7th Ward Ald. Sandi Jackson filed petitions to run for re-election this week. At the same time, she also filed to run for city clerk, a seat being vacated by Miguel Del Valle who is running for mayor. Jackson has until the end of the month to decide which office she wants to run for and withdraw one of the petitions, but in either case she will likely face a candidate at least affiliated with county commissioner and former ward alderman Bill Beavers. Beavers's daughter Darcel, who lost to Jackson in 2006 is looking for a rematch, throwing her hat in the ring, and Mersaydes Young, a staffer in Beavers's office is running for city clerk. “We’re going to weigh both seats and pray,” Jackson told the Tribune of how she will make her decision. more ›

A piece that ran in Sunday's Tribune got us to thinking about the ramifications of last week's election here in Chicago. Much has been made about the significance of the nine new aldermen that will take office in May, especially those that had the support of labor. Dorothy Tillman, Madeline Haithcock, and Shirley Coleman all went down, beaten by union backed candidates. Toni Foulkes in the 15th Ward, an actual union member, beat Felicia Simmons-Stoval... more ›

With most of Tuesday's election settled around the city, 24 candidates are gearing up for the special election April 17. The big story that is coming out of this vote is the role that unions played in this election. Of the twelve runoffs, five were candidates that were endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor. Two are union members; Leroy Jones in the 21st is a member of SEIU Local 73, and Toni Foulkes is... more ›

Well, another municipal election has come in Chicago, and in many wards (but not all) it's gone. As expected, Richard M. Daley sailed to re-election, set to eclipse his father as the Chicago's longest-serving mayor, in spite of Ben Joravsky's best efforts. At the time of this writing, a few things are clear: there will be a few runoffs this year, including Madeline Haithcock - Bob Fioretti (2nd), Dorothy Tillman - Pat Dowell (3rd), Shirley... more ›

Since the news yesterday was dominated with Obama's big tease, a story that has been brewing for a while might have been missed, even if you follow politics pretty closely. Chicago unions, led by break-away schismatic the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and their supporters, have not only withheld endorsing Daley, but are actively targeting aldermen in a series of wards where they think are ripe for change. Citing a whole list of grievances with... more ›

In case you missed it, two important filings of candidacies took place this week: Mayor Daley's stalking horse, Dorothy Brown, is now officially running for mayor, and Sandi Jackson threw her hat in the ring to take on William Beavers' daughter, Darcel Beavers, for 7th Ward Alderman. While Brown's announcement is significant only becuase she is a pawn of Daley, the Beavers/Jackson race is sure to be a headline grabber this season. While Chicagoist has... more ›

The big news yesterday was that Daley would run for relelection. Lined up at city hall with all the aldermanic candidates was none other than Terry Peterson, former Chicago Housing Authority CEO and Daley's campaign manager, carrying less than 25,000 signatures to put Hizzoner on the ballot. This is a far cry from past campaigns when Daley surrogates would arrive with nearly a quarter million signatures. While some have speculated that filing light like this... more ›

Although she hasn't officially announced to the press yet, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that Jesse Jackson Jr's wife Sandi will be running against William Beaver's daughter Darcel for 7th Ward Alderman. This race looks to be one of the hottest and most contested races in the city this election cycle, as William Beavers tries to hold onto the Ward he left for the County Commission, and Jackson Jr tries to build a base... more ›