Talk Elections

Former Chicago Police Superintendent McCarthy will challenge his former boss Rahm Emanuel in 2019

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/ex-top-cop-garry-mccarthy-officially-jumps-into-race-against-mayor-rahm-emanuel/  

Endorsed!!!

Will there be anyone non-terrible running?

And btw, who exactly votes for Rahm? Like no one likes him.

Maybe Michelle Obama runs?

She's the last person who'd run for mayor of Chicago.

Ummmmm..... hopefully someone who doesn't toil in covering up state-sanctioned murders enters soon.

Last time, he won all predominately white areas of the city by large margins and also won pretty much all predominately black areas of the city by smaller margins. We'll see how it plays out this time.

As for a non-terrible, I'd love it if Pawar won, but there haven't been many rumblings. Brudget Gainer is also considering a run, and I would definitely support her. Same with Lori Lightfoot.

Pawar, Rosa, Preckwinkle if she wants it, Lewis if she's up to it.

Paul Vallas is also running, but he's firmly in the terrible camp.

^^^^

This is 1) a good pun and 2) clearly what Pawar exited the Gov race for

It's on

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-rahm-emanuel-garry-mccarthy-video-20180322-story.html

Machine voters? but i cant see why anyone would support him for a third term.

Chicago democrats always end up voting as they're told, Emanuel will win easily

Literally even Obama would lose to Rahm Machineuel.

Rahm isn't even that machine.  City workers were some of his worst people in the last election.

McCarthy is, bizarrely, trying to tack left -- promising to reverse school closings by redistributing funding away from the North Side, showing up at the March for Our Lives, talking about creating a more progressive tax structure.

I read a few things about Chicago's political machine - is it still that strong? How it relates to Emanuel as of 2018?

No, not at all. The old-school, "don't want nobody that nobody sent" machine died with Washington's victory in the Council Wars back in the mid-80s. There is still an influential Regular Democratic Organization, but it's less united and far less powerful than the old machine.

This is correct. I think that had Emmanuel's last election been held in today's environment he would have not won.

Not that bizarre. Emanuel is well-known for his neolibness in these parts and anyone who will beat him has to run to his left. This can be done even while maintaining an anti-crime platform.

Vote for McCarthy

Right. I'd vote Rahm over that guy, and Rahm is one of the worst Dems in the country.

He knows the north side is Rahm's base, but there's enough voters in the rest of the city to overpower them.

What's bizarre is that northsiders (in Illinois, we don't use the term "limousine liberal", instead preferring "lakefront liberal") are easily the most liberal voters in the whole city. The remainder of Chicago doesn't care about having a progressive tax or gun control. I guess they do care about losing all those schools, though.

The lakefront liberal of today is very different from the lakefront liberal of 30 years ago. When the wallet is threatened, the bleeding hearts begin to clot. I say this as a liberal living on the lakefront and friend to many people like this.

However, this time around, I also don't expect Rahm to see the same level of astronomical success that he saw in the lakefront wards in 2015.

Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown is in:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-rahm-emanuel-dorothy-brown-20180419-story.html

She's uh... interesting.  A total trainwreck who has no business being in elected office, and uses the Clerk's office purely to enrich herself and her family/friends.  In other words, she probably has a great shot if she's not behind bars at that point!

Further literature on the esteemed Clerk.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-dorothy-brown-mayor-election-20180419-story,amp.html

I'll vote for pretty much anyone else.

Also, just to clarify, she is the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Orr is the clerk.

The Jason Van Dyke (Laquan McDonald) trial is tentatively set to begin sometime this summer.  This is setting up to be very bad timing for Rahmbo.  Depending on when it wraps up, there's a good chance it will be fresh in the minds of many people.  Nobody wants to talk about it out loud either, but there's an outside chance that Van Dyke won't be going back to jail (rightly or wrongly).  If that happens, its lights out for Rahm.

I wonder if that will creat any sort of opening for Black Lives Matter activist Ja'Mal Green.

Probably not; DeRay Mckesson was a thousand times more visible than Green and he got only like 4% in the primary.

Chicago Police Board President and Police Accountability Task Force Chair Lori Lightfoot will run for mayor.

http://abc7chicago.com/politics/lori-lightfoot-running-for-chicago-mayor/3454996/

I predict that she will try to re-assemble the Harold Washington coalition of the African-American community and progressive white lakefront neighborhoods, particularly Lakeview, Uptown, and Edgewater, which have large LGBT populations (she is openly gay). Of course, those north side lakefront wards were some of Rahm's best areas last time around (save Lincoln Park and the near north side).  

She has my support initially, though I am interested in hearing more of her specific policy ideas.

This makes the field (bolded candidates that I think have a chance to compete):

Rahm Emanuel (I)
Dorothy Brown
Ja'Mal Green
Troy LaRaviere
Lori Lightfoot
John Kolzar
Garry McCarthy
Neal Sales-Griffin
Paul Vallas
Willie Wilson

Disagree that Brown's competitive -- I think a large part of this bid is raising money for legal fees.

None of these candidates seem that great

JaMal or bust.

I think Lightfoot is a pretty great candidate

I've done zero research into the race as I live in Cook, not Chicago, but I bet any of these candidates would be better than Rahm.

Richard Daley’s corpse would be better than Rahm.

All these candidates suck. I'm gonna have to vote for Rahm again

At least whatever Daley was behind the scenes actually being Mayor would be more efficient.

Lightfoot!

Can you just not vote my boi

Literally anyone but Rahm.

That's why patrons are pulling a mass exodus out of and into suburbs

there is no shortage of patrón in chicago

Republicans are dead in Illinois. They should just abandon ship and let the state get fixed (focus your resources on hillbilly Iowa or something).

You got that right

Well, to be honest, Republicans are dead in C(r)ook, DuPage and possibly Will and McHenry counties.

When you get south of Interstate 80, it's predominantly 70/30 GOP and that's just based on partisan voter registrations. With automatic voter registration having kicked off last week, it's more like 50/35/15 with the majority of those automatic registrations being nonpartisan/independent.

All I can hope for is the death of the two-party system in Illinois.

Who cares? You need 2/3 of: urban, suburban, rural in IL. Dems have 2/3 for the foreseeable future, and the GOP might not even be able to hold rural areas like IL-13 and IL-12 this year.

Like I've said, Illinois democrats are zombies and will vote as they're told, Rahm will win

https://twitter.com/maxwelltani/status/1019800097205473282

Chano for Mayor, y'all.

He's going to do a great job with this. I'll be a regular reader.

Big things going in Chicago over the last 5-10 years. We're no longer the machine city.

I mean hey maybe Chance the mayor will be better at being in government than he was in the music industry. Could be!

McCarthy actually has a better shot than I originally thought at making the run-off, mostly thanks to how pathetic every other candidate is.  In fact, I would say right now he’s the favorite for the second spot - very exciting!

That's a high bar to clear

McCarthy offers support for the #NoCopAcademy movement, what a weird city we live in

People's Pat Quinn has filed petition signatures to force a binding referendum on mayoral term limits in Chicago on the November ballot.

It will no doubt face a myriad of legal challenges as the mayor and his allies attempt to save their careers.

I'm not usually big on term limits because I think that if a population wants to keep their rep, they should be able to. In this case, however, I will be a strong YES. Our politicians here are too good at playing the game and it works to our city's detriment.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/pat-quinn-file-85000-signatures-mayoral-term-limits-referendum-1019-mayoral-election-rahm-emanuel/

There’s a strong argument for executive term limits

Rahm Emanuel will end re-election campaign

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/embattled-chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-seeking-election/story?id=57594619

An interesting race just got that much more interesting.

I'd like to see Michelle Obama run, but that doesn't seem likely.

Betcha Guiterrez and maybe Daley jump in

I wonder how bad Dorothy Brown will get against McCarthy

Preckwinkle has launched an exploratory committee

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-mayors-race-toni-preckiwnkle/

I'd be all over this. She'd be a great mayor.

Quigley is considering a run

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/us-rep-quigley-congress-may-run-mayor-chicago-2019-election-rahm-emanuel/

Orr will not run

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/kurt-summers-mayors-race/

McCarthy is still leading in polls, there was a poll just released today that showed him leading (look it up).

He has been endorsed by Rudy Giuliani (Due to his 911 service).

He will continue to be the frontrunner if Preckwinkle doesn't run.

Extremely impressive to post three sentences and have two of them be flat-out wrong.

Raba Research (MoE ±4)
Gutiérrez: 21%
McCarthy: 18%
Preckwinkle: 16%
Lightfoot: 10%
Vallas: 10%
Summers: 4%

Extremely doubtful, especially since she's down back as CTU head.

Gutierrez is out and has endorsed Chuy. Chuy is not yet officially in, but he met with Gutierrez and Munoz last week, so draw your own conclusions.

So he's running for Congress, but also running for Mayor?

How dare Raba Research not include Dorothy Brown S
S means Sarcasm

Yes, as Harold Washington did in '82. Not without precedent — especially likely as Chuy can now present it as being drafted to run for Mayor, rather than doing so out of ambition.

Should probably have a conversation about how Van Dyke is gonna get acquitted

https://twitter.com/jmetr22b/status/1040000432985255937
https://twitter.com/ChipMitchell1/status/1039925537253281793

Chuy wins big. I really fail to see where McGarthy's base is outside of Mt Greenwood and the far northwest side.

Hopefully Luis will run

He will not. Literally seven posts up.

Daley is IN, lmao. announcement on monday

He's pretty much a lock to win, isn't he?

He's a lock to make the runoff, I'd think — he'll get the lion's share of the money. Winning a runoff is more difficult, but still more likely than not at this point.

Called it

Yesss so happy to see my favorite political family making a comeback.  Chicago needs the Daleys.  We love you!

I would think that for Bill to jump in he knows Obama will endorse him.  If that’s the case, game over.

That's a pretty dumb thing to do.


No. No it doesn't.

Why?

It just looks like he's just running to get elected to something and can't commit to the job he has or is running for.

I get that he technically did want to be Mayor of Chicago first, but already planning to leave the office he will win before the election even happens for another office does not reflect well.

I don't see why anyone will care -- he's already been elected Congressman, Mayor's an obvious step up & he's probably better-situated than anyone on the left to make that jump.

Again, it's more about commitment to the job. Abandoning the job before it's begun is a stupid play in politics, but you're right that no one will care. It's a sad truth.

Preckwinkle and Garcia will announce their runs this week

https://abc7chicago.com/politics/bill-daley-joins-mayors-race;-preckwinkle-and-garcia-to-make-announcements-this-week/4268104/

This is shaping up to be a really stacked field.

Early on, I have to favor Preckwinkle, and I think she has a path to victory given her popularity among the black community and north side whites.

Garcia better drop out of the congressional race.

Does Garcia have to forfeit his congressional seat to run? Or is it only if he wins?

I'm preemptively rooting for Preckwinkle though.

Holy crap, it's been two weeks and it's already hitting the fan.

Can I get a list of top 5 frontrunners?

Preckwinkle, Daley, Chuy are your top 3 at the moment. Lord knows about the rest, get back to me in a week or so once some of the dust settles. Probably Vallas and McCarthy at this point, but lord knows -- Mendoza, for example, could flip this race upside down if she gets in.

For instance, Gery Chico is now in. Rumor says he has as much as $1.5m lined up

notably, this means there is now a Garry, a Jerry, and a Gery in the race

Mayor's a step up from Congress, however, Garcia will probably lose to Daley. Why risk a guarantee to run a second underdog mayoral race? Especially knowing that Congress gives him a better shot at a job outside of Illinois since there's a long line of people who want to run statewide. Thirdly, Whenever anything bad happens in Chicago, he'll be the fall guy. Feels dumb to choose to do this ridiculous, "follow your dreams" thing instead of a rational, safe endeavor.

You're not "risking a guarantee." He will only resign the Congressional seat if he wins. If not, he just stays in Congress.

I was operating under the assumption he would drop out of the house race when/if he announced.

Preckwinkle announces run for mayor

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/09/20/preckwinkle-mayor-race-chicago/

Announcing from the same spot as Harold Washington, she hopes to reassemble his coalition of African Americans and white liberals.

She announces amid news that her now former Chief of Staff has resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Analysis of Periwinkle by Jacobinmag
https://jacobinmag.com/2018/09/toni-preckwinkle-chicago-mayor-cook-county
Well she seems like a much better candidate than Emmanuel and the machine backed candidates, but who has a cleaner record.

Chance The Rapper might be running

https://twitter.com/chancetherapper/status/1051939053132795917

I hate this timeline.

I heard from a friend in Chicago that petitions are circulating for Mendoza, even though she's not publicly running right now.

Hell yeah! Endorsed!

Sources say Chance not running, will endorse a candidate in press conference (not Preckwinkle)

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/tweet-chance-the-rapper-mayor-chicago-2019-election-somewhere-paradise/

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/10/16/chance-the-rapper-amara-enyia-chicago-mayor-race-2019/

Chance endorsed Amara Enyia. Would have loved to see him run himself just for the hell of it, but this is probably better.

Powerful longtime alderman Ed Burke (think Council Wars) had his city hall & ward offices raided by the FBI yesterday.  He is already facing a potenitally competitive election in Feb.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ed-burke-fbi-federal-agents-city-hall-council/

Hope they put him in cuffs. We all know he has done plenty to warrant it over his tenure.

Big update:

Ed Burke has now been charged by the Feds!
Ald. Ed Burke charged in attempted extortion of Burger King
(https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-alderman-ed-burke-federal-court-case/)

The extortion apparently entailed Burger King being forced to use his law form for their property tax assessment if they wanted to get the required permits for the renovation at that location.

The complaint also alleges Burke pressured "the company to make a donation to the campaign of an unnamed politician. One company official gave $10,000 to the unnamed politician but that was eventually reduced to the legal limit of $5,600."

The Tribune reports that the unamed politican is, in fact, Toni Preckwinkle (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-ed-burke-charged-chicago-mayors-race-20190103-story.html)
Oh boy. Oooh boy. This is all so juicy.

There's no reason to believe she knew anything about the donation, much less how it was obtained, but this is a terrible look for her nonetheless. One could say she shouldn't have been allied with Burke in the first place, though that approach could've made it so she didn't have a career at all.

Of course, it is all speculation, but Lightfoot's theory that there had to be a quid pro quo here is plausible as well. I guess we'll find out in time.

Politics in this city are poisoned until all of the Burke types are gone.

Hopefully the news re: Preckwinkle doesn't completely overshadow the fact that Mendoza and Chico have also been closely allied with Burke. Ironically, Daley is probably clean here, as the Daleys have always had a rocky relationship with Burke (even though M nominated him to his current post).

Amid Burke scandal, Preckwinkle drops $750k ad buy touting role in exposing Laquan McDonald shooting

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/preckwinkle-turn-page-burke-scandal-laquan-mcdonald-ad-mayors-race/

who is the republican or closest to a republican in this race.

Can anyone provide a sort-of rundown on the candidates and their positions or attributes or anything else that makes them stand out?

Its just too confusing for me :p

Daley, honestly. Welcome to Chicago.

Also McCarthy.

Kind of. Certainly on police issues, but on all other issues he has generally taken progressive stances.

I think Obama if they endorse I think they would endorse Prickenwitle as she was the one who started his political career in 96 even though they had a rift or else he would vote Meldoza

I think there is a decent chance he does not endorse, but if he does, I expect him to endorse Preckwinkle. Despite the rift, Obama endorsed her for re-election in 2018.

Obama and Mendoza don't have any sort of history.

or maybe Daley if Preckwinkle didn't run

Yes, certainly. In fact, he may wait until a runoff to endorse Preckwinkle to avoid snubbing Daley (assuming the runoff if not Preckwinkle vs Daley).

You guys are spelling Willie Wilson wrong

the "Republican" in the race is not Daley, and certainly not Wilson. Daley stands for the interests of the city's wealthy elite, but that's not synonymous with Republicans, especially in Chicago -- it's more or less a lot of the same people who backed Rahm. The candidates who are actively attempting to court Republicans (appearing at GOP events, targeting GOP voters, etc) are Joyce, Fioretti, Kozlar, McCarthy and Vallas, the latter two of whom are the most serious. Vallas, hilariously, showed up at my college's College Republicans meeting, and recently received the endorsement of Bruce Rauner. McCarthy, meanwhile, is pursuing the votes of every cop in the city

if you're a Republican in Chicago, you're probably voting for McCarthy if you're one of the northwest side Republicans, and Vallas if you're one of the rich Republicans who wants to privatize every function of city government. Also a decent chance of voting for Joyce or Kozlar, depending on neighborhood ties (southwest side for the former, Canaryville for the latter). No idea who's voting for Fioretti, but someone is lmao

Thanks for all the info! What about the opposite? Who are the Progressives and liberals in this race?

Preckwinkle, Lightfoot & Enyia have been the most active in courting the city's "progressive" faction. Preckwinkle is probably the most "traditional"/establishment of the bunch, currently serving as the Chair of the Cook County Democratic Party -- she's won most of the unions & major institutional endorsements. Lightfoot has a few progressive and LGBT groups, and is a favorite of liberal/'good government' folks. Enyia has a youth-based strategy -- her biggest endorsement has come from Chance the Rapper.

Lightfoot is probably my preferred candidate overall, but I'll only vote for her if Preckwinkle seems guaranteed one of the runoff spots -- if there's any real potential of a Mendoza-Daley runoff, I'll vote for Preckwinkle.

I was speaking more so in terms of preferred policy as opposed to courting actual Republicans. Going to Republican events etc is a waste of time in this city - they do not represent a serious voting bloc. On the other hand, there are candidates whose policies are more conservative than others. Daley has openly said he wants to amend the IL Constitution to make it so the state can go back and reduce the pensions of those who have already worked. He stated that he did not favor a progressive income tax in Illinois (Vallas says he does, Fioretti and McCarthy also say no).

I'm taking the same approach at this point. The ironic point is that Lightfoot could be a factor in forcing Preckwinkle out of the runoff. She is aiming for the same coalition that Preckwinkle is - the Harold Washington coalition of African Americans plus white reformist liberals on the north side. Mendoza is shooting for a coalition of Latino residents plus WWC workers on the far NW and SW sides. Daley hopes to peel off enough of the north side whites + Latinos (his brother's coalition).

What do you mean "certainly not Wilson"? Rauner praised Wilson on multiple occasions. Also, Rauner did not only endorse Vallas. He said he thought Vallas or Wilson would make the best Mayor. Whether or not Wilson is actively courting Republicans, he's certainly a candidate that appeals to Republicans.

Also, re:your next comment, Eniya is a complete non factor who will finish like 12th, and I would certainly add Mendoza is a progressive liberal.

No, she is certainly not. She has fallen in line with Madigan and the rest of the machine every step of the way. She cites Madigan and Ed Burke as her mentors. She is no reformist nor progressive.

What kind of metric is that? You don't necessarily have to be a reformist to be a progressive or liberal. Preckwinkle, for example, is also a machine politician... and is far more dependent on her machine ties than Mendoza (Mendoza actually has a strong personal brand at this point. Without her machine ties Preckwinkle would have no hope of making the runoff.)

There's a difference between being a conservative, which Wilson is, and being a Republican in the particular sense of today's Republican Party, which is what I assumed the poster was asking about. Wilson specifically has embraced an odd blend of generally "pro-business" policies that appeal to conservatives (a property tax freeze, for instance) with policies that are anathema to everything the GOP stands for (sanctuary city, ending police brutality, free CTA for seniors). It's correct to understand him as one of the more conservative candidates among the members of the field, but it's very odd to call him a Republican (a lot of this also applies to Daley, for that matter).

She's fourth in the most recent polling.

No

Well, I don't think any major candidate is a "normal" Republican. If we're talking about candidates above asterisk level that Republicans might support, Wilson is definitely up there.

Edit: I mean, Vallas, who you listed, was literally Pat Quinn's running mate in 2014.


Could you link me the poll? The best poll I've seen for Eniya was the recent CTU poll that had her at 7%, behind Preckwinkle, Mendoza, Daley, and McCarthy. And I expect her to fall, not rise, during the campaign because she has no money and barely any campaign infrastructure.


I can't imagine thinking Mendoza is to the right of, say, Preckwinkle. Could you expand on your thoughts here?

Preckwinkle actually has a record of progressive opposition. As alderman, she voted many times against Daley's budgets. One time, she was the only one to do so. As Board President, she has made significant investments in criminal justice reform and restorative justice/recidivism reduction programs. She has a strong record on affordable housing. She opposed the parking meter deal. She pushed for weed decriminalization. She opposed Rahm on the school closings.

Preckwinkle has certainly made friends with certain individuals in order to avoid conflict with those individuals, but that is trumped by her progressive record. What is Mendoza's progressive record?

Well, she supported moving to a progressive income tax system and raising the minimum wage. Opposing Madigan is just political suicide, especially if you're a state representative.

I want to be clear I'm not against Preckwinkle or disagreeing that she's a solid progressive. I just can't see her as being that different on the issues from Mendoza, and I really can't see her being more of an outsider.

Preckwinkle favors the progressive income tax and has been calling for a $15 minimum wage for some time.

I think you're off base here. Preckwinkle is considered to be more progressive than Mendoza.

Also, to circle back to the earlier point, it is very difficult to be considered a progressive if you're tied up with the machine. Ironically, Preckwinkle is probably the best example of it. Mendoza is more tied up than anyone else (save maybe Chico) - she got married at Ed Burke's house, for cryin out loud. We're not just talking about national political issues here. Locally, reform is part of the progressive platform.

https://twitter.com/BeachwoodReport/status/1085228208692387840
This is the Willie Wilson experience. His politics are esoteric in a way that positions him as "conservative" but which certainly does not appeal him to the Republicans who actually vote in these things -- I expect his vote patterns will have very little statistical relationship w/ Trump or Rauner's percentage.

All of these people are Democrats, it's true, but the part of the story you're missing is the fury the Vallas pick generated -- he is and has always been a privatizer.

I'm referring to the CTU poll, in which she was tied for fourth with McCarthy. Not sure why you'd expect her to fall -- she's at 7% with no money, and the news cycle since that CTU poll has been, uh, less than favorable for the people above her.

Mendoza is Madigan's candidate and is significantly to the right of Preckwinkle as a result.

A new Sun Times/We Ask America poll shows Preckwinkle narrowly leading the pack ahead of Daley with a large share of respondents still undecided.

However, in head to head match ups against Mendoza and Daley, Preckwinkle loses both.

https://www.scribd.com/document/398217562/Sun-Times-Chicago-Mayoral-Jan-2019-Draft

voted for Lightfoot

Glad to see the good people of Chicago coming back to their loving overlords, the Daleys 🥰

And Ameya? :)

And Ameya!

Highly respected and beloved Congressman Bobby Rush has endorsed Daley.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-bobby-rush-endorses-bill-daley-20190131-story.html (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-bobby-rush-endorses-bill-daley-20190131-story.html)

Co-founder of Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party endorses son of man who murdered Fred Hampton

Laura Ricketts backs Mendoza, to co-chair campaign despite brother's financial support of Daley

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-laura-ricketts-susana-mendoza-20190131-story.html

I don't get it. I really do not see the appeal of Mendoza.

I wouldn’t be excited about any of the candidates but I guess I would vote for Daley.

Lets go Gary!

Preckwrinkle will be the next mayor, her time as County Commissioner was a reformed effort that ended the Stroger corruption. She will root out corruption in Chicago.

why? are you a real estate developer?

I really want to think that, but why did she endorse Berrios? Why did she cuddle up to Burke?

The Sun Times endorses Lori Lightfoot

https://bit.ly/2TF5Asf

She still probably has no chance, but I love it anyway.

Republican mega-donor drops big money on Daley

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-ken-griffin-bill-dailey-donation-20190212-story.html

Chicago Tribune endorses Daley.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-chicago-mayor-endorse-20190210-story.html

Only a Daley can fix Chicago.

as if we needed two more reasons to vote for anyone but Daley

I like Amara, but I don't want an expanded sales tax (regressive) or a city income tax.

Lightfoot, Enyia, and Preckwinkle are my top three, but Lightfoot aligns with me on essentially every issue.

Just another year of getting it wrong. I'm sure they were disappointed Gary Johnson couldn't run for mayor.

Idk what this means. The last Daley got us into the position we are now financially.

It is tough to gauge how it is going to shake out on election night given that polling is non-existent. Conyears-Ervin has gotten a lot of labor support. Pawar has the support of some labor and a lot of local progressive congresspeople - Chuy, Gutierrez, Quigley, etc. Pawar got the papers' endorsements as well if they mean anything.

Fingers crossed. Ameya could do so much good if he wins, but Chicagoans rarely make the right choice, so I won't be optimistic until I see he has won.

not thrilled w/ either option, but Amara has a background that makes it difficult for me to trust her to follow through on any lefty policy priorities -- her work history is Daley, a pro-charter group, and a chamber of commerce (obvs the Austin CoC is not as bad as most, but still a business group). add that background to a general pattern of duplicitousness (taxes, Ironman, possibly impersonating an attorney) and a willingness to partner w/ actors like Dorothy Brown and Kanye and it's difficult for me to feel comfortable voting for her.

that leaves us w/ two lefty candidates, and I think Lightfoot's flaws (bad record on policing) aren't quite as bad as Preckwinkle's (Burke ties, Berrios endorsement, support for regressive taxes + HQ2). I'll end up voting for Preckwinkle (or either of the other two) in the runoff, if we should be so fortunate as to get the opportunity. Still convinced it ends up Daley-Wilson or something equally bad.

Preckwrinkle I like because she has the Daley coalition with Blacks

NBC Poll:

Preckwinkle 14%

Daley 13%

Mendoza 12%

Lightfoot 10%

Chico 9%

Enyia 7%

Undecided 19%

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/nbc-5-telemundo-chicago-mayor-race-poll-505857991.html

Good lord this is going down to the wire, what are the chances Lightfoot gets in?

It's Chicago, so we will probably end up with a Daley-Chico match up or some garbage like that

The firefighters union joined FOP in endorsing Ed Burke in the 14th, despite his pending extortion indictment.

You just can't make the stuff up.

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/52087561_347443129315490_2334158332731850752_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=59b8638984ee255eb9790fd31f376e38&oe=5CF613F0

I listened to Lori Lightfoot yesterday - she is really convincing.  Very intelligent.  Toni is so unlikeable.   I think if LLF got into a runoff she would have a real chance at winning againt any candidate.  Too bad she's anti-police!

lol, she's taken a good amount of flak from the left for being too pro-police

Lightfoot picks up endorsements of Rep. Robin Kelly, David Orr, and Dick Simpson

https://abc7chicago.com/politics/lori-lighfoot-picks-up-endorsements-in-week-before-mayoral-election-/5147724/

I try not to get my hopes up, but it never works

Come on Lori!

I hope its a Preckwickle/Mendoza or Preckwickle/Lightfoot runoff.

I've gotten like 6 separate texts from the Vallas campaign today. Obviously Vallas is on track to win with such committed support.

How about hoping it's Lightfoot/Mendoza instead of having Preckwinkle in? :P

I'd rather the person that got married at Ed Burke's house be eliminated ASAP

Willie Wilson was endorsed by the Cook County GOP.

Still think he's not going to get the most Republican support, sjoyce? ;)

Amara is a reformist, but you don’t really expect leftists to vote for a Chamber of Commerce local leader?

Preckwinkle cuts ties with top aide after Facebook post comparing Lightfoot to nazis

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/toni-preckwinkle-top-aide-scott-cisek-nazi-facebook-post-506208851.html

Yes? the Cook County GOP is mostly run by cranks, not sure why you think they matter

My favorite thing about the endorsement being reported in the news is that many people were genuinely surprised to hear that a Cook County GOP exists.

Joyce volunteers were handing out literature to mass goers following this evening's service (which I found distasteful) and a lot of folks in the crowd were expressing support. Interesting, considering that I don't live on the far NW/SW sides, though I do know Joyce is a Catholic, which could be it.

Oddly, Willie Wilson was also endorsed by Progressive Caucus and DSA member Congressman Danny K. Davis. To someone out of the loop, can someone tell me what’s Willie Wilson’s platform for mayor? Because all of these contradictory endorsements along with no ad presence makes it very confusing to know the appeal and niche one has to be polling 10%.

He doesn't have a coherant platform which is why he's able to appeal to so many random people.  I don't think a lot of Republicans that support him are serious, they just think it would be funny if he won.  He's not a bright bulb.

The Cook County GOP exists because of people like Napolitano and McAuliffe, who represent the white ethnic Chicagoans---the types that elected Trump.

It seems that a city/urban Republican Party has to work in a coalition/fusion line with Democrats to win citywide since the national GOP brand is toxic in the cities.

Who is the most liberal candidate?

Who is the most conservative candidate?

Final poll:

Lightfoot 14%

Daley 14%

Preckwinkle 14%

Mendoza 9%

Chico 9%

Wilson 9%

Joyce 8%

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000169-236e-dd5d-a5eb-7beeb54f0000

White voters prefer Lightfoot, Daley, and Joyce. Black voters prefer Preckwinkle and Lightfoot. Latinx voters prefer Chico, Mendoza, and Daley.

Male voters like Lightfoot and Daley. Female voters like Preckwinkle and Daley.

Lightfoot wins any runoff according to the poll. Daley beats Preckwinkle.

Its crazy that the 1st and 7th candidates in that poll are only separated by 6%. Chicago should really have Ranked Choice Voting or something comparable.

Why isn't McCarthy doing well in the polls?

there are reasons, but explaining them would shatter your entire worldview, so

No, it won't. Explain to me. Please.

Chicagoans won’t vote for someone part of an organization that tries to hide the murder of young black men. That’s part of the reason why Rahm Emmanuel declined to go another term.

Okay I'm not sure about this at all, how is Lightfoot "surging" in the last few days?

It's mostly driven by the fact that she's surging -- there's a feedback loop here. I think most of the voters I know are/were reluctant Preckwinkle voters, unhappy w/ her dealings with Burke but considering her the only acceptable option among the frontrunners. Now that Lightfoot seems like she also has a shot at the runoff, no reason to hold your nose for Preckwinkle. The S-T endorsement really kicked it off, but the 'progressive establishment' endorsements (Waguespack, Kelly) and the good polls have built on that momentum.


I think he might sneak into a runoff -- he's got a decent field operation and strong support in a lot of high-turnout wards. Weather tomorrow's gonna be nasty, which probably helps him too.

Well, whatever happens, I just don't want Preckwinkle in the runoff.  Lightfoot seems good to me based off her website, so go her!

I think what hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is that Lightfoot is also surging in the black community. I think that a lot of the folks you reference are north side white liberals, but I think Preckwinkle’s popularity in the black community has been waning for some time and so many are looking for another option. That option could have been Daley or Wilson if Lightfoot weren’t in the race, so thankfully she is.

Also, I think Lightfoot stands to do well among lakefront voters who may not necessarily be progressive but who have a distaste for the machine. Thinking LP and near north (vs Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Uptown, which are more genuinely progressive).

If she comes out on top, she’s essentially assembling the Harold Washington coalition.

Since she and Preckwinkle are fighting for those same groups, it’s a safe bet that either Daley, Mendoza, or Chico are in the runoff. Probably Daley, but if his support among Latinos doesn’t pan out, Chico or Mendoza have a clear path.

Just voted for Lori and Ameya, among others. Will be back on this evening for the discussion!

What time does the election start?

About 3 hours ago

Where can you watch results and when are they coming in?

Who is the progressive option in the race? Asking for a friend.

Any major newspaper should have results. Polls close at 7 central, results shortly after that (though they're no longer allowed to pre-count early/absentee votes, so a little slower than we're used to). I'll personally be listening to WBEZ's coverage and maybe the Chicago Reader's livestream.

Reply hazy, try again later

Lori Lightfoot at this point, as Toni Preckwincle is too tied to the machine and Amara Eniya May have sketchy tax returns in the lieu of Trump. If any of these three make it to the runoff by themselves, don’t however vote for the machine and vote for them.

Where can you see coverage but you don't want to watch it? (I have homework from being sick)

here ya go-
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/elections/results-page/

Just cast my vote for the BIG D!  Lets hope we get a Daley/Burke two-fer tonight - can’t let Chicago go the way of Detroit.

Why Daley? You could easily of voted for Gerry Chico or Garry McCarthy or Susana Meldoza

Any fault the city has is in part due to the corrupt Daley clan. A Rahm-lite candidate would be disastrous for the city considering the emigration of those with the means to the suburbs and sun belt, like in the aftermath of the Teacher Strike a few years ago.

McCarthy has absolutely no chance.  Chico or Mendoza would be acceptable but why go for that when you have a legend on the ballot.

I was meming with McCarthy.

Was a hard choice between Daley and Vallas, went Vallas

inb4 Daley/Vallas runoff

The faults Chicago has would be much, much worse without the Daley/Rahm leadership over the past decades.  They’ve kept the city a place where business actually wants to invest in.

Vallas ain’t gonna make it doe.  I will personally blame you if Daley misses the runoff!

If you want a buinessman, vote Willie "Omar Medical Supplies" Wilson

Lol gross. I had hope when you said you were considering Lightfoot. The neighborhoods that we live in may have benefited from Daley/Rahm leadership, but most of the city has not.

There might be record low turout accorind to the Trib.  Pretty pathetic considering some of the Daley elections were barely even contested.

Low turnout probably because of:

1) Cold February Midwest weather

Should Chicago change the date to warmer days?

2) Apathy

What difference does it make? My vote doesn't count or matter. It's a Democratic city/council anyway.

3) Trump suck oxygen from society

Why does a major American city elect its mayor in February

don't know

Polls close in Chicago

I don't have a preference for who wins.

Honestly I am more interested in seeing if Chicago's lone Republican on the city council survives this election.

How much did he or she win in the last election?

51.6-48.4

To help incumbents. The machine will get its people out to vote no matter what.

I hope Proco Joe win.

Why do you like all the worst people

Daley-LLF-Toni with 5% in.

17-14-13

Burke at 48% with just 3 percent reporting.

LL 16%
BD 15%
TP 15%

34% in

Whoa - just shot up to 34%.

LLF-Daley-Toni
16-15-15

COME ON PRECKWINKLE, LOCK DALEY OUT!

Burke is over 50% with over 35% in. This city can be such a joke.

Treasurer:

MCE 44%
AP 41%
PG 15%

Where can I see all the results?

Lets go Melissa Conyears-Ervin !

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/elections/results-page/

Jesus, that was fast. 20 seconds.

Martin at 40% (!!!) in the 47th. Would be crazy if that race didn't go to a runoff - was packed full with candidates

I'm on the site and am refreshing Atlas

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle leading at 56% of precincts reporting!

Looks like Napolitano will hold on.

Mayor
1158 out of 2069 precincts (55.97 %)

JERRY JOYCE   24,513   8.14 %
PAUL VALLAS   16,993   5.65 %
WILLIE L. WILSON   30,768   10.22 %
TONI PRECKWINKLE   46,707   15.52 %
WILLIAM M. DALEY   44,155   14.67 %
GARRY MCCARTHY   8,504   2.83 %
GERY CHICO   19,630   6.52 %
SUSANA A. MENDOZA   28,128   9.34 %
AMARA ENYIA   23,321   7.75 %
LA SHAWN K. FORD   2,817   0.94 %
NEAL SALES-GRIFFIN   774   0.26 %
LORI LIGHTFOOT   51,103   16.98 %
ROBERT ''BOB'' FIORETTI   2,302   0.76 %
JOHN KENNETH KOZLAR   1,311   0.44 %

Treasurer
1158 out of 2069 precincts (55.97 %)

MELISSA CONYEARS-ERVIN   121,953   44.29 %
AMEYA PAWAR   113,685   41.28 %
PETER GARIEPY   39,730   14.43 %

Lightfoot looks pretty good so far, hopefully Periwinkle stays in 2nd.

Matt Martin is killing it in the 47th. Holy crap

Burke is up to 53% now, looks like he might hold on.  At least we have one good result tonight!

Good. You need multiple parties in a political system--anywhere.

I would say LLF is almost definitely in at this point.  Up to 66% in now.  Its down to Toni or Daley.

Yep

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle increase their raw vote lead with every update - up to 70% now.  Almost ready to call it.

https://twitter.com/BillRuthhart/status/1100578416464674817

Daley is finished. Lightfoot-Preckwinkle run-off leggo.

https://twitter.com/ForecasterEnten/status/1100578452128829440

Looks like Lightfoot Vs Periwinkle :)

Ed Burke needs to once again take up the #resistance mantle against whoever the new extremist mayor is.

Napolitano isnt a Republican lmao

Guys, who else is giddy in here! I sure know I am.

You're disgusting. Harold will be smiling down once that racist is locked up.

Moreno is gonna go down! :) :)

Glad Tom Tunney trounced the Cubs usurpers.

*laughs in progressive*

We agree on this

Lori Lightfoot is so good. Be smart Chicago. Make a good decision for once in your life.

Are there any better sites for results than the Sun Times and Tribune? Both their pages suck.

The official one...

https://chicagoelections.com/index.asp

Burke is going to win without a runoff. Some things never change.

The 14th Ward will send Ed Burke's corpse to the council.

One big loss for progressives on the council - Arena is probably finished in the 45th

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/elections/results-page/

Cannot understate how much Matt Martin is surprising in the 47th ward. He wasn't even predicted to make the runoff - much less be over 40%

Waguespack (influential Lightfoot backer) says he wants Daley instead of Preckwinkle in the runoff in order to show a contrast.

I'd rather get rid of Daley now tbh.

Willie Wilson just said, "I believe it has to be Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Muslim, everybody to bring the city together."

....

Yeah, don't want to play with fire.

Great job for Lightfoot!

I hope Preckwinkle gets crushed in the runoff.  Also, fitting Daley comes third, just like his brother's first run

1) It isn't over yet

2) Please don't curse us like that

Lightfoot speaking, declaring victory

Patrick Daley Thompson 2023!

DFA endorsed

Paul Vallas with an apparent Lightfoot endorsement in his concession speech

Lightfoot breaking away from Preckwinkle while Preckwinkle is breaking away from Daley. It's looking more and more Done.

Daley concedes!!!

It's amazing because neither Wilson nor Mendoza straight-up conceded, instead saying they were waiting for absentees.

WGN says Daley wasn't in top 3 among black voters and didn't lead Hispanic or white voters. That's the ball game.

Race called for LaSpata over Moreno. Huge shocker.

Theme of the night: most wards are moving away from the machine, while a few strongholds are actually more so gravitating toward it

Yeah WGN said Lightfoot and Daley were running even with white voters, which is shocking.

Not to me. White progressives don't like Daley. They really, really like Lightfoot.

I am one :)

Exactly what Change Research said!

Preckwinkle speaking now and already hitting Lightfoot hard. This is why she is so good at what she does.

And hitting Rahm hard! Getting her revenge, I suppose. They always hated one another.

Wanted Wilson, ugh. Can't always get what we want, can we.

City just now releasing the ward results. Lightfoot dominated the north side. Preckwinkle won the nearer south side but Wilson actually won the far south side. Mendoza won most Hispanic areas (telling me low turnout). Daley won the far NW side and downtown.

Tribune has the map: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/elections/ct-met-viz-chicago-mayor-election-results-htmlstory.html

Me too bud, me too.

WTF!!!??? I thought Mendoza was a shoe-in, against either Preckwinkle or Daley. What happened, and where did Lightfoot come from?

The top candidates were too effective in nuking each other. Lightfoot never got attacked and had broad appeal to many different demographics.

Unfortunately, Mendoza's campaign was not good at all. Her campaign was light on substance and she focused on attacking Preckwinkle and only switched strategies a week or so before the election, when her campaign was obviously in free fall.

Just got back and... HOLY F[inks] LIGHTFOOT WINNING A PLURALITY WITH PRECKWINKLE IN 2ND? YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.

why would you think this

This is Blairite you’re talking to.

She's important, had backing, and a lot of media?

That’s subjective.
So did...most of the other major candidates?

Granted, I haven’t been paying too close attention to this race, but was it really that much more than any of the other candidates?

evidently not.

Yes! No more Daley!

I had this creepy dream of Daley and Meldoza going to the runoff

It had more to do with the Burke scandal playing out in the middle of the cycle, imo. The Sun Times endorsement gave her legitimacy, and then she entered the airwaves with a great ad essentially saying "all the candidates leading the polls are friends with Ed Burke, but I am not." North side reformists jumped all over it.

As Mr. Illini has said earlier the neighborhoods split tremendously in this election. Here's the Tribune map of winners by ward.

()

Lightfoot carried the progressives on the northern Lakefront, and she was second to Daley in the wealthy Loop, Gold Coast and white ethnic wards. Lightfoot was also second to Preckwinkle along the South Shore and Hyde Park.

Preckwinkle carried the wards of her traditional base in the Near South, South Shore and Hyde Park, and she was second to Wilson throughout the black wards. Preckwinkle also took second to Lightfoot on the Lakefront.

The Latinx wards were split by Mendoza and Chico with Daley in third. Joyce carried the machine wards on the Southwest Side. Neither Lightfoot nor Preckwinkle performed particularly well here. These wards will probably be critical in determining the next mayor in the runoff.

An additional thought: Joyce won the wards that I would have expected to go for Daley. My guess is that without Joyce in the race, Daley would have picked up a good chunk of those votes, and probably would have made the runoff. Then again, those Joyce wards are loaded with police, firefighters and other city workers. They may have felt Daley would be too beholden to business and not enough to their interests, and needed to park their votes somewhere - that happened to be Joyce.

the quip I saw was "Joyce's platform was 'hands off pensions' and Daley's platform was 'I am going to put my hands on your pensions'"

Who is the early favorite to win the Runoff in less than 2 months ?

I think polling has indicated Lightfoot, but not sure.

Yep. Daley was the ONLY CANDIDATE who said he'd favor amending the constitution to allow the state and city to reduce pensions of current workers. That's a no-no among city workers, obviously.

Wait, he said that? LOL.

Here's the map for Treasurer...

()

This really highlights how much higher turnout was in white progressive wards than in minority wards. Pawar was only at 70% in his home ward and only over 60% in one other neighboring ward. Meanwhile, MCE had a swath of wards where she was over 70% and even more over 60%. Yet, they ran even.

There are some interesting trends here as well. Pawar won white progressive wards handily. MCE won black wards handily. However, Latinx and WWC wards were not unified. They were actually split by side of town (though by small margins).

Pawar took Latinx wards on the NW side, but MCE took Latinx on the SW side. Pawar took WWC wards on the NW side, but MCE took WWC wards on the SW side. I attribute this to local politics - Pawar is a north side alderman and MCE's husband is a south side state rep.

It is also worth noting that Peter Gariepy - a candidate who ran no ads - had decently high vote counts in WWC wards on the far NW and SW sides. He was the only white candidate.

Also of note is that Wards 3, 4, and 5 - majority black wards that are wealthier and lean more progressive than the rest of the south side - had relatively close margins. Compare to the rest of the south side that went overwhelmingly for Conyears-Ervin.

Which may relate to local organizations as much as anything. When I signed for Preckwinkle, the circulator asked me if I'd also signed for "Toni's candidate for Treasurer," meaning Pawar.

Should I be shocked looking at that map how many Wards Wilson carried?

Not by much. He's got money and a lot of support with the black church (those are all black wards)

He also has contacts across the political spectrum and in business as well as in the churches. I've worked with him on a task force and he understands the needs of the black community, but lacks the message to make inroads in other parts of the city.

I was surprised that he took so many wards from Preckwinkle. Regardless of her waning popularity, she’s still a major force in Cook County and within the black community.

Who's voters will vote for who now?

We don't really know. Lightfoot support was strongly correlated with Preckwinkle support, and vice-versa -- Lightfoot was usually second or third in the South Side wards where Preckwinkle was first or second, while Preckwinkle was second or third in Lightfoot's north side wards. The wards that went for other candidates often saw Lightfoot or Preckwinkle finish something like 5th or 6th.

If I had to guess, I’d say the bulk of Wilson’s voters will go to Preckwinkle. Although, it’s worth noting that they defected to Wilson in the first round despite Preckwinkle’s support among leaders within the black community. Who is to say they won’t defect again?

I have to think that Daley’s voters downtown and in copland will go to Lightfoot, but that turnout among them will be fairly low.

Where Latinx voters will go is very much up in the air.

WBEZ has a great interactive precinct map at the link below. So many news sources are doing our work for us these days.

https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/chicago-2019-election-results-map-what-neighborhoods-voted-and-for-whom/ad63ab9e-a924-4155-a3fe-6b7faf1e7812

Lightfoot won my precinct with 31%.

my precinct went 35% to Lightfoot, 32% to Preckwinkle, 9% to Enyia, 7% to Wilson. LaShawn Ford beat several of the semi-credible candidates (Joyce, Chico, McCarthy). South Side

One place where the machine still works: the 11th Ward. Despite it being a much more diverse than it used to be, Daley won every single precinct there. Its' borders stand out clearly on the map because of it. Patrick Daley Thompson is the alderman there.

Alright guys, who is more progressive?

Seems to be the big question lol

Extremely surprising to see 1) Ramirez-Rosa endorsing Preckwinkle and 2) Preckwinkle endorsing Bernie.

The former isn't that surprising to me. He endorsed her before last Tuesday, likely as the most likely progressive candidate to make the runoff (and as the alternative to Daley). Plus, she is the head of the party, so she got a LOT of endorsements off the bat just because of that.

The latter is just a pander. Preckwinkle endorsed Hillary against Bernie last time around. And she hasn't formally endorsed Sanders this time, and likely won't.

CRR's story is that he and Rep. Will Guzzardi met with Preckwinkle and agreed to endorse her after she agreed to a slate of progressive priorities, including TIF reform, a stronger sanctuary city ordinance, and $15/hour. This all happened back in October

john kass has endorsed lightfoot. great news for toni!

We got a poll of the Runoff:
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000169-462f-dce6-ad69-67ff9bd90001

from Stand for Children IL

Lightfoot-58%
Periwinkle-30%
Undecided-12%

Nice!

I love it. I hope that's the margin. That would be a huge blow to the machine.

Stand for Children tossing in with Lightfoot is... yikes

Why yikes?

Stand for Children is a front group funded by the usual suspects -- the Waltons, the Gates and, closer to home, the Crowns, the Pritzkers, and the Kenneth C. Griffin. It exists to break unions.

First debate happening tonight at 6pm on NBC5

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/chicago-mayor-debate-watch-live-506759251.html

Second was scheduled for tomorrow, hosted by the Sun Times, but Preckwinkle backed out (the ed board endorsed Lightfoot)

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/sun-times-cancels-mayoral-debate-preckwinkle-noncommittal-lightfoot/

I dont like Lori’s transportation policy.  Its all about buses, not innovative.  I hate BRT.

So are you voting for Toni?

We're only about a week in and I am already so worn out from this runoff

In the first debate, Preckwinkle was asked about backing of Berrios, alliance with Burke, and hiring Burke's son to patronage job. She deflects by saying that when she talks to people, they want to talk about their own neighborhoods.

This is exactly the type of maneuvering that has allowed the corruption to reign in this city for so long. As long as the streets are clean, snow plowed, garbage picked up, the leaders get to do what they want and will continue to get re-elected.

Preckwinkle's responses on corruption and efficiency in city government put such a horrible taste in my mouth.

Like I said, I'm already feeling pretty worn out.

what a dumb and boring debate. Toni Preckwinkle says she's a "real Chicagoan" because she's a Sox fan and likes the lake, as if she hasn't lived here since the 60s. I forget what song Lightfoot likes but I don't really care. Just a random string of questions with questionable relevance, and the moderators pressed them on nothing.

No, I am leaning towards Lori.  Both are horrible - I predict record low turnout in this runoff.  300,00 or less.

Is LightFoot a White Sox fan too?  The city always does better under Mayors who are Sox fans, not suprisingly.  I'm glad to hear that Toni is a Sox fan, means a lot!

Yes, Lightfoot's a season ticket holder. I did appreciate the realization that, no matter who wins, at least we've avoided the nightmare scenario: a Cubs fan as mayor.

Most Chicago voters aren't like you, Green Line

Why are both horrible?

The worst part was the discussion about traffic annoyances. And then to try to follow it up with a question about whether police should be diverted to address the traffic annoyances. Bizarre and unproductive segment.

Willie Wilson endorses Light FOOT.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/elections/ct-met-chicago-mayors-race-willie-wilson-endorsement-20190308-story.html

This ballgame is ova.

Father Pfleger gave an apparent endorsement on Facebook as well.

Those two carry massive weight in the black community.

Has Mendoza endorsed anybody ?

Pfleger’s Facebook page confirmed he’s endorsing Lightfoot. Latino Leadership Council also announced endorsement of Lightfoot.

What a week for her campaign.

After a surprising first round, the race becomes a slow burner with Lori Lightfoot just gathering endorsement after endorsement. The best thing that makes up for an easy race is that Mayor Lightfoot will have a very smooth transition to power, having the people’s support over the remaining dump of the local machine. I’m still at awe how something like this could be possible, especially with historically terrible turnout across the board.

wouldn't you think low turnout would favor the candidate preferred by the groups with the highest turnout rates (ie white liberals)?

I guess, I thought that Conservatives would push it to be a Lightfoot v.s. Daley race.

There aren't very many conservatives. The fact is that Rahm won a lot of white liberal votes both times.

Daley had no path if he wasn't going to win with Latinx voters or white north siders. Add to it that he didn't even lock down the GIVEN - the far NW and SW sides. Joyce took a lot of those voters.

A true Jeb-like collapse.

He spent almost double what the next highest candidate spent.

Debate schedule set...

March 20: ABC

March 21: WTTW

March 25: WGN

March 26: FOX

March 27: CBS

Additionally, the Tribune E Board will interview the candidates on March 12 and WBEZ will host a debate on March 29.

believe this is twice as many as Pritzker and Rauner did

I'm wondering if whoever wins the Runoff will be a 1-termer or 2-termer based on age ?

I’ve heard a lot of discussion that Preckwinkle could be a one-term we because of age. She had signaled that she could be close to retirement before Rahm announced he wouldn’t run again. Many view this as her last term as President if she loses in April.

For Lightfoot, she has proposed a two-term limit for the mayor, so she’d have to make a decision were she in a position of running or not after two terms. Age isn’t as big of a factor - she’s a lot younger.

Another notable endorsement for Lightfoot: progressive State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (Edgewater, Rogers Park)

Cassidy has been a tacit Madigan opponent and is known around here for her work on cannabis legalization and criminal justice reform.

So, is there any particular reason why Sposato and Napolitano are backing Lightfoot? Are they just trying to get behind the likely winner so that they can form a good working relationship with her?

Sposato and Napolitano would endorse Satan if IAFF Local 2 did too

Yeah, it’s because the Firefighters union is, which they are a part of.

Also, tbh, I expect Lightfoot to do well in their areas, WWC with a strong police/fire presence. This has little to do with what Lori actually stands for and everything to do with their long-standing dislike of Toni. Turnout will probably be low there, though.

Painters District Council 14: Mendoza --> Preckwinkle
Plumbers Local 130: Daley --> Lightfoot
Personal PAC (abortions rights group): No endorsement --> Preckwinkle
Paul Vallas: Vallas --> Lightfoot

does not help the narrative of Lightfoot as the more progressive candidate

Is this purporting that the painters are progressive because they endorsed Susana Mendoza?

Lightfoot has a list of progressive endorsers as you know: David Orr, Scott Waguespack, Kelly Cassidy, Litesa Wallace, Robin Kelly, Democracy for America

Don't be a dummy. The plumbers union (and their close relationship with the Daleys) is the reason Chicago has more lead service lines than any other city in the country. Paul Vallas is Paul Vallas. Nothing to do with the painters, they're fairly benign.

Anyway, today Lightfoot said she will retain police superintendent Eddie Johnson, saying she refuses to "pander to the crowds that want him gone.” "The crowds" want Johnson gone because of his history of justifying police misconduct (https://theintercept.com/2018/11/14/chicago-police-department-superintendent-eddie-johnson/). She also said she opposes the proposal for a new police academy (the $95 million contract just passed City Council today) because she wants a much larger police academy similar to NYC's $750 million center, which would also be used to train state-level officers. She also said she wants more training locations, proposing to turn 38 of the schools Rahm closed into police training facilities.

Preckwinkle said at the same forum that she is not opposed to a new training facility and would also focus on re-purposing current buildings.

LIUNA endorses Lightfoot

https://twitter.com/liunachicago/status/1106284568393453569?s=21

Gery Chico for Lightfoot, making it even more obvious why the progressive unions went with Preckwinkle — and giving her the endorsement, by proxy, of Ed Burke.

Teamsters Joint Council 25 for Preckwinkle today. She also spent the day on the picket line at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where the Chicago Federation of Musicians is currently on strike.

Wow, love this! 

That's the hope.  Enough with the pandering.

Good one. Burke didn’t raise $116,000 for Lightfoot.

Burke endorsed Chico, Chico endorsed Lightfoot. Not hard to follow -- and if you can't see that she's getting the support of every single conservative element in the city, well...

This race got muddied real fast. Lightfoot got busted for accepting cash from a‘Dark Money’  (https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/chicago-mayoral-candidate-lightfoot-got-big-bucks-from-dark-money-group/9df11357-894e-4c97-8854-5d8da0b784c6) group. Who is the actual progressive in this race?

Why are you a Democrat again? I would expect you’d be more at home with the blue fascists that protect you position than be a Democrat, at least nationally?

The idea that Burke has anything to do with this is really a stretch. Trying to forget Toni’s coziness with Burke and Berrios?

A much more distant connection than Burke endorsing Preckwinkle for her prior (current) office and raising $116,000 for her, wouldn’t you say?

I’ve actually seen Preckwinkle folks defending Berrios over the last several weeks as well, which tells you all you need to know about whether any lessons have been learned.

This is a manufactured issue. Preckwinkle would’ve taken every dime of it if it had gone her way. It says nothing about Lightfoot’s stance on money in politics, not that she’ll be in a position to make decisions on the laws around that anyway.

It’s ironic that the Preckwinkle folks would be critical of it, too, considering she has raked in millions upon millions more in high dollar contributions than Lightfoot has.

It won't end up mattering. Chicago swallows aspiring politicians and transforms them into machine or parochial tools. I suspect whoever who wins will become a 'establishment tool' by next mayoral election.

Look at it this way, if she was misleading people on this, she could be on other major planks. Just look at how she supported the continuation of a pro-cop official and the support for that police academy. I’m just saying this race has become incredibly nuanced over who is better than who.

Yeah I’m not so sure how I feel about this race anymore.

I support Democrats that believe in a system of law and order, just as the majority of Chicagoans do.  The people who are actually affected be violence, and don't live in a Hyde Park bubble, take these issues seriously.  This is why Lori is now shifting and why every mayor has in the past.  Cute slogans about punishing the police can only get you so far - its not your city.

Critiquing her on the comments regarding the cop academy is fair and I share your concern.

Critiquing her on the PAC contribution is a nothing-burger. She didn’t mislead on anything. She never pledged not to take this kind of money. The PAC is led by a group of progressive attorneys that have been involved in reformist liberal politics. Huge non-story manufactured by the Preckwinkle camp to try to paint her as accepting Koch money or something.

It’s my city and I’m not with you.

And I know the neighborhood that you live in is even more of a bubble than HP

Walking home today, I saw a Preckwinkle sign in the window of a local beauty salon. Saw a Lightfoot sign in the window of a new development where units start for $2800 a month.

The Academy isn’t going to impact jobs, education, nor infrastructure that the community knows fights crime. Instead money is wasted for something that the locals don’t want and know won’t be a positive for their community, just more money for contractors and those employed by patronage.

sjoyce certainly isn't wrong about conservatives in the city supporting Lightfoot.

Ald Matt O'Shea (19th) endorses Lightfoot; ally Jerry Joyce expected to do the same

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/19th-ward-committeeman-alderman-matt-oshea-lightfoot-endorse-chicago-mayor-election-2019/

The 19th ward has famously high turnout in elections and O'Shea is extremely popular there. In 2015, Rahm saw a double digit increase in support in the ward between the primary and O'Shea's endorsement prior to the runoff.

O'Shea is no Napolitano/Sposato, though. Lightfoot welcomed his support, unlike the others.

I have to say, I don’t know what Preckwinkle is doing to try and win this race.

In the primary, we know that Lightfoot’s base was the north lakefront and near northwest side, and we know that Preckwinkle’s base was on the south lakefront.

Since then, Lightfoot has netted consequential endorsements from Willie Wilson (who won a majority of the black wards on the south and west sides), LLC and Gery Chico (popular in the Latinx community and won those wards against Rahm), and O’Shea/Joyce (who represents/won the WWC wards). That’s pretty much the entire city save the 4 or so wards Preckwinkle won on the south lakefront.

Toni’s not going to win with just Hyde Park, Bronzeville, and Kenwood. She’s got to start making some serious moves if she wants a shot.

Our Revolution Chicago endorses Lightfoot

https://twitter.com/ourrevilchicago/status/1106610517039333381?s=21

Wonder how sjoyce will spin this one

they're a group of irrelevant cranks?

Tribune endorses Lightfoot

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-lori-lightfoot-endorsement-chicago-mayor-20190314-story.html

Of course it’s never over til Election Day, but one can’t help but feel like the window is closing for Toni, barring an Obama endorsement or something equivalent in magnitude.

100,000 member-strong union endorses Toni Preckwinkle for mayor (https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/toni-preckwinkle-adds-teamsters-joint-council-list-union-endorsements/)

Hearing some progressives push Melissa Conyears Ervin for Treasurer because “if the Trib would endorse Ameya, that means the financial industry isn’t worried about him as Treasurer.”

Classic self-owning Chicago left. Vote for the machine candidate because of a shred of doubt over the clear progressive choice.

I fully suppory Melissa Conyears Ervin, even before the Trib endorsed her.  She’s not a politician - no website, no campaign.  Pawar has been running for office since he was born.

I was really rooting for a Wilson v. Daley race, that would have been lots of fun lol. This race is pretty boring tbh.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Um...the Trib endorsed Pawar...

is one of Rahm's aldermen really "the clear progressive choice"?

Lol are you really going to vote against both of the candidates at the top of the ticket that you voted for in the first round?

Pawar has opposed Rahm on countless issues of consequence. Are you just saying “Rahm’s alderman” because he lives in the ward?

At some point you’re just being contrarian for the sake of it. This city would be lucky to have Ameya as treasurer.

lmao no he hasn't. he talks a good game -- which puts him ahead of conyears-ervin, who hasn't bothered to try -- but there's no reason to believe he's chicago next great progressive leader

On a somewhat related note...

Best vote I ever took. Chicago politics was good for once. Too bad Toni wasn’t with me.

I’m sure sjoyce would turn on him in favor of Berrios because “what progressive things has Fritz ever done?”

https://news.wttw.com/2019/03/12/cook-county-assessor-fritz-kaegi-pushes-more-reform?fbclid=IwAR1CaOLM3xCZfoZS-aKph1SMyCXTq0BEx0-MlQNWgaqyifrsyoo79P2njIg

lmao, the election has broken your brain. sad!

for the record, i made calls and voted for fritz. he is an oak park resident who did some sort of bank thing before running for office. nice background that, unlike certain other candidates, did not involve being one of rahm's most reliable votes on city council. or being a cop.

anyway, voted today for toni, pawar, and hairston -- that last one solely because she does not believe hurricanes are caused by gay marriage

Actually, some progressives did turn on Fritz because he was a “wealthy banker” before running for assessor.

This election really has broken my brain, though. I’d almost have rather had Daley in the runoff so it wouldn’t have been a bunch of progressive infighting. I can’t take it. Was a little tipsy when I posted that earlier, though. :)

I saw a handful, but very few -- think that attack fell flat with most. Helps that he did some sort of "investment assessing" work, which comes off as technical and morally neutral.

And yeah, April 2 can't come soon enough. Still, today's a holiday!

Chuy Garcia to endorse Lightfoot

https://twitter.com/maryannahernnbc/status/1107254479525695490?s=21

That is a huge one.

Big question is whether Lightfoot wins in massive landslide  ?

I was talking to a few friends on election night, and said that Chuy (more than Mendoza or Chico) would be the real kingmaker, as neither of the runoff candidates had any significant inroads in the Mexican community. I also mentioned that Chuy had gone to Toni before the runoff in 2015, to ask for her endorsement -- thinking that if she endorsed him, he'd peel off just enough black votes to beat Rahm (probably correct). She said no. Chuy, of course, now had an opportunity to avenge that by knifing Preckwinkle in the runoff, and it seems he is taking advantage of that.

Think it's a fairly obvious "yes" at this point, which is why you see pols scrambling to endorse the next mayor

I see Garcia has a Vendetta against Preckwinkle.

Why did it have to come down to these people, out of all that were running.

I wanted Wilson, or Joyce at least. Even Daley would be acceptable. But it had to come down to my least favorite candidates.

I'm staying home for the second round.

Lol ok. People like them have been mayor for the last 30 years. Time for something new.

I had a discussion over the candidates with a close friend, and he came up with several good points as to why Toni Preckwinkle is a safer choice for mayor. He says the coalesceing endorsements and anti-establishment sentiment around the Lightfoot campaign reminds him of Blagojevich’s early campaign for governor in 2002. Now I wasn’t aware much at the time, nor of the mood of the general situation, but the thought is a scary one. Perhaps sticking with the devil we all know is a safer bet, lest we end up with a wildcard mayoralship?

Nah

Certainly not defending Blagojevich’s actions, which were illegal and unethical, but your friend should know that Blago was just the idiot that got caught. Madigan, Burke, Vrdolyak, Berrios, etc etc, all of whom are closely allied with Toni Preckwinkle, have done just as much if not worse than Blago did. Blago did it without the smarts and the protection, so he went to prison.

They’ve all just barely skirted jail time due to technicalities and toeing the line. Thankfully it looks like Burke and Vrdolyak’s time are finally coming to roost, though Lord knows shaking down a Burger King is the least of Burke’s sins in his long career.

So while there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Lightfoot would engage in the corruption that Blago did, there is evidence that Preckwinkle could get away with it if she did, based on the people that she has surrounded herself with.

Not to mention the fact that she has no ethics reform plan available on her website and she does not favor limiting aldermanic privilege nor aldermanic and mayoral term limits. Lightfoot favors both and has a comprehensive ethics reform plan.

It does seem unlikely, yes. But there could also be a possibility for her to disregard her campaign promises and start aligning with Burke & Co. She didn’t disregard and deny the endorsements of Gery Chico and O’Shea, famed Machine politicians. I’m just saying be prepared for anything with her.

Meanwhile, on election news, Loghtfoot hit with liens for unpaid taxes (https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/lori-lighfoot-sneed-unpaid-taxes-lien/). This could be extremely damaging for her anti-corruption image.

Sure, there is an element of the unknown on Lightfoot since she has never been an elected official before. That said, we already know that Preckwinkle is closely allied with all of the worst elements of Chicago politics. Ed Burke raised $116,000 for her re-election, for cryin’ out loud. And never forget that she wouldn’t even put Fritz Kaegi on the Party’s November sample ballot after he beat Joe Berrios.

As for the liens, I think it’s a non-story. I don’t see how it is relevant to her anti-corruption image. The Sun Times also did a story this morning on domestic disputes at Preckwinkle’s condo (where her son lives) that I think is a non-story as well. However, the story about Toni did explain how her son has been charged several times and always gotten off with a presiding judge that was a Preckwinkle ally. Welcome to Chicago.

Wilson was awesome dude, but he was pretty racially divisive IMO. Personally, I would have been a tossup between Daley and Joyce.

I find it hilarious that Jenaette Taylor stole Bobby Jindal's logo

()

Someone is distributing hateful leaflets on cars outside of black churches

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/03/18/anti-gay-flyers-in-chicago-mayors-race/

Pathetic. Well, it's not like Bobby Jindal has anything to lose anymore.

Rep. Danny K. Davis endorsed Preckwinkle just recently on her being the most experienced candidate to run the city. In the endorsement he highlights that while Lightfoot isn’t a bad pick, she has never been elected to office, and doesn’t know how to properly handle the pension crisis.

Preckwinkle has pulled her ads. Feels like it's over

Yep. The questions is, though - what does she want to save the money for? The consensus seems to be that this is her last term as President. Saving it to dump off to Foxx and other allies (like Rahm has done)? I hope so, since the regressives seem to have it out for Foxx in 2020.

Chance the Rapper will hold a press conference on the mayoral race tomorrow

https://twitter.com/chancetherapper/status/1108512523572166658

My gut tells me he'll endorse Toni.

Toni lands endorsement of Patrick Daley Thompson

https://twitter.com/MaryAnnAhernNBC/status/1108531315144568833

Yuck - though, Lori has had her share of "yuck" endorsements, too

Is the African-American vote going to probably be in the Preckwinkle camp, or is it a tossup with Willie’s endorsement of Lightfoot?

Patrick "Daley" Thompson would have his grandpa turning in his grave.  What a shame!

Eh, if they pull this off, I think Richard J. would be a little impressed. Until recently, if the County Presidency is vacant (as it would be if Preckwinkle wins), it automatically passes to the President pro tem, currently Deborah Sims. In December, the county changed the law so that the board would pick a new President from among its members.

The ordinance making the change was sponsored by John P. Daley, who's been on the board long enough and has enough friends that he should be a shoo-in for the Presidency — if Preckwinkle vacates it. Admittedly, it's not the Mayor's job, but with Bill out of the race, it's not a bad consolation prize.

Even more yuck. Thanks for this - I didn't realize.

I anticipate that Toni will still take the black wards, but that it will be closer due to Wilson's endorsement.

Todd Stroger endorses Preckwinkle. Talk about full circle.

Angling for an appointment, or hoping to run for his old seat and needing her out of the way?

Speaking of full circle...

Rumblings of OBAMA for Preckwinkle soon -- Jarrett, Tchen, Bennett pressuring him to endorse. Preckwinkle notably endorsed him in his first bid for State Senator and his doomed race against Bobby Rush in 2000, so this would be returning the favor.

I’ve heard that Preckwinkle folks are reaching out, but not heard any rumors he has decided to do so.

Remember, they had a falling out much later, around the time he decided to run for Prez. He did endorse her for President last year, though.

 Indeed he did. (https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chance-the-rapper-toni-preckwinkle-endorsement-chicago-mayoral-election-runoff/)

Even still, it will take Obama’s nomination to push Toni Preckwinkle’s campaign in her favor, much less a tossup. I’m just dying to see a poll if this all unravels this late in the race, what an epic climax from the boring middle-end.

An Obama spokesperson says they will not be endorsing a candidate

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/obama-preckwinkle-endorsement-chicago-mayor-507462651.html

So, how is the Latino vote gonna go? Lightfoot seems to have gotten the important endorsements, but I have a feeling Preckwinkle ends up taking it narrowly.

that demographic or the election?

that demographic, the election seems all but wrapped up for Lori, no?

That has been the consensus. Obama's endorsement could undo that, but it sounds like that isn't happening.

However, if Preckwinkle wins Latinx voters, as you suggest, she just might win. A victory for Lori would be really tough if she doesn't have black or Latinx wards.

Not necessarily, IMO. I think the runoff will look very similar to the Conyears-Erwin v. Pawar race in March, except Toni does much worse in black wards and northern wards, resulting in a narrower than expected but still convincing 59-41 loss.

Kind of like the Kaegi/Berrios map - thin Berrios margins in black and Latinx wards and huge Kaegi margins in white wards = Kaegi wins.

Maybe.

Another former mayoral candidate for Lightfoot (though he didn’t make the ballot).

Activist Ja’mal Green endorsed this afternoon. Said it’s the right time for Lightfoot and likes her policy proposals. Also noted that having her as Mayor and Toni as President is a win-win.

Has Daley made an endorsement?

No, but Bill is Bill. The Daleys that matter have endorsed Preckwinkle.

Richard Daley did? Have to imagine that would have been a bigger deal.

Richard Daley died in 1976. Rich Daley hasn't been seen in this town in years. Again, the Daleys that actually matter -- the ones who command votes -- have endorsed Preckwinkle.

I was talking about jr.

He does some sort of lobbying/law thing now? Theoretically has a speaking gig here fairly regularly, but I've never seen him. He is thoroughly out of politics.

Interesting, I was thinking his endorsement could make a difference.

Not directly -- Chicago is a city of organizations, not leaders. When someone like Chuy Garcia endorses, it's not a big deal because he's personally popular. It's a big deal because (or so we thought until recently) he has a group of supporters who can deliver a ton of votes. To the extent Rich Daley still has that, it's the 11th Ward RDO, which is for Preckwinkle, and various loosely connected elites, who are mostly for Lightfoot.

So who has the most potent and/or numerically superior support of questionable endorsements.

Activists have launched a #StopLightfoot campaign on social media surrounding her work on the Police Board. They even have a website: https://www.stoplightfoot.com/

Obviously there is a lot to unpack, but I think their best case against her has always centered on her work in police oversight.

One thing they love to say is that she has been in the field of police accountability for a long time and is therefore "responsible" for the state of policing in the city. I don't buy this at all. One person is not responsible for the state of policing, especially given our city's long history and entrenched culture of police misconduct. That said, if one person even were to be responsible, it would be a Mayor or Superintendent.

They are very critical of her time leading the Police Board. I give a lot of stock to this, as they were the ones that dealt with her directly during that time, at a time when I had not even heard of her yet.

A qualm I have with their portrayal - they constantly say she had a "pattern of going easy on cops." If by "pattern" they mean several occasions, it is likely true. But if by "pattern" they mean a trend over her tenure, it is not true. In the years leading up to her tenure, the Police Board fired officers (already recommended for firing by the Superintendent) at an abysmal rate in the mid-30 percentage range. In her years heading the Board, that percentage doubled into the mid-70s.

One case that I think they are 100% correct on is the case of Rekia Boyd. Dante Servin, who killed Rekia, escaped prosecution because he was undercharged by Anita Alvarez (many claim intentionally). The judge said he should be tried for murder but couldn't be charged for manslaughter. A gross and sickening miscarriage of justice. Even so, IPRA and Superintendent McCarthy took their time recommending a firing (they have to do so before the Police Board gets it). Once the Police Board took the case, they waited 6 months before scheduling a hearing on it. Two days before the hearing, Servin decided to resign (with full pension) instead of facing the board.

This is a case that has me up at night. I am not familiar with the average time it takes the Police Board to hear a case, but I can't explain why it would take 6 months on such a high profile case that so clearly merited a firing. Lori has never really explained it in detail, either.

Interested to hear thoughts, particularly from sjoyce.

Some endorsements this morning:

Susana Mendoza for Lightfoot
Bobby Rush for Preckwinkle

Since there were stones being thrown re: former Daley backers going to Lightfoot, I’d note that Rush endorsed Daley in the first round.

Funny that Rush endorsed someone who endorsed Obama in 2000.

Rush is... a funny guy. Started out as one of the higher-ups in the state chapter of the Panthers, ended up endorsing Bill Daley because he has "a great brand, like Nike."

Anyway, I don't have much of a #take on Lightfoot's past with the police board -- my main issues with her are her donors, her stance on rent control and her plans for all the closed schools.

Toni actually hasn't taken a stance on implementing rent control. She's been very careful and clear that her position is that the state should allow communities to do it if they choose - not that she actually favors doing it.

All in all, you can tell I can't wait for 4/2 to be behind us.

I view it as a way to appease people like Guzzardi (ppl that it is a dealbreaker for) without making any real commitment.

Kind of the theme of her campaign, tbh.

Who is Lightfoot supporters supporting mainly in the Treasurer election.

I think there’s nuance to it. Lightfoot and Pawar will both get huge margins on the north side. I expect Preckwinkle and MCE to win black wards - MCE with huge margins and narrower for Toni. Lightfoot and MCE will win police/fire hoods on the far NW/SW sides. Latinx wards are less clear - if I had to guess, I’d say Lightfoot and MCE, both with pretty narrow margins.

Overall, a loose correlation between support for Lori and Ameya.

Call it all but official - Janice Joyce drops another $400k into Jerry’s campaign. He’s running for State’s Attorney against Kim Foxx.

https://bit.ly/2YiCDVJ

I thought Ameya is mainly Preckwintle supporters and why is MCE doing well in the South side and Latino wards then.

No, if you look at the results from the first round, Lori’s best wards were also Ameya’s best wards. They are both viewed as the reformist candidates, so north siders love them.

Preckwinkle’s organization hasn’t done much to help Ameya to my knowledge, and she hasn’t vocally supported him, which is the right thing to do if you’re running for another citywide office.

MCE has influence in the black community as a member of that community. Her husband is also an alderman for a black south side ward. The aldermen of those wards are using their organizations to get the vote out for her.

The guess on Latinx wards was just that. I’d consider her the establishment candidate in the race. The aldermen will likely do enough to get her narrow margins in those wards. Yet, in the first round, you saw MCE with a much stronger showing in south side Latinx wards than north side Latinx wards. This has to do with where their bases of support are. Like I said, MCE is a south sider with a stronger organization there, while Pawar is a north sider with a stronger organization there. I expect that to be the case again.

for what it's worth, when i signed the ballot petition for preckwinkle i was also asked to sign for "toni's candidate for treasurer" [pawar]. i was in the 4th ward, so i'd consider it fairly substantial evidence that preckwinkle is quietly supporting pawar.

Yes, I remember you saying that, which surprised me. It’s obviously very quiet, because that was the only thing I had heard of that nature. He did do better in the south lakefront than the rest of the south side, although reformist candidates generally do.

Another endorsement this afternoon: the People’s Pat is with Lightfoot

I don't think she's making noise about it -- obviously a lot of her support overlaps w/Conyears-Ervin, especially CTU, so probably wise not to alienate your supporters. But I think it makes sense, since Preckwinkle/C-E come from very different parts of the city and don't have much of a history, and the 4th ward has always been one of the city's more progressive

also, from the Rush endorsement:

Ironic, since he endorsed Daley in the first round. He’s got no ground to stand on.

The Stroger endorsement last week had me thinking about Toni's elections as President.

Below is the map from the last primary she faced in March 2018 against Bob Fioretti. Of course, she dominated, but one thing is interesting...

Within city limits, notice that her best areas almost perfectly align with the wards that Lightfoot won on February 26.

Her other dominant wards were those on the south lakefront, which she won on February 26.

()

This morning, Amara Enyia says she will not endorse in the Mayor’s race and will instead focus on holding the next mayor accountable.

1) This is a huge blow for Toni. When I saw she was holding a press conference I was confident she’d endorse Preckwinkle as a payback to Chance for boosting her.

2) This suggests to be that she is angling at higher office, probably for a 2023 run against the eventual winner of this race, whoever that may be.

Is one of the two the clear establishment candidate? And if so: who and why?

The President of the Cook County Democratic Party is probably the establishment candidate, especially after the whole bribery scandal with Berrios and secret donation from Burke to her campaign.

Preckwinkle is the chair of the CCDP and therefore the establishment candidate by default.

Some “establishment” support has lined up behind Lightfoot, though, like Susana Mendoza.

Here’s the donor history of Lightfoot’s top donors
-John Canning: $200k to Bill Daley, $200k to Rahm, $100k to Rahm’s PAC, $10k to Madigan, $250 to Rauner
-Paul Finnegan: $300k to Bill Daley, $600k to Rahm, $100k to Rahm’s PAC, $300k to Stand for Children [pro-charter PAC]
-Meredith Bluhm-Wolf: $80k to Rahm, $15k to GOP treasurer candidate Tom Cross, $5k to GOP state sen Christine Radogno, $1.5k to Pat O’Connor (Rahm’s floor leader, longtime machine-aligned Alderman, one of the Vrdolyak 29)
-Leslie Bluhm: $56k to Rahm, $25k to Tom Cross, $5k to Radogno, $10k to Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin

And here’s Toni’s largest donors
-Service Employees International Union - Illinois Council
-SEIU Local 1
-United Food & Commercial Workers Local 881
-Chicago Teachers Union
-SEIU Local 73
-SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana
-American Federation of Teachers

You can make a pedantic argument about who has what titles, but one candidate is owned by the city's wealthy financial interests and the other is the candidate of working people. Seems fairly clear-cut to me.

That's not to say that Preckwinkle doesn't have some reasonably strong establishment links either.

I'm curious, what was the realization that caused your abrupt switch from Lightfoot to Toni?

I voted for Lightfoot in the primary because I believed she was capable of defeating Bill Daley in a runoff and Preckwinkle was not. I've always preferred Preckwinkle on policy, but guaranteeing Daley went down was more important than the policy differences between the two. Now that Bill's out of the picture, I'm free to vote for the candidate I agree with more.

This is just not true. Scroll back in this thread, and you’ll find that you said that Lightfoot’s shortcomings on policing are less concerning than Preckwinkle’s ties in the political establishment.

Something else caused the shift. Could be her endorsers, her donors, her statements on the cop academy, or something else. Doesn’t seem that it had to do with Daley, though.

I think Sjoyce can decide on his own what causes his support for candidates.

I agree. That doesn’t mean I won’t point out that what they’re describing as their reasons for supporting one candidate in the first round isn’t consistent with what they posted on this forum.

I do apologize if I've been irritable in this thread lately. This election has been a chaotic mess of friends turning against friends and making it personal, and combined with craziness at work, has driven me a little crazy. I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this election.

It’s fine mate, just cool it when your coming in hot or you’ll burn the board to dust. Even though it’s hard, try it the same way in real life, you don’t want to kill off your social circle for two, admittedly different in several key aspects but nonetheless, reformist candidates

I see this Runoff campaign has alienated neighbors, family members & friends.

Honestly, we have two fantastic options in this runoff. No need to get hostile with anyone who agrees with one more than the other.

it's time

Just voted a second time for Lori and Ameya. Though, unlike the first time, it was not without reservations.

I hope whoever wins tonight marks a truly new day for our beloved city. I think we've got a shot with either one of them. We'll be back in four years to do a performance evaluation.

They can't do it without support from the council, though, so here's hoping we bring home the key aldermanic runoffs, especially Andre Vasquez, Marianne Lalonde, and Rafa Yañez. O'Connor, Cappleman, and Lopez have to go.

Here’s hoping The aldermanic and treasurer races turn out ok. The energy the runoff opponents have, along with clean and strong credentials, give me hope for a better city.

For the mayoral races, it signifies a possible shift away from the old-school politics of the city. My support lies with Lori Lightfoot, but I wouldn’t be too sad with Toni Preckwinkle. In fact, I hope the final tally is a tight one, we need to earn our victory after all.

I also hope that young people are more mobilized than over here in the suburbs. I see more young people act as election judges and EMs proportionally than be voters, it’s sickening no matter how small the election is.

What time should we get an early indication of a possible landslide victory for Lightfoot ?

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChicagoElection/status/1113141725961314304
Turnout is horrible among young people, especially biting considering how fresh the candidates for all citywide races still going are. I’m considering making a pyre for offering Ahura Mazda’s good graces today.

It quite sad that young people can't be bothered to vote in local elections and in general. They complain about wanting change but can't get off their butts to vote.

The results came in pretty quickly after the 7pm central poll closing on Feb 26, so I’m hopeful for the same this time around. I guess we’ll find out soon.

Where can results be found?

I recommend the official site for the most updated:

https://chicagoelections.com/en/election-results.asp?election=210

A few predictions before everything officially closes:

I think the Mayor’s race has the potential to be much closer than most are thinking

I think that Ameya is going to lose the Treasurer’s race (and I’ll shed tears)

I think Lalonde is going to beat Cappleman in the 46th

3% in

Lightfoot with 75%

First results:

Lightfoot 76
Preckwinkle 24
17% in

Well, this has been quite anti-climatic. Congrats to Lori!

3 to 1?

Jesus.

And probably Rip Pawar too.

Results are mostly from Lightfoot territory on the north side

Bad news for Ameya. If it’s Lori territory, it should be his, too (except for the cop wards)

Am I the only one who thinks these results are wacko?

51% in, Lightfoot drops to 74%

It’s probably over.

these numbers are absolutely insane lmao.

lmao DDHQ has projected already.

Lori Lightfoot (Nonpartisan) (✓)   74.4%   190,489
Toni Preckwinkle (Nonpartisan)     25.6%   65,674