This article was written by Rose Haley and Steve Weishampel.
The Feb. 24 city of Chicago elections saw several incumbents keep their seats, but one of Logan Square’s long-standing aldermen, Ald. Rey Colón, lost his re-election bid.
Full election results are available around the Internet; the city’s official site is here. Below are the results for the six wards that make up Logan Square.
Mayor: Logan Square Backs Chuy; Runoff Looms
Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to earn the 50-percent-plus-one votes required to avert a runoff election, and must face challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in a runoff on April 7. Emanuel won 45.4 percent of the vote, while Garcia drew 33.9 percent.
In Logan Square, it appears voters favored Garcia by a sizable margin. Logan Square is made up of six wards; of those, only one ward cast more than 50 percent of its votes for Emanuel. That ward, the 2nd Ward, is only in a small part of the eastern end of Logan Square. Other wards—the 26th, 31st and 35th—voted more than 50 percent for Garcia.
— Steve Weishampel
1st Ward: Moreno Hangs On
Incumbent Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno eked out a victory over challengers Anne Shaw, Ronda Locke and Andrew Hamilton. With 4,129 votes (50.9 percent), Moreno avoided a runoff by only a 1 percent margin.
The second vote getter, Shaw, finished the race with 2,017 votes (24.9 percent), narrowly missing a chance to face off against Moreno in April. Shaw challenged Moreno on issues such as the closure of the 13th district police station during her campaign.
Locke received 1,661 votes (20.5 percent) and Hamilton received 305 votes (3.8 percent).
— Rose Haley
2nd Ward: Runoff Features Hopkins, Pattison
The ward without an incumbent will see a runoff election on April 7, as no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Brian Hopkins, who received 2,771 votes (29.4 percent) will face Alyx Pattison, who received 2,301 votes (24.4 percent).
Eliminated from the runoff were candidates Bita Buenrostro, Steve Niketopoulos, Stacey Pfingsten and Cornell Wilson.
Pattison is an attorney and congressional aide. Hopkins is the top aide for County Commissioner John Daley. Pattison enjoyed the endorsements of the Sun-Times and Tribune, while Hopkins asserted—albeit inaccurately—that he was the only candidate to flat-out oppose increasing property taxes to pay for city pensions.
— Steve Weishampel
26th Ward: More Maldonado
Challengers Juanita Irizzary and Adam Corona failed to oust incumbent Ald. Roberto Maldonado in the 26th Ward. Maldonado won re-election with 52.2 percent of the vote. Maldonado was appointed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2009 and won re-election in 2011 by a much wider margin, earning 82 percent of the vote in that election.
The challengers criticized Maldonado’s decision to convert Ames Middle School into a military academy in 2013, a decision that was unpopular with residents. Maldonado was a co-sponsor of the city ordinance that will gradually increase the minimum wage in Chicago to $13 an hour.
— Steve Weishampel
31st Ward: Suarez and Santiago Face Off
Challenger Milagros “Milly” Santiago will face Ald. Ray Suarez, Vice-Mayor, in a runoff after a tight race. Santiago, a former news reporter for Telemundo, gained 2,117 votes (37.3 percent) to Suarez’s 2,705 votes (47.7 percent).
Santiago’s success in forcing a runoff is something of an upset to Suarez, who has been alderman of the 31st Ward for the past 24 years and has a significantly larger budget. According to the 2nd edition of Aldertrack‘s Racing Form, Suarez had an estimated cash on hand of $470,751.78 to Santiago’s $47,835.05.
Suarez, who says he considers crime, affordable housing and public schools to be the top issues facing Logan Square, told LoganSquarist, “I’m running for re-election because despite my accomplishments, there is definitely more work to be done.”
— Rose Haley
32nd Ward: Waguespack Cruises To Third Term
Ald. Scott Waguespack will return to city council and the Progressive Reform Caucus after defeating challenger Elise Doody-Jones. Waguespack earned 79.1 percent of the vote, Doody-Jones 20.9 percent.
Waguespack has earned a reputation as one of Mayor Emanuel’s most strident opponents and one of Chicago’s most independent and progressive aldermen. He voted with the mayor’s proposals only 54 percent of the time from 2011 to 2014, the third-lowest percentage in the city council. Doody-Jones ran on a platform of cooperating with the mayor and providing choice for voters in the ward.
— Steve Weishampel
35th Ward: Rosa Rises, Colón Exits
Ald. Rey Colón lost his re-election bid to 26-year-old first-time candidate Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who took 67.3 percent of the vote in the head-to-head matchup. Colón had been an alderman for 12 years.
Rosa becomes the city’s first openly gay Latino alderman. He campaigned on a platform of independence from the mayor, repeatedly mentioning Colón’s record of voting with Emanuel. He also criticized Colón’s close relationship with Logan Square developer Mark Fishman, saying he would rather see “local families” involved in development decisions.
— Steve Weishampel
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