Brian Hopkins - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate

Elected: 2015

Though he was elected to the Chicago City Council in 2015, Brian Hopkins has been working in politics virtually his entire career. Prior to his election to the City Council, Hopking  served for two decades as Cook County Commissioner John Daly’s chief of staff.

Hopkins made the run for alderman in 2015 after the 2nd ward was heavily redistricted in 2012 to oust then-alderman Robert Fioretti. He won the crowded race, defeating his runoff candidate with 56 percent of the vote. Hopkins’ time as alderman for the 2^nd ward has been defined by his pro-business and development stances. He approved the controversial Lincoln Yards plan, even as many of his critics and colleagues likened the project to corporate welfare. After he was reelected in 2019 unopposed despite resistance due to the Lincoln Yards project, he successfully blocked the Zoning Board of Appeals from allowing a marijuana dispensary to open in the Gold Coast.

Hopkins hasn’t been shy to criticize Mayor Lori Lightfoot. He spoke out heavily against her plan to open a casino at the Tribune Publishing site along the Chicago River and said he was “disappointed but not surprised,” of the mayor’s approval of the project. He also spoke out against Lightfoot’s plan to host a NASCAR race in the city, and said the mayor failed to consult any of the aldermen representing the downtown area where the race would take place.

 

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