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The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was the 2019 edition of the quadrennial elections held to determine the
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the
City of Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. The election was held on February 26, 2019. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a
runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
was held on April 2, 2019, between the two candidates with the most votes,
Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...
and
Toni Preckwinkle Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the e ...
. Lightfoot defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff election to become Mayor. Lightfoot was sworn in as mayor on May 20, 2019. The election was officially
non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
, with its winner being elected to a four-year term. The elections were part of the
2019 Chicago elections The 2019 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 26, 2019, and April 2, 2019. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago, City Clerk of Chicago, City Treasurer of Chicago, and all 50 members of the Chicago City Council. The candidat ...
, which included elections for
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
, City Clerk, and City Treasurer. Incumbent Mayor
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
initially announced he would run for a third term but withdrew in September 2018. Emanuel was first elected in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
(winning in the first round with 55.19% of the vote) and re-elected in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
(receiving 55.7% of the vote in the
runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
). The runoff was historic, as it assured Chicago would elect its first African-American female mayor, its second elected African-American Mayor, after
Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...
, and its second female mayor, after
Jane Byrne Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933November 14, 2014) was an American politician who was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. She served as the 50th Mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April ...
. Not only is Lightfoot the first African-American woman mayor in Chicago's history, but she is also the first openly
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
person to lead Chicago. Lightfoot's election made Chicago the largest city won by an African American woman, as well as the largest by an openly LGBT person, in United States history.


Campaign


First round

Incumbent mayor
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
declared his intent to seek re-election on October 17, 2017. One month later, Troy LaRaviere became the first opponent to declare their intent to run against Emanuel. Later, in 2018, more opponents would declare their intent to run against Emanuel, with
Garry McCarthy Garry Francis McCarthy (born May 4, 1959) is the interim Chief of Police in Willow Springs, Illinois and previous Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election. Ear ...
and Willie Wilson doing so in March, Dorothy A. Brown Cook, Ja'Mal Green, and Neal Sáles-Griffin doing so in April,
Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...
, John Kozlar, and
Paul Vallas Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public ...
doing so in May, Matthew Rooney doing so in June, and Amara Enyia and Jerry Joyce doing so in August. By the end of the Summer of 2018, a dozen individuals had declared their candidacies. On September 4, 2018, Emanuel announced that he would no longer be seeking re-election. Emanuel's announcement shook up the race, with many new candidates declaring their candidacies for mayor in the weeks that followed. In late November, much of the media coverage on the race showed
Toni Preckwinkle Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the e ...
and
Susana Mendoza Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th Comptroller of Illinois, serving since December 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as Chicago City Clerk and as an Illinois State Representative, representing th ...
(both of whom had entered the race after Emanuel bowed out) to be considered its two frontrunners. The race for mayor was upended by Alderman Ed Burke's corruption scandal. Mayoral candidates Toni Preckwinkle, Susana Mendoza,
Gery Chico Gery J. Chico ( ; born August 24, 1956) is an American politician, Chicago lawyer, public official and former Democratic primary candidate for United States Senate. Chico served as the Chief of Staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley from 1992 to 1995, ...
, and Bill Daley all had connections to the disgraced alderman, and the scandal encouraged an anti-
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
and anti-
machine politics In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership con ...
sentiment among voters. A number of issues were debated by the candidates throughout the campaign. One of the major issues was pensions, as the city's annual pensions contribution had been projected to double between 2018 and 2023. Another issue was education, where sub-issues included school closings that had taken place under the Emanuel administration and the possibility of reforming the school-board selection method. Another issue was crime. Particularly in light of cases such as the
murder of Laquan McDonald The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Department, Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDona ...
, issues regarding practices by the city's law enforcement were also discussed by candidates. Another issue was the use of
tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program is ...
by the city.
Affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
was another issue debated. Ethics reforms were also debated. Taxes were another issue debated, with some candidates advocating for a
commuter tax A commuter tax is a tax (generally on either income or wages) levied upon persons who work, but do not live, in a particular jurisdiction. The argument for a commuter tax is that it pays for public services, such as police, fire, and sanitation, re ...
and some candidates advocating for a
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
freeze. After ballot challenges were settled, a total of fourteen candidates were included on the ballot for the first round of the election. This is the most candidates that have ever been on the ballot in the history of Chicago mayoral elections. The first round of the election was considered highly competitive to the end, with a number of candidates shown by polls to be viable contenders to potentially advance to the run off. For example, a poll conducted February 11–13 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. for the media outlets
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
/ NBC 5 Chicago illustrated what the outlets described as a tight five-way race between (in alphabetical order) Chico, Daley, Lightfoot, Mendoza, and Preckwinkle. On February 24, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' described the race's polling as showing six candidates with the possibility of making the runoff, with the five strongest contenders being described as (in alphabetical order) Chico, Daley, Lightfoot, Mendoza, and Preckwinkle. Also on February 24,
Chicago magazine ''Chicago'' is a monthly magazine published by Tribune Publishing. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, ...
wrote that it considered six individuals to have a chance of making the runoff, with those individuals being (in alphabetical order) Chico, Daley, Lightfoot, Mendoza, Preckwinkle, and Wilson. In the first round, Lori Lightfoot placed first and Toni Preckwinkle placed second, securing them both a spot in the runoff election. Lightfoot's first-place finish in the first round was regarded to be an upset. She was seen as a long-shot when she first entered the race. In late-January, Lightfoot's support in publicly released polls had only ranged between 2% and 5%. Despite her low poll numbers in January, Lightfoot had persisted in her campaign, performing well in debates and running some ads on television. She won the endorsement of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''. She also garnered new personal endorsements, including those of the
Scott Waguespack Scott Waguespack (born June 23, 1970) is a member of the Chicago City Council, representing the 32nd ward since May 2007. The current 32nd ward includes parts of the neighborhoods of Bucktown, Goose Island, Hamlin Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park ...
,
David Orr David Duvall Orr (born October 4, 1944) is an American Democratic politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served ...
, and
Robin Kelly Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2013. A Democrat, Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She then served as ch ...
, of whom the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Brown would later write in exploring the contributing factors to Lightfoot's first-round victory, "none of them heavyweights but influential enough to point the way for progressive voters looking for some sign, any sign, of how to pick their way through the thicket of candidates." While Lightfoot rose to the top of some polls near the end of the race, she had peaked in support so late in the race that none of the other candidates had been focused on running negative ads against her. Lightfoot also was seen as ultimately benefiting from the Burke corruption scandal, as she was running as a "political outsider" on an anti-corruption platform. Preckwinkle's allies had also, accidentally, provided Lightfoot with free media attention on two noteworthy occasions. The first incident occurred February 18, when one of Lightfoot's press conferences was crashed by Preckwinkle ally
Robert Martwick Robert F. Martwick Jr. is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 10th District since June 28, 2019. The district, includes Chicago’s northwest side and some of its surrounding suburbs. Prior to his appointment to the I ...
, with whom Lightfoot got into a heated exchange. The second incident where Preckwinkle's camp generated free headlines for Lightfoot was when, days before the first round of the election, her campaign manager, Scott Cisek, published a
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
post likening Lightfoot to a
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
, leading to his firing by the Preckwinkle campaign. In Chicago, ethnic/racial coalitions had often played a key role in elections. As such, many of the candidates were seen as targeting different groups with their campaigns. Hispanic candidates Gery Chico and Susana Mendoza were seen as vying for the Hispanic vote. Toni Preckwinkle and Willie Wilson were seen as targeting the black vote. Bill Daley was seen as targeting the white vote. Lightfoot was seen as breaking the rules of traditional Chicago politics by not basing her candidacy on seeking the support of particular ethnic/racial groups.


Runoff

Throughout the runoff, Lightfoot led Preckwinkle in polls. For the runoff, Lightfoot received endorsements from seven of the twelve candidates that had been eliminated in the first round (Gery Chico, Jerry Joyce, John Kozlar, Susana Mendoza, Neal Sales-Griffin, Paul Vallas, and Willie Wilson). Preckwinkle, in contrast, received no endorsements from any candidates that had been eliminated in the first round. In what was considered a "
sweep Sweep or swept may refer to: Cleaning * Sweep, the action of using a brush to clean * Chimney sweep, a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys * Street sweeper, a person's occupation, or a machine that cleans streets * Swept quartz, a clean ...
" of the city's major publications, retaining her endorsement from the Chicago Sun-Times, for the runoff, Lightfoot also received the endorsements of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' and
Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications, a privately held publishing company with more than 30 magazines, including ''Advertising Age'', ''Modern Healthcare'' ...
(both of which had endorsed Bill Daley in the first round). Both Lightfoot and Preckwinkle positioned themselves as self-declared, "
progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
". In the runoff, Preckwinkle highlighted her depth of government experience and sought to emphasize a contrast with Lightfoot's lack of experience in elected office. Lightfoot criticized Preckwinkle's connections with controversial figures such as Ed Burke and
Joseph Berrios Joseph "Joe" Berrios (born February 14, 1952) is a Democratic politician who was the Assessor and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party of Cook County, Illinois, as well as a registered Illinois state government lobbyist. He was the fir ...
. The two candidates differed on
rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: *Price cont ...
, with Preckwinkle seeking the repeal of a state law prohibiting local governments from imposing rent control, while Lightfoot did not advocate for rent control in Chicago. The candidates differed on prospective
term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
, with Preckwinkle opposing them, and Lightfoot advocating limiting both mayoral tenures and City Council committee chairmanships to two terms. Preckwinkle sought to create a ban on aldermen holding outside jobs, while Lightfoot differed, instead preferring to only ban them from holding outside jobs that pose
conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
with official their duties. Preckwinkle wanted the power to draw ward maps to remain in the hands of the City Council, while Lightfoot wanted a non-partisan and independent process to be created for
redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...
. Preckwinkle defended retaining the practice of "aldermanic prerogative", while Lightfoot sought to bring an end to the practice. The candidates also differed on whether they would retain incumbent Superintendent of the
Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...
Eddie T. Johnson Eddie T. Johnson (born July 28, 1960) is an American retired police officer for the Chicago Police Department. He served as the 62nd Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from March 2016 until December 2019. Early life and education ...
, with Preckwinkle having stating that she planned to immediately dismiss Johnson of his post, while Lightfoot stated that she planned to retain him at least through the summer of 2019. Lightfoot ultimately won a landslide victory in the runoff.


Candidates

In order to be listed on the ballot, candidates were required to submit petitions between November 19 and 26. Any certified candidate (those whose petitions had been certified by the Board of Elections) may have had their nomination papers challenged up until December 1. Those candidates with properly-filed challenges against their petitions would have their candidature subjected to hearings and procedures which would assess the validity of their petitions. If any candidate failed to file a statement of economic interests within five days of having their petition certified, then their certification would be revoked. The deadline to file a notarized declaration of intent to be a write–in candidate was December 27, 2018. An exception to the December 27 deadline for write-in candidates to file their declaration of intent existed for circumstances in which a candidate lost their certification ''after'' the December 27 deadline due to the outcome of a challenge to their petitions (candidates in this circumstance were granted until February 19 to file a notarized declaration of intent to run as a write-in candidate). Certified candidates (those whose petitions had been certified by the Board of Elections) were permitted to have their name removed from the ballot if they ''officially'' withdrew any time before December 20, 2018. Even if they informally withdrew by ceasing to campaign, all certified candidates that did not file to formally withdraw before the December 20 deadline would have their names listed on the ballot regardless of whether they were still active contenders. However, after December 20 candidates still may have filed to officially withdraw, an action which would have instructed the Board of Elections to deem all votes cast for the candidates as invalid when tallying votes. Due to the time needed to complete process of reviewing nearly 200 challenges to candidate petitions in the mayoral race and other municipal elections, the start of the early voting period for the first round had been delayed to January 29 from its previously scheduled January 17 date.Schutz, Pari
"Chicago Mayor's Race: Candidates Challenge Petition Signatures by (WTTW)"
December 3, 2018
The total of fourteen candidates on the February mayoral ballot is record-setting for Chicago mayoral elections.


Candidates who advanced to runoff


Candidates eliminated in the first round


Write-in candidates

A full list of eligible write-ins was made available to precincts on election day. * Rebecca Ayers * Catherine Brown D'Tycoon, activist * Ja'Mal Green, executive director of the Majostee Allstars Community Center and
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
activist * Daniel Fein * Ryan Friedman * Stephen Hodge * John P. Loftus * Richard Benedict Mayers, perennial candidate and alleged
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
, write-in candidate for Chicago City Clerk, Treasurer, and alderman in 2019; congressional candidate in 2000, 2002,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, and
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
; 1998 State House candidate; 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate * Tamara McCullough AKA Tamar Manasseh * Robert A. Palmer * Ziff A. Sistrunk * Eric "Kubi" James Stewart * Romaine Ware * Roger L. Washington, police officer, educator at
Malcolm X College Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, is a two-year college located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 and was the first of the City Colleges. Crane ceased operations at th ...
, pastor, candidate for alderman in Chicago's 24th ward in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
* Gregory Young


Petitions rejected

The following candidates had been denied inclusion on the ballot following successful challenges to their petitions: *Conrien Hykes Clark,
octogenarian Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorgani ...
elementary school volunteer * Dorothy A. Brown Cook,
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County is the clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County, located in Cook County, Illinois. Office description On January 1, 1964, the circuit courts of Cook County were unified. Before this, there were more t ...
since 2000 * Catherine Brown D'Tycoon, activist ''subsequently ran as write-in'' * Sandra L. Mallory, former local school council president, former
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
security officer, candidate for alderman in Chicago's 15th ward in 2003 and
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
* Richard Mayers, perennial candidate and alleged
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
, congressional candidate in 2000, 2002,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, and
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
; 1998 State House candidate; 1993 Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate ''subsequently ran as write-in'' * Roger L. Washington, police officer, educator at
Malcolm X College Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, is a two-year college located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 and was the first of the City Colleges. Crane ceased operations at th ...
, pastor, candidate for alderman in Chicago's 24th ward in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
''subsequently ran as write-in''


Withdrew

The following individuals are previously declared candidates who had terminated their candidacies. Unless otherwise indicated, these individuals did not submit petitions: *
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
, incumbent Mayor of Chicago * Ja'Mal Green (had submitted petition), executive director of the Majostee Allstars Community Center and
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
activist ''subsequently ran as write-in'' * William J. Kelly, radio host and perennial candidate, candidate for mayor in 2015, gubernatorial candidate in 2018, candidate for state comptroller in 2010, congressional candidate in 1994 * Troy LaRaviere, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association *Matthew Rooney *William "Dock" Walls, perennial candidate, candidate for mayor in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
,
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...


Declined

The following are prospective and speculative candidates that declined to run: *
Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...
, rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer * Richard Boykin, former member of the
Cook County Board of Commissioners The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...
*
Anthony Beale Anthony A. Beale (born October 22, 1967) is an American politician and the alderman of the 9th ward of the City of Chicago, Illinois United States. Beale is noted as having been one of the youngest members to serve as elected official on the Cit ...
, Alderman from the 9th ward *
Walter Burnett Jr. Walter Burnett Jr. has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the West Loop, Greektown, East Garfield Park, Near North Side, Old Town, West Humboldt Park, West Town, Goose Isl ...
, Alderman from the 27th ward *
Tom Dart Thomas J. Dart (born May 22, 1962) is an American attorney, politician, and law enforcement officer serving as the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. He previously served as a member of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. Education ...
,
Cook County Sheriff The Cook County Sheriff is the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Recent election results , - , colspan=16 style="text-a ...
*
Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...
, former
U.S. Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on ...
and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools *
Bridget Gainer Bridget Gainer (born 1968/1969) is an American politician serving as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 10th district. She was appointed to the position in 2009. Early life and education Gainer was born and raised in the ...
, member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners *
Chuy García Jesús G. "Chuy" García (born April 12, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well a ...
, Congressman from
Illinois's 4th congressional district The 4th congressional district of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019. In November 2017, incumbent Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at ...
, former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and candidate for mayor in 2015 *
Luis Gutierrez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
, former Congressman from
Illinois's 4th congressional district The 4th congressional district of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019. In November 2017, incumbent Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at ...
*
Valerie Jarrett Valerie June Jarrett ( Bowman; born November 14, 1956) is an American businesswoman and former government official. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. She previously served as the Senior Advisor to the Pre ...
, former director of the
White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Public ...
* Ra Joy, executive director of CHANGE Illinois and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018 *
Raymond Lopez Raymond Anthony Lopez (born May 26, 1978) is an American politician who is currently a member of the Chicago City Council serving as alderman of the 15th Ward in Chicago, Illinois. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Par ...
, alderman of the 15th Ward *
Lisa Madigan Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019, being the first woman to hold that position. She is t ...
, former
Attorney General of Illinois The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...
*
Proco Joe Moreno Proco Joe Moreno III (born May 19, 1972) is an American politician who served as alderman from the 1st ward in the Chicago City Council starting in 2010 when he was appointed to replace Manny Flores on March 26, 2010. His term ended on May 20 ...
, member of the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
from the 1st ward *
David Orr David Duvall Orr (born October 4, 1944) is an American Democratic politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served ...
, former Cook County Clerk, former
mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...
1987–1987; *
Ricardo Muñoz Ricardo Muñoz is a former member of the Chicago City Council, having served as alderman for the 22nd ward, which includes Little Village and Archer Heights. Muñoz was appointed to this position by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1993 and served unt ...
, member of the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
from the 22nd ward *
Maria Pappas Maria Pappas is an American attorney, Greek American, and politician who has served as the Cook County Treasurer since 1998. Prior to that, she served two terms on the Cook County Board of Commissioners; first as one of ten members elected fro ...
, Cook County Treasurer *
Ameya Pawar Ameya Pawar (born April 22, 1980) is an American politician who served as the alderman for the 47th Ward of the City of Chicago. He was first elected in the 2011 municipal elections, and was elected to a second term on February 24, 2015. Pawar's ...
, member of the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
, and candidate for governor in 2018 * Mike Quigley, Congressman from
Illinois's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Chicago, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, Nor ...
* Pat Quinn, candidate for
Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...
in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, former
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
, former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and former
Treasurer of Illinois The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...
*
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015. He is a member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, and was elected to serve a ...
, Alderman for the 35th Ward (running for re-election) *
Kwame Raoul Kwame Raoul (, born September 30, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Raoul represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate fr ...
,
Attorney General of Illinois The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...
, former member of the
Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...
* Larry Rogers Jr., commissioner of the
Cook County Board Of Review The Cook County Board of Review is an independent office created by statute by the Illinois General Assembly and is governed by three commissioners who are elected by district for two- or four-year terms. Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, which in ...
* Michael Sacks, chief executive officer of
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*
Roderick Sawyer Roderick Terrance Sawyer (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and the current alderman of the 6th ward located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In addition to serving as alderman, Sawyer is currently the Chairman of the Health and H ...
, member of the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
and chair of the Chicago City Council Black Caucus *
Kurt Summers Kurt Summers Jr. is the former City Treasurer of Chicago, Treasurer of the Chicago, City of Chicago, Illinois. Summers was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on October 22, 2014, and took the oath of office on December 1, 2014. Summers was elected t ...
, City Treasurer of Chicago *Pat Tomasulo, sportscaster, comedian *
Tom Tunney Thomas M. Tunney (born August 22, 1955) is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2003, he has served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represents the prominent 44th Ward of the city, which includes ma ...
, member of the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
from the 44th ward *
Anna M. Valencia Anna M. Valencia (born January 16, 1985) is an American politician who serves as the City Clerk of Chicago. She was appointed to the position vacated by Susana Mendoza, and took office in 2017. She was elected to a full term as City Clerk in 201 ...
, Chicago City Clerk *
Scott Waguespack Scott Waguespack (born June 23, 1970) is a member of the Chicago City Council, representing the 32nd ward since May 2007. The current 32nd ward includes parts of the neighborhoods of Bucktown, Goose Island, Hamlin Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park ...
, member of the
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and chairman of the council's Progressive Reform Caucus * Jesse White,
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and former state representative


Endorsements


First round


Runoff


Fundraising


First round


Runoff

Note that following totals include the amount raised in both rounds of the election


Polling


First round


Runoff

;Ward poll(s) The following are runoff polls limited to voters in a single ward:


Hypothetical runoff polling

;with Gery Chico and Susana Mendoza


Other polling

;If Rahm Emanuel were running for re-election, would you vote for him?


Results


First round


Results by ward

Seven candidates each had pluralities in at least one of the city's fifty wards. *Wilson had pluralities in thirteen wards (Wards 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 34, 37) *Lightfoot had pluralities in eleven wards (Wards 1, 25, 32, 33, 35, 40, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49) *Daley had pluralities in eight wards (Wards 2, 11, 38, 39, 42, 43, 45, 50) *Mendoza had pluralities in seven wards (Wards 12, 14, 15, 22, 30, 31, 36) *Preckwinkle had pluralities in six wards (Wards 3, 4, 5, 8, 26, 27) *Joyce had pluralities in four wards (Wards 13, 19, 23, 41) *Chico had a plurality in a single ward (Ward 10) Of the city's eighteen wards that are predominantly black, Wilson carried a plurality of the vote in thirteen (Wards 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 34, and 37) with Preckwinkle carrying a plurality of the vote in the remaining five (Wards 3, 4, 5, 8, and 27). In the combined vote of the city's predominately black wards, Wilson placed first, Preckwinkle placed second, Lightfoot placed third, Daley placed fourth, and Enyia placed fifth.


Runoff


Results by ward

Lightfoot won all fifty of the city's wards. Additionally, Lightfoot won 2,049 of the city's 2,069 voting precincts (all but twenty), a victory for Lightfoot in more than 99.03% of precincts.


Voter turnout


First round

Turnout in the first round of the election was 35.20%. The low turnout was attributed to poor youth turnout and a drop off in voter turnout from the 2018 midterms. The 35.32% turnout was higher than that of the first round of the 2015 election, but was lower than that of the 2015 runoff. Turnout was lower than in the previous open race in 2011. Turnout was reported to be lowest among the
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
age demographic, with a lower turnout among those under 35 than the previous lowest under-35 turnout in 2007.


Runoff

Runoff turnout was 32.89%.


Portrayal in media

The Steve James documentary series ''
City So Real ''City So Real'' is an American documentary miniseries directed by Steve James, revolving around the 2019 mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval following the murder of George Floyd. ...
'', which premiered at the
2020 Sundance Film Festival The 2020 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 23 to February 2, 2020. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 4, 2019. The opening night film was ''Miss Americana'' directed by Lana Wilson and produced by Morgan ...
and was later televised on
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
on October 28, 2020, centers on the mayoral election.


Timeline


2017

*June: The organization Take Charge Chicago (led by former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn) begins circulating petitions to place a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on the November 2018 ballot which, if approved by voters, would have prohibited Chicago mayors from serving more than two consecutive terms. If approved by voters, this would have prevented incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel from being eligible for re-election *October 19: Rahm Emanuel declares his intention to seek re-election *November 17: Troy LaRiviere announces candidacy


2018

;March *March 21: Garry McCarthy announces candidacy *March 29: Willie Wilson announces candidacy ;April *April 19: Dorothy A. Brown Cook announces candidacy *April 20: Ja'Mal Green announces candidacy *April 22: Neal Sáles-Griffin announces candidacy ;May *May 2: Paul Vallas announces candidacy *May 8: John Kozlar announces candidacy *May 10: Lori Lightfoot announces candidacy ;August *August 6: Take Charge Chicago formally submits to the Chicago Board of Election its petition for a term-limits referendum question to be included on the November 2018 ballot *August 24: Trudy Leong announces candidacy *August 29: Amara Enyia and Jerry Joyce announce candidacies *August 31: Chicago Board of Elections rules that the term-limits referendum question petitioned by Take Charge Chicago had collected a sufficient number of valid signatures to preliminary qualify for inclusion on the November 2018 ballot ;September *September 4: Rahm Emanuel withdraws *September 11: Antoine Members and Charles Minor announce candidacies *September 12: Chicago Board of Elections rules that the term-limits referendum question petitioned by Take Charge Chicago is ineligible for inclusion on the November 2018 ballot due to improper phrasing *September 17: William M. Daley announces candidacy *September 18: Gery Chico and William J. Kelly announce candidacies *September 20: Toni Preckwinkle announces candidacy *September 27: LaShawn Ford announces candidacy ;November *November 13: Troy LaRiviere withdraws *November 14: Susana Mendoza announces candidacy *November 19: First day of petition filing **Catherine Brown D'Tycoon, Jerry Joyce, Toni Preckwinkle, and Paul Vallas file petitions *November 23: Conrien Hykes Clark files petition *November 26: Final day of petition filing **Dorothy A. Brown Cook, Gery Chico, William M. Daley, Amara Enyia, Robert Fioretti, La Shawn K. Ford, Ja'Mal Green, John Kozlar, Lori Lightfoot, Sandra L. Mallory, Richard Mayers, Garry McCarthy, Susana Mendoza, Neal Sáles-Griffin, Roger L. Washington submit petitions **William J. Kelly withdraws *November 27: William "Dock" Walls withdraws ;December *December 3: Deadline for challenges to be filed **Chico, Enyia, Fioretti, Joyce, Kozlar, Mallory, Preckwinkle, Vallas, and Wilson were not challenged, and were therefore certified as candidates and granted ballot status **Challenges were filed against the petitions of Brown Cook, Brown D'Tycoon, Daley, Ford, Green, Hykes Clark, Lightfoot, Mayers, McCarthy, Mendoza, Sáles-Griffin, and Washington. *December 20: Daley and McCarthy are both officially granted ballot status *December 27: Deadline to declare intent to run as a write-in candidates **Mendoza is officially granted ballot status **The petitions of Hykes Clark, Mallory, and Mayers are rejected, effectively removing these candidates' names from the ballot **Ja'Mal Green files to withdraw his name from the ballot and instead run as a write-in *December 31: Ja'Mal Green withdraws


2019

;January *January 2: **Lightfoot is officially granted ballot status **The petitions of Brown D'Tycoon and Washington are rejected, effectively removing their names from the ballot *January 12: Ford is officially granted ballot status *January 22: **Sáles-Griffin is officially granted ballot status **The petition of Brown Cook is rejected, effectively removing her name from the ballot *January 29: Early voting begins for first round of election ;February *February 26: First round of election is held ;March *March 15: Early voting begins for the runoff election ;April *April 2: Runoff election is held


References


External links


Chicago Mayoral Debate hosted by NBC5 and Telemundo Chicago, March 7, 2019
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
{{Illinois elections Chicago mayoral
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
Chicago mayoral election Chicago mayoral election
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Lori Lightfoot