Scott Waguespack (born June 23, 1970) is a 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 ...
, 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
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
, and
Roscoe Village
North Center is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. North Center is bordered on the north by Montrose Avenue, on the south by Diversey Parkway, on the west by the Chicago River and on the east by ...
. He is a member of the council's
Progressive Reform Caucus, and was the chair during 2015–19.
During the 2019–23 term, he was selected as the chair of the Finance Committee.
Background
Waguespack earned his undergraduate degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
and a law degree from
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...
,
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...
. After college, he served in the
U.S. Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
working on clean water construction projects in schools, hospitals and women's clinics. Waguespack also served as an advisor to the President of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and has extensive experience working on nation-building projects in the Former Yugoslavia and Albania in cooperation with the Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT Balkans project. He was a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Waguespack was the city administrator and chief of staff to
Berwyn mayor Michael A. O'Connor in 2005.
Aldermanic career
Waguespack was first elected as Chicago alderman for the 32nd Ward in 2007, unseating incumbent alderman Theodore Matlak. He has subsequently been reelected in 2011,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
.
Waguespack is a member of the following committees:
* Budget and Government Operations
* Committees, Rules and Ethics
* Education and Child Development
* Finance; Human Relations
* License and Consumer Protection
* Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation.
He is also a founding member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Coalition, and has served as chair of the
Progressive Reform Caucus since 2015.
Waguespack is also a member of Local Progress, a network of hundreds of local elected officials from around the country committed to a strong economy, equal justice, livable cities, and effective government. Waguespack is also the current
Democratic Committeeman for the 32nd ward.
In the
2019 Chicago mayoral election
The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was the 2019 edition of the quadrennial elections held to determine the Mayor of the City of Chicago, Illinois. The election was held on February 26, 2019. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a run ...
, Waguespack endorsed
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 ...
, publicly declaring his support of her candidacy in advance of the first round of the election.
Waguespack has been a City Council ally of Lightfoot during her mayoralty.
In January 2020, Waguespack proposed legislation that would have placed limits on single-use plastics and foam food containers by giving give restaurants and take-out establishments until January 1, 2021, to stop selling or serving food in
polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
containers and limit use of plastic utensils and straws.
[
]
Democratic committeeman
Waguespack ran for the unpaid-political position of Democratic Committeeman in the March 2012 Democratic Party Primary Election. The incumbent, Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
Commissioner John Fritchey
John Alden Fritchey IV (born March 2, 1964) is a former Democratic Cook County Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who represented the 12th district in Chicago from 2010 until 2018 and was a Democratic State Representative ...
dropped out of the race on February 15, 2012, citing residential constraints as a barrier to further holding that office.
Scott Waguespack went on to win the race.
References
External links
32nd Ward website
Scott Waguespack political website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waguespack, Scott
1970 births
21st-century American politicians
Chicago City Council members
Colorado State University alumni
Illinois Democrats
Illinois Institute of Technology alumni
Living people
Peace Corps volunteers