Ald. Matthew O'Shea (19) was an aide to former 19th Ward Ald. Virginia Rugai and has served in the City Council since 2011. O’Shea supported Jerry Joyce in the early stages of the 2019 mayoral election but supported now-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 runoff over Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, alongside other pro-police leaders who believed Lightfoot’s law enforcement background would make her tenure more attentive to the needs of first responders.

But O'Shea publicly slammed Lightfoot after the July 2021 murder of Officer Ella French, saying officers felt like city leaders “do not have their backs.” Many of the constituents in the 19^th ward are city employees.

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