Ald. Monique Scott declares victory in 24th Ward over challenger Creative Scott
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ald. Monique Scott (24th) declared victory Tuesday night in the runoff election in the 24th Ward on Chicago's West Side, easily defeating challenger Creative Scott (no relation).
Her election win comes nearly a year after Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed her to fill the vacant City Council seat left by her brother, Michael, last summer.
With 95% of the vote counted in the runoff election the incumbent held a comfortable lead of 67% to 33%.
"The community has spoken," Monique Scott told CBS 2's Jermont Terry after declaring victory at her election night rally.
"It feels like I can breathe. It feels like I can have the confidence to lead this community to where it needs to be," she said.
She said she believes part of her ward have lacked for proper investment, and she wants to work with community developers to eliminate the number of vacant lots in the 24th Ward.
"These vacant lots are vital to crime. These vacant lots are vital to bringing families into the community, jobs. Vacant lots are really an eyesore in the community, and so how do you bring people into your community is by building, and bringing economic development," she said.
Monique Scott was running for a full term representing the 24th Ward on the West Side after being appointed to replace her brother Michael, who left the City Council last summer to take a job with Cinespace Film Studio.
CBS 2's Marie Saavedra spoke to both candidates about the race leading up to Election Day.
Monique Scott said she doesn't feel there is any singular issue that is most important in the ward, which she said has not seen sufficient investments in the 51 years she's lived there.
"When you are in a community that has been disinvested in in 51 years, you have everything from 3,000 vacant lots that needs to be addressed, you have education disparity, you have health disparity, you have economic development. There are so many things, and you can't decouple one, because they all intertwine – and crime. So they all intertwine with one another," she said.
Creative Scott said he has dedicated his life to giving back to the community, and he wants to become aldermen to "bridge the gap" between police officers and young people and seniors who live in the ward.
"I also have a program that I created with the help of a few other individuals in the community. It's a gun safety program that I call GPS. That's guns, problems, and solutions," he said. "Right now, I have attorneys that will call me when youth have gun problems, and have been in and out of court. So I will get them a gun safety program."
