What Makes a Good Municipal Candidate?
2026/2027 Elections are closer than we think.
Last week, we shared a list of criteria with our X followers to gather feedback on what makes a good municipal candidate—whether alderman, mayor, or other roles. Below is what we shared, along with some feedback we received:
1. Ethics and Integrity
2. Vision for the Future
3. Deep Understanding of Local Issues
4. Leadership, Results, Experience
5. Commitment to Transparency and Accountability
6. Strong Critical Thinking Skills and Ability to Use Data to Drive Decisions
7. Great at Collaboration and Coalition Building
8. Effective and Prudent Financial Management
9. Community Engagement, Accessibility and Cultural Competence
As we move forward, we'll explore in more detail what success looks like if we're able to recruit candidates who possess much or all of the qualities listed above.
We’d also love to hear your feedback:
As we will elect the full 21 seat school board in 2026, this is what we shared back in September leading up to the recent election:
So What Makes A Good School Board Candidate, Anyway?
First and foremost, a candidate putting the needs of students and their families is the most critical. As you’ve probably most recently seen, there are many agendas being floated around that highlight outcomes that don’t directly improve the lives of children. Here are some of the positions we've asked the candidates we've spoken with to address:
Eileen O’Neill Burke is being sworn in as Cook County State’s Attorney today. Former Justice Burke was quoted saying the state’s attorney’s office under Kim Foxx “isn’t working for victims, defendants, advocates, law enforcement, and ordinary citizens”. We look forward to the office’s day one changes. Her transition team can be found here.
The task of rebuilding this office is going to be a heavy lift. To note:
The office employs 1300 people.
Cook County’s population is bigger than 26 states in the U.S.
The prosecutor’s office is the second largest in the country (Only Los Angeles is bigger).
The personnel issues within the mayor’s leadership team continue to mount. The latest turmoil centers around the mayor’s former communications director. Ronnie Reese, who began as the mayor's press secretary in May 2023, was promoted to communications director earlier this year. Reese was previously employed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Documents reveal four complaints against Reese—ranging from sexual misconduct to misogyny and racism—filed between May 2023 and July 2024. It’s worth noting that he was promoted despite the complaints.
It wasn’t until November 2024 that the mayor’s Chief of Staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, finally terminated Mr. Reese’s employment. More details here.
Other notes:
The CTU is voting today to pass a resolution on an arms embargo for Israel.
Chicago is proposing an increase in the tax on cloud computing services. The mayor suggested an increase to 11% could generate ~$130mm in additional revenue for the city. More on the rest of the recent tax hike plan here.
We’re working on an aldermanic scorecard. Stay tuned!
Our deepest condolences go to the family of Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins. Officer Reddins, only 40 years old, leaves behind his mother and his 19-year old son. Officer Reddins was shot and killed by a 37 year old convicted felon with an extensive criminal history on Friday morning.