With just one day left to receive mail-in ballots, it appears that more than a dozen Chicago City Council races will join the city’s mayoral race in runoff elections next month.
According to the latest vote totals from the Chicago Board of Elections, more than 566,000 ballots have been cast in the election, with a deadline of March 14 approaching for vote-by-mail ballots to be received and counted.
Several incumbent members of the Chicago City Council, including Ald. Chris Taliaferro, Jim Gardiner and Monique Scott are among those facing runoffs, while open seats in numerous wards will also require a second round of voting.
While mail-in ballots have continued to cause numbers to fluctuate, just 337 of those ballots have been returned since Wednesday, with the vast majority of those arriving Monday via overseas and military voters.
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CBOE says that nearly 43,000 vote-by-mail ballots have not been returned, and they expect that nearly all of those will not arrive by Tuesday’s deadline.
Here’s where things stand with one day to go before the CBOE proclaims the final results.
Chicago Mayoral Election
Local
Paul Vallas is just under 33% of the total votes cast, with Brandon Johnson finishing second at 21.6%. Mayor Lori Lightfoot received 16.8% of the vote, with Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Willie Wilson rounding out the top-five.
Several polls have shown Vallas with a narrow lead, but a tight race among lakefront residents and the city's Latino population could potentially impact the outcome of the race.
Ward 4
Lamont Robinson has been comfortably in the runoff election as candidates vie to replace Ald. Sophia King, and Prentice Butler has retained a lead of just over 100 votes over Ebony Lucas, meaning that Butler will likely face Robinson on April 4.
Ward 5
The race to replace Ald. Leslie Hairston will come down to Desmon Yancy and Martina Hone, with the latter candidate besting Renita Ward for a spot in the runoff.
Ward 6
Richard Wooten and William Hall will be the candidates running in the April 4 runoff to replace Ald. Roderick Sawyer.
Ward 10
Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza did not stand for reelection, with Peter Chico and Ana Guajardo earning the two spots in the runoff to replace her.
Ward 11
Ald. Nicole Lee, appointed by Lightfoot last year, will face Anthony Ciaravino in a runoff to keep this seat.
Ward 21
Ronnie Mosley and Cornell Dantzler will compete in the 21st ward runoff to replace Ald. Howard Brookins Jr.
Ward 24
Ald. Monique Scott, also appointed by Lightfoot, received 45.3% of the vote in her ward, but that wasn’t enough to avoid a runoff as she will face Creative Scott next month.
Ward 29
Ald. Chris Taliaferro will likely fall just short of having enough votes to avoid a runoff, as he’ll face CB Johnson on April 4.
Ward 30
Ald. Ariel Reboyras’ seat will come down to a runoff, with Jessica Gutierrez and Ruth Cruz squaring off in the race.
Ward 36
Ald. Gilbert Villegas received 46.5% of the vote, and will face Leonor Torres Whitt in the April 4 runoff election.
Ward 43
Ald. Timmy Knudsen received 26.84% of the vote in his ward, and will face Brian Comer in the April 4 runoff election.
Ward 45
Incumbent Ald. Jim Gardiner will also face a runoff, as he received 48% of the vote. He will face Megan Mathias in the race next month.
Ward 46
In the race to replace Ald. James Cappleman, Angela Clay and Kim Walz will square off, having received more than 60% of the cumulative votes in the ward.
Ward 48
Ald. Harry Osterman’s seat will come down to a runoff between Joe Dunne and Lena Manaa-Hoppenworth, with the two candidates receiving 26.3% and 22.9% of the votes, respectively.
