One ward offers a completely open City Council seat, left vacant by a woman hoping to be elected mayor, the other a seat filled by an incumbent appointed by the mayor just last year.
And both South Side wards have attracted a crowd of candidates, like so many other contests this year.
The race in the 4th Ward — covering parts of the South Loop, Museum Campus, North Kenwood, Kenwood, Douglas and Hyde Park bordering Lake Michigan — heated up with the decision of incumbent Ald. Sophia King to run for mayor.
The nearby 11th Ward, which encompasses parts of Bridgeport, Armour Square, Chinatown, Canaryville and East Pilsen, is a similarly tight race.
Incumbent Ald. Nicole Lee wasn’t elected to the role. She was appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and confirmed by the full City Council last year when Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson was forced to resign after being convicted of tax fraud by a federal jury.
Across the two wards, 13 candidates are hoping to be sworn into the next iteration of Chicago’s City Council. Six have thrown their hats in the ring to replace King, while another six are trying to unseat Lee, who is facing voters for the first time since taking office last March.
Candidates need a majority to win outright on Feb. 28. If no one achieves that, the top two candidates in the ward face off in a runoff on April 4.
In both wards, most candidates cited crime and public safety as a main concern for residents, like voters across much of the city. But other issues are intertwined with crime, and several candidates pointed to supporting small businesses and economic development, education and youth opportunities and affordable housing as areas for improvement.
4th Ward: South Loop, Douglas, Kenwood
In the 4th Ward, Democratic state Rep. Lamont Robinson is looking to shift to local politics and bring his experience at the state level home. A Chatham native, Robinson worked to save Mercy Hospital from shutting down, which would have left the area near 26th Street and Michigan Avenue in need of health care options.
The ward needs “responsible economic development,” said Robinson, 40, vowing to make “sure that the community has a say, that we’re bringing in businesses that the community wants.”
Robinson has received the endorsement of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
He leads the race in fundraising by a longshot. He’s raised more than $340,000, while the next-closest challenger, Ebony Lucas, has just surpassed $96,000, and others fall far below that.
Detroit native Lucas, 46, is a former teacher and lawyer who has run for the seat twice before. She said that despite the diversity of the ward, the communities have identified a common issue.
“People in the South Loop have the same issue as the people in Bronzeville have the same issue as people in Hyde Park, which is that we don’t have access to a quality neighborhood high school,” she said.
The ward is home to five high schools, but only two — Wendell Phillips Academy High School and Dunbar Vocational Career Academy — operate without selective enrollment, and those lack resources, Lucas said.
Matthew “Khari” Humphries, 48, an activist and organizer focused on youth development and Prentice Butler, 42, King’s chief of staff, both identified first responders as an issue to tackle.
Humphries is concerned about the average time it takes for first responders to get to the scene of a crime, and Butler told the Sun-Times first responders could help with issues related to mental health in the area.
Also running are education administrator Helen West, 69, and banker and real estate broker Tracey Bey, 51.
11th Ward: Bridgeport, Armour Square, Chinatown
Lee hopes to hold onto her seat on the City Council, but she recognizes she will have to fight for it.
With experience as a United Airlines executive, Lee, 48, is a lifelong resident of the ward and the first Chinese-American member of the City Council.
“Crime and safety is the biggest priority for most of us that are in these jobs today, and I think for everybody,” she said. “It’s a crowded field and I take nothing for granted.”
Froylan “Froy” Jimenez, a 46-year-old Chicago Public Schools civics teacher and member of the Chicago Teachers Union, said the city and the ward both lack strong leadership. He said his experience in schools gives him a unique perspective, and he would prioritize proper training for anyone involved in public safety.
He also vows to seek input from constituents on issues affecting the ward.
Ambria Taylor, 35, is also a former Chicago Public Schools teacher. She identified herself as the “only progressive choice in a very crowded field,” and believes her neighborhood is “hungry for a progressive choice.”
Taylor vows to take on corporations and seek to decrease pollution, mitigate funds given to large private companies and prioritize participatory budgeting.
Also running in the 11th Ward are accountant and product developer Elvira “Vida” Jimenez, 65, lawyer Steve Demitro, 60, firefighter Don Don and police officer Anthony Ciaravino.
