14 Chicago City Council races set for runoff elections on April 4
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With all the votes now in from the February municipal elections in Chicago, 14 aldermanic races are headed for April runoffs, on top of the mayoral runoff election between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas.
The Chicago Board of Elections released the final official results in the elections on Wednesday, one day after the deadline for votes by mail to arrive if they were postmarked by Election Day on Feb. 28.
Turnout for Feb. 28 was 35.85%, a slight increase from 2019, when turnout was 35.45%.
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO finished first in the race for mayor, with 32.9% of the vote, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson came in second with 21.6% of the vote. Johnson and Vallas will face off in the mayoral runoff on April 4.
Six incumbent members of the City Council also are among those headed for runoff elections on April 4 after failing to win a majority of the vote on Feb. 28.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), who chairs the Public Safety Committee, fell 25 votes shy of a majority, and will face off against businessman and community activist CB Johnson, CEO of the nonprofit Drug Free Westside.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th), who has been the subject of controversy, scrutiny, and accusations of intimidation and retribution in his term in office, also faces a runoff election after falling 320 votes shy of a majority.
Gardiner, who has already been found guilty of violating the city's Ethics Code and is under federal investigation, will face off against business owner Megan Mathias.
Among Gardiner's other challengers was small business owner and Local School Council member James Suh – the man whose complaint of retaliation by Gardiner got the alderman in trouble with the city's Board of Ethics.
After Suh criticized Gardiner at a 2019 rally, Gardiner exchanged texts with a staffer in which they discuss using a staffer's family connection to get a hold of Suh's past arrest record and mug shot.
"James Suh says I overstep boundaries?" Gardiner wrote in a text. "Maybe that gets leaked."
In September 2021, the Board of Ethics found probable cause that this action violated the city's Ethics Code. Gardiner said at a City Council meeting on Sept. 15, 2021, that the comments he made did not reflect his values.
Two months later, Suh sued Gardiner for defamation and violating his civil rights. Suh went on to run against Gardiner, coming in third place in a five-way race.
Volunteers for another candidate, Jefferson Park resident Marija Tomic, also accused Gardiner of personally confronting them and accusing them of spreading lies as they were collecting signatures on nominating petitions for Tomic.
Meantime, Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), who chairs the council's Latino Caucus, also will head to a runoff, after his ward was significantly redrawn in 2022 when the City Council drew up new ward maps. Under the new map, the 36th Ward will stretch more than 7 miles along Grand Avenue, from the Far Northwest Side, just blocks from the border with suburban Elmwood Park, to the West Town neighborhood, just blocks from the West Loop.
Villegas has suggested his ward was redrawn as retaliation for his efforts leading opposition to the new map as he sought a different map with 15 majority Latino wards instead of the 14 in the approved map.
Villegas will face off against CPS teacher Lori Torres-Whitt in the runoff for the 36th Ward.
Three alderpersons appointed to their seats by Mayor Lori Lightfoot also are headed to runoffs.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), the first Chinese American woman to serve on the City Council after she was picked to replace convicted Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson last year, will face off against Chicago police officer Anthony Ciaravino.
Ald. Monique Scott (24th), who was tapped to replace her brother Michael last year, will face off against small business owner and firearms instructor Creative Scott (no relation).
Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd), who was appointed to replace Michelle Smith last summer, will face off against Sheffield Neighborhood Association president Brian Comer.
Other runoff races include:
- 4th Ward: Illinois State Rep. Lamont Robinson will face Prentice Butler, chief of staff to incumbent Ald. Sophia King, who gave up her seat to run for mayor.
- 5th Ward: community organizer Desmond Yancy will face Martina Hone, a former Lightfoot aide
- 6th Ward: pastor William Hall, who is also the director of faith and community partnerships for the child welfare advocacy group at UCAN Chicago, will face Army veteran, pastor, and former police officer Richard Wooten
- 10th Ward: Chicago police officer and local school council member Peter Chico will face Ana Guajardo, co-founder of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, an immigrant workers' rights advocacy group in East Side.
- 21st Ward: Ronnie Mosley, consultant and founder of Homegrown Strategy Group, will face Cornell Dantzler, a Navy veteran and retired Chicago firefighter who created the STEPS youth mentoring program.
- 30th Ward: Jessica Gutiérrez, the daughter of former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and a senior policy director with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, will face Ruth Cruz, an assistant admissions director at Roosevelt University, and local school council member
- 46th Ward: Uptown activist Angela Clay, who is an organizer with grassroots advocacy group Northside Action for Justice, will face Kim Walz, a Walgreens executive, and a former district director and deputy chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley.
- 48th Ward: Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, a photographer and small business owner, and board member of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, will face Joe Dunne, a real estate developer, former local school council member, and former Edgewater Community Council member.