Chicago

19 Chicago Aldermanic Races Go to Runoff

The Chicago City Council is poised for a potential big shift after April 7

With most of the votes tallied, it appeared Wednesday morning that aldermanic campaigns in 19 of Chicago's 50 wards would continue into April.

Among the wards are those with incumbents such as Natashia L. Holmes (7th), John Pope (10th), Lona Lane (18th), Willie Cochrane (20th), Howard Brookins (21st), Deborah Graham (29th), Ray Suarez (31st), Deb Mell (33rd), Emma Mitts (37th), Mary O'Connor (41st), Michele Smith (43rd), John Arena (45th) and James Cappleman (46th). Ald. Toni Foulkes will also face a runoff challenger, though in a new ward as a result of redistricting.

Holmes, in the 7th ward, was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Sandi Jackson resigned in 2013 because of legal problems. She had seven challengers looking to unseat her Tuesday, with Gregory Mitchell coming the closest to succeeding. Holmes garned 25.1 percent of the vote to Mitchell's 20.3 percent. The ward favored Emanuel in the mayoral race, giving him 43.6 percent of the vote. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia came in second with 24.6 percent. Read more about the 7th ward.

Pope, in the 10th Ward, had six challengers but came out with 44.1 percent support. His nearest challengers, Susan Sadlowski Garza, earned 24 percent. The ward overwhelmingly favored Garcia in the mayoral race, giving him 47.5 percent to Emanuel's 37.7 percent. Read more about the 10th ward.

Lane, in the 18th Ward, faces an uphill battle in the April 7 runoff. She joined the Chicago City Council in 2006 but could lose her seat after coming in second on Tuesday to challenger and ward committeeman Derrick Curtis. Lane earned 29.9 percent of the vote but was trumped by Curtis' 30.4 percent. The 18th Ward favored Emanuel in the mayoral race, giving him 38.7 percent support to Garcia's 32.8 percent. Read more about the 18th ward.

In the 20th Ward, Cochrane enjoys a substantial lead over his closest challenger, Kevin Bailey, but the votes just weren't enough to allow him to win outright. The ward also didn't give Emanuel an outright victory in the mayoral election. Emanuel earned 40.7 percent of the vote while Garcia earned 26.0 percent. Read more about the 20th ward.

The 21st Ward six people chipped away at Brookins. Given the numbers, he'll likely come out victorious in April, though he'll likely continue to face questions about his former chief of staff, Curtis Thompson, who pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe. Tuesday's election gave Brookins 41.7 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger, Marvin McNeil, earned just 14.1 percent. The ward was also split among the mayoral candidates. Emanuel had 42.4 percent of the vote here. Businessman Willie Wilson was the second-place finisher in the 21st Ward, with 24.2 percent of the vote. Read more about the 21st ward.

In the 29th Ward, Graham, the incumbent, faced seven challengers. She came out with 40.0 percent of the vote and will face Chris Taliaferro, who earned 22.5 percent, in the April election. The ward favored Emanuel, giving him 42 percent of the vote. Garcia was second, with 25.1 percent. Read more about the 29th Ward.

The vote split in the 31st Ward perhaps shows a test in the traditional leadership of Joe Berrios, the Chairman of the Cook County Democrats. Suarez has been alderman in the ward for 24 years but will face Milagros "Milly" Santiago on April 7. Suarez lead Santiago 47.7 percent to 37.3 percent. Voters in this ward preferred Garcia to Emanuel in the mayoral race. Garcia earned 50.9 percent to Emanuel's 40.5 percent. Read more about the 31st Ward.

In the 33rd Ward, Mell lead her closest challenger, Tim Meegan, by a little more than 1,000 votes as of 6 a.m.  Mell comes from a political family, and her father held the same position from 1975 to 2013, when he resigned and was replaced by his daughter. Meegan earned the Chicago Teachers Union endorsement. Both Deb Mell and her father, Richard Mell, have 100 percent voting records in line with the mayor, but early voting numbers showed the ward preferred Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in Tuesday's mayoral race. Garcia earned 49.4 percent of the vote while Rahm Emanuel earned 39.8 percent. Read more about the 33rd ward.

The 36th Ward is another test of Berrios' leadership. Berrios and the Cook County Democrats supported incumbent Aquino, but he'll face a runoff with Gilbert Villegas. Aquina had 35.7 percent of the vote to Villegas' 32.7 percent. Voters in this ward also preferred Garcia to Emanuel. Garcia collected 44.9 percent of the vote to Emanuel's 39.4 percent. Read more about the 36th ward.

In the 37th Ward, Emma Mitts will face Tara Stamps in the April 7 runoff. Mitts early Wednesday morning had 47.7 percent of the vote to Stamps' 32.3 percent. Her ward favored Emanuel in the mayoral race. He earned 40.9 percent, followed by Wilson's 28.2 percent. Read more about the 37th ward.

In the 41st Ward, Mary O'Connor faces a runoff with Anthony Napolitano. The incumbent had 47.9 percent of the vote, followed closely by Napolitano's 42.4 percent. The ward favored Emanuel in the mayoral race. He earned 48.0 percent support, followed by Garcia with 30.9 percent support. Read more about the 41st ward.

In the 43rd Ward, Smith topped Caroline Vickrey by about five percentage points. Smith has served one term in the Chicago City Council in a ward that includes Lincoln Park, Old Town, and DePaul University. She is a protégé of the mayor and was endorsed by him but faced discontent in her ward concerning the redevelopment of Children's Memorial Hospital. Voters here overwhelmingly favored Emanuel in the election. Early numbers showed him with 71.9 percent of the vote. Garcia came in second, with 18.4 percent of the vote. Read more about the 43rd ward.

The April election will have 45th Ward Ald. John Arena up against John Garrido. Arena had 45.5 percent to Garrido's 39.7 percent. The ward favored Emanuel, giving him 48.4 percent of the vote to Garcia, with 34.9 percent. Read more about the 45th ward.

And in the 46th Ward, first-term Ald. Cappleman will face challenger Amy Crawford, who trailed by fewer than 1,000 votes as of 6 a.m. The ward includes Uptown and is on the verge of gentrification. Early numbers showed the ward preferred Emanuel in the mayoral race. Read more about the 46th ward.

Foulkes, previously alderman of the 15th district, ran in the 16th ward due to redistricting. She was the leader in Tuesday's race following the recent death of incumbent JoAnn Thompson. Foulkes garnered 43.3 percent support in Tuesday's race. Her closest challenger, Stephanie Coleman, earned 34.9 percent support. The ward favored Emanuel in the mayoral election, giving him 38.9 percent of the vote. Garcia was second, with 27.7 percent support. Read more about the 16th ward.

Aldermen in the 12th, 13th, 14th, 28th, 30th, 42nd, and 48th wards ran unopposed.

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