Bill Conway’s daughter Birdie ran into his arms just as he declared victory in the newly drawn 34th Ward that now encompasses the West Loop, Fulton Market and Greektown Tuesday night.
Less than two hours after polls closed, the former Cook County prosecutor told a cheering crowd at Carnivale that his first course of action would “really be to make sure our police officers have the resources they need to fight crime and what I can get out of my aldermanic budget to do that.”
The 34th Ward used to include West Pullman, Roseland and Morgan Park but was changed during the redistricting process after indicted Ald. Carrie Austin opted to not to seek reelection.
Two hours after polls closed, Conway led with 67% of the votes with 90% of the precincts counted. Candidate Jim Ascot, who conceded, received about 33% of the votes.
“We just hope Bill Conway does the best he can for the ward,” Ascot’s campaign manager, Denis Ascot, said.
In the colorful West Loop restaurant, Conway’s supporters had been preparing for a victory well before he was declared the winner.
One fan, Jesse Juarez, placed Ace, King, Queen and Jack cards — a royal flush — in his hat.
Elsewhere across the city’s West Side, freshmen and longtime City Council members awaited results.
25th Ward
Aida Flores, tried to unseat Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, from the 25th Ward, which includes Pilsen, Little Italy, Little Village and University Village.
Sigcho-Lopez led with 52% of the votes with 100% of precincts reporting. Flores had nearly 48% of votes.
At V Live Restaurant in Little Village, Sigcho-Lopez declared victory.
“This was not a small victory,” he said. “Tonight and today we defeated the machine.”
However, Flores’ campaign said they weren’t conceding Tuesday night because they were waiting for the rest of the mail-in ballots to be counted.
“We are definitely looking to make sure that every vote gets counted and every process is done effectively,” said Joz Sida, of the Flores campaign.
There were 1,338 outstanding mail-in ballots for the 25th Ward as of Tuesday, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. There were 7,295 votes cast in the ward.
24th Ward
Ald. Monique Scott (24th) appeared to be heading into a runoff after facing challenges from seven candidates vying for the ward that oversees Lawndale.
Scott — who was appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to replace her brother, Michael Scott Jr. — led with 45% of the votes with 100% of the precincts counted.
Her challengers included: Traci Treasure Johnson, Drewone Goldsmith, Creative Scott, Edward Ward, Vetress M. Boyce, Luther Woodruff Jr. and Larry G. Nelson.
Creative Scott had about 15% of votes, and Boyce had 13% of votes.
Monique Scott’s campaign said it was awaiting results from outstanding mail-in ballots.
“We’ll just wait and see,” said former Ald. Michael Scott, who is working for his sister’s campaign. “We feel very confident about our position in the race.”
22nd Ward
Ald. Michael D. Rodriguez (22nd) Tuesday fended off challenges from Neftalie Gonzalez, a business owner, and Kristian R. Armendariz, a community organizer.
Rodriguez secured 66% of the votes with 100% precincts reporting.
The 22nd Ward includes parts of Little Village, Garfield Ridge and North Lawndale.
29th Ward
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) faced challenges from CB Johnson and Corey Dooley.
The ward includes Austin, Galewood and Montclare.
Taliaferro led with 51% of the votes with 88% of the precincts reporting Tuesday night. Johnson had nearly 39% of votes.
37th Ward
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), who has served on the City Council since 2000, was victorious, receiving 62% of the votes with 73% of precincts counted.
Jake Towers, Corey Denelle Braddock and Howard Ray — who received about 28% of votes — all sought to unseat Mitts.
The 37th Ward includes parts of Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, Austin and Garfield Park.
28th Ward
Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th) faced a challenge from Shawn A. Walker after the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that Walker’s name could appear on the ballot.
Ervin was leading with 76% of votes with 96% of the precincts counted Tuesday night.
The 28th Ward includes the Near West Side, North Lawndale, Garfield Park and Austin.
Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
