created through our partnership with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Interactivity Foundation, and City Bureau, as well as insights from more than one hundred diverse citizens living throughout Chicago’s wards.
Two city treasurer candidates answer: How would you distribute revenue fairly between neighborhoods?
"My vision for this office is to have Chicago’s billions of dollars of municipal deposits leveraged to help Chicago’s communities grow at the same rate, regardless of their ZIP code. I also plan to use the office to help more families become financially educated. I'm running to protect the city of Chicago's investments and to ensure that the money Chicago invests goes to benefit all of us."
— Melissa Conyears-Ervin, city treasurer candidate
Click here to read more of Conyears-Ervin's responses →
"Treasurer Summers took steps to invest Chicago's dollars in Chicago when he deposited $20 million into Chicago's last black-owned bank, Illinois Service Federal, since renamed GN Bank. Under my leadership, the treasurer's office will continue to deposit funds in financial institutions that invest in communities most in need of financial support. To be among the depositories considered, institutions must have a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating of 'satisfactory' or 'outstanding.' …"
— Peter Gariepy, city treasurer candidate
Click here to read more of Gariepy's responses →
Chicago candidate? Fill out the survey and you may be featured here.
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This week's deep dive
Police reform through consent decree: where mayoral candidates stand
In December 2015, following the shooting of Laquan McDonald, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
In its January 2017 report, the DoJ concluded, "CPD officers engage in a pattern or practice of using force, including deadly force, that is unreasonable." The report attributed this partly to inadequate training and a lack of accountability measures for officers who commit misconduct.
The report recommended the city enter a consent decree—a court-ordered plan to reform the police department's policies that would be enacted by a federal judge. The court would appoint an independent monitor to oversee the plan's implementation.
Later in 2017, then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions opposed entering a consent decree with the city of Chicago, saying police department reforms should be a local and state effort. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he'd continue to pursue police reforms without federal involvement.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) sued the city of Chicago to continue negotiating a consent decree with federal oversight in August 2017. Emanuel agreed to do so.
The city of Chicago and the Illinois attorney general’s office drafted a consent decree proposing a number of reforms to police department policies. The draft was submitted to federal judge Robert Dow Jr. in September 2018. His decision on whether to enact it through a court order is pending.
The Chicago Sun-Times asked mayoral candidates their positions on the consent decree. We compiled their responses here.
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We asked Chicago-based staffer Matt Latourelle, tech manager at Ballotpedia, a few questions about his Chicago experience.
Next week, we'll interview another Chicago-area Ballotpedia staffer—stay tuned!
What ward/neighborhood do you live in?
Ward 37/West Humboldt Park
Did you grow up in Chicago? If not, why did you decide to move there? If so, why did you decide to stay?
No. I moved here for college, and stayed because I fell in love with the city—its people, culture, opportunities, expansiveness, and sense of community.
What's your favorite place to eat in Chicago?
My favorite based on what I frequent the most would have to be El Taconazo #1, a Mexican restaurant on North Avenue. But there are really too many great options to settle on a favorite!
Favorite meal in the city?
Anything off the grill at a neighborhood block party in summer.
What issues do you hear friends/family in the city discussing most?
Violence, education, and police/community relations.
Chicago is often called a "city of neighborhoods." Do you have a favorite neighborhood, and if so, why?
I've lived in Humboldt Park for the past six years, so that has to be my favorite! It is diverse, accessible, residential, and there is a beautiful, huge park that is its namesake. I also have a great affinity for the adjacent neighborhood of Austin, which, though under-resourced in terms of employment opportunities, I've found to be home to a lot of excellent people. In general, I am West-side strong!
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