Ald. Scott Waguespack (32) was first elected to the City Council in 2007 after defeating Theodore Matlakin in a runoff. Waguespack is a founding member of the City Council’s Progressive Reform Caucus and early in his career built a reputation as a proponent of good government in Chicago. The 32nd Ward alderman frequently made news during the Rahm Emanuel administration by butting heads with the former mayor over topics ranging from tax-increment financing to billboards.
Waguespack rode Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s successful election in 2019, moving from a staunch progressive council member to one of the mayor’s top allies and enforcers. As chair of the City Council’s Committee on Finance — one of the three most powerful committees — Waguespack plays a prominent role in council operations convening monthly meetings to regularly consider measures related to tax-increment finance agreements and police settlement payouts. Additionally, Waguespack has steered the committee toward environmental issues, such as a ban on the use of single-use plastics.
Waguespack is a proponent of aldermanic prerogative, a break from Lightfoot’s stance. Waguespack is running unopposed this year, just as he did in 2019.
Scott Waguespack - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Elected: 2019
Twitter: @MattMartinChi
Campaign Site: https://www.matt47.com/
Bio: A former civil rights lawyer with the Illinois Attorney General’s office, Matt Martin ran on a progressive platform of affordable housing, police oversight and TIF-reform efforts in 2019. Beyond his legal work, Martin served on his local school board at McPherson Elementary and co-founded the Heart of Lincoln Square Neighborhood Association. In 2019, he handily defeated opponent Michael Negron, who formerly worked as a policy advisor to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with 62 percent of the vote. He’s maintained his progressive stances, as he was one of more than 20 aldermen to vote against Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2021 pandemic budget as well as her $94 million property tax increase that year. Martin also voted against her 2020 budget and called it a step in the right direction, but not quite enough. More recently, Martin voted “no” on Lightfoot’s 2023 spending plan. Martin was one of several aldermen who pushed for the mayor to bring back the Department of Environment in the 2023 budget. Lightfoot instead included an Office of Climate and Environment Equity in her spending plan. Martin is currently the interim chair of the City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight.
Sources:
https://news.wttw.com/elections/voters-guide/2019/candidates/chicago-city-council/matt-martin
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04/02/47th-ward-matt-martin-vs-michael-negron/
Matt Martin - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Ald. Silvana Tabares (23) first joined the Chicago City Council in 2018 when she was appointed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Tabares won reelection in 2019 with a $500,000 war chest. During her first run for reelection, Tabares had the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union and throughout her time in office has emphasized the importance of involving Chicago Public Schools’ undocumented and immigrant parents in elections for a representative school board.
Tabares is one of several staunch pro-law enforcement aldermen, regularly introducing legislation to bolster resources and support for members of the Chicago Police Department. Tabares is a member of the City Council Latino Caucus, of which she serves in the role as vice chair.
The 23rd Ward alderman has used her position on the caucus to urge city officials to open additional employment and contracting opportunities to Chicago’s Latino population. During the fall of 2021, Tabares led an unsuccessful charge in the City Council to challenge the city's COVID-19 vaccination requirements for city employees. Mayor Lori Lightfoot rebuked Tabares’ campaign saying the aldermen was "carrying water" for the Fraternal Order of Police and its resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees.
Silvana Tabares - 2023 Aldermanic Candidates
Eddie Guillen is former Chief of Staff to state Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar (D-Chicago) of the 22nd District. A West Lawn resident, Guillen serves on Eberhart Elementary’s Local School Council as well as the board of the Children's Museum of Oak Lawn and on the Envision Community Services Events Committee, according to his campaign website. Guillen owns and operates an event lighting company which he founded and was among winners of NBC Chicago’s “Making A Difference” awards in 2020.
Eddie Guillen - 2023 Aldermanic Candidates
Ald. Felix Cardona, Jr. (31) is seeking a second term representing the 31st Ward after ousting incumbent former Ald. Milagros “Milly” Santiago in 2019. Cardona got his start working for former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios; first when Berrios was on the Cook County Board of Review and then later in the assessor’s office, as well as for Berrios-backed political campaigns, though Cardona has since distanced himself from Berrios.
Cardona is a member of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus and while on council supported the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance. Cardona has been the 31st Ward Democratic Committeeperson since 2020.
Felix Cardona - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Ald. Samantha Nugent (39) was first elected to the City Council in 2019. Before being elected alderman, Nugent worked for the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the British Consulate and former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Nugent earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and a Juris Doctor from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She has the backing of multiple labor groups and elected officials such as Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), City Clerk Anna Valencia and City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin.
Samantha Nugent - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Attorney Paul Struebing is a community advocate and organizer who serves as the vice president of the Edison Park Community Council. His experience includes serving as a community representative on the Ebinger Elementary School Local School Council and, according to his website, having “handled luggage at O’Hare, repaired bicycles and worked on countless job sites.”
Paul Struebing - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Elected: 2015
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was born and raised in Chicago and started as a community organizer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He later worked as a congressional caseworker for U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and as a Community Representative to the Avondale-Logandale Local School Council. The first openly gay Latino alderman elected to the City Council, Ramirez-Rosa was 26 –years old when he defeated Ald. Rey Colón with 67 percent of the vote – successfully avoiding a run-off. A Democratic Socialist, Ramirez-Rosa has championed causes including affordable housing and civilian oversight of the police department. He has been a vociferous critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, particularly in the early discussions of the civilian-led police oversight board. When Lightfoot went back on her promise to support the Grassroots Association for Police Accountability’s oversight plan, Ramirez-Rosa took to Twitter to critique her stance and “Mayor Lightfoot ran as an expert on police reform.
We should be able to assume that her decision to support civilian oversight wasn't made lightly.” He’s been a chief advocate on police accountability measures and pushed the expansion of Chicago’s ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance, which codified that undocumented residents are not prosecuted solely based on their immigration status. Lightfoot agreed to the issue after months of disputes. Ramirez-Rosa ran as Daniel Biss’s running mate for a whirlwind six days when Biss ran for governor.
He was eventually dropped from the ballot when Biss’s supporters learned that he supported the Boycott-Disinvest-Sanctions movement against Israel. Litesa Wallace quickly became Biss’s new lieutenant governor running mate. Ramirez-Rosa smoothly won his 2019 re-election and again avoided a run-off with 59 percent of the vote. He called his re-election “one of the most contentious in the history of our ward” in a letter to supporters. tweeted “Mayor Lightfoot ran as an expert on police reform.
We should be able to assume that her decision to support civilian oversight wasn't made lightly.” Ramirez-Rosa pushed the expansion of Chicago’s ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance, which codified that undocumented residents are not prosecuted solely based on their immigration status.Ramirez-Rosa smoothly won his 2019 reelection and again avoided a run-off with 59 percent of the vote. He called his reelection “one of the most contentious in the history of our ward” in a letter to supporters.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Mueze Bawany is a progressive educator running for alderman in the 50th Ward. Bawany is currently the chair of the Chicago Teachers Union’s Housing committee and has worked as a public school teacher himself, as well as a CTU organizer and bargaining team member. Bawany is the son of a Pakistani taxi driver and grew up in West Ridge. He attended Northeastern Illinois University.
Meuze Bawany - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50) has served on the City Council since 2011. In 2020, Silverstein ran for the 50th Ward Democratic Committeeperson post vacated by her husband, state Sen. Ira Silverstein, and defeated independent organizer Halle Quezada to become committeeperson. More recently during her time in office, Silverstein has secured millions of dollars for investments in schools, parks and a new streetscape on Devon Avenue.
Debra Silverstein - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
A lifelong Little Village resident, Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22) jumped into the Chicago political scene through his work with community organizations like local nonprofit Enlace Chicago, where he served as executive director. In 2012, former President Barack Obama named Rodriguez one of 12 ‘Champions of Change’ in Youth Violence Prevention for his work with the nonprofit. Beyond his work in the nonprofit sphere, Rodriguez also worked as the executive officer at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, where he oversaw legislation, budget and human resources.
He’s built his campaign around standing up for working families and protecting the environment. After Hilco Redevelopment Partners’ botched demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant in April 2020, Rodriguez proposed an ordinance that would prevent so-called “bad actors” and developers whose projects have negative impacts on citizens’ health from collecting property tax incentives. The City Council passed the measure unanimously.
Rodriguez has since passed a measure calling on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to release the full watchdog report on the botched 2020 demolition. The measure is non-binding, but he has spearheaded the calls for Lightfoot’s administration to release the full findings.
Michael Rodriguez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidates
Neftalie Gonzalez is a former Chicago Police officer who in 2017 founded the nonprofit “Opportunity-Oportunidad,” which is focused on mentorship and employment placement assistance. Gonzalez is also the owner of the Mundo Musical event venue, according to a candidate questionnaire published by WTTW during his 2019 run for the 22nd Ward.
Neftalie Gonzalez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidates
Little Village Community Council youth organizer Kristian Armendariz has previously worked as a civil engineer for Habitat for Humanity Chicago. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in construction management. Armendariz helped start a group called Mothers & Families United For Justice, which supports people who have lost loved ones to gun violence, according to his campaign website.
Kristian Armendariz - 2023 Aldermanic Candidates
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.
Jeanette Taylor - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) was first elected to the City Council in 2019. Originally from Ecuador, Sigcho-Lopez attended college in Tennessee before moving to Chicago. Sigcho-Lopez has experience as a community organizer and has continued to attend protests even while on the council. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has been the executive director of the Pilsen Alliance. While on the City Council, he helped found the Democratic Socialist Caucus.
Byron Sigcho-Lopez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Andre Vasquez Jr. was a political novice prior to the 2016 elections, when he began organizing for Bernie Sanders after meeting him at a campaign event. He canvassed for Sanders and went on to become the chair of the Reclaim Chicago North Chapter, where he campaigned and held community events for both Daniel Biss and state Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago).
Prior to serving on the City Council, Vasquez was a battle rapper and worked as an AT&T statewide area manager. In the 2019 election, he challenged former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s floor leader and longtime incumbent Patrick O’Connor. Vasquez campaigned on overhauling the practice of aldermanic prerogative and democratizing the development process. “[A]ldermen need to stop looking at their wards like fiefdoms,” Vasquez said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.
Andre Vasquez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Attorney Christian Blume is a Lincoln Square resident who attended law school at University of Illinois-Chicago. While in law school, Blume was in the Environmental Law Society and was managing editor of The John Marshall Law Review. Blume said he has provided pro-bono legal services to people dealing with mortgage foreclosures through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and helped first responders through the Chicago Bar Association Wills for Heroes program. Though a private practice lawyer now, Blume was previously an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago.
Christian Blume - 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.