40th Ward 2019 Aldermanic Election Candidates Preview

CHICAGO — For 36 years, Ald. Patrick O'Connor has been the 40th Ward alderman, and many candidates have tried to unseat him. This year, four candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for the upcoming municipal election Feb. 26. All four are running campaigns based on an "out with the old, in with the new" platform.

The 40th Ward includes parts of Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Budlong Woods, Bowmanville and Andersonville.

Some 40th Ward candidates' forums have grown heated over the past few months. In an October forum, candidate Ugo Ukere accused O'Connor of racism, after the alderman criticised Ukere for using his Nigerian heritage to raise campaign money.

"O'Connor attempted to cast me as a black bogeyman, someone who only wants to build power for Nigerians and nobody else," Ukere said in a statement posted on Twitter.

O'Connor said his comments were in response to a fundraising invitation, which read, "Building Nigerian Political Power." In a statement issued after the accusation, O'Connor said he felt that was "exclusionary."

“No one race or ethnicity makes up the majority of the ward,” his statement read. “A person who seeks to be the 40th Ward’s Alderman should want to have his ward be his base of support and power.”

The city council is responsible for adopting the city budget and levying taxes. It's also tasked with creating and amending city laws, policies and ordinances.

Endorsements

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board: Patrick O'Connor

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: Patrick O'Connor

Candidates

Patrick O'Connor (i) was elected 40th Ward alderman in 1983, when he was 28 years old. An attorney by profession, he is also the VP and in-house counsel to Foster Bank in the 40th Ward. After Ald. Ed Burke (14th) was charged with attempted extortion in early January, Burke stepped down as chairman of the City Council's Finance Committee, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he was moving O'Connor — the committee's vice-chair — into Burke's spot. While often criticized for not seeking enough community input, O'Connor has been the driving force behind many major accomplishments in his community, including the West Ridge Nature Preserve. During his aldermanic career, O'Connor has occasionally been accused of nepotism after securing friends and family members city jobs, but he's never tried to hide that from the public. O'Connor's wife, Barbara, is a real-estate broker who has sold millions of dollars worth of condos, many of which could not have been built without zoning changes that were given the green light by city council.

Ugo Ukere, a Budlong Woods resident, is a community organizer and government worker in the office of the Evanston City Clerk. He's also worked for Congressman Mike Quigley, the Chicago City Clerk and the Chicago Federal Executive Board. Born in Nigeria, Ukere moved to Chicago with his family at 3 months old. Ukere is the former chair of youth community organization Fuerza del Sol, a group of young leaders that fights for justice in areas of violence prevention, gentrification, immigration and racial justice. Ukere also helped to organize the largest demonstration in Loyola University Chicago’s history — more than 500 students, faculty and staff stood in solidarity with students of color who were facing racial death threats at the University of Missouri. Ukere's top priorities include solving major issues such as poverty, systemic racism in education systems, homelessness and economic inequality.

Maggie O'Keefe is the Founder and President of Maggie the Marketer, a digital marketing company. She has organized deputy voter registrar trainings for over 500 people in Cook County and hosted voter drives at dozens of high schools, street festivals and events. She's an active board member on the Gross Park Advisory Council and served as the acting interim political director for the 47th Ward Democrats for the 2018 primary election. She said that one of her biggest frustrations is that O'Connor is ignoring many community members. Her top priorities include boosting community engagement, lowering taxes and housing costs, providing a better system for funding public education and keeping communities safe.

Dianne Daleiden is a middle school math teacher with Chicago Public Schools. She also ran for alderman in the 40th Ward in 2015. She moved to Edgewater 35 years ago, and said that over the past decade, she's witnessed "hard-working families, friends and neighbors become profit centers for the downtown corporate and tourism trade." If elected, Daleiden said she'll combat the city's practice of giving tax breaks to corporations that "outsource our jobs and receive TIF money that is skimmed from our schools, parks, health clinics and libraries." Daleiden's top priorities include maintaining "strong and safe" public schools, fighting for human rights, creating local jobs, keeping neighborhoods safe and fighting climate change.

Andre Vasquez is a senior manager at a major utility company. He's organized many community meetings, block parties and events. Vasquez said he's passionate about building "a movement designed not just to win an election, but to leave a legacy of sustainable governance." He said that if elected, one of his major goals would be demanding a more transparent and accountable local government. His priorities include fighting for better schools, city services and the right allocation of resources in city government.

For more information on voting in the city's municipal election, click here.

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