In place of the traditional Windy City Times voting guide, WCT is conducting interviews with candidates running in the Feb. 28 municipal elections. This page links to the full interviews and will be kept up to date as interviews are added.
The 2023 municipal elections will likely have a huge impact on the city's LGBTQ+ community. Not only is incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot locked in a heated race with numerous challengers, several first-time LGBTQ+ candidates are throwing their hat into the ring in aldermanic contests across the city; other incumbent candidates from the community are working to retain their seats.
Mayoral race: Incumbent Lori Lightfoot—the city's first openly lesbian mayor—faces many opponents, among them Chicago Public Schools Chief Paul Vallas, U.S. Rep. Willie Wilson, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, Activist Ja'Mal Green, Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward), state Rep. Kam Buckner and Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward). Lightfoot's campaign made some stumbles this election cycle, and, with this many candidates on the ballot, an April 4th runoff is almost certain.
See tinyurl.com/yc7byamj .
4th Ward: Since Ald. Sophia King is stepping down, state Rep. Lamont Robinson has decided he wants to make the switch from state- to city-level politics. Robinson, who owns an insurance agency, said that he wants to fill a "void" left behind by King's departure.
See tinyurl.com/ydh2pdd9 .
5th Ward: Jocelyn Hare, a University of Chicago employee with an extensive background in public policy and research, is making a second attempt at capturing the 5th Ward seat now that Ald. Leslie Hairston is stepping down. Hare lost to Hairston back in 2015. She hopes to bring needed resources to residents of the ward.
See tinyurl.com/2p8ewvwn .
15th Ward: Incumbent Ald. Raymond Lopez, a longtime Lori Lightfoot opponent, initially announced that he'd be making a run for mayor. He backed down from that race, however, when so many other candidates joined the race. He contends that the huge candidate field will pave the way for Lightfoot to return—and he's rather continue to oppose her from his seat on the Council. Opponent Vicko Alvarez, meanwhile, is running on a progressive platform centering ending political favoritism as well as reinvestment in public resources such as schools and parks.
Raymond Lopez: See tinyurl.com/456n6s7v .
Vicko Alvarez: See tinyurl.com/3bpbsvpm .
26th Ward: Queer candidate Jessie Fuentes, a director at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, wants to capture the seat being vacated by outgoing Ald. Roberto Maldonado. Fuentes is running on a platform that includes addressing housing, public safety and mental-healthcare for 26th Ward constituents.
See tinyurl.com/bdeurt9u .
33rd Ward: Incumbent Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, a progressive City Council member who proudly wears a "socialist" label, introduced the Bodily Autonomy Sanctuary City Ordinance shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned. She narrowly beat incumbent Deb Mell in 2019.
See tinyurl.com/5n8dubfw .
35th Ward: Gay incumbent Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, running for a third term, said that he is especially interested in continuing to work on housing-affordability issues in his ward as well as contributing to a push for a "Treatment, Not Trauma" approach (spearheaded by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez) to the city's mental health crisis.
See tinyurl.com/4kdhwjwb .
43rd Ward: Incumbent Ald. Timmy Knudsen, who only took office this past fall, is in a competitive contest to hold on to his post. Knudsen, a corporate attorney, was named to replace outgoing Ald. Michelle Smith; Knudsen previously headed up the City's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Smith, however, has backed opponent Wendi Taylor Nations, who says Knudsen is too closely aligned with real estate interests. Knudsen maintains that he will bring a continuity to the office that was needed after Smith's abrupt departure last year, and maintains that ward residents are more concerned with crime prevention as well as rising property taxes.
See tinyurl.com/53sx5cbd .
44th Ward: Longtime Ald. Tom Tunney will be stepping down at the end of his term. Bennett Lawson, Tunney's chief of staff, immediately announced that he will be running to replace him. An initial opponent, Nathan Bean, was removed from the ballot so Lawson has been running unopposed.
See tinyurl.com/594dkupj .
48th Ward: With Ald. Don Osterman leaving office, queer Andersonville business owner and photographer Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth is running to fill his spot. Manaa-Hoppenworth said she is running to help preserve the character of the neighborhood as well as to help bring a more progressive agenda before the City Council. Candidate Larry Svabek, a University of Illinois instructor, is especially concerned with public safety and efforts to reform the police.
Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth: See tinyurl.com/4n52fv78 .
Larry Svabek: See tinyurl.com/bdeurt9u .
49th Ward: Among the challengers for incumbent Ald. Maria Hadden's seat on the City Council is Belia Rodriguez. Both candidates cite safety and housing as key issues. Hadden has said mental-health issues would also be a key concern for her going forward. Rodriguez said Hadden focuses more on "city-wide" issues and that she would focus more closely on the needs of residents instead.
Maria Hadden: See tinyurl.com/ybepjamd .
Belia Rodriguez: See tinyurl.com/4mumwc4z .
District Council for 19th Police District: Attorney and activist Sam Schoenburg is running for a position on the newly-created council. The function of the police councils, according to the City, is to "bring police officers and Chicago residents together to plan, prioritize, and build mutual trust; strengthen the police accountability system; give Chicagoans a meaningful new role in oversight; and explore and advance alternative effective approaches to public safety."
See tinyurl.com/6khwjmye .
Also, see our editorial "LGBTQ candidates are there as Chicago politics prepare to shift": tinyurl.com/2p9a7ysr .
