They may be running, they may not! But these potential mayoral candidates come from all parts of Chicago. Herein: the neighborhoods where they live, and what their addresses mean for their candidacies.
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Manny Flores
1st Ward. Half Latino, half hipster. May help the thirtysomething Flores become a crossover candidate.
James Meeks
9th Ward (assuming he actually lives in the Salem Baptist Church parsonage, and not in Dolton.) Highly segregated, home to Emil Jones and John Stroger, a stronghold of African-American political power. The remote, impoverished ward includes Roseland and Altgeld Gardens, which are as far from City Hall as any neighborhoods in the city.
Tom Dart
19th Ward. Now the premier South Side Irish machine ward. Think Hynes, Sheahan, Joyce. They’ve been trying to take over the city for decades.
Carol Moseley-Braun
4th Ward. Learned her political chops as a legislator representing biracial Hyde Park, which helped her win over white voters as Recorder of Deeds and U.S. Senator.
Luis Gutierrez
31st Ward. Gutierrez used to be 26th Ward alderman, but moved to a northwest side condo. Still in the barrio, though. His alderman is Ray Suarez.
Politics
Miguel del Valle
31st Ward. As a state senator, he represented West Town and Humboldt Park.
Rahm Emanuel
47th Ward. Yoga studios, coffee shops, bookstores, European bakeries, used records stores, running boutiques. A great place to camouflage the fact that you’re heir to the Chicago Machine.
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
7th Ward. Jackson’s got an in here: his wife, Sandi, is alderman and committeeman of the 7th Ward, which lies where Hyde Park ends and the real South Side begins.
Bob Fioretti
2nd Ward. Fioretti is the ward’s first white alderman since 1915. Representing the birthplace of black power in Chicago may make Fioretti think he can unite this diverse metropolis.
James Houlihan
44th Ward. The address that says, “I may look like a South Side Irish pol, but I’m actually a North Side liberal who stood with Harold Washington.”
Rickey Hendon
27th Ward. Hendon couldn’t get to Hollywood from the West Side. Can this poor, majority-black ward launch him to City Hall?
