20th Ward - 2023 Aldermanic Race
Jeanette Taylor - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20) was first elected in 2019, defeating eight other candidates to fill the 20th Ward City Council seat that had been vacant since former Ald. Willie Cochran resigned amid bribery and extortion charges. Taylor’s 2019 campaign centered on commitments to fight gentrification caused by the University of Chicago and the Obama Presidential Center and a promise to fight for an elected school board.
Taylor brought with her vast organizing experience as she had been involved in community organizing since she was 19 years old, first as a member of Mollison Elementary’s Local School Council. Taylor later organized with People United for Action and the United Working Families Party and participated in the 2015 Dyett High School Hunger Strike.
Jennifer Maddox - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Jennifer Maddox is making her second run for alderman of the 20th Ward after finishing in seventh place in the 2019 contest. Maddox is a retired Chicago Police officer who founded a nonprofit after-school and summer program called Future Ties which aims to tackle the root causes of violence and assist children affected by violence.
Andre Smith - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Andre Smith is making his fourth run for the 20th Ward aldermanic seat. In his last campaign in 2019, Smith finished in fifth place. Smith is a pastor and entrepreneur who founded the group Chicago Against Violence, In 2018, Smith’s campaign faced accusations of trying to buy petition signatures by offering people free turkeys for Thanksgiving and rumors existed about his campaign volunteers “bullying voters,” according to the Reader. But, the Reader further reported, Smith has been popular in his ward by taking on the jobs typically expected of the alderman’s office when service has been lacking, such as addressing potholes, organizing toy drives or interceding on residents’ behalf to contact ward staff.
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