36th Ward - 2023 Aldermanic Race
Lori Torres Whitt - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Lori Torres has served as a member of Chicago Teachers Union Executive Board and has 23 years of teaching experience with Chicago Public Schools, according to her website. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Torres has appeared in news coverage promoting vaccine access for teachers before returning to the classroom and advocated for the ability to continue remote work. Torres has the CTU’s backing in the 36th Ward race, as well as endorsements from United Working Families, Cook County College Teachers Union and Grassroots Illinois Action. She has also secured endorsements from U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill) state Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) and state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago).
David Herrera - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
David Herrera is a developer and former 26th Ward aldermanic candidate now competing in the recently remapped 36th Ward. Herrera challenged Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) in 2019 but was unsuccessful, coming in third behind Theresa Siaw and the 26th Ward alderman. Herrera has been involved with notable developments, such as a co-living startup apartment building in Ukrainian Village and a proposed Latin concert hall and supper club in Humboldt Park which has failed to come to fruition, according to Block Club Chicago.
Gilbert Villegas - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Elected: 2015
An active leader in the Chicago Latino community, Gilbert Villegas grew up on the North Side of Chicago and served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He was honorably discharged after four years of service in the military and went on to work for the Illinois Capital Development Board, the state government’s construction management agency.
He then helped manage the campaign of Cook County Comm. Stanley Moore (D-4) while working for the Illinois Department of Transportation, and later lobbied for the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association. After incumbent Ald. Nicholas Sposato was redistricted out of his post into the 38th ward, Villegas tossed his hat in the ring. Villegas ran his first campaign for alderman on uplifting minority and low-income communities through business development and progressive tax policies.
Villegas won his 2019 re-election unopposed. He maintained his focus on economic and workforce development throughout his first and second term as the 36th ward’s alderman, in which he particularly emphasized expanding opportunities for minorities and veterans.
He’s been a sporadic critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, particularly when Lightfoot did not support the early plans for a universal basic income.
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