How many CTU members are running for alderman across the city? Many more than the two so far reported reported by some 'progressives'.... or the three endorsed so far by the CTU House of Delegates...
Just before Thanksgiving Day, there was one significant media report that two teachers (and CTU members) were running for alderman in Chicago. And since then, there has been no updated report on precisely how many are actually running, now that nominating petitions have been submitted by the November 24 (five p.m.) deadline. The municipal election will be held on February 24, 2015, and each of these candidates is running.
As of Thanksgiving, the Chicago Teachers Union has endorsed three of the new challengers and the incumbents who have been active in the Progressive Caucus. While Alderman Bob Fioretti has been consistent for more than four years in his public support for the union, including the 2012 strike, a group of union staff members and Karen Lewis came up with a last-minute plan to endorse Jesus "Chuy" Gracia, a Cook County Commissioner with a recent record of anti-union activities, instead of Fioretti.
At the November meeting of the CTU House of Delegates, the union's delegates, after intense debate, voted to endorse three challengers for aldermanic seats, seven incumbent aldermen, and one among the nine candidates for mayor who are challenging Rahm Emanuel. All of the candidates who submitted their nominating petitions by the deadline on November 24, 2014 now face possible challenges to their signatures. As of Thanksgiving (November 26) there had been no public notification of challenges to either the mayoral or aldermanic candidates.
The most recent example of how sophisticated challenges to nominating petitions can limit the public's choice came during the November 4, 2014 election. Prior to the election, operatives for Governor Pat Quinn successfully challenged the nominating petitions of the Green Party candidate for governor. The ploy succeeded insofar as it limited voters' choices on November 4, but Quinn still became the only major candidate of the Democratic Party to lose. Quinn's record of attacking public worker pensions along with his choice of Paul Vallas as his running mate cost him the election, while the other major Democratic Party incumbents, Senator Alan Dixon and Secretary of State Jesse White among them, won comfortably.
The art of challenging nominating petitions in Chicago and Illinois has been perfected mostly by the "Democratic Party Machine."
PROGRESS ILLINOIS ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT TWO OF THE SEVERAL CANDIDATES WE KNOW TO BE RUNNING:
Aldermanic Hopefuls Challenging Mitts, O'Connor File Nominating Petitions
Candidates vying to unseat incumbent Alds. Emma Mitts (37th) and Patrick O'Connor (40th) filed their aldermanic nominating petitions with the city's election board on Monday.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher Tara Stamps, daughter of late Chicago community activist Marion Stamps, submitted over 2,100 signatures this afternoon to get on the ballot to challenge Mitts. The sitting alderman has represented the West Side's 37th Ward since 2000, when she was appointed by former Mayor Richard Daley.
"Since her appointment in 2000, Alderman Mitts has consistently upheld the status quo, voting with Mayor Emanuel to close mental health clinics, slash jobs, and siphon tax dollars into privatization schemes," Stamps' campaign said in a statement.
The Chicago Teachers Union has endorsed Stamps in the February 24 municipal election. Stamps is a supporter of "a $15 minimum wage, an elected representative school board, a moratorium on school closings, and investments in comprehensive solutions to violence," according to her campaign.
Another CPS teacher, Dianne Daleiden, is a 40th Ward aldermanic hopeful. Daleiden, a member of West Andersonville Neighbors Together, filed 1,587 petition signatures today to get on the ballot to challenge O'Connor, who was first elected as the North Side's 40th Ward alderman in 1983. O'Connor is Mayor Rahm Emanuel's city council floor leader.
"In conjunction with community groups and sometimes individually, for 20 years I have tried to persuade Mr. O'Connor to listen to and act upon residents' demands," Daleiden said in a statement. "I am not sitting this out any longer. As alderman, I will put residents before real estate developers and neighborhoods before downtown.
The Reclaim Chicago group and Northside Democracy for America have endorsed Daleiden, who added that "the Chicago machine's time is up." "Voters across the city, and in the 40th Ward, have said, by their signatures, that they want change in the city council," Daleiden said. "They will no longer tolerate paying the high price of pay-to-play politics. My opponent is the ink for city council's rubber stamp. He must run on his record, which puts him in a difficult place with voters who oppose privatization schemes, and overwhelmingly support an elected school board and a $15 minimum wage."
CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS NOTED THAT MOST OF THE MAYOR'S ALLIES IN CITY COUNCIL ARE RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION UNOPPOSED. CRAIN'S ALSO NOTED THAT CANDIDATES STILL HAVE TO SURVIVE CHALLENGES TO THEIR NOMINATING PETITIONS. HERE IS ONE CRAIN'S UPDATE:
Despite widespread grumbling about Mayor Rahm Emanuel, some of the Chicago City Council's biggest names� including the chairman of the finance committee and the alderman who represents most of downtown�will get a pass in the February city elections. Emanuel himself will face what most observers expect to be at most a moderate challenge, with no surprise contenders emerging at the last minute to vie for his job.
That's the bottom line on candidates filing for the Feb. 24 vote. The deadline passed yesterday, and with a few notable exceptions a wide majority of wards will feature four or fewer candidates for aldermen, even before the inevitable nominating petition challenges. Four incumbents will face no challenge at all.
Drawing a clear path to a new term, at a minimum of $106,558 a year (before extra stipends for committee chairs) were Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th; Ed Burke, 14th; Brendan Reilly, 42nd; and Harry Osterman, 48th. Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, the mayor's floor leader, drew just one opponent.
Burke, dean of the City Council, chairs the powerful Committee on Finance. Quinn comes from Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's home ward, and Reilly represents the bulk of the central district. Osterman is from Edgewater and is a close Emanuel ally.
At the other end of the spectrum: the South Side's 7th Ward, where 16 foes filed to take on incumbent Natashia Holmes, and the Northwest Side's 38th Ward, where nine candidates have filed, including Ald. Nick Sposato, who decided to move to this ward after his 36th Ward was pretty much dismembered in a remap three years ago. There are also 14 candidates in the West Side 24th Ward, and 12 in the neighboring 29th Ward.
Overall, however, the number of candidates for alderman is off by about a third at this point, with 252 filing this year compared to 351 last time, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
Pending petition challenges, Mr. Emanuel will face three veteran pols�Ald. Bob Fioretti, 2nd; ex-Ald. Bob Shaw, 9th; and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia�as well as six lesser-known figures.
The newly appointed city treasurer, Kurt Summers, is unopposed, while City Clerk Susana Mendoza has drew one challenger, political activist Marc Loveless.
The number of candidates willing to run got off to a slow start on Nov. 17, when the period for filing nominating petitions opened.
In all cases, any candidate who wins 50 percent of the vote plus one will be elected. If no candidate clear that bar, the top two vote-getters will go into an April 7 runoff.
SUBSTANCE UPDATES, AS OF NOVEMBER 28. This list is before signature challenges are completed. Some candidates may not survive Chicago's legendary (and vicious) final get-on-the-ballot sport. So here is the best list Substance can come up with as of the day after Thanksgiving Day, by Ward order:
Ward 1. Nobody is challenging incumbent Proco Joe Moreno, to our knowledge.
Second Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti was gerrymandered out of his Ward under the remap orchestrated by Rahm Emanuel and his City Council allies. Fioretti is a candidate for mayor, running against Rahm, and he turned in nominating petitions containing more than 60,000 signatures on November 24, virtually guaranteeing that his name will be on the ballot against Emanuel on February 24, 2015. Unlike the other challengers to the mayor, Fioretti has spoken publicly against the mayor's policies for the past five years, both when the privatization and union busting policies were those of former mayor Richard M. Daley and since May 2011 when the policies were those of Rahm Emanuel and the school board he appointed. By contrast, none of the other candidates challenging Emanuel has spoken at a Board of Education meeting, including the meeting that took place at Westinghouse High School on November 19, 2014. At that meeting, Fioretti joined the Chicago Teachers Union staff and members in denouncing the borrowing policies of the current Board of Education. None of the other announced candidates for mayor, including Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (who by then had received the endorsement of the Chicago Teachers Union amid growing controversy) was even present at that meeting. Substance photo by David Vance.Ward 2. Bob Fioretti was gerrymandered out of the second ward and is running for mayor. The new ward map is a hoot and should be used in any "civics" class to illustrate a gerrymander. Is anyone we know running for the vacant seat. Ward
3. PAT DOWELL is the incumbent. Ward 4. WILL BURNS is the incumbent.
Ward 5. LESLIE HAIRSTON is the incumbent.
Ward 6. RODERICK SAWYER is the incumbent. He has won the support of the CTU and is a member of the City Council Progressive Caucus.
Ward 7. NATASHA HOLMES is the incumbent.
Ward 8. MICHELLE HARRIS is the incumbent.
Ward 9. ANTHONY BEALE is the incumbent. Ward
10. JOHN POPE is the incumbent. Sue Sadlowski Garcia, a counselor at Jane Addams Elementary School, community activist, and leader of CORE, is running against incumbent John Pope. Ward
11. JAMES BALCER, the incumbent, is retiring, so the seat is open.
Ward 12. GEORGE CARDENAS is the incumbent. Pete DeMay is running against George Cardenas, and has the support of many people from Substance and the CTU.
Ward 13. MARTY QUINN is the incumbent. Ward 14. EDWARD BURKE is the incumbent.
Ward 15. TONI FOULKES is the incumbent. A long-time supporter of the Chicago Teachers Union and a member of the Progressive Caucus, she has already been endorsed for re-election by the CTU.
Ward 16. JOANN THOMPSON is the incumbent.
Ward 17. LATASHA THOMAS, chairmen of the City Council Education Committee, is the incumbent.
Ward 18. LONA LANE is the incumbent.
Ward 19. MATTHEW O'SHEA is the incumbent.
Ward 20. WILLIE COCHRAN is the incumbent.
Ward 21. HOWARD BROOKINS JR is the incumbent.
Ward 22. RICARDO MUNOZ, a member of the City Council Progressive Caucus (already supported by the CTU) is the incumbent.
Ward 23. MICHAEL ZALEWSKI is the incumbent.
Ward 24. MICHAEL CHANDLER is the incumbent.
Chicago Teachers Union activist and CORE member Ed Hershey, a physics teacher at Lindblom High School, is running against Danny Solis for alderman of the 25th Ward. Above, Hershey was one of several teachers who spoke powerfully against the current Board of Education at the Board's November 19, 2014 meeting. On the right above, glaring at Hershey, is Chicago Public Schools "Chief Administrative Officer" Tim Cawley, one of the architects of the Board's massive teacher bashing privatization policies. Substance photo by Nate Goldbaum.Ward 25. DANNY SOLIS is the incumbent. Ed Hershey, a Lindblom HIgh School physics teacher and long-time CORE activist, is running against Solis. Socialist Jorge Mujica is also running (and there are other candidates too).
Ward 26. ROBERTO MALDONADO is the incumbent. Ward 27. WALTER BURNETT JR. is the incumbent.
Tammie Vinson teaches special education students at DePriest Elementary School on the West Side. During the November 19, 2014 meeting of the Board of Education (above) Vinson described how the Board's financial mismanagement resulted in a deprivation of services for the children with the most needs. Substance photo by Nate Goldbaum.Ward 28. JASON ERVIN is the incumbent. He is being challenged by Chicago Teachers Union leader (and CORE leader) Tammie Vinson, who currently teaches at DePriest Elementary School.
Ward 29. DEBORAH GRAHAM is the incumbent.
Ward 30. ARIEL REBOYRAS is the incumbent.
Ward 31. REGNER SUAREZ is the incumbent.
Ward 32. SCOTT WAGUESPACK is the incumbent. He is one of the leading aldermen in the Progressive Caucus and has been honored by the CTU several times for his support of the union.
Roosevelt High School teacher Tim Meegan (above, at the July 23, 2014 Board of Education meeting) has been speaking publicly against the policies of the Rahm Emanuel Board of Education since Rahm,'s Board took office back in 2011. The Board members, led by Board President David Vitale, often talk against Meegan's charges (Vitale usually claims that only the Board members have the "true facts"), but then refuse to allow their critics to respond. Above, Vitale had ordered security to take the microphone away from Meegan during the July 23, 2014 Board meeting. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Ward 33. DEBORAH MELL is the incumbent. TIM MEEGAN, a Roosevelt High School teacher and Chicago Teachers Union (and CORE) activist, is running against incumbent.
Ward 34. CARRIE AUSTIN is the incumbent.
Ward 35. REY COLON is the incumbent.
Ward 36. NICHOLAS SPOSATO, the incumbent, is running in the 38th Ward because he was gerrymandered out of his 36th Ward seat (see below). Sposato has received the support of the Chicago Teachers Union and is a long-time leader of the Progressive Caucus.
Jenner Elementary School teacher Tara Stamps spoke forcefully against the hypocrisy of the policies of the current members of the Chicago Board of Education at the Board's November 19, 2014 meeting. Stamps's campaign against the odious Emma Mitts for Alderman is receiving widespread support across the city from those who remember that Mitts has spent more than a decade in union busting work on behalf of mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel and corporations like Walmart and the Noble Network of Charter Schools. Substance photo by David Vance.Ward 37. EMMA MITTS is the incumbent. TARA STAMPS, a Jenner Elementary School teacher and union activist, is running against incumbent Emma Mitts, who has proudly proclaimed her record against unions (she supported the first Walmart in Chicago) and in support of Rahm Emanuel.
Ward 38. TIMOTHY CULLERTON is the incumbent. Cullerton is not running for re-election. Nick Sposato, a member of the Progressive Caucus already endorsed by the CTU, is running for the spot.
Ward 39. MARGARET LAURINO is the incumbent. 
Like all of the teachers who are running for alderman across Chicago, Dianne Daleiden has spoken publicly against the teacher bashing, overtesting and privatization policies of the Chicago Public Schools. Above, Daleiden spoke at the July 2014 meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Ward 40. PATRICK O'CONNER is the incumbent. He is being challenge by CTU and CORE member Dianne Daleiden.
Ward 41. MARY O'CONNER is the incumbent.
Ward 42. BRENDAN REILLY is the incumbent.
Ward 43. MICHELE SMITH is the incumbent.
Ward 44. THOMAS TUNNEY is the incumbent.
Ward 45. JOHN ARENA, the incumbent and a leader of the City Council's Progressive Caucus, is receiving CTU support against at least two major challengers.
Ward 46. JAMES CAPPLEMAN is the incumbent. Ward 47. AMEYA PEWAR is the incumbent. Ward 48. HARRY OSTERMAN is the incumbent. Ward 49. JOSEPH MOORE is the incumbent. Ward 50. DEBRA SILVERSTEIN is the incumbent.
Comments:
By: Larry Duncan
25th Ward
For the 25th Ward, Jorge Mujica is also running (and there are other candidates too). Mujica has been for decades in Chicago a labor activist, he was a key co-organizer of the massive 2006 May Day immigrants rights march, he has organized NABET Local 41 at a Spanish tv station, and he has been outspoken against incumbent Ald. Solis over closing La Casita, and numerous other issues affecting the working class, such as wage theft.
By: Ed Hershey
Aldermen
Isn't Toni Foulkes running in the 16th ward this time? I was also involved with the La Casita struggle (I was one of 10 people arrested at the demolition).
By: Ed Hershey
29th ward
Zirlena Smith, who works with Action Now and as a parent was one of the main architects of the test boycott at Saucedo last year, is running in the 29th ward. I believe she is an associate member of CORE.
By: John Kugler
12th Ward Pete DeMay
Pete DeMay is running against charter supporter and Rahm hack George Cardenas.
We strategically worked from a grassroots view of political power and now it looks like it is us against the machine with no other candidates. We will see if the crook cardenas challenges our 2000 plus signatures.
http://demayforthe12thward.nationbuilder.com/