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Girl, I Guess:

A Progressive Voter Guide to the 2024 General Election in Cook County and Beyond

Written by: Stephanie Skora and Raeghn Draper | Edited by: Stephanie Skora

Want to read more from Girl, I Guess? Check out the Patreon!

PayPal: Stephanie Raeghn | Venmo: @StephanieSkora @Raeghn-Draper

CashApp: $StephanieSkora $Raeghn

Table of Contents/TL;DR

  • Judge of the Circuit Court (Flannery, Jr. Vacancy) — Pablo F. deCastro
  • 12th Subcircuit (Dickler Vacancy) — Alon Stein
  • 12 Subcircuit (Quinn Vacancy) — Frank J. Andreou
  • 12th Subcircuit (Schleifer Vacancy) — James Costello
  • 18th Subcircuit (Linn Vacancy) — John Hock

  • All Judicial Retention Races, No Commentary Because There Are Too Many Judges

Hoffman — YES

Ellis — YES

Flanagan — NO

Lubin — YES

Agran — YES

Bartkowicz — YES

Wright, Jr. — SUPER NO

Varga — NO

Brosnahan — SUPER NO

Boyle — SUPER NO

Walker — NO

Brennan — YES

Flannigan — YES

Howard — YES

Marisie — YES

McHale — NO

Murphy — YES

Ocasio III — YES

Roberts — YES

Gamrath — YES

Brewer — YES

Reddick — YES

Jean-Baptiste — YES

Clancy — YES

Scannicchio — YES

Marsalek — YES

Boyd — NO

Degnan — YES

Ehrlich — YES

Gallagher — YES

Gamboney — YES

Hayes — YES

Kelley — NO

Lewis — YES

MacCarthy — YES

Marino — YES

Mullen — NO

K. O’Malley — YES

Pavlus — YES

Ramirez — YES

Santiago — NO

Quish — YES

Saltouros — YES

Delgado — YES

Horan — YES

Rosado — YES

Harvey — YES

Davis — YES

Coleman — YES

Seaton — YES

Navarro — YES

Perkins — YES

Harris — YES

Jones, Jr. — YES

Gonzalez — YES

Wrenn — YES

Barrett — YES

Blakely — YES

Chupack — YES

Ciaccia-Lezza — NO

Cunningham — YES

Daly — NO

Frausto-Sandoval — YES

Gray — NO

Hagerty — YES

Huge — YES

Lanahan — YES

McGuire — YES

McKenna — YES

S. O’Malley — SUPER NO

Orr — YES

Perez — YES

Shapiro — NO

Sianis — YES

Silva — YES

Vahey — YES

Webber — YES

Willis — YES

Who Is Girl, I Guess?

Like two dykes ready to Thelma and Louise off the cliff of political ennui that are General Elections in Cook County, Girl, I Guess is BACK!!!! This one is a doozy, y’all. Yes, we’ve got our usual Red vs Blue vs Assorted Clowns shlock, but we’ve also got SUBURBAN BALLOT MEASURES!! We’ve got the CHICAGO SCHOOL BOARD!! We’ve got REASONS to H-O-T-T-O-G-O to the polls! In all seriousness, as we hurtle towards a full year of genocide in Gaza which neither major political party has any interest in preventing , it can feel pretty hard to care about politics these days. But voting, and voting local especially, is one of the most important political actions that we can take to shape our material conditions and ensure that our City and our County have what we need to continue to be a good place to live. This is Guide number 13, and our Raeghn and Steph’s second go-around at Girl, I Guess, so let’s dive in together once more!

Stephanie Skora is a grouchy Jewish trans dyke, and an anarchist with a political science degree. She is the Chief Development Officer at Brave Space Alliance, Treasurer of the Board of the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, and several other things, as well.

Raeghn Draper is a pro-labor, queer, Black, non-binary babe who is bisexual only because they like the flag colors better than the ones for the pansexual flag. They are the Lead Storyteller for the Futures Institute, a co-founder of the Chaad Project, a community organizer, painter, and writer.

We’ll both be consulting with each other on each race and endorsement, but we’ll be dividing the coverage up and writing races separately. Coverage written by Stephanie will be signed with a §, while coverage written by Raeghn will be signed with a ♉.

Girl, I Guess is Jewish, Black, queer, trans, nerdy and dedicated to helping members of our community navigate a confusing ballot and identify the most progressive candidates. We also recommend you consult with progressive / radical organizers in your community, especially queer, trans, Black, and Brown folks! This Guide is once again a joint effort and while Stephanie might be a Virgo smartypants know-it-all with a lot of opinions, and Raeghn might be a Taurus who is both stubborn and certain that they’re correct, but we’re actually both far from infallible!

                                 

Putting together this voter guide is an act of love, but it is a lot of work! If you’d like to thank us, you’ll find our payment app information below:

PayPal: Stephanie  Raeghn

Venmo: @StephanieSkora  @Raeghn-Draper

CashApp: $StephanieSkora $Raeghn

*This guide does not represent the political views of our organizations or employers!! Brave Space Alliance, The Futures Institute, The CHAAD Project, The Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity are all 501c3 organizations, and do not contribute to, or have anything to do with, the writing of this document, or any endorsements, opinions, or content herein!

Why Bother?

The time between our March Primary and July, when Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and then the whiplash of being willing to consider Kamala to realizing that she’s literally the exact same candidate as Biden but with even less substance has got so many of us feeling like this:

But. Pretty much no matter where you live in Cook County, I’ve got two words for you. In Chicago, those two words are SCHOOL. BOARD. Yes, we’ve got the first-ever round of elections for the Chicago Public Schools Elected School Board, and voters across the City will have the weird task of electing half of a School Board for two years, only to elect the full 21-member body in 2026. Even if you’re disenchanted with the Presidential race and don’t have another truly competitive race on your ballot, you’ve gotta turn up so Chicago can get the School Board we deserve. In Skokie and Oak Park, your two words are BALLOT. MEASURES. Specifically, y’all have the opportunity to change the face of elections in your Villages by choosing to conduct elections by using Ranked Choice Voting, enhancing democracy and hopefully boosting turnout!! Everyone else, y’all get two sets of words. JUDICIAL RETENTION and PROPERTY TAXES!! Yes, it’s that time again, where voters in Cook County get the opportunity to weigh in on the Judges that were elected either four, six, or ten years ago, depending on what level of the Judiciary they’re at. We’ve got a whopping seventy-eight Judicial Retention questions on the ballot, and it’s essential that we vote our entire ballot, so that the stellar judges can remain, and the shitty ones can (hopefully) get the stanky boot. That not enough for ya? Property taxes probably will be! Whether you own your home or rent, property taxes impact your financial situation every month, and every year. This year, Illinoisans have an opportunity to vote on an advisory statewide ballot measure that is intended to weigh voter support for raising income taxes on people who make $1,000,000 or more in income, in order to set funds aside for property tax relief for the rest of us. This is GOOD, and we want to make sure the measure passes safely so that our representatives in the General Assembly can try to make it law in the next two years. I know, I know. Incrementalism. But y’all, let’s keep showing up, and showing out so that we can continue trying to make the world a better place, both at the ballot box, on the internet, and in the streets (just wear a mask!). Once more, with feeling!

And listen up, IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER TO VOTE. You can register when you show up to vote on election day! Or at any of the early voting places! Just bring two pieces of ID one of which provides proof of address (e.g., pay stub, utility bill). You don’t need to have an Illinois ID! It’s easy, I promise! If you’re not sure what kinds of ID to bring, check out the Chicago Board of Elections site. You can also register online to request a mail-in ballot at the same website, and in Chicago, you can request to be put on a list to be PERMANENTLY registered to vote by mail!!

If you're planning on voting, MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE! For those of y'all who want to vote early, check here for early voting locations. If you want to vote on the day of the election, check here to look up your polling place. In Chicago, early voting starts on October 3rd at the Board of Elections supersite in the Loop, and in all 50 Wards on October 21st.

Most importantly, remember that, if you’re privileged with access, VOTING IS YOUR RIGHT! Sometimes, nefarious foolery on the part of some campaigns, or political parties, interfere with that right. If that happens, call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE! This wonderful service contacted me, and asked to be put in the Guide as a resource, so here they are! They’re a toll-free hotline staffed by nonpartisan legal volunteers who can help you on the spot.  Election Protection is the nation’s largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition whose local efforts are led by Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

Methodology:

Ahhhhh General elections. This is Girl, I Guess’s second Presidential election, and we only get one new candidate! Yay! And by “yay” we mean “BOO”! We’re still back to basics for this Guide, with a single endorsement (and very rarely no endorsement or a joint endorsement), being handed out per race. We also won’t be covering Congress this year (see here for our reasoning), and most of the statehouse races are pretty straightforward. However! We’ve got the first-ever CPS School Board election, a nonpartisan race during perhaps the most partisan election, a handful of advisory ballot measures statewide PLUS some binding ones in the suburbs, annnnnnnd everyone’s favorite, Judicial Retention! In most cases we’ll be endorsing the Democrat and talking about how the Republican is a nutjob, but there will be a few instances in which that isn’t the case.

This guide is written by using publicly available information from the candidates’ websites and in media outlets, as well as the candidates’ publicly available funding disclosures. We also consult with radical organizers that we trust. Candidates are judged based on the overall progressive nature of their platform, which varies for Federal and State races. Metrics that all non-Judicial candidates are being judged upon include:

  • Support for a free Palestine and BDS
  • Support for Medicare for All/Single Payer for Illinois
  • Support for Ranked Choice Voting
  • Stance on workers’ rights and unions
  • Support for canceling Student Loan Debt
  • Progressive policies on Housing Justice, especially Just Cause for Eviction
  • Support for a Universal Basic Income, and/or a higher national minimum wage
  • Endorsements from meaningful progressives, and (some) past Girl, I Guess endorsees
  • Progressive positions on climate change
  • Progressives positions on racial justice and defunding/abolishing police and prisons
  • Support for decriminalizing sex work
  • Support for trans people, intersex people, and the broader LGBTQ community
  • Support for addressing gerrymandering, and voter suppression
  • Stance on term limits
  • Being pro-choice (AKA The Lipinski Rule)
  • And more, depending on the individual races!

Judicial Candidates are evaluated on the following criteria, with help from the excellent coverage provided by the folks at Injustice Watch:

  1. Is this judge a cop?
  2. Is this judge sketchy, suspicious, or have they done bad/controversial things in the past?
  3. Is this judge a dumbass?
  4. Do Bar Associations think that this judge is qualified?

As always, candidates in bold are the ones that receive the disgruntled shrug of a Girl, I Guess endorsement.

THE GOLDEN SHRUG

In the 2020 General Election, Girl, I Guess introduced a new level of endorsement to the Guide, meant to aid folks who only read the TL;DR section of the Guide, and distinguish endorsees who are truly worthy of recognition from those who are just… also running for office and managed to be less atrocious than their co-fuckers who inhabit the neighboring lines of the ballot. That new wrinkle is the Golden Shrug Endorsement.  A small number of candidates will appear with a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ next to their name in the TL;DR section, and the text GOLDEN SHRUG next to their candidate listing in the coverage of their race, and will also be sent a Lo-Fi, On-Brand, Girl, I Guess endorsement graphic for their campaign social media and website. A Golden Shrug denotes a candidate that we are/would be personally proud to vote for, or whose election we think is especially important. Also, if you are a cishet white guy, you’re not getting a Golden Shrug, no matter how much we like you. We’re both dykes, so them’s the rules. Sorry Will Guzzardi.

The Girl, I Guess 2024 General Election Golden Shrug Recipients are:

Ebony DeBerry, Candidate for CPS School Board, District 2

Jason Dónes, Candidate for CPS School Board, District 3

Karen Zaccor, Candidate for CPS School Board, District 4

Felix Ponce, Candidate for CPS School Board, District 8

Lanetta Thomas, Candidate for CPS School Board, District 9

How to Use This Guide:

We recommend that you use this guide as a companion to BallotReady. If you don’t know, BallotReady is a website that will help you fill in your full ballot. Based on your address, they’ll provide you with a tailored ballot with all your unique districts. They’ll allow you to “add” your preferred candidates to your ballot, which you can then print out to take into the voting booth.

The table of contents above will help you navigate this guide and find the info you need. It also has the TL;DR on candidates Girl, I Guess recommends. But we do recommend reading the why behind those candidates if you have the time.

If you think we’ve gotten any non-Golden Shrug endorsements wrong, please let me know on Facebook, Instagram, or via email and tell us why you think voting for another candidate is a stronger progressive strategy. Girl, I Guess is a living doc and you may notice changes being made from time to time!

You, Me, and the Coconut Tree: President of the United States

The Candidates:

Kamala Harris & Tim Walz (D)

Donald Trump & JD Vance (R)

Abstaining or Writing in Not Another Bomb/Gaza/Free Palestine

The Dish:

Dear reader, we really didn’t want to do this. Much, much ink has been spilled physically and digitally about this election, including Steph doing a five-part series on Instagram about Kamala’s candidacy from Day 1 which shares a name with this section.

Ultimately, however, we’ve ended up right back where we started, just like so many elections before. Donald Trump is a fascist nutjob who is mentally degrading before our eyes, bandies in conspiracy theories even more insane than usual, and whose Vice Presidential pick couldn’t be more of an incel stereotype if he wore a fedora. And of course by now we’ve all heard about Project 2025.

There was a lot of hope that booting Joe Biden from the Democratic ticket and swapping him with the combo of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (one of the 5 most progressive Governors in the Country because the Midwest is Best!) would represent the sea change that the National Democratic Party so desperately, badly needed. Unfortunately, with the election less than 6 weeks away at the time of this Guide’s release, Kamala Harris is running the most right-wing campaign seen from a Democrat this century. She has no real substantive policy platform (only having one or two concrete policy suggestions doesn’t count as a platform), failing to even trot out the last-minute proposals made by Joe Biden in the final days of his candidacy. Kamala has done less than nothing to assuage the concerns of voters who care deeply about the genocide in Gaza, instead committing to continue sending weapons to the internationally-condemned Israeli military. Her lurch to the right on foreign policy is so severe that at one point she trailed even Green Party retread and relative laughingstock Jill Stein in a poll of Muslim voters. It’s bad out here, folks. Girl, I Guess hates a flimsy campaign, and running for the highest office in the nation without producing a clear and concise vision for the nation isn’t just depressing, it’s condescending to voters. Kamala is lucky that her opponent is so nation-destroyingly terrible, and even still she’s barely ahead in the polls.

As Raeghn discussed in the Primary, most of y’all, dear readers, are voters of conscience and substance. Girl, I Guess will always stand with Palestine and we cannot condone a vote for Kamala Harris before she at the bare minimum commits to an arms embargo on Israel if they do not immediately accept a permanent ceasefire deal. Since this Guide primarily covers deep-Blue Cook County in deep-Blue Illinois, we know that no matter how we vote for President, our votes effectively do not make a difference in the Presidential election. As long as the Electoral College is in place, voters in Illinois are more or less disenfranchised, because our votes for President are extremely unlikely to ever count. Every single one of y’all who read this Guide could refrain from voting for either Trump or Kamala and while we may send a message, we will almost certainly not change the outcome. That is why we are encouraging Chicagoans, suburbanites, and any Illinoisians reading Girl, I Guess to abstain from voting in the Presidential election, or to write in “Free Palestine” in order to make a statement of refusal to support Kamala Harris, a candidate who is fully committed to genocide in Gaza. If you live in a swing state, we encourage you to vote in accordance with both your values, and your calculus. We admit that if we lived in a swing state, our voting recommendation would likely be different, even if our values would remain unchanged. But as we live in a Safe Democratic State, we encourage voters to show up to the polls with their conscience in mind, rather than their fears.

To be clear, it is the official stance of Girl, I Guess that Donald Trump is worse than Kamala Harris on every single issue, including Gaza and Palestine more broadly. In the face of the question “what is worse than genocide?” we would answer “faster genocide,” which would certainly be the reality in Gaza under Trump. However, just because Kamala’s opponent is worse than her on every issue does not mean that she can adopt unacceptably bad positions on the things that this Guide cares about the most. When evaluated on our most important issue areas, as laid out in the Methodology section of this Guide, Kamala scores the following:

  • Support for a free Palestine and BDS: Fully in support of Israel, anti-Palestinian
  • Support for Medicare for All/Single Payer for Illinois: Does not support M4A or single-payer healthcare beyond expanding the Affordable Care Act
  • Support for Ranked Choice Voting: no stance
  • Stance on workers’ rights and unions: Unclear, as Kamala has not committed to advancing Biden’s mostly-positive labor rights agenda
  • Support for canceling Student Loan Debt: Not in support
  • Progressive policies on Housing Justice, especially Just Cause for Eviction: Not in support, and seems to misunderstand the housing problem as supply-side, rather than the affordability crisis that is actually happening
  • Support for a Universal Basic Income, and/or a higher national minimum wage: Says she supports raising the minimum wage but hasn’t said anything specific
  • Progressive positions on climate change: None, and walked back past progressive positions
  • Progressives positions on racial justice and defunding/abolishing police and prisons: None, and walked back past progressive positions
  • Support for decriminalizing sex work: Hahahahahaha no she’s not in support of this
  • Support for trans people, intersex people, and the broader LGBTQ community: Unacceptably bad. Her platform mentions only marriage equality and the Equality Act, no specific commitments to protecting trans people, specifics on protecting gender affirming care, or any other issues facing the LGBTQ community
  • Support for addressing gerrymandering, and voter suppression: Unclear
  • Stance on term limits: Unclear
  • Being pro-choice (AKA The Lipinski Rule): Even on abortion, Kamala seems to adopt a policy of Roe v Wade being the ceiling of Federal protection, when all subject matter experts believe protections for abortion should go much further

I ask you, dear reader, would you enthusiastically vote for any candidate who failed this most basic of tests? What if you knew your vote wouldn’t count, because of our electoral system? We didn’t think so, either. Girl, I Guess endorses abstention from the Presidential election in Illinois specifically.

BDS or Nothing: US House of Representatives

Job Description:

Creates and approves legislation for the US House of Representatives, represents their districts on the national stage for fiscal and civil development purposes where appropriate. Also, do whatever possible to stop US tax dollars from being used to fund an unapologetic genocide in Gaza, and to bankroll the apartheid policies of the rogue Israeli State. As of the 2024 Primary, candidates for Congress will not be endorsed by Girl, I Guess unless they have the following policies, or equivalents, in their publicly available platform OR otherwise commit to them publicly:

1) An immediate end to the occupation and colonization of Arab lands and a dismantling of the West Bank Barrier/ West Bank apartheid wall

2) Full Palestinian civil and human rights in their country of origin, whether that country remains Israel, is transformed into a secular binational state, or takes a different national formation but occupies any of the substantive borders of contemporary or historical Palestine

3) The right of Palestinian refugees in diaspora to return to their homes in their country of origin

This means that some races will not have an endorsement, because no candidate demonstrated the humanity or basic moral fiber to attempt to stop a genocide. In those cases, we encourage voters to (with apologies to beleaguered poll workers) WRITE IN “FREE PALESTINE” as a protest in these Districts, because none of the candidates should be voted for. If voters feel strongly about voting for a candidate, the Guide will make a recommendation of the least-conservative candidate available, but will not make an endorsement of any kind.

Why We Won’t Be Fully Covering Congress This Cycle

The Dish:

Dear reader, Raeghn and I know that you don’t come to this Guide primarily looking for advice on who to vote for in whatever Congressional District that you live in during a General Election. There are many reasons for this, but most of those reasons boil down to:

  1. This is Cook County in 2024. The Democrat is going to win.
  2. You do not care about Federal offices as much anymore, and really want to know The Dish on local races
  3. Your Congressperson has an unacceptable stance on Palestine and/or genocide.

For those of you who are dedicated followers of the pair of us on social media, you’ll know that late last year, as Israeli bombs rained down on Gaza, we enacted a litmus test that promised to not endorse a Congressional candidate in any election unless they showed substantial support for the Palestinian people and their liberation struggle as they define it. Unsurprisingly, many of our esteemed Congresspeople in Illinois have failed to rise to the occasion, whether out of bloodlust, cowardice, apathy, or some combination of the three. This is far from unexpected, as such fecklessness and foibles abound in most Congressional delegations, but it is also depressing to cover. In the past, I’ve taken no small amount of glee in brutally dunking on the hopeless weirdos that run for Congress as Republicans in Cook County, and there are plenty of those this time around! Marcus Lewis, in the 1st District, has as personal a relationship with his Caps Lock key as he does with Jesus Christ. There’s John Booras in the 3rd District, who is desperately fighting a losing battle with his ascending hairline. We’ve got Tommy Hanson in the 5th District, who looks like the closeted version of Bob Fioretti. They’re all there.

Dunking on Republicans is no fun if the Democrat on the ballot has blood on their hands. As such, Raeghn and I made the exhausted decision to refrain from covering Congress during the General Election in 2024. According to those of y’all who responded to Instagram polls in April of this year, only 2% of Girl, I Guess readers use the Guide for Congressional elections. And while 51% of you would like us to continue covering Federal offices, we’re absolutely going to be re-evaluating the amount of time and energy that we put into these races when none of the candidates inspire us, or deserve our support as Leftists and progressives. Primary Election coverage of Federal races will continue, but with an ever-expanding ballot that includes a massive amount of judges, plus the CPS School Board, plus a large number of Republican challengers for General Assembly seats, we simply cannot be asked to cover Congress in the General.

We will, however, continue to give out endorsements to Congressional candidates that meet our litmus test, and therefore deserve our support. This year, those endorsements are going to:

Congressbae Delia Ramirez, who has been one of the most ardent supporters of Palestine in Congress for her entire first term and who scored a Primary endorsement and a Golden Shrug for her first run in 2022.

Congressman Chuy Garcia, who did not garner a Primary endorsement due to the absence of his support for the Palestinian Right of Return on his platform in March. This upset a lot of people in the Chuy camp, who pointed out that he’s been standing with Palestine since the 80s. Which, to be fair, is true. I’ve had many people tell me that Chuy is for the Right of Return, and had it confirmed by people that I trust, so I’ve decided to bend the rules a little bit for Chuy this time (and perhaps this time only) as an olive branch to ChuyWorld, and in recognition of the fact that he’s been supporting Palestine since before I was born. Chuy people who read the Guide, I promise I don’t hate your guy! I think he’s a great Congressman! We just happen to disagree on a number of issues relating to Chicago that are important to me, so Chuy himself and I frequently end up on opposite sides of things.  

Also receiving an endorsement is 13th District Green Party candidate Chibu Asonye, who will be better than incumbent Nikki Budzinski on Palestine almost by default, despite the fact that Chibu isn’t exactly running the most robust campaign (side-eye at the nonexistent Green Party candidate infrastructure).

Aside from these three, Raeghn and I will see you back in Congressworld in the 2026 Primary, where we’ll no doubt have some fascinating contests on the ballot, especially if the ever-swirling rumors about Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky, and Dick Durbin finally turn out to be true. Federal Democrats control ⅔ of the Executive and Legislative branches of the government and have the power to stop the genocide literally any day they want to, so vote for Delia and Chuy, give Chibu some electoral love, and otherwise vote Free Palestine on Congresspeople who don’t have the backbone to stand up against a genocide that’s being committed on our dime.

The GOP’s New Weirdos: The Illinois State Senate

Job Description:

Represent the interests of their constituents, write, and pass legislation. Approve a budget each year. A lot like the regular Senate, except super different, and a functioning legislative body rather than one that should be simultaneously abolished, and remains the Democrats’ best chance at holding a Federal legislative chamber this cycle. Gosh, those Founding Fathers totally knew what they were doing when they created Congress (eye roll).

IL Senate District 4

The Candidates:

Kimberly A. Lightford (D) incumbent

Robert Sumrell, Jr. (R)

The Dish:

Kimberly Lightford, the sitting Majority Leader in the Illinois State Senate, has been representing this mostly-West Suburban District in the Senate half her life. Elected in 1998, Lightford has served 26 years in the Senate and is facing her first challenger in any election since 2006. Wowza. No wonder she’s not trying, as the Senator doesn’t have a campaign website or presence anywhere that I’m able to find. Still, with a bio like this and a list of awards a mile long (68 separate awards!!),plus over $450,000 in the bank, I can hardly blame her. Lightford isn’t without her share of controversy, like any Illinois politician who’s been around this long. She was accused of taking improper benefits and payments from the scandal-ridden Loretto Hospital in 2021 amidst a kerfuffle where the hospital, which predominantly serves Black low-income Chicagoans, was accused of shipping COVID-19 vaccines to wealthier parts of the City. Lightford, for her part, stated in May of 2020 that she thought COVID was man-made. Yikes. Her voters didn’t seem to care, though, as she went unopposed in 2022, less than a year after the scandal and comments came to light. Overall Lightford is incredibly accomplished, and clearly right by her District and constituents.

Robert Sumrell, Jr’s website sounds like it was written by someone else, who had only a vague idea of who their candidate was, and with liberal use of a thesaurus. Vague, vague, vague is the theme of this campaign, with a platform that calls for “plans” (like what??), prioritizes policies (any specific ones???), and demands reforms (such as????). If I were editing his website, I’d tell him to rewrite the entire thing. But this just about sums up Illinois Republicans this Cycle. Their motto may as well be “Run For Fun!”

If you’re in the West Suburbs, Kimberly Lightford should get your vote.

  • §

IL Senate District 10

The Candidates:

Robert Martwick (D) incumbent

Jon Luers (R)

The Dish:

Jon Luers is here to save us from lunacy and insanity. His about page reads like the biography of a conspiracy theorist but hey, what do you expect when someone spends 40 years with only computers as friends. His “platform” reads like a rant with a ton of generalizations. If you spend even more time pursuing his website (I don’t suggest doing this, save yourself), you’ll find a number of typical additions like an “about the candidate” page, an “issues” page and information about the district. Something new to candidate website platforms is his “sense vs lies” page which really shows us what Luers is all about. Apparently  “Carbon dioxide is a pollutant” and “Wear a mask!” are lies Luers is dedicated to fighting against. This man is a nutjob for sure.

Robert Martwick—This guy’s been in the trenches, and by trenches, I mean the Illinois State Senate, fighting for progressive causes like he’s on a mission. The whole Chicago Elected School Board? Yeah, you can thank Martwick for that one. And if you shed a tear over Governor Pritzker’s Fair Tax Amendment (RIP), Martwick was one of its loudest champions.

So, if you're looking for someone with energy and not a Republican, Robert Martwick’s your guy.

  • ♉

IL Senate District 19

The Candidates:

Michael Hastings (D) incumbent

Samantha Jean Gasca (R)

The Dish:

I couldn’t make it past the second paragraph of Samantha Gasca’s website without cringing. “All glory to god”, has an ABD (All But Dissertation/pretend PHD for those who don’t finish their dissertation), and proud recipient of a Master's Degree at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. I think we should leave Gasca’s “I too was a sinner once” energy alone. If you make it to the wo’s of sex education in her website you may be entitled to compensation.

Michael Hastings, he’s not great. But at least he isn’t spewing misinformation about how sex education in schools is too mature for a young mind to handle. Also, it’s Springfield.

  • ♉

IL Senate District 20

The Candidates:

Graciela Guzmán (D)

Jason Proctor (R)

The Dish:

After shellacking astroturf candidate and nepo baby Natalie Toro in a four-way Primary where Graciela got more than 51% of the vote, we’re on to the general election! Dear reader, as the rare Primary Golden Shrugee who actually faces a Republican opponent in November, y’all know Graciela Guzmán by now. She’s the real deal, a community organizer and a former Chief of Staff to the previous Senator, Cristina Pacione-Zayas whose background screams “I should hold local elected office”. Graciela has one of the most progressive platforms in the field this cycle, including stances calling for mandating safe levels of hospital staffing, promoting an inclusive curriculum in CPS and fully funding public schools, expanding the Department of Labor to fight wage theft, expanding access to gender affirming care, passing rent control in Illinois, promoting a humane response to the migrant crisis, decriminalizing sex work, and is one of the only candidates this cycle to include disability justice in her platform.

Jason Proctor, a man whose dead, unfeeling eyes and trying-to-be-relatable chin stubble scream “I am the aesthetic result of asking an AI to show you a losing candidate for state legislature,” is… less good. Jason is a whiny boy, complaining in his platform about one-party rule in Chicago, “tax and spend” policies in a plank that sounds like it was written in 2012, whinging about Illinois’s elimination of cash bail (which was the theme of the 2022) election, and, hilariously, trying to blast Democrats over the migrant crisis which Republicans caused!! His campaign is so lazy and trite I actually could be convinced that Jason Proctor was AI-generated. He seems like he’s running against Brandon Johnson and the CTU instead of his actual opponent, and that’s because he knows he has absolutely no chance.

This race is open-and-shut. Vote for Primary Golden Shrugee Graciela Guzmán.

  • §

IL Senate District 25

The Candidates:

Karina Villa (D)

Heather Brown (R)

The Dish:

Longtime readers of Girl, I Guess will remember State Senator Karina Villa from the 2022 General Election, when she faced the same opponent and received a Golden Shrug, back when November voting in Cook County was mostly about snoozing and judges. Well, Girl, I Guess hates an election rehash, but not as much as we hate a totally insane Republican.

Heather Brown is best known for being a teenage competitive swimmer who competed in Long Island at 13 several months after 9/11, and saying that seeing the smoldering buildings changed her life forever. Some may say that that’s inspiring, I say that there’s no way a teenager’s parents took them from Long Island all the way to the City just to see some still-burning buildings that there’s no way they were allowed anywhere near just 2.5 months later. There are a lot of reasons to vote against Heather Brown, whose platform paints a deeply insane portrait of a woman desperate to fight a culture war, but I’d rather focus on Karina Villa.

Since we last saw her two years ago, Senator Villa has passed a slew of legislation protecting Illinois’s environment and broadening access to mental health care and services, as well as a bill that, in a roundabout way, makes laser hair removal more accessible and theoretically cheaper. Just so my fellow transsexual readers know! Karina Villa is one of the most prolific legislators and progressives in the Senate, and is running for her third term of hopefully many in Springfield. Karina Villa is endorsed in a no-brainer of a rematch in the 25th District.

  • §

Challengers Galore: Illinois House of Representatives

Job Description:

Represent the interests of their constituents, write, and pass legislation. Approve a budget each year. And, from every cycle here on out, continue to move further and further to the Left as one of the nation’s most progressive state-level legislative bodies.

IL House District 5

The Candidates:

Kimberly Neely DuBuclet (D) incumbent

Al Rasho (R)

The Dish:

Kimberly Neely du Buclet—The 5th House District is in the grasp of appointee and former two-term MWRD Commissioner Kimberly Neely du Buclet. Fun fact: she’s no stranger to Springfield—she used to represent this area when it was the 26th District, just with a different number on the door.

She’s been there, done that, and has the resume to back it up. Is she be a bold Progressive? Hmm not exactly, but she’s a pretty steady liberal Democrat, and honestly, in this race, that’s more than enough to keep things moving.

As for Al Rasho…. Does he exist? If you can figure out which of the pictures on his website is actually him, you win. His website is barely done, with placeholder text all over it. The only button that kinda works is the donation button. While his website is incomplete he made sure to share this insane graphic referring to migrants as illegal and terroritst. Lazy and a nutjob, the worst kind.

Vote Kimberly Neely du Buclet, at least we know for a fact she’s real.

  • ♉

IL House District 6

The Candidates:

Sonya Marie Harper (D) incumbent

Sean A. Dwyer (R)

The Dish:

All you need to know in the Primary for this South Side legislative seat is that Sonya Marie Harper, the incumbent since 2016, is not a cop. Her opponent Sean A. Dwyer is a water cop. A  self-proclaimed first responder whose resume reveals the only first responding he did was on Chicago beaches in the 80s as a lifeguard. I love a girlie who embellished, just maybe not when running for office.

Vote for Sonya Marie Harper.

  • ♉

IL House District 8

The Candidates:

La Shawn K. Ford (D) incumbent

Leslie Collazo (R)

The Dish:

Representing IL House District since 2007 is La Shawn K. Ford who is up for reelection. He’s about tackling social justice issues, constantly shining a spotlight on the glaring disparities in employment, education, and healthcare. He’s also been pushing hard to create second chances for ex-offenders, spark growth for small businesses, and open more doors to affordable housing. As a dedicated advocate for restorative justice, Ford introduced a resolution directing the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission to evaluate how these practices are currently implemented within the juvenile system. Additionally, he served as the chief sponsor of a bill that offers educational grants to individuals exonerated of criminal charges, enabling them to attend public community colleges or universities. Ford, based on the West Side, remains deeply engaged in advocating for systemic reform through his legislative work.

His opponent on the other hand, Leslie Collazo, is the driving force behind why there’s so many Republicans on this election (thanks for the extra work Collazo). You would think someone putting in all that work would spend the time to put their issues up on their website. Maybe it wasn’t about running a competitive and fair campaign after all.

Vote La Shawn K. Ford.

  • ♉

IL House District 13

The Candidates:

Hoan Huynh (D) incumbent

Terry Nguyen Le (R)

The Dish:

2022 Primary Golden Shrugee, and Friend of the Guide Hoan Huynh is running for re-election, fresh off a freshman legislative session for the ages. Hoan was the Primary Sponsor of 16 bills that became law (not bad for a first term), served on 7 committees (the most of the freshman class!), brought back funding to his District to help create Elise Malary Way in Andersonville, helped get Weiss Memorial Hospital “safety net” status, meaning that they were able to stay open via increased Medicaid reimbursement rates, all while being the first Vietnamese American and the first refugee ever elected to the General Assembly. Holy smokes that’s a lot! But it’s not surprising; if you’ve ever met Hoan, one of the first things you’ll be amazed by is his seemingly-limitless amount of energy. This guy just doesn’t stop! Whether in 5am canvassing sessions during election season, a tireless legislative agenda, or supporting unionizing Howard Brown workers, he keeps going, and going, and going. Hoan is running on a stellar policy platform, very similar to his first term, including excellent stances on just about every progressive issue in the books, including bodily autonomy, disability justice, the environment, healthcare, affordable housing, immigration, and more. I’m looking forward to seeing what Hoan Huynh does in his second term as Illinois’s official Energizer Bunny.

Terry Nguyen Le is basically the exact opposite of Hoan. He’s a complete nutjob whose social media history looks like someone’s most deranged uncle. Le is also wrong about most of the things he lists on his campaign website. Le contends that Illinois is ranked as the worst state to start a business, but this is untrue; according to Business Insider it isn’t even in the bottom 10. Le also insists that Illinois has the highest overall tax burden, this is also untrue, it has the eighth highest. Same again with a claim that Illinois is the worst state to retire; it isn’t in the bottom 10. And while Le does seem to be accurate in his claim that Illinois has the worst fiscal stability… he’s so completely wrong about everything else that I’m inclined to believe that he got this one right by chance. Le has a JD Vance-esque stance on child-raising, which isn’t even a real policy category since he doesn’t mention child poverty or development outcomes, but wants to give tax breaks to “couples with fruitful marriages,” which actually already exists in the form of Child Tax Credits. Le also is a fan of Kamala Harris’s hedge-fund housing policy, where simply giving developers tax credits and eased zoning requirements will allow them to build housing more easily and solve the housing crisis… which is a terrible policy that does nothing to impact affordability. He wants to cut quality-of-life taxes like the gas tax, which is a good idea, but also wants to lower taxes overall, which is a terrible idea because of Illinois’s flat tax rate (which we tried to repeal in 2020 only for Republicans like Le to lie their way out of taxing the wealthy). Terry Le is wrong about pretty much everything, and he’s wrong for Illinois. This, like Le, is a no-brainer. Vote for Hoan Huynh.

  • §

IL House District 15

The Candidates:

Michael Kelly (D) incumbent

Mark R. Albers (R)

The Dish:

Mark Albers is a businessman that looks like a troll. He claims he’s not beholden to special interests or lobbyists, which makes sense since he’s the top donor of his own campaign. He wants to reinstate cash bail and isn’t a fan of public education. He’s also a huge Elon Musk fan.

Michael Kelly on the other hand, was appointed in 2021. He co-sponsored House Bill 4238, the Rebuild Illinois Mental Health Workforce Act, to increase funding for mental health services. He has also worked on legislation to secure better funding for immunization programs and mental health consultation lines, aiming to improve access to preventative care and health services for Illinois residents. While he may not be the most progressive of the bunch, he is far from the worst which is why we’re voting Michael Kelly.

IL House District 17

The Candidates:

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D) incumbent

Jim Geldermann (R)

The Dish:

Hooooooo boy. First off, in this house we love Jen Gong-Gershowitz, who is a human rights lawyer by trade and the second Chinese American in the General Assembly after Friend of the Guide Theresa Mah. Gong-Gershowitz has represented this District that includes parts of Evanston, Skokie, and other Near Northwest Suburbs since emerging from a crowded Primary in 2018, and is going for her fourth term. She’s running on a pretty progressive platform centered on furthering Illinois’s human rights protections, common sense gun reform, expanding access to mental health care, and protecting public schools. Sounds good to me!

Now. Jim Geldermann… seems to have lost the plot a little bit. This “non-subject of the Democratic Party” and guy who ran for Glenbrook High School District Board last year without knowing anything about the District is a very tried and true brand of Republican. He’s a guy who runs on the Declaration of Independence. Yes, seriously, it’s the first thing on his website, just like the court transcript of what appears to be his second divorce are the first thing that comes up when you Google him. He thinks Gong-Gershowitz is part of things called the Crime Lobby and the Death Lobby, presumably for her votes to reform the Criminal Justice System and protect reproductive freedom, and is running on a platform of taking random digs at the Black Lives Matter movement, holding more kids back in elementary school (yes, really), and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Sounds like a fun dude.

The choice in District 17 is clear, between a progressive woman and the literal embodiment of a divorced dad. Vote Jen Gong-Gershowitz.

  • §

IL House District 18

The Candidates:

Robyn Gabel (D) incumbent

Charles Hutchinson (R)

The Dish:

This race is a total retread from 2022, which I forgot to cover in the heat of Redistricting! Whoops! In fact, Robyn Gabel has had a General Election challenger in every year that Girl, I Guess has existed, and the Guide has never covered her at all because she never has a Primary challenger! Double whoops!  Well, let’s correct that now. Gabel, who was named Majority Leader in January of last year, has been in the General Assembly since 2010 representing Evanston and several near-North suburbs. She’s also doing something that I deeply appreciate from folks who have been in Springfield for so long– running an actual campaign!  Gabel is highlighting her work on the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a landmark piece of climate legislation in the State, and running on a platform of common sense gun reforms, continuing to fight for the environment, and further protecting access to reproductive rights (although I’d love to see more explicit mentions of LGBTQ people and bodily autonomy in that plank from Gabel, who represents a decent number of LGBTQ people).

Hutchinson, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have changed anything from his 2022 campaign. And I mean anything at all, given that he’s still touting a surprise Tribune endorsement from 2022. He’s claiming to be an “Independent Republican,” which I guess is code for “not as crazy as he could be,” but he says that he’s running on his ability to “use critical thinking,” “elevate people over the party,” and “represent common interests instead of special interests,” which aren’t exactly things that Republicans are known for these days. Being endorsed by the Tribune’s Editorial Board doesn’t mean much to Girl, I Guess; unlike the fantastic journalists that make up a big chunk of the Tribune’s newsroom, the Editorial Board are known for being conservative reactionaries and also for endorsing Libertarian Gary Johnson in 2016.

This is a snooze, and I hate an electoral re-hash when the first race was so lopsided. Hutchinson should give it up. Robyn Gabel is endorsed.

  • §

IL House District 19

The Candidates:

Lindsey LaPointe (D) incumbent

John “JZ” Zimmers (R)

The Dish:

It’s probably a good thing that Lindsey LaPointe has dedicated her time in the General Assembly to improving mental healthcare, because the way this election is going, we’re all going to need it. LaPointe is known as a details-oriented person in Springfield, supporting progressive policies and drilling down on the implementation phase so that key policies can be executed properly the first time. And speaking of implementation, LaPointe passed a bill easing requirements for top-level social work licensure, ensuring care is more readily available in communities that need it the most, and passed another which guaranteed annual no-cost mental health and wellness visits per year for people on state-regulated insurance plans (before they weren’t guaranteed any!). She’s no slouch on other issues, either, with a platform featuring strong stances on bodily autonomy and ethics reform, among others. And while, yes, she does have a “support first responders” part of her platform, that’s effectively required in her Far Northwest Side District, and most of it is actually pretty common-sense stuff like reinforcing spousal death benefits and behavioral health access for all first responders, not just cops. Illinois has a long way to go in terms of fixing mental health care and services in our beloved State, and Lindsey LaPointe is the person I want on the case in Springfield.

Running to… I guess deny people that expertise? Is realtor, former Junior Olympian in Judo, and Proud Cop Dad John Zimmers. He says the SAFE-T act increased violent crime by 33% (it did not), quotes “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe in his platform as a way to shame college prep schools, and thinks that legislators shouldn’t make a decent wage in exchange for having to commute to and live in Springfield part-time during session. Sure, guy. At least he’s highly rated on Zillow. That’s pretty much all anyone needs to know about Zimmers, and all you should need to know in order to vote for Lindsey LaPointe, who earns the shrug for this race.

  • §

IL House District 24

The Candidates:

Theresa Mah (D) incumbent

Natalian Bolton (R)

The Dish:

Theresa Mah, a progressive and Friend of the Guide, often pulls weird challengers. This time, however, she’s facing a good old-fashioned ballot ghost! Natalian Bolton… exists! And that's it! Mah, seeking her fifth term in the General Assembly and having just taken down Southwest Side machine Latino George Cardenas for 12th Ward Committeeperson, has been fighting the fight against machine Dems for years. Theresa Mah is running on her record as a reformer, her strong stances on bodily autonomy, and her commitment to public schools and social programs. She’s also genuinely one of the most impressive people that you’ll ever meet who also holds public office. Theresa Mah is now Majority Conference Chairperson (a fancy title that basically means that she's an Assistant Majority Leader but also chairs the Dem Caucus meetings), was the first Asian American elected to the General Assembly back in 2016, is worked as a policy expert for immigration justice, and has been a huge part in expanding Asian representation in politics in Illinois. Oh, and somehow before all of that, she got a PhD and was a professor for six years. Like I said… impressive. I’m proud to be a consistent supporter of Theresa Mah ever since the very first edition of Girl, I Guess in 2018! She’s one of the best legislators in Springfield and deserves every bit of praise that comes her way.

With no campaign and no chance in sight for Bolton, this is an easy one. Vote Theresa Mah and keep her in Springfield for the long haul!

  • §

IL House District 26

The Candidates:

Kam Buckner (D) incumbent

Audrey Barrett (R)

The Dish:

Audrey Barrett, a registered nurse and mother of three, honestly seems like the most normal Republican in the field. She seems to be running a single-issue campaign on better healthcare for seniors, single parents, the “mentally ill,” and children. Honestly, aside from her seeming religious (her website mentions God multiple times, as does her business Facebook page), I’m not quite sure what reason she has for being a Republican. Her campaign would be right at home as an also-ran in a Democratic Primary, but here she is anyway, serving as the first opponent that Kam Buckner has ever faced for his Southeast Side State Rep seat (yes, there was an Independent in 2020 who ran against him, but that guy got literally one vote, so I don’t think he counts).

For those of us who consumed Chicago Mayoral Election content last year like it was our very own B’nai Mitzvah prep, we remember Kam Buckner as not only the early progressive pick before eventual Girl, I Guess endorsee and overall winner Mayor Brandon Johnson joined the pack, but also as the Man With the Transit Plan. Nobody in Illinois has transit chops like Kam, and it’s fair to wonder what would have happened with the currently-in-shambles CTA if progressives had consolidated around Buckner early last year. As I wrote in my coverage of the Mayoral Election, “Kam is a classic Chicago success story, parlaying a football scholarship to the University of Illinois into a DePaul law degree, a job with Dick Durbin, and a leadership role at a sports nonprofit, and then later an appointed seat in General Assembly in early 2019 when his predecessor joined the Pritzker administration. He’s also apparently Jennifer Hudson’s cousin! Kam has been a solid progressive in Springfield, working to reform school funding in Chicago, crack down on predatory loans, stopping cops from doing Horrible Cop Shit, standing up for missing women and girls, and most recently banning Ghost Guns. Honestly, he seems like a great guy.” All of this remains true, and Kam Buckner gets to flex his transit expertise, as he’s now tasked essentially with Springfield’s efforts to save public transit in Cook County and beyond. Kam introduced a bill that would merge the CTA, MTA, and Pace, and has been tapped to co-lead the House’s Public Transit Working Group. If you’re on the Southeast Side, Kam Buckner is the real deal and deserves your support, and your vote.

  • §

IL House District 31

The Candidates:

Michael Crawford (D)

Carl R. Kunz (R)

The Dish:

Michael Crawford— defeated incumbent Mary E. Flowers in the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 31 on March 19, 2024. Many have tried to take Flowers down, but Michael Crawford did it, unseating someone who had had their spot since he was in diapers. Pretty impressive. Unlike, Carl R. Kunz who supports an anti sanctuary state and law enforcement––eww. Just in case you were considering a Republican I’ll just say, Crawford is running on a decently progressive platform, including commitments to fully fund education and mental health services, reduce prescription drug costs, and increase the minimum wage.

Let’s vote Michael Crawford.  

  • ♉

IL House District 34

The Candidates:

Nicholas “Nick” Smith (D) incumbent

Frederick L. Walls (R)

The Dish:

Nicholas “Nick” Smith has been Illinois State Representative since 2018, represented far southeastside for a while now. He co-sponsered Mary Gill’s bill which allows local school councils to have the option to establish their own agreements with the Chicago Police Department. But hey, looking at his district that may have been a thing Black cops wanted. He’s down for doulas and midwives it seems. His whole thing seems to be about clean energy and drugs as the co-chair of Fentanyl Subcommittee and Clean Energy Subcommittee and even created legislation that required lightbulbs to be recyclable and supports resolution to make April 1 through April 6, 2024 Black Farmers week in the State of Illinois. Is he uber progressive? Maybe not. Is he bad? *shrugs* He seems pretty alright.

Frederick L. Walls on the other hand is a Black republican who believes immigrants are a problem in Illinois. He’s running because he believes bills like HB 156 and SB 818 attack the biblical family structure. HB 156 mandates school districtsl make menstrual hygiene products available, at no cost to students, in each bathroom of every school building regardless of gender. And  SB 818 requires a school district to provide comprehensive personal health and safety education in kindergarten through the 5th grade and comprehensive sexual health education in the 6th through 12th grades. Yeah, he wants kids to have periods and go body changes, yet, have no idea of what’s going on or be able to quickly access hygiene products.

While Nicholas Smith is definitely lackluster, he’s far better than this guy. Vote Nicholas “Nick” Smith.

  • ♉

IL House District 35

The Candidates:

Mary Gill (D) incumbent

Herbert Hebein (R)

The Dish:

Mary Gill was appointed in 2023 when longtime incumbent Fran Hurley resigned. Her district, which includes Orland Park, is a more conservative and cop-heavy area. Gill taught special education at Heritage Middle School for four years, and served as the executive director of the Mt. Greenwood Community and Business Association. It’s important to note that Mt. Greenwood us one if the ost conservative ares of the city.

In February, the Chicago Board of Education voted to eliminate uniformed Chicago Police Department officers from public schools. Gill, however, proposed opposing legislation, local school councils would have the option to establish their own agreements with the Chicago Police Department if they choose to retain police officers on campus. But hey, I guess when you’re in cop-haven Mound Greenwood, you might want the bastard everywhere, even in your schools.

Herbert Hebein is a cop with 16 allegations, including personnel violations and lockup procedures. Four of the allegations against him were sustained and included a brief suspension.  He believes in eliminating the sanctuary state, as a sanctuary state Illinois limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement (ICE), particularly in matters of detaining or deporting undocumented immigrants. Eliminating it would directly harm our immigrant and undocumented community members. Hebein is against abortions and loves funding the police. He’s been running against the former incumbent Fran Hurley for years and just can’t seem to get enough.

As Gill, has been serving her conservative constituents well and as Hebein is a cop (we hate cops) Mary Gill gets the endorsements.

  • ♉

IL House District 36

The Candidates:

Rick Ryan (D)

Christine Shanahan McGovern (R)

The Dish:

Attorney Rick Ryan says he’s about protecting women’s reproductive rights, but was against abortion rights when he unsuccessfully ran for State Senate in 2000. He says his views have changed since then, however. In 2000 Rick proposed ethics and campaign finance reform program for Illinois legislators, prohibiting legislators and other state officeholders from taking any gifts from lobbyists or campaign contributions from tobacco or gambling firms. He has the support of several of trade unions and elected officials.

Christine Shanahan McGovern on the other hand, knows who she is. She’s the star of a terribly made campaign music video. No, really, that’s probably the worst campaign video I’ve ever seen, and they’re usually bad. She loves cops. And, if my reading comprehension is working, she believes cops are underserved in the community and need her protection?! A huge advocate for “common sense”, she doesn’t want undocumented folks to have access to basic medical services. Yikes.

Vote Rick Ryan even though he’s likely to be more moderate in the General Assably, given his politics and the area that he represents, he’s shown commitment for running for elected office and even changed his views on matters that constituents care about.

  • ♉

IL House District 39

The Candidates:

Will Guzzardi (D) incumbent 🧔

Anthony Curran (R)

The Dish:

Will Guzzardi, the Best Cishet White Man in the General Assembly, is back in Girl, I Guess coverage with a total rehash of his race in the 2022 General Election. Facing Anthony Curran, a ballot ghost and apparently not a member of the Illinois Republican Curran Clan. Ballot ghost Republicans are boring, so I’m going to use this space to kvell about a fantastic Jewish legislator, a stalwart progressive, a champion for sex workers, and working class people (he introduced and passed the $15 minimum wage bill!), and an all around good guy. Although his Will’s Bills (that’s adorable) section needs some updating for the most current General Assemblies, Guzzardi’s past record is nothing to sneeze at. Also, as a cherry on top, back in January of this year, Will Guzzardi and 2020 Golden Shrugee and my State Rep Kelly Cassidy wrote an op-ed calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Now. Some may say that that was a bit late, but Will and Kelly were some of the first Jewish electeds in Illinois to take that step, and they deserve credit where credit is due. As a Jew, as a Leftist, and as someone who cares deeply about Illinois, I’m proud to have Will Guzzardi in my corner and I know that he’ll stay there. He deserves your vote, and he gets my proud endorsement.

Dedicated Girl, I Guess readers may also know Will Guzzardi as the namesake of the Golden Shrug’s Guzzardi Rule, which states that no cishet white man, no matter how good or cool they are, is eligible for a Golden Shrug because as a Lesbian I have to maintain some level of misandry in my written works. However, in recognition of Will’s track record of excellence, genuine feminism and accomplice-ship (accomplicity? accomplice-hood?),and moral courage, I’m giving him a special kind of non-gilded, but still-better-than-regular endorsement, The Beardy! Beardy recipients (TBD if anyone but Will is going to get this) will receive a special bearded guy emoji 🧔 next to their names in the TL;DR and in the text of their endorsement. Think of it as a silver medal, of sorts. But one with a beard. Like Will Guzzardi.

  • §

IL House District 40

The Candidates:

Jaime M. Andrade, Jr (D) incumbent

Patrycja Karlin (R)

The Dish:

“Have you had enough?! Crime? Failing schools? High property taxes? Illegal migrants? Government corruption?” This is the opening heading for Patrycja Karlin’s website “Have you had enough?! Crime? Failing schools? High property taxes? Illegal migrants? Government corruption? If yes, then vote Republican!“. If that’s not enough she’s also concerned about the “woke” radicals within the Democratic Party (please tell me where to find them Patrycja, I’m very curious). She also ran for State Senate in 2022 against now Mayoral Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas!

Jaime M. Andrade, Jr on the other hand has served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 2013 and is a man whose prioritized improvements to community safety, protecting the environments, and advocating for policies that  keep AI in check. He’s a real nerd whose putting cool nerd shit into legislation. Vote Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.

  • ♉

Water Wonderland: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

The WHAT Now?

Longtime Guide readers will know that The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) is a favorite of the Guide, and apparently a race where Girl, I Guess has an outsized impact on the vote. It’s an elected bureaucratic position that’s extremely downballot, with little voter education on the role of the Commissioners, so name recognition is king in this election. It’s also one of the few races in Cook County where it’s worth taking a serious look at Third Party candidates. Whereas most Green Party candidates come off as aged hippies or concerning kooks, GPIL usually does a decent job at finding qualified, thoughtful individuals to field for the MWRD race which makes sense because if the GREEN Party is going to be good at anything, it better be the elected environmentalist job.

MWRD oversees water-based infrastructure for the Cook County region. The Commissioners are responsible for safeguarding our waterways, treating wastewater, and preventing flooding and contamination. It seems like this weird niche little governing body, but it’s important!  The MWRD is in charge of the Stickney Plant which is the largest water facility treatment center in the world. It controls 9,500 acres of land in Cook County, mostly alongside waterways and reservoirs, making them the second-largest landowner in the County. And they lease out a lot of that land, sometimes to polluters like oil refineries, asphalt plants, and antifreeze manufacturers. Which seems … troubling! And yes, sometimes those polluters pollute! Into our waterways! That we use to drink and bathe and do aquatic things!! So there is some feeling that the people in charge aren’t actually doing a great job of protecting our water.

Other troubling things about the MWRD: they’re known for corruption, trafficking in clout, lacking transparency, and other generally Bad Behavior. And that’s not great when they also control a lot of taxpayer money.

How does it work?

There are 9 elected commissioners on the MWRD board. They serve 6-year terms but those terms are staggered. Three commissioners get elected (or re-elected) every two years. Sometimes, a commissioner leaves halfway through their term (in this case, Kimberly Neely DuBuclet got appointed to the 5th House District, replacing now-Alderman Lamont Robinson), triggering an additional election for the remaining years left on their term.

Full Term

The Candidates:

Sharon Waller (D)

Kari K. Steele (D) incumbent

Marcelino Garcia (D) incumbent

Claire Connelly (R)

Richard F. Dale (R)

Brendan Ehlers (R)

Toneal M. Jackson (G)

The Dish:

For the first time in Girl, I Guess history, Republicans have fielded a full slate of candidates for MWRD Commissioner (including a write-in Primary attempt by one Mr. George Blakemore, a fun tidbit for Chicago politicos who read the Guide)! Unfortunately for those loyal readers in Shrug Nation who love our dunks on the various wackos and nutjobs who run for local office under the GOP ticket, these three seem to be more lazy than looney.

Brendan Ehlers, who seems to be a current college sophomore, and Richard F. Dale, who has a generic enough name and so little campaign infrastructure that I can’t find anything that’s definitively about him, don’t even have websites or real campaigns. Claire Connelly, another college student, Treasurer of the Chicago Young Republicans, and intern at a conservative Catholic think tank, at least has a website. Her platform, bringing conservation back to conservatism, is otherwise nonexistent, although I’m sure we’ll be seeing both her and Ehlers again in two years, so perhaps they’ll beef up their substance for their second time on the ballot.

Also running, somehow even less than last time, is Toneal Jackson, who is unqualified and does not deserve consideration for the role because she has absolutely zero relevant experience, no real campaign, and is a self-help author, not an environmental expert.

MWRD President Kari Steele, the second longest-tenured member of the MWRD Board, is seeking her third term, and basically running her same campaign from the Primary. Steele has won about a million awards, is endorsed by everyone under the sun, and has done a genuinely good job at cleaning up the MWRD, alongside previous President and current Clerk of Court endorsee Mariyana Spyropoulos. Once a scandal-plagued body, the MWRD hasn’t had a serious ethics investigation or a major corruption scandal in several years, and has attracted and produced good-government Democrats like County Commissioner Josina Morita, incumbent and two-time Golden Shrugee Precious Brady-Davis. Obviously not all of that is due to Steele alone, but she certainly deserves some credit and a third term on the Board to continue her good work.

Not to be outdone, Marcelino Garcia has also been a reform powerhouse on the MWRD. As noted in this year’s Primary Guide, he’s been responsible for some of the Board’s most impactful diversity and environmental initiatives over his first term, has gotten a ton done in only six years on the oft-sleepy MWRD, and continues to do LGBTQ Chicago proud on our watery home electoral turf. Voting to re-elect Marcelino Garcia is a no-brainer.

I genuinely couldn’t be happier for Sharon Waller, who squeaked out a 1% win over Primary Endorsee Daniel “Pogo” Pogorzelski, and is set to become the first water engineer elected to the MWRD (which is still nuts every time I read it). Waller busted her ass all over the County and worked hard to overcome Pogo’s incumbency advantage and will be taking her wacky, wonky, and voter-education-focused candidacy into a six-year term on the MWRD Board. Devoted readers may remember that Sharon Waller was the odd candidate out in the Primary, running against a slate of scandal-free incumbents but earning a “absolutely feel free to vote for her if you wish,” which is as close to an Honorable Mention as Girl, I Guess gets. And! She’s fixed her campaign website mix-and-match! Waller is the kind of candidate that I personally love to love. To say nothing of her impressive background as a literal water expert, or her extensive issues page, featuring innovative policies and a commitment to curbing climate change, she also devotes the majority of her campaign website to pure civic education. With a resources page that includes a carbon footprint calculator, a Civics and Politics 101 page, and the most comprehensive GOTV page I’ve ever seen on a candidate website, Sharon Waller is the exact kind of person that Cook County needs in public office. I’m thrilled she got through the Primary, and I’m proud to be adding a Girl, I Guess shrug to her list of endorsements. Waller4Water! 

  • §

Unexpired Term

The Candidates:

Precious Brady-Davis (D) incumbent

R. Cary Capparelli (R)

The Dish:

This race is about as open-and-shut as it gets. Precious Brady-Davis, a friend of the Guide and extremely qualified appointee to the MWRD Board last year, is facing off against R. Cary Capparelli, a perennial MWRD candidate who is running for a fourth time (with a lil jaunt as a Democratic candidate for State Representative in the suburbs in 2020 thrown in there for shits and giggles).

Precious, a two-time Golden Shrugee for this role, started off her term strong, launching a diversity initiative and making bold commitments to curb climate change through the MWRD. She’s doing well, was the first Black trans woman to hold her office in Illinois, and longstanding Girl, I Guess policy is to endorse ethical and high-performing incumbents for offices like MWRD Commissioner, so that they can continue to benefit the County.

Capparelli, on the other hand, seems to just be running for funsies, and explicitly states on his sparse campaign website that he’s only running to “debate the poor spending habits of Democrats,” because everyone hates spending money on infrastructure and clean water. He’s pro-police, a vital policy battleground for MWRD candidates, and is supported by Far Northwest Nutjob John Garrido, among other cops. This guy really just wants to be an elected official, and thinks that because he has a PhD in Geography, that means he’s qualified to be one. Yawn. He also wrote this press release on the Chicago GOP website arguing that the Democratic Socialists on the City Council should be kicked out of office because Democratic Socialism is the same as Regular Socialism which is the same as Communism… oh and also by the way progressives also also DemSocs/Socialists/Communists, too, so don’t believe anything they say. Sad words from a sad man. Cook County residents should cast an easy vote for Precious Brady-Davis.

  • §

Filling Big Shoes: County Clerk

Job Description:

The Cook County Clerk is the official record-keeper of suburban Cook County, and sometimes for the City, as well! The Clerk oversees elections in the Suburbs, keeps vital records for all Cook County residents, plays a key role in propery tax tracking alongside the Treasurer and the Assessor, and handles other record-keeping as well.

“But Steph! But Raeghn! Doesn’t the County Clerk usually get elected in Midterm years?” you may ask… and you’d be right! However, after incumbent Clerk Karen Yarborough died suddenly in April, a special election was called to fill her seat!  

The Candidates:

Monica M. Gordon (D)

Michelle Pennington (R)

Christopher Laurent (L)

The Dish:

“Wait… County Clerk?? But Steph! But Raeghn! Doesn’t the County Clerk usually get elected in Midterm years?” Dear reader, you may be asking yourself that question, befuddled by why you’re voting for a County office in a Presidential election year… and you’d be right! However, after incumbent Clerk Karen Yarborough died suddenly in April, a special election was called to fill her seat, and since she died after the Primary, the County Party undertook the rare task of appointing both a caretaker for the office to serve out the remainder of the calendar year, and a candidate to run for the now-vacant office on the ballot. Deputy Clerk Cedric Giles was tapped as Interim Clerk, while 5th District County Commissioner Monica Gordon was chosen to appear on the ballot and will presumably cakewalk into the Clerkship in this special election.

But first, the soon-to-be also-rans! Michelle Pennington, a real estate agent/interior designer who works specifically with landlords (interesting) who has raised essentially no money, is a Texan transplant to Chicago, and has some big ideas about stamping out corruption in the Clerk’s office. While it is true that the late Karen Yarborough was often opposed to anti-corruption efforts and civil service hiring reforms, and had her office placed under court supervision for corrupt hiring and employment practices, Pennington takes things a bit far. Her “plans for the office” include multiple insinuations that Cook County elections aren’t transparent, or that election fraud is somehow taking place… which it isn’t. In fact, years of research and reporting have shown that election fraud is exceedingly rare, and when it does actually happen, it’s Republicans doing it. Pennington also whines about Karen Yarborough being a “Democratic Party Boss” (which, to be fair, she was) and insinuates that Monica Gordon is also a party boss, simply by being an elected official, which is not how that works. To Pennington’s credit, she seems like one of the less-nutty Republicans being trotted out this cycle.

Christopher Laurent, the only elected Libertarian in Chicago, is another story. Northwest Siders may know Laurent as the man who continually gums up the works of the 14th Police District Council, and enabled a citizen’s group to form and confuse residents. Look… you’ve gotta hand it to the Cook County Libertarians. They may be annoying obstructionists, but at least they try. And sometimes, like Laurent, they win! By default! For a full background on the District Council Drama, check out this extremely thorough and well-researched piece of journalism by Jim Daley for South Side Weekly… it’s got shouting matches, Scott Waugespack being kind of a dick but also maybe right, and also sorts of hot goss. As far as Laurent’s campaign goes, while he may have the most pixelated website photo I’ve ever seen, his platform isn’t terrible! He mostly promises to just… do the job by engaging with the community and performing the functions of the office efficiently and transparently, although he does fail to make a specific commitment to implementing Ranked Choice Voting, which is notable as it’s increasingly common in the suburbs and the IL Libertarian Party has endorsed RCV. I have no issues with Laurent’s campaign, but his personal actions in his role as Police District Councillor and pro-police actions overall rub me the wrong way, and prevent me from giving him a serious look. I simply do not believe that he wouldn’t go rogue as Clerk the way he’s gone rogue on the District Council.

Which brings us back to Monica Gordon, the incumbent County Commissioner in the Far South Side/South Suburban 5th District. Unfortunately, while I like Gordon, she currently isn’t running a campaign, has no website, no digital, and has put in no effort to speak of to reach every voter in Cook County in a downballot special election, in which she’s expected to win and fill a vital role. Girl, I Guess policy prevents us from endorsing candidates in competitive elections that don’t even try to actually, you know, run for the office that they’re running for. Because of that, an endorsement in this race is pending, until such a time as Monica Gordon puts up a campaign website and can be properly evaluated. I’m issuing a pending rating, rather than a non-endorsement, because I find both Laurent and Pennington to be unacceptable as candidates, but expect Gordon to meet muster once her campaign gets its shit together.

UPDATE:

I’ve called around and spoken to multiple people, including elected officials that I trust, who tell me that Monica Gordon is indeed running a campaign. She’s knocking on doors, attending events, going to forums, all of those “I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t at least trying a little bit” kind of events. I’m supremely annoyed that she’s not running any digital to speak of (good luck reaching voters under 60 without a website or social media), and I think it’s bad form to not have at least some sort of website up before Early Voting launches across the City, which is today as of this update, if she’s putting in effort I’ll give Monica Gordon a recommendation rather than an endorsement, in the hopes that her campaign continues to pull its shit together and puts up some sort of something at all. Anything. Literally a one-page website with a bullet point platform so that voters know what you’re running on and can hold you accountable to those promises. Please.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:

Monica Gordon has her website up! The SEO is bad, so it’s difficult to Google, but it’s there! She’s running a small platform, but one focused on addressing the real issues in the Clerk’s office: eliminating inefficiencies by continuing to bring the Clerk’s office into the new digital age, implementing ethics reforms to do away with patronage hires and conflicts of interest, and improving equity by adding further multilingual support to services offered by the Clerk. Monica Gordon isn’t waiting to take office to hit the ground running, either. Offline she’s been helping address a weird transphobic inequity in Poll Worker training that was brought to the attention of an intrepid Voter Guide Writer by a concerned citizen. Once she was made aware that something fishy was going on, Monica Gordon sprang into action and promised to get to the bottom of the issue after the election, so Cook County voters can be sure that the Clerk’s office is following County human rights law. Grumbles about her campaign timing aside, Monica Gordon is a hard worker, an enthusiastic public servant, and in all likelihood is going to be a great Clerk. I’m upgrading our recommendation to a full endorsement of Monica Gordon in the Special Election for Cook County Clerk.

  • §

Also, Tara Stamps! Cook County Commissioner, 1st District

The Candidates:

Tara Stamps (D) incumbent

James Humay (L)

The Dish:

Dear reader, by now you surely remember the funky ways of Cook County, where vacancies on municipal bodies get appointees to fill seats. Well, as we covered in the Primary Election, sometimes State law requires an appointment, and then a special election on the next ballot to fill the seat permanently when a term is less than half-done. We covered Primary Golden Shrugee Tara Stamps in March when she faced a challenger for the Democratic nomination for this seat, and now, surprisingly she faces another one, although really it’s less than token opposition. James Humay, one of Illinois’s wackier remaining Libertarians, is running for the seat as well, and there is no Republican. I debated whether or not to cover this race, since the 1st County Board District is one of the bluest and most Democratic parts of Cook County, and there’s absolutely no chance that Humay can win, but I figured it was best to at least toss an endorsement to Tara Stamps, who I personally like very much and think is an excellent Commissioner. She’s carried over her Primary platform of fighting for common sense solutions to housing access, public safety, and access to affordable healthcare, which are all areas where someone can have a huge impact on the County Board! Tara Stamps is a real deal progressive who I hope sticks around on the Board for many years to come, and was well deserving of the Primary Golden Shrug. Stamps is endorsed again for the General Election.

  • §

Finally a Good One Please: Clerk of the Circuit Court

Job Description:

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is, by law, the official keeper of records for all judicial matters brought into the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Clerk’s Office serves the 5.2 million citizens of Cook County, more than 400 judges and maintains offices in Chicago, Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham.

The Candidates:

Mariyana T. Spyropoulos (D)

Lupe Aguirre (R)

Michael Murphy (L)

The Dish:

Ding dong, the witch is dead! Primary Endorsee Mariyana Spyropoulos handily defeated the incumbent Clerk of Court and Girl, I Guess villain Iris Martinez by a nearly two-to-one margin in the March election, bringing an end to her time in Cook County politics, hopefully for good. Spyropoulos is well-positioned now to sweep into office in November, and is poised to be Cook County’s first Clerk of Court this millennium to not be an embarrassing corrupt mess. Running on the same platform that she sported in the Primary, Mariyana is promising to modernize the notoriously crusty and dusty office by digitizing records, expand community access to expungement summits (which is particularly impactful for Black, LGBTQ, and sex working communities), and really get a handle on ethics reform in the Clerk’s office. Dear reader, whenever I’m talking to someone about why they should support Mariyana Spyropoulos for Clerk of Court, the first thing I say is that she won’t embarrass the residents of Cook County. This may sound like faint praise, but for someone seeking what could potentially be called the most historically corrupt office in Cook County, it’s actually one of the highest compliments I can give. Spyropoulos has a history of strong fiscal management and ethics reform from her 15 years at the MWRD, including four years as President, is a lawyer (important when one is running to administer the Court system), and will do Cook County proud in this role. As far as endorsements? She’s got everyone, with an impressive list including CTU, Citizen Action, SEIU, The People’s Lobby, Inaugural Golden Shrugee Lakesia Collins, Kevin Olickal, Nabeela Syed, Toni Preckwinkle, 2022 General Golden Shrugees Maggie Trevor and Kevin Morrison, Josina Morita, Bill Lowry, Scott Britton, 2022/2024 Primary Golden Shrugee Precious Brady-Davis, Alders Maria Hadden, Daniel La Spata, Julia Ramirez, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Andre Vasquez, and even the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. Like I said in the Primary… wow. Spyropoulos is the clear way to go.

Of course, there are also other people running for this office. Lupe Aguirre, a cop with 8 use of force complaints, is certainly also one of them!  This is Aguirre’s third run for office, once as a Democrat for County Commissioner in 2018, and once in 2022 as a Republican for Sheriff, and whoof is this guy weird. As a candidate for Sheriff, Aguirre told WTTW that he was running “against the woke left” and called incumbent Sheriff Tom Dart a “social justice warrior,” which… LOL. Aguirre doesn’t seem to be trying very hard this time around, and even describes himself on Instagram as a “part time political candidate,” which is deeply Chicago. Aguirre a nutjob and should get as few votes as possible.

The Libertarians have fielded Michael Patrick Murphy (a Chicago name if I’ve ever seen one, despite his having moved here only three years ago), who actually seems completely normal. His platform includes some pretty decent ideas, such as making the office’s administrative and personnel records subject to FOIA (it’s exempt under a 1995 court ruling), and focusing 100% on transparency, but he’s extremely light on qualifications for the role. Murphy works in IT, and doesn’t seem to have any legal or complex administrative experience, which means what while he means well, and wants to make positive change, the reality is that he probably wouldn’t have any idea how to do this job once he got it, and has no track record of success that lends confidence to the voters. He’s got two really cute dogs, though!

At the end of the day, Mariyana Spyropoulos has the qualifications, the track record, and the experience to do the very difficult job of cleaning up the Clerk of Court’s office. She’s up to the task, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else on this ballot with making it through their first day. Spyropoulos is endorsed.

  • §

Screaming Crying Throwing Up: Cook County State’s Attorney

Job Description:

The Cook County State’s Attorney oversees one of the largest prosecutor offices in the nation, second only to Los Angeles County. It employs more than 1,500 personnel, including almost 900 attorneys. This is a big job, and has far-reaching implications. Not only does the State’s Attorney do regular prosecutorial things, like, you know, prosecuting crimes, they also decide what things count as crimes that they want to prosecute, and sets the standard for how folks are detained pre-trial. This means that the office has the power to enact bail reforms like refusing to require a cash bail for non-violent offenders. Yes, at the end of the day, the State’s Attorney is a glorified cop, and cops are bad. But this office has the power to enact important progressive reforms with the right person at the helm.

Other duties of the office include: handling cases involving minors, and taking action against parents who abuse or neglect their kids; handling and prosecuting corruption cases; prosecuting fraudster, violent, or killer cops; providing paralegals, law clerks, law librarians and court reporters; overseeing narcotics courtrooms and drug treatment programs; and managing victim assistance and community justice programs.

The Candidates:

Eileen O’Neill Burke (D)

Robert W. “The Hair” Fioretti (R)

Andrew Charles Kopinski (L)

The Dish:

Eileen Burke, a former Appellate Judge presents interested in getting to the root causes of violence and pursuing alternative approaches to mental health and addition issues. Her website boldly states “she knows firsthand the concerns that every citizen has about crime in our community.” Audacious statements for someone who is a Republican (like for real, a Republican. Indisputably a Republican because she (and her husband) donates to Republicans and had a Republican manage her 2016 campaign), being tied to the wrongful conviction of a 10-year old Black child on bogus murder charges, calling him part of a “whole new breed” of offender in remarks after the conviction, links to an anti-abortion lobbyist, voided a protective restraining order previously granted to a trans woman

Polling results from the primaries show Burke dominated in white areas like Northwest and Southwest sides of the city and near downtown. Her opposition, Clayton Harris III, pulled the majority of Black voters and neighborhoods on the South and West sides. When it comes to addressing crime in the city of Chicago I think it’s best to take the lead of those living in the areas most impacted by violence, and if they aren’t voting for Burke, should we? Or is it any coincidence that her major funders are white men? We all want a safe city and safe transportation, hell, I would REALLY ENJOY taking a walk at night by myself, but I hope we all have learned, over and over again, the years and DEDCADES of tough on crime retoric is not the way.

Then there’s this guy, Robert W. “The Hair” Fioretti, looking like Trump without the bad makeup. Clearly lying about how the bail system works. He believes undocumented immigrant are illegal and there’s this hilarious piece about his unpaid bills and running for Chicago mayor. You weren’t going to vote for a Republican (hopefully) if you are reading this guide anyway so, that’s that.

Andrew Charles Kopinski, the libertarian, concerns me. He has an opportunity to speak from a position that is not Democratic or Republican, but continues to spew fearmongering ideas around violence in Chicago, AND does not support the elimination of cash bail included in the SAFE-T Act (something even Fioretti at least said in interviews he wouldn’t wish to eliminate and something republicans lost badly to in 2022, when running against it).

As we have a Republican-lite, Republican, and Alt-Republican running for States Attorney, we’re up for a rough ride for the next few years. Because of our shitty options there is no endorsement for State’s Attorney

Judge of the Circuit Court (Vacancy of Flannery, Jr.)

The Candidates:

Pablo F. deCastro (D)

Tien H. Glaub (R)

The Dish:

As open-and-shut as a judicial election can get, Pablo deCastro, the Guide's Primary endorsee for this seat, is facing a ballot ghost in Tien Glaub, who was evidently a City employee in Business Affairs for about 10 years.

deCastro is a former Cook County public defender, still serves as a Federal public defender (the concerns about him representing a January 6th insurrectionist led to some digging that confirmed that he was, indeed, appointed to that case), and is a highly experienced and touted trial attorney who, by all accounts, will be an excellent judge. Vote Pablo deCastro with confidence for this vacancy.

  • §

EducationPalooza: CPS Board of Education

It’s finally here! The moment that so many people have fought to achieve for over a decade; we’re voting for members of the CPS Board of Education. Chicago has never had an elected school board, as the Board has historically been appointed by the Mayor either directly, or prior to 1995, through a community nomination process. The new Board is, to put it lightly, a bit of a mess. There are 10 Districts overall, but only until the election concludes. Then, there will be 20 Districts, as each of the 10 that we’ll be voting on will be chopped in half, and the portion of the District that the elected member does not live in will get a Mayor-appointed representative, along with a Chair who will lead the Board as a whole. Then, all 21 seats (20 Districts plus the Chair) will be up for election on the November ballot in 2026, so the folks we’re electing now only get two-year terms.

Dear reader, as you can imagine, this is all incredibly annoying to those of us who happen to be intrepid voter guide writers. Setting aside for a moment the fact that the School Board is a nonpartisan race that will be elected on the most partisan ballots possible during a General Election when control of Congress is up for grabs, there are a plethora of other issues at play here. The maps for these Districts are politically incoherent, and will leave significant portions of the City without adequate representation (you cannot tell me that including a chunk of the 33rd Ward in a District that also includes the entire 49th Ward makes any sense for a role entirely defined by the City itself), and the Districts are absolutely enormous, containing more residents than even a State Senate District. We cannot wait to see the remap to attempt to fix these issues in 2032.

Additionally, being elected to the School Board means that you’re being plopped into a volunteer role, a characteristic held only by the much less involved offices of Ward Committeepeople, so a huge number of working class individuals are boxed out of even running for these roles because they simply do not have the time. But hey, hopefully all of these issues will be smoothed out eventually. Kvetch and you shall receive, Steph always says.

Overall, the elected School Board is a major good, despite the weirdness of the elections. The people of Chicago deserve a real say in choosing who runs our schools, and this is our chance to do exactly that. So let’s dive into the weirdest year that we’ll ever have for the CPS School Board, the Jumbo District Election Spectacular!

Job Description:

CPS School Board Members make major decisions that govern the Chicago Public School system. Board Members fulfill a number of specific key responsibilities, including, but not limited to:

  • Hiring and evaluating the CPS CEO
  • Establishing the direction, goals, and priorities for the district
  • Approving district policies
  • Approving purchasing decisions, contracts, and intergovernmental agreements
  • Approving the district budget and capital improvement plan
  • Approving the school year calendar
  • Approving school continuous improvement plans, school actions, and school charters and contracts
  • Approving the dismissal of probationary appointed teachers, contract principals and tenured teachers, and non-probationary educational support personnel

CPS Board District 1

The Candidates:

Jennifer Custer

Michelle N. Pierre

The Dish:

This Far Northwest Side District features the closest thing to a true consensus candidate that I think I’ve ever seen in more than a dozen editions of this Guide. Jennifer Custer, whose background as a CPS parent, former teacher and Assistant Principal, and former union president is impressive enough on its own, has amassed the craziest collection of endorsements. Bringing together progressives like Lindsey LaPointe, Ram Villivalam, Ruth Cruz, and Robert Martwick, pro-cop moderates such as Gil Villegas, Felix Cardona, and Samantha Nugent, and right-wingers like Deb Silverstein and Jim Gardiner is impressive enough. But to get the CTU, SEIU, and the moderate trades unions on the same side? Nuts. Custer’s platform shows that she’s got the chops to be a School Board stalwart for years to come, featuring a strong stance in support of neighborhood schools, prioritizing faculty and staff retention, and casting herself as a good governance candidate. I’m not in love with the “safety in schools” plank, which sounds a bit too much like “some LSCs should be able to bring more cops into schools if they want to” for my taste, but you certainly can’t argue with the rest of what Jennifer Custer brings as a candidate. She’s also raised a huge of money for a School Board candidate, with just under $40,000 in the bank at the time of writing, which is more money than some entire Districts have raised among all ballotted candidates. Safe to say that Jennifer Custer is the favorite here.

Opposing Custer is Michelle Pierre, who has taken money from charter school advocates, which isn’t surprising since she’s open about being a “school choice” candidate, which in these races is code for “let private companies steal money from neighborhood schools and starve the system”. No wonder Pierre is so in favor of charter schools, because despite her website bio taking great pains to never be specific about where her “many years” of educational experience come from… a quick search on her LinkedIn reveals that it’s entirely in charter schools, and that her only experience in a public school was in Cleveland pre-pandemic. Michelle Pierre is a shill for corporate education, has no clear or meaningful connection to neighborhood CPS schools, and despite all of her credentials is therefore somehow still unqualified to run our school system. An impressive career, but a bad candidacy.

The choice in District 1 is clear. I’m adding my name to a truly wild endorsement list and giving the shrug to Jennifer Custer.

UPDATE:

Michelle Pierre has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. This strengthens my endorsement for Jennifer Custer because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

  • §

CPS Board District 2

The Candidates:

Ebony L. DeBerry GOLDEN SHRUG

Margaret “Maggie” Cullerton Hooper

Kate Doyle

Bruce Leon

The Dish:

District 2 on the Far North Side is my home, and the base of some of Girl, I Guess’s most dedicated readers with large parts of the 50th, 49th, 48th, 47th, 40th, and 33rd Wards included alongside bits of the 39th and 46th, and I’ll be damned if I see a charter school guy represent me in the School Board. Moreover, both Ebony DeBerry and Bruce Leon live in the northern part of the District, which will become District 2A after the election, while both Kate Doyle and Maggie Cullerton live in 2B. That makes this race about strategy, qualification, connections to CPS, and about making sure the 2B seat is open for an appointment that should go to a qualified LGBTQ individual.

To be fair to both Kate and Maggie, they’re incredibly thorough and thoughtful about what their role would be on the School Board should they win. Maggie Cullerton Hooper (yes, related to former Illinois Senate President John Cullerton) has an extremely expansive platform, one of the only ones this cycle that I’ve seen that has separate planks for LGBTQ, Special Education, non-citizen students, Black student success, and Sex Ed in CPS. She even explicitly states that she wants cops out of CPS!! It’s clear that she’s done her homework, and despite her campaign’s links to former State Senator Heather Steans (whose family is big big in charter schools), I’m inclined to view those links as Cullerton Hooper being extremely politically connected, rather than evidence that she’s a secret charter school candidate. Maggie Cullerton Hooper is my clear second choice if for whatever reason you don’t like Ebony DeBerry.

Kate Doyle is a CPS parent has a young child who will enter CPS in the future, and is a former special education teacher (and a nonprofit founder!) who is running an equity-minded platform but simply seems outmatched by Cullerton and DeBerry, despite her endorsements from AAMP and Northside DFA, and Green-rated Alder Andre Vasquez, among others. Perhaps in a different field she’d shine through more, and from my interactions with her she’s quite compelling in person, but I simply can’t make an argument for Kate Doyle over Ebony DeBerry.

Bruce Leon, the sitting 50th Ward Committeeperson, doesn’t seem like a super-crazy right-winger like new Girl, I Guess villain Deb Silverstein (who he ousted as Committeeperson earlier this year). However. There are three huge red flags about his candidacy that make him utterly unacceptable to me. First, and most overwhelmingly, is his deep financial tie to charter schools. He’s personally donated at least $11,000 to The Children’s Future, a charter school PAC with ties to Rabbi Shlomo Soroka (seen here calling anti-genocide protestors at the DNC “pro-Hamas rioters”. Stay classy, Shlomo.) Second, he endorsed Paul Vallas for Mayor in a post that said Vallas’s vision for education was “right on the money,” (that vision, of course, being bankruptcy and mass school closure), and dismissed Brandon as “basically a school teacher controlled by the CTU,” which pretty much says it all right there. Anyone who dismisses public school teachers in that way should not be on our School Board. And third… third is his family foundation, the Leon Legacy Fund. Now, most of the Leon Legacy Fund’s projects are relatively normal Jewish philanthropic endeavors, but one, the Ohr Shomayach Yeshiva, is located in a part of Jerusalem known as “No Man’s Land,” which exists between the 1949 Armistice Lines between Israel and Jordan. The UN and EU both recognize No Man’s Land as occupied, and this land, including all of East Jerusalem, was de-facto annexed by Israel in 1967. No Man’s Land can be considered part of the Occupied West Bank as it falls inside the Green Line. That Bruce Leon would publicly and proudly tie his family’s name to a project that is in violation of UN law and which was built on stolen Palestinian land is extraordinarily concerning and, in my opinion, completely disqualifying for public office of any kind.

All of this brings us to Ebony DeBerry, a CPS parent and graduate and community organizer with over a decade of school policy expertise. A lifelong Rogers Parker, Ebony is running on a platform that emphasizes co-governance, creating and maintaining sustainable community schools, and doubling down on expanding busing for CPS, particularly selective enrollment schools. Ebony may not have the most extensive platform in the field (that certainly goes to Maggie Cullerton), but she has the chops, and the trust of community leaders representing pretty much every part of District 2. Ebony is endorsed by past Golden Shrugees Graciela Guzmán and Mike Simmons, Green-rated Alders Maria Hadden and Angela Clay, IPOs in the 50th, 49th, 48th, and 33rd Wards, the CTU, the CCCTU, SEIU, One People’s Campaign, Northside DFA, AAMP, Northside Action for Justice, Citizen Action Illinois, and Our Schools Chicago. With expertise like hers, a list of supporters like that, and lifelong roots in one of the most overlooked and underfunded parts of the District, how could I possibly say no? Ebony DeBerry is endorsed, and for all the reasons stated earlier as well as her staunch progressive history, she receives a Golden Shrug.

UPDATE:

Bruce Leon has been endorsed by The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. Shocking, considering that Leon is the 50th Ward Democratic Committeeperson. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer.

The most in-depth update is for Kate Doyle, who has been gaining steam recently in the race as she’s picked up endorsements from County Commissioner Bridget Degnen and Personal PAC, but was also the subject of somewhere around 10 emails that I received from concerned community members, detailing things from the mundane to the alarming.

Among the mundane is that Kate Doyle only moved to Chicago in 2020, which is not very long ago at all. Now, Girl, I Guess dinged Anusha Thotakura in District 6 for moving to the City in August of 2022, but two years is a lot different than four. A lot of folks moved during the pandemic, and while I wouldn’t say that four years is enough to command an understanding of the complex issues facing Chicago and our public schools, this more raises an eyebrow than demands a condemnation. More along the lines of the second category are some serious questions about Doyle’s independence as a candidate.

Kate Doyle has been banging the "independent” drum lately, claiming to be the only candidate in the race not backed by a special interest, which continues this year’s ugly trend of describing public sector unions as “special interests”. Now, nobody can deny that unions like the CTU are deeply interested stakeholders in the CPS School Board race in particular, but they’re not some random unaccountable outside group trying to make a buck off of Chicago’s schools, like a charter school operator or Aramark or something. They’re literally the teachers in the schools themselves, who deserve a say in their working conditions and the people who ultimately determine them. Nobody calls LiUNA or IOUE “special interests” when they get involved in Aldermanic elections. Furthermore, Doyle has the endorsement of several labor unions in this race (as does Guide Second Choice Candidate Maggie Cullerton Hooper and Golden Shrugee Ebony DeBerry) as well as the support of a group called CPS Parents for Buses, who would seem to be just as specific of a stakeholder in the CPS race as teachers, so this seems to be rather disingenuous of Doyle as a line of attack. If you’re anti-CTU, just come out and say that you’re anti-CTU and be done with it. But I digress.

The real questions about Doyle’s independence come when you look under the hood of her career, and the framing of her candidacy. A copy of Doyle’s resume was sent to the Guide, dated before she founded KindWorks, the nonprofit she currently operates. The resume indicates that Doyle was only a special education teacher for two years, in New York, over a decade ago, and did an additional year in a New York middle school in 2013.

Perhaps most troublingly, her resume lays out the foundation of a 10+ year-long relationship with transportation tech giant Uber, where Doyle was employed in corporate communications, marketing, and listed “public affairs” as part of her job duties. Doyle’s nonprofit KindWork, which trains young people to work in tech customer service, lists Uber among tech companies at which program participants can be trained to work. Coverage of the nonprofit lists Uber as a program partner, Doyle’s Co-Founder Jeanine Menendez also worked at Uber, and both of KindWork’s other Board Members, Board Chair Matthew Powers, and Emily Teele, are also Uber alums. Oh, and the non-profit’s Head of Career Services and Industry Partnerships is also a former Uber employee. That’s a lot of Uber ties for a single nonprofit to have. But, somehow, it doesn’t stop there. Kate Doyle’s campaign finance is also riddled with ties to Uber and unsavory special interests, like a $1,500 from Teach for America-aligned pro-charter Leaders in Education (which recently contributed to anti-CTU and pro-charter candidates in Districts 1 and 3). Additionally, more than half of Doyle’s campaign contributions as of her latest end-of-September filing come from non-Illinoisians, all of whom have ties to Uber. Why is all of this Uber stuff relevant? Well, the tech giant has wanted its grubby digital paws on a CPS busing contract since 2021, and I’m sure Uber would accept any edge that it could get in making that process a reality. Dear reader, it’s not hard to see where this is going if you connect the dots… CPS Board Members have gotten in trouble for hawking their own products or special interest connections to the District before. We at Girl, I Guess would hate to see that happen again.

Now, for her part, Kate Doyle says that she never worked as a lobbyist for Uber, has no current investments in the company, and said in an email to Girl, I Guess that if elected, she would recuse herself from any matters that come before the CPS Board involving Uber, and that she opposes rideshare contracts as a solution to busing. That’s a solid start and if she’s elected, we’re going to hold her to all of that.

All of that said, dear reader, I am incredibly worried about the hypocrisy here. If the theme of a candidate’s campaign is “I’m the only independent, no special interests here,” and a look under the hood of their finances reveals that not only did they take money from a charter school PAC, but their campaign, their non-profit, and their personal employment history is all bound up in a tech company that’s been trying to get a CPS contract for years… that’s fishier than a fresh jar of gefilte. I’m not calling Kate Doyle a liar or saying that she’s intentionally trying to mislead voters by claiming to be independent when that claim is dubious at best. I don’t believe that she’s being malicious or anything that nefarious. But no good-faith interpretation of her campaign could call her independent, and these questions have to be asked, and voters deserve to know the answers before y’all cast your ballots.

Meanwhile, amidst all of this noise, Ebony DeBerry has added endorsements from AAMP, the Sunrise Movement, Our Revolution, and OG Golden Shrugee and my State Rep, Kelly Cassidy. This, along with all of the information detailed above, strengthens my endorsement for Ebony DeBerry because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

In other news, on October 7th, Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated six new individuals to serve on the CPS School Board, including Debby Pope, who resides in District 2B. There is speculation that Pope could remain in her appointed role if Bruce Leon or Ebony DeBerry win this election and represent District 2A, but none of Brandon’s nominees have commented on whether or not they would remain past January.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:

Bruce Leon has been insisting in mailers and push texts up and down the 2nd District that he’s the “moderate” Democrat option in the race, a claim made interesting by the fact that the School Board race is at least nominally nonpartisan. But of course, like Bruce Leon saying that he cares about public schools, the claim that he’s a Democrat strains credulity. Not simply because he’s endorsed by Republicans like Paul Vallas and other GOP-backed groups that I detailed in the initial Update to the race, but because he donates to Republicans as well! Data from OpenSecrets reveals that Leon has a history of donating to some of the most right-wing figures in Chicago and Midwestern politics. Shmucks like Joel Pollak, the current Senior Editor-at-Large for the alt-right Brietbart news outlet. Leon donated to him in 2010 when he ran against incumbent 9th District Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Not very “Democrat” of our sitting 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman. “But Steph,” you may say, “that was 14 years ago! Clearly that doesn’t reflect Leon’s political leanings today.” Alas, dear reader, you’d be wrong. The same data set shows donations to Republican Congressman Peter Roskam in October of 2012 (less than a month before an election where he faced a Democrat) and again in 2013, failed Republican Gubernatorial Primary candidate and Trumpkin Gary Rabine in 2021, South Carolina (weird) Republican Governor Henry McMaster in during his re-election bid in 2022, and Republican Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson in September of 2022, barely a month before his General Election contest against Mandela Barnes. Not very “Democrat” to me. Dear reader, as we’ve discussed in this Guide before, if it walks like a Republican, quacks like a Republican, and donates to Republicans during their elections against Democrats… its probably a Republican. This is a recurring problem in Cook County, where obvious Republicans are allowed to hold key seats in the County Democratic Party simply because they pinkie swear that they’re actually Democrats, donation history and political activities be damned. 2nd District voters should consider Bruce Leon a Republican, and refuse to vote for him accordingly. And Toni Preckwinkle… please. Clean house in the CCDP.

  • §

CPS Board District 3

The Candidates:

Carlos A. Rivas, Jr.

Jason C. Dónes GOLDEN SHRUG

The Dish:

This mostly Northwest Side Latine-majority District contains a mish-mosh of the 36th, 35th, 33rd, 31st, 30th, 26th, and 1st Wards, tiny bits of the 47th, 37th, 32nd, and 27th Wards, and literally two blocks each of the 39th and 29th Wards. Oy. The cavernous District is the site of a head-to- head faceoff between COPA Public Affairs Director and only LGBTQ School Board candidate (yes, really) Carlos Rivas, and CPS parent, graduate, and former teacher Jason Dónes.

At first glance, there may seem to be little difference between the candidates, due to their similar backgrounds and roughly equivalent credentials. Rivas is a lifelong resident of Humboldt Park, the son of a working-class immigrant mother, attended Northside College Prep, and has a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership, and has been a teacher in several capacities (and worked for the State Department!). Dónes, likewise, has lived in Humboldt Park his entire life, is the son of a single mother and a CPS parent, graduated from Lane Tech, is a former middle and high school teacher, and has spent his entire career in the education field, predominantly working in equity-minded roles or organizations.

What sets the two men apart, however, are their backers. Rivas is funded by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and Leaders in Education, a Teach For America-affiliated PAC with ties to the Walton and Bloomberg families… which, ewwie. Dónes, on the other hand, is funded almost entirely by Grassroots PAC, the political action arm of the progressive organization Grassroots Collaborative. He’s also got an endorsement list that I can only describe as Golden Shrug bait, with nods from past Golden Shrugees Graciela Guzmán, Lilian Jiménez, Anthony Quezada, and Delia Ramirez and Green-Rated Alderpeople Carlos Rosa, Rossana Rodríguez, Jessie Fuentes, and Ruth Cruz, and support from Beardy winner Will Guzzardi and progressive State Senator Omar Aquino. He’s also got nods from several corresponding IPOs, the CTU, Northside DFA, Our Schools, SEIU, Cook County College Teachers Union, and Citizen Action Illinois. Goddamn, Jason.

Well, all I can say is that the Golden Shrug bait worked. Jason Dónes is progressive, qualified, and deeply rooted in education and the CPS system. He’s got history with the district and skin in the game, and the support of progressives that I’ve trusted for years. I have every confidence that he’s the right choice for District 3, and that he’ll work tirelessly to ensure LGBTQ people get the representation we deserve on the Board with the District 3A appointment. Jason Dónes is endorsed, and receives a Golden Shrug because we cannot have a champion for charter schools representing the Northwest Side.

UPDATE:

Carlos Rivas has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. This strengthens my endorsement for Jason Dónes because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

  • §

CPS Board District 4

The Candidates:

Karen Zaccor GOLDEN SHRUG

Ellen Rosenfeld

Kimberly Brown

Thomas Day

Carmen Gioiosa

Andrew A. Davis

The Dish:

District 4 is perhaps the most fraught of the School Board elections, with the Northside District stretching from parts of the Gold Coast, all the way to two blocks south of Loyola. It encompasses much of the 32nd, 35th, 46th, and 47th Wards, all of the 44th and 43rd, bits of the 2nd and 48th, and I think three total blocks of the 27th Ward, which… just… why. I hate these maps. District 4 is also, perhaps unsurprisingly given the area, the most contested of all the School Board races, featuring six candidates all of whom, in a Girl, I Guess first, have real campaigns! A quick survey of the race, however, narrows the field to two major contenders duking it out for the heart of the Northside in a constant battle of progressives versus political insiders.

The four likely also-rans are:

Education funding guru Andrew Davis, who sounds extremely impressive as a financial aid career professional, but whose ties to CPS are weaker than other candidates… and an endorsement from much-hated former 46th Ward Alderman and current Twitter troll James Cappleman doesn’t help. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Davis’s qualifications, but he’s not the grassroots candidate that Girl, I Guess is looking for and his endorsements are filled with the power power players of a political yesteryear, suggesting that he might be similarly old-school or out of touch with Chicago’s current policy landscape.

Thomas Day, a man whose entire candidacy centers around him being a veteran, which is fine… until you find out (by his own admission) that he “leads a business community” which is “focused on… defense technology development”. Which, to be honest, sounds a little too potential-war-criminal-y for me. He’s sporting endorsements from two veteran-related PACs, and is supported by 34th Alderman Bill Conway, who I’m not fond of, and 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waugespack, who I like even less. Day’s platform isn’t terrible, but I’m suspicious of his backers and can’t find a reason to choose him over the other, more clearly progressive candidates. Unfortunately that means he’ll have to wait for his Day in the sun. Also, he’s pro-cop on Twitter. Gross.

Kimberly Brown is incredibly accomplished, is a CPS parent, and is also… a lot. Brown’s website features things I’m not sure I’ve ever seen in a campaign, like an extensive blog, event schedule, and a reading list! But it also features some things that display shockingly bad political judgment, such as a punt on charter schools in her Policy FAQ, a lack of a clear bio on her website, and this… bold… candidate scorecard which made both Raeghn and I say “wow”. The scorecard grades candidates on “Effective Traits” but Brown grades herself as having all of the traits (of course), while simultaneously saying that no other candidate in the District has the trait of effectively communicating across stakeholder groups or aligning resources to goals, which she cannot possibly know or accurately evaluate. Yikes. There’s a lot that’s endearing about Kimberly Brown, but just not enough there, or perhaps a little too much, to call her the most progressive candidate in this race.

Carmen Gioiosa is perhaps the most qualified candidate in the field, sporting a Doctorate in Education, 8 years on an LSC, stints as a high school teacher and in the CPS central office, and is a CPS parent to boot. She’s also got an adorable “C4” logo which looks like one of her kids drew it, and an even cuter dog. While Gioiosa’s platform isn’t bad, (she’s running as strongly independent with a focus on mental health resources in schools), she unfortunately hasn’t garnered much momentum and hasn’t raised any money so far, according to campaign finance records. Despite good candidate quality and high qualifications, Gioiosa just doesn’t have the momentum or energy to compete in a crowded field with an establishment pick and a strong progressive.

The two true contenders in this race are a bit of a classic Northside David vs Goliath story. Representing Goliath out of the powerful and monied 47th Ward organization is Ellen Rosenfeld, wife to 47th Ward Committeeman Paul Rosenfeld. Talk about an insider! But this is no vanity campaign; Rosenfeld has the background to be a real force on the school board. She’s a CPS parent, a former CPS teacher, an LSC member and Chair, and worked for many years in the CPS front office. Rosenfeld by far the lightest in the field on policy when compared to the other candidates, running a three-plank quasi-platform of being an accessible elected official (ok yeah sure), creating an incentive program to attract and retain great teachers while offering zero additional specifics about that plan, and increasing parental involvement in schools, a stance which, from any other candidate, would be an immediate red flag for right wing “parents’ rights” nonsense. And while I certainly don’t think that Ellen Rosenfeld means parental involvement in the right wing sense, I would expect someone so politically involved to know better than to not elaborate on this point.

Dear reader, Rosenfeld’s campaign is unfortunately giving me flashbacks to the 2022 Primary, where in a very similar race a connected and moneyed candidate out of the 47th Ward Organization was running against a grassroots community candidate from Uptown. I really wish that Rosenfeld had brought her extensive CPS experience and policy chops to bear, and I’m quite disappointed that the best she could muster as of this Guide’s publication was, honestly, a half-assed attempt at policy substance. To complicate matters more, Rosenfeld’s list of supporters is a who’s who of Northside insiders and moderates, with a couple of notable exceptions. Rosenfeld has the support of two-time Golden Shrugee Precious Brady Davis, Green-rated Alderman Matt Martin (although I can’t imagine he had much choice in the matter given that not endorsing the wife of his Ward Committeeman would be political malpractice), and progressives County Commissioner Bridget Degnen, Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele, Treasurer Michael Frerichs, and State Senator Robert Martwick… but she also has the backing of people that I do not like, such as Commissioner Bridget Gainer, State Representative Margaret Croke, and new Voter Guide Villain Deb Silverstein. Nothing is more insider than this campaign, and the flimsy platform plus the long endorsement list gives off an air of entitlement that should not be ignored. I have no doubt that Ellen Rosenfeld could do the job, and likely do it well, but I can’t help but get the feeling that she expects to be elected, and that rubs me the wrong way. Unfortunately I cannot support her.

Who can I support, you may ask? Let me introduce you to award-winning retired teacher, former CPS parent and LSC member, Uplift Community High School co-founder, grassroots organizer, and all-around badass Karen Zaccor, the progressive choice in District 4. In a ballot full of powerful and qualified School Board candidates, there is perhaps nobody with a better claim to Progressive School Champion than Karen, who has been fighting for equity for decades. She was a member of Parent Equalizers of Chicago, through which Karen helped win a campaign to remove a racist reading program from CPS. She ran a campaign against lead poisoning in neighborhood schools, testing hundreds of children along the way. And she was even a leader in the fight to create the Elected School Board that she’s running for! All the candidates in this District can talk the talk, but truthfully only Karen Zaccor can say that she’s walked the walk for equity and excellence in neighborhood schools. That’s reflected in her platform, which features promises to greatly expand equity in underfunded schools in disinvested neighborhoods, push a Sustainable Community Schools model, keeping cops out of CPS, prioritizing the needs of ESL and disabled students, and fixing the food in CPS so that students will actually eat the meals provided to them! Karen Zaccor is no joke, and she’s backed by a mighty team of progressives, including the CTU, CCCTU, SEIU, One People’s Campaign, Citizen Action Illinois, JCUA Votes, AAMP,  Northside Action for Justice, neighborhood groups representing the 32nd, 44th, 46th, and 48th Wards, 46th Ward Committeeperson Sean Tenner and Green-rated Alder Angela Clay, and also now the Girl, I Guess Progressive Voter Guide.

None of these candidates are objectively evil or unqualified, and there truly isn’t a reason to vote against any of them. But. Dear reader, if you’re looking for a perfect mix of independence, progressivism, qualifications, and overall badassery, Karen Zaccor is your gal in District 4. She’s the best of the bunch by far, she’s running a scrappy campaign without a questionable endorsement to her name, and she’s more than earned an endorsement and a Golden Shrug in this race. Vote Karen Zaccor in District 4!

UPDATE:

Ellen Rosenfeld has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. Rosenfeld, a candidate attempting to run on her public school credentials and her ties to progressive policies, should be ashamed that she’s accepted the help of privatizers, anti-union scumbags and literal fraudsters. She should additionally be ashamed to accept help from Trump Republicans, given that she’s an active part of the 47th Ward Democrats. This strengthens my endorsement for Karen Zaccor because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

  • §

CPS Board District 5

The Candidates:

Aaron “Jitu” Brown

The Dish:

Aaron Brown is an on-the-ground grassroots and movement organizer, National Director of Journey for Justice Alliance and Southside native. He is running unopposed in District 5.

  • ♉

EDITOR’S NOTE:

On October 7th, Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated six new individuals to serve on the CPS School Board, including Michilla Blaise, who was previously running in this race, and Mary Gardner, who both reside in the opposite half of the District from Jitu Brown. There is speculation that Blaise or Gardner could remain in the appointed role, but none of Brandon’s nominees have commented on whether or not they would remain past January.

CPS Board District 6

The Candidates:

Jessica Biggs

Anusha Thotakura

Andre Smith

The Dish:

Jessica Biggs has an extensive background in education, making her exceptionally well-suited for this role. Her website mentions her six years as Principal at Burke Elementary School. Still, it fails to mention that she was fired in 2018 for reportedly instructing staff to pick students up from their homes, take them to school in their personal vehicles, and directing them to falsify attendance records. Or that she is on CPS’ 'Do Not Hire' list. She sued the Chicago Board of Education, but the case was dismissed in 2018. She appealed the decision, but her appeal was subsequently denied. Though the School Board position is unpaid wouldn’t it be weird to have someone on the board who is literally banned from working for CPS? And if the role did become paid later down the line, would she loose her seat? Is this Biggs’ revenge plot? To grasp at the chance to having a say in CPS’s budget, displinary measures for firing and direct say in who the CEO is? Revenge of the principle.

Despite all that, Biggs is endorsed by some progressive players, including Ald. Lamont Robinson, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (both green-rated candidates in previous GIG guides), and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. It’s worth noting that Jessica is married to Earl Grandberry Jr., son of Earl Grandberry Sr., a well-known, politically influential pastor who had influence in Toni Preckwrinkle’s politcal organization. And while I would never suggest that Biggs is only being endorsed because of who her father-in-law is (I’m a feminist after all), I want to ensure that you have all the context you need to make the best choice possible.

Anusha Thotakura—She doesn’t even go here, no, literally. As of 2022, Anusha’s home address was in Palatine, so she’s not exactly a Chicago local. And while she's got a background in teaching, it’s worth noting she hasn’t taught in Chicago schools, nor does she appear to have any kids in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. So, is she plugged into the needs and realities of CPS? Not exactly.

Sure, she was a math teacher for Teach for America, but that was in San Jose from 2018 to 2020—for two years, which is kind of like the "I took a gap year" of teaching experience. Does that qualify her to tackle the challenges of one of the biggest school districts in the country? I'll let you decide.

But hey, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) threw their endorsement her way, so there’s that.

Andre Smith is a “community activist” who can’t seem to get enough of running for elected seats and losing them all. Smith has received donations from Urban Center PAC, a committee co-founded by Rangel (the former head of the UNO charter school network, which disbanded after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Rangel for fraud) and Paul Vallas (former CPS CEO and in-the-cloest-Rebulican). He’s run in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, even earlier this year in the 5th District State Representative Primary–– and now the school board. All you need to know about him is that he supports term limits for County Board members (term limits have been something that Girl, I Guess, frowns upon) and opposed the decision that the County Board made in 2020 to redirect funds from County police to other programs. I think it’s better if we allow him to keep doing what he does best… lose.

Let’s see so we have, *checks notes,*

  • On CPS’ ‘Do Not Hire’ list
  • Underqualified
  • And just no

None of these candidates are right for the job, which is unfortunate because the 6th district includes crucial areas for Black students including parts of Bronzeville, Woodlawn, and Hyde Park, students who deserve more. However, given the background on these candidates I will not be endorsing anyone for District 6.

UPDATE - Your girl Anusha Thotakura is coming in hot with new, sexy endorsements. Let’s see, we have Chicago Federation of Labor, Senator Lakesia Collins, the Sunrise Movement Chicago, Cook County College Teachers Union and a bunch of other progressive Representatives and Senators.

  • ♉

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Andre Smith has been endorsed by The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. We already weren’t a fan of Smith, so this news doesn’t push us to endorse either Thotakura or Biggs, but we encourage 6th District voters to cast their ballots against Smith being on the Board.

In other news, on October 7th, Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated six new individuals to serve on the CPS School Board, including Reverend Mitchell Johnson (no relation), who resides in District 6B. There is speculation that Reverend Johnson could remain in his appointed role if Anusha Thotakura wins this election and represents District 6A, but none of Brandon’s nominees have commented on whether or not they would remain past January.

CPS Board District 7

The Candidates:

Yesenia Lopez

Eva A. Villalobos

Raquel Don

The Dish:

Yesenia Lopez is a Chicago Public Schools alumni. She isn’t a teacher and doesn’t have a background in education, and her website is literally a waste of internet space. A community organizer turned political servant, she currently works at the Illinois Secretary of State and has worked for progressive campaigns such as Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for Congress and JB for Governor and sits on the national board for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Initiative. She’s also endorsed by Jesús “Chuy” García.

Yesenia Lopez’s campaign hasn’t raised any money, which is odd for a Garcia-endorsed candidate. What I suspect is that her campaign is housed inside Garcia’s campaign, which would mean she doesn’t need to raise funds in the usual way, since many of her campaign expenses would be paid by Chuy’s team. Weird

Eva A. Villalobos is a mother of four, CPS alumni and quite critical of the failings of local public schools. Does that mean her four children are now in a private school? She’s endorsed by old-machine-cop-lover alderwoman Silvana Tabares. Villalobos has received donations from Urban Center PAC, a committee co-founded by Rangel (the former head of the UNO charter school network, which disbanded after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Rangel for fraud) and Paul Vallas (former CPS CEO and in-the-closet-Republican). Outside of that, there’s not much on her other than a stint working for an international real estate firm (ew).

Raquel Don is also running and has nothing about her candidacy except for putting it on her LinkedIn page. Add her; she only has 36 connections. She also appears to be the wife of losing 11th Ward Alder candidate Don Don.

Yesenia Lopez is clearly qualified and connected. I believe she will bring a lot of knowledge and insight into this role. She far outshines the other candidates.

  • ♉

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Eva Villalobos has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. This strengthens my endorsement for Yesenia Lopez because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

CPS Board District 8

The Candidates:

Angel Gutierrez

Felix Ponce GOLDEN SHRUG

The Dish:

Angel Gutierrez was born and raised in Chicago and is a Quigley Preparatory Seminary South High School graduate. His website states that he has two children but not if they attend CPS. He certainly brings a lot of experience, just not in education. He has an extensive CV, having worked for several non-profit organizations apparently raising $15M for Catholic Charities. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance. It’s also worth noting that he is the top donor for his own campaign, contributing $12,500.00 in May of this year.

Felix Ponce has worked for seven years at Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School as the director of bands, founding the school's music program. He’s clearly passionate about making music and art accessible to all students and has the most comprehensive website of any school board candidate I’ve seen. Ponce even has a school board platform *squeals.* His platform uplifts Equitable Arts and Sports Funding, School Safety With Adequate Resources, and Hire and Support Black and Latine Teachers as his priorities. The Chicago Teachers Union, Citizen Action Illinois, and progressive Alderwoman Julia Ramirez (who got a green rating in GIG 2023) endorsed him. The Working Families Party even hosted an event for him.

Felix Ponce brings a background in incorporating music and art into schools and classrooms and clearly has the support of Chicago progressives, and I believe he’s the one up for the job. I’m even going as far as to grass Ponce with a Golden Shrug as Distric 8 has some crucial areas for students like Back of the Yards who deserve a committed board representative who is passionate, experienced and creative when it comes to education.

 

  • ♉

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Angel Gutierrez has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. This strengthens my endorsement for Felix Ponce because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

CPS Board District 9

The Candidates:

Therese Boyle

Lanetta M. Thomas GOLDEN SHRUG

La’Mont Raymond Williams

Miquel Lewis

The Dish:

From what I can tell from her LinkedIn page, Therese Boyle has over 35 years of experience working in CPS. She ran for CTU president in 2019 against Stacey Davis Gates, indicative that she’s conservative. Other than this random tweet and the fact that she has a committee set up to collect funds, there is no current news or website about her running for the 9th district school board seat. This random PDF also gives more insight into her education and background than anything else. Is she a real candidate?

Lanetta M. Thomas is a mother of four, a CPS alum, a disabled veteran, and a community activist. Lanetta is currently a senior at Governors State University and Chicago State University. She could bring a unique perspective as an older and present college student, a perspective that is extremely lacking on a school board that isn’t paying it’s members. She’s been organizing with SOUL (Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation) for the last five years. She even uplifts what issues she wants she cares about regarding public education.

Thomas is endorsed by Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600, Citizens Action Illinois, and Illinois Veterans for Change.

La’Mont Raymond Williams ran for State Senate District 16 in 2022 and ran a not-uber-progressive platform. He’s currently the General Counsel and Chief of Staff for County Commissioner Bill Lowry. A product of CPS, it’s not clear if he is a parent or has any background in education outside of some volunteer opportunities with middle and high school students. Several elected officials endorsed him in his 2022 run but its unclear if any of those people support him now.

Miquel Lewis was raised in Englewood and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at NOBLE Network of Charter Schools. You read that right, CHARTER SCHOOLS! Last year, then-mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed him as a new member of the Chicago Board of Education. It’s giving cop vibes with his website bio stating he’s spent time as a probation officer. We don’t need you policing Chicago Public School students, Miquel.

A lot is happening in this district, but one candidate stands out as having the clear drive and backing from progressive groups, which is why I not only endorse but I am bestowing her with a Golden Shrug Lanetta M. Thomas. She would bring a unique perspective to the school board as a nontraditional student who decided to go to college later in life to get her degree, a mother, truly a powerhouse.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Miquel Lewis has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer. This strengthens my endorsement for Lanetta M. Thomas because we support unions and public schools in this house Google Doc.

CPS Board District 10

The Candidates:

Adam Parrott-Sheffer

Che “Rhymefest” Smith

Karin Norington-Reaves

Robert Jones

The Dish:

This South and Southeast Side District is perhaps the most expensive of all the School Board races, with multiple candidates raking in five-figure sums in their quest for the office. District 10, which encompasses Wards 10, 7, 8, 5, 4, and parts of 6, 9, 17, 20, and 21, features a Hyde Park principal, a political insider, a rapper and a reverend all going toe-to-toe for the seat. That’s Chicago!

Karin Norington-Reaves (who dedicated Girl, I Guess readers may remember from finishing 4th in the Congressional Primary to replace Bobby Rush in 2022 despite running with Rush’s endorsement) is taking charter school money, as is principal Adam Parrott-Sheffer (although his black-and-pink color scheme is after my own heart), which means we can’t consider them. While I’m tired of Norington-Reaves, who is on her third run for public office (she ran unsuccessfully for Alderman in 2007 and Congress in 2022), I will note that Adam Parrott-Sheffer otherwise seems very qualified, thoughtful, and clearly has a handle on the issues relevant to the District. My main, overriding concern about him is his above-linked contribution from Leaders for Educational Equity, a Teach For America alumni group which is pro-charter by virtue of being part of TFA. I don’t think that Parrott-Sheffer is some diehard school choice person, but in a race with two candidates that don’t have charter school questions around them, I’m afraid it’s enough to make me move past considering his candidacy.

That leaves us with a battle of campaign quality versus candidate substance in Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Reverend Robert Jones.

Rhymefest (yes, that Rhymefest, the Grammy-winning rapper and songwriter) is a famous person who seems to be running for office (for the second time! After an unsuccessful attempt at becoming 20th Ward Alderman in 2011) because he genuinely cares about Chicago and the City’s schools. He grew up on the Southeast Side, is a CPS graduate, a CPS parent, and a resident of the newly-progressive 6th Ward (shout out to Green-rated Alderman Will Hall, who has endorsed Rhymefest!). Rhymefest has an incredibly thorough platform which focuses on school quality and access to experienced staff and resources, and to be honest, I can’t argue with any of the points that he’s making as a candidate. He clearly knows what the deal is with CPS, has been paying attention and listening to his community, and thinks he’s the right guy to solve the problems facing the beleaguered system. Which, to be honest, is also part of my problem with his candidacy. By his own admission, this guy is extremely involved and busy. In addition to running for office and his musical career (he’s currently working on multiple albums with a company affiliated with the Golden State Warriors), Rhymefest is the President and CEO of his own arts nonprofit, Art of Culture, and is an active member of a group called the Abolition Institute, through which he makes “frequent” trips to Mauritania in West Africa with the goal of furthering the Institute’s work of abolishing slavery there. None of that is to say that his work isn’t impactful and valuable, it clearly is, and he’s obviously putting his time, energy, and money into things that benefit Black people worldwide and make a real difference. But also this guy is so busy… which makes me question if he actually has the time to be on the School Board while the body is actively creating itself. The office will likely never be more work, or require more time, than it will during the next two years. Far be it from me to tell Rhymefest how much time he has, or what he can do with it. But. I believe it’s a Real Concern™ whether he’ll have the appropriate amount of time to dedicate to a volunteer, work-intensive elected office while also preparing to run for re-election in two years and continue his other musical, personal, and humanitarian work.

Dear reader, we’re being honest, Rhymefest likely doesn’t need the help of Girl, I Guess to win this election (he’s got an impressive endorsement list for a hyperlocal office featuring nods from Green-rated Alders Jeanette Taylor, Andre Vasquez, and Lamont Robinson, in addition to the aforementioned Alder Will Hall, alongside County Commissioner Bill Lowry, soon-to-be Clerk Monica Gordon, State Rep. Kimberly Du Buclet, and Mediocre late-90s Boston University Basketball Player and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias), and depending on what part  of the District he lives in, he’s also likely to land the appointment from Mayor Johnson after the election. But despite my lack of concern about his qualifications, I think his campaign has more quality than his candidacy has substance, and my concerns about his temporal capacity remain.

Now, finally, on to a candidate who has almost the exact opposite problem. With all due respect to Reverend Robert Jones’s campaign team, his materials are… sparse. He’s got a blank Instagram and Facebook, his campaign website is minimal, and his platform is barely there. However. Reverend Jones makes up for the low quantity with extremely compelling substance. He’s a Dyett hunger striker, a member of his local high school’s LSC (Local School Council), and has been involved in social justice initiatives in Bronzeville and across the City for many years. I will say, normally there wouldn’t be enough there for me to seriously consider Jones for an endorsement, and I think that it’s notable that he seemingly only has support from the CTU, with fellow hunger striker Jeanette Taylor endorsing Rhymefest. But Girl, I Guess has never failed to endorse a Dyett hunger striker and in this case, I do think that literally putting your body on the line to reopen a public school in a disinvested Black community is worth quite a bit of “your campaign sucks otherwise” extra credit. My concerns about Reverend Jones are plentiful, including that he touts his roots in the area including multiple children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren but doesn’t say whether any of them are in, or graduated from, CPS. But again, the physical investment of Dyett is worth quite a bit in my endorsement calculus.

When faced with the quality vs substance debate between Reverend Robert Jones and Che “Rhymefest” Smith, I’m at a loss to determine who is truly better. In an ideal world, both would make it onto the Board and have two years to show us what they’ve got. But for now, this November, I think it’s an even split. I’m issuing a rare co-endorsement for Reverend Robert Jones AND Che “Rhymefest” Smith. They both clearly care about CPS, are rooted and invested in their community, and will do right by Black kids in CPS, and public schools in Black neighborhoods.  

UPDATE:

Karin Norington-Reaves has been endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education, an explicitly anti-CTU PAC, and The Urban Center, a pro-charter school PAC run by failed Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and SEC-labeled fraudster (over a Chicago charter school organization!) Juan Rangel. The Urban Center PAC also lists the Chair of the Springfield-area Young Republicans as Treasurer, fully exposing this as yet another effort for Republicans to meddle in Chicago, and making any candidates who accept their support guilty of colluding with the local GOP. To make matters worse, that Treasurer, a man by the name of Nathan Hoffman, is the Chair of a PAC named Illinois Federation for Children, a statewide affiliate of the SuperPAC American Federation for Children, which was founded and funded by Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. To make that connection explicit, candidates who accept support and endorsement from The Urban Center are having their campaigns backed by a lobbyist for the nation’s largest school privatizer.

Meanwhile, Reverend Jones has beefed up his platform, and his social media presence, which includes an endorsement list. Jones is endorsed by Our Revolution, SEIU, and Primary Golden Shrugee Commissioner Tara Stamps. This news strengthens our shared endorsement of Reverend Robert Jones alongside Che “Rhymefest” Smith, and adds extra oomph to Jones’s case for support.

In other news, on October 7th, Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated six new individuals to serve on the CPS School Board, including Olga Bautista, who resides in District 10B. There is speculation that Pope could remain in her appointed role depending on who wins this election, but none of Brandon’s nominees have commented on whether or not they would remain past January.

  • §

Who Judges the Judgemen: Retention of Judges

Back in March, we were all voting for candidates to fill vacancies in Countywide Circuit Courts, Subcircuit Courts, and one Illinois Supreme Court seat. Now, all but one of those races are uncontested because only Democrats ran for those vacancies, and this is Cook County. SO we won’t be talking about those races here.

Instead, we’ll be talking about Judicial Retention. This is both weird and confusing, and profoundly cool! In Cook County we get to vote on whether or not to retain a judge every six years. In other words, we get to decide whether a judge should keep their job. Muahahaha ha haha ha.

Judicial retention votes are incredibly important because judges have a profound impact on people’s lives every day, particularly low income Black, Brown, queer, and trans folks who disproportionately come in contact with the criminal justice system. Historically, judges have almost always been retained because voters didn’t have any easy way to learn about the judges they were voting on, and judges had absolutely no interest in educating voters, because then they could be held, *gasp* ACCOUNTABLE. Plus a lot of people just skipped the judges section on the ballot because it is long and confusing, and nobody knows who any of those people are. But, dear reader, things have changed and it’s way easier to access information about judges and make decisions about who should stay or go. The low rate of voting on these races also means that your ballot can have an outsized impact, and you’re more likely to help kick out a shitty judge!

As always, the amazing folks at Injustice Watch are hard at work on their Judicial Voter Guide, which is OUT NOW at injusticewatch.org/judges! They cover every single judge, and the foolery that they may, or may not, have gotten up to during their terms.

Below I’ve highlighted a few judges that we feel strongly should be ousted. Everyone that I’m covering is a Circuit Judge, which means that they need 60% of the vote to be retained!

In addition to Injustice Watch’s snappy coverage, and a general standard of progressiveness, Girl, I Guess’s criteria for judges are as follows:

  1. Are you a cop?
  2. Are you sketchy, suspicious, or have you done bad/controversial things in the past?
  3. Are you a dumbass?
  4. Do Bar Associations think that you’re qualified?
  5. The political behavior (donations, campaign affiliations, etc) of the judge in question

The Girl, I Guess Judicial Update is now live, featuring some of our first repeat judges that Ellen and Steph covered allllllllll the way back in November 2018, when the Guide initially got its name. This cycle, we’ll be providing deeper coverage on judges that draw controversy following the Bar Association rating releases, or who earn SUPER NO ratings or worse. Let’s dive right in!

E. Kenneth Wright, Jr.

The Dish:

Wright, Jr, who is 83 years old and running for retention for another 6-year term is unfortunately also a shady and unscrupulous character. He’s one of two Judges who was caught by the crack reporting team at Injustice Watch as claiming a Homestead Exemption on his property taxes outside of Cook County. For those of you, dear reader, who are not in the know about the ins and outs of Cook County property tax exemptions, a Homestead Exemption is the most common kind of homeowner tax exemption taken in Illinois, usable only on the owner’s principal dwelling place, meaning the place that they live the majority of the time. Wright, Jr. has claimed a homestead exemption on a property in Joliet (which sits in Will County) since 1978, and a Senior Homestead Exemption since 2018. Whoopsie! Illinois state law requires judges to live in the District that they represent, which Wright Jr. almost definitely does not. Vote NO on this judge who has been lying to Cook County voters for the 30 years that he’s been on the bench.

  • §

Mary Margaret Brosnahan

The Dish:

Brosnahan is a complete non-starter for Girl, I Guess for violating three of our four Judicial Evaluation Criteria (Bar Association Ratings pending for the fourth!) by being married to a cop with 43 allegations against him who’s already cost the City $9 million in misconduct settlements. Eww. She’s also had two murder cases reversed and determined unfair due to the “cumulative effect” of Brosnahan’s errors which impacted the “trustworthiness of the judicial process,” which sounds both sketchy and dumb to me. On top of all of that, Brosnahan made multiple contributions to fake Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke in the Primary election. Vote NO on Brosnahan.

  • §

Maura Slattery Boyle

The Dish:

Slattery Boyle is a machine nepo baby, and was sent to the bench in 2000 on the back of a Daley endorsement. Bridgeport, am I right? Her rulings have been reversed at least 46 times during her tenure, she and her husband apparently don’t pay their taxes, and the City has sued her several times over building code violations. Whoof. Slattery Boyle barely won retention last time we covered her in 2018, and we’ve gotta hope that she doesn’t make it this time because Cook County has had quite enough of her. Vote NO.

  • §

Martin C. Kelley

The Dish:

Kelley has an inspiring story, having made a full recovery from a 2005 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed… but that’s not all that’s going on here. He was elected to the bench in 2012 as a Republican after running unopposed (remember Cook County politics in the 2010s? Wild times.), but being a Republican 12 years ago isn’t the issue here. The fact that he’s still a Republican today is. Martin Kelley’s political donation history is sparse since joining the bench, but a 2021 donation to the Palatine Township Republicans sticks out like a sore thumb as his only partisan contribution in 12 years. “But Steph”, you may ask, “how do you know that it’s actually the same Martin Kelley?” Well, dear reader, there are two telltale signs of a judicial donation (or a spouse-of-judge donation). The first is a redacted address, which is explicitly allowed under the State’s Judicial Privacy Act. The second is Following the Firm. Kelley’s past Republican contributions (all in 2012 and 2011) list his employer as Kelly, Kelley, and Kelley (whoof), a law firm that he ran with his brothers, one of whom is also a Republican judge with poor Robing Room reviews. Dear reader, this is the same guy. And while I normally wouldn't think TOO hard about a judge's nominally defunct political affiliation from 2012… there’s definitely something ontologically wrong with donating to the extremely Trumpy Palatine Republican Party in 2021. As a result of this donation, I cannot trust Kelley’s ethics or conduct towards marginalized people in his courtroom, nor can I trust that he won’t meddle in wider County politics further down the road like fellow Republican Eileen O’Neill Burke. Vote NO on Martin C. Kelley, the first judge to get dinged under Girl, I Guess’s new “political behavior” evaluation criteria for judges.

  • §

Shannon O’Malley

The Dish:

O’Malley may not be a Libertarian (as far as we know), but he’s going to be this year’s Silly Name Caucus inductee for nomenclature-related shenanigans that loyal Girl, I Guess readers haven’t seen since the days of Benjamin Adam Winderweedle. According to Injustice Watch, O’Malley changed his name and party in 2018 (after running unsuccessfully for judge in two different Counties and Cook County State’s Attorney in 2004) to Shannon O’Malley from Phillip Spiwak. He claimed it was to honor a recently-passed mentor, but observers and reporters agreed that it was a naked attempt to improve his electoral chances, as it’s a well-known fact that Irish names do better on Cook County Judicial ballots, albeit only slightly. Well, apparently, it worked! O’Malley was elected in 2018 in his first electoral attempt since his name change. This would be just dumb and funny enough to maybe slide by with a disgruntled YES, but O’Malley unfortunately is also the second judges to find himself on the wrong side of the “she doesn’t even go here” scandal, with property tax exemption records also listing a Homestead Exemption for him in Will County. O’Malley claims that his wife lives in Will County by herself while he lives in Schaumburg, but… come on, man. It’s a judge’s duty to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and this doesn’t pass the sniff test.

On top of all of this, I had multiple attorneys reach out to me who have tried cases in front of O’Malley, questioning in several ways his command of the law as it relates to Child Protection and Family Law cases, and noting his poor temperament in the courtroom.  Vote NO.

  • §

Referenda and Local Measures

The intrigue, the mystery, the utter kerfuffle that are Cook County and Chicago Municipality ballot measures. Depending on where you live, and even depending on which precinct you vote in, there might be a metric fuckton of these on the ballot in November. Luckily, they’re all yes or no questions.

Here is the thing: most—if not all— of the measures in the City will be “non binding” which means that the government doesn’t actually have to do anything if a certain measure “wins.” They’re just a way for politicians to gauge public opinion on something. That being said, sometimes a popular ballot measure really does become a law later on. So it can still be valuable to vote on these. However, in the suburbs, these ballot measures can actually be completely binding!

Below, We’ll cover each ballot measure and suggest a vote.

The Election Worker Protection Referendum

“Should any candidate appearing on the Illinois ballot for federal, State, or local office be subject to civil penalties if the candidate interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker's official duties?”

The Dish:

Rockford State Senator Steve Stadelman advanced legislation that put this statewide referendum on the ballot, with the hopes of protecting election workers and boosting election judge enrollment. A study recently showed that 33% of election workers faced harassment or intimidation, and that poll workers were less likely to sign up again if they experienced political interference. Illinois has had a hard time recruiting election judges due to political polarization around the administration of elections, which means that polling places often cannot open, and people are denied access to the vote! Election workers are vital parts of our democracy and ensure that every polling place runs smoothly and fairly. We couldn’t vote properly without them, and they deserve our protection! Generally I oppose creating additional penalties for people, but these would be civil penalties (essentially fines), so I’m fine (rimshot) with it in this case. Vote YES on this ballot measure.  

  • §

The Property Tax Relief and Fairness Referendum

“Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?”

The Dish:

Illinois has high property taxes. Really high property taxes. One of the reasons that our property taxes are so high is our flax income taxation structure, which means that everyone, regardless of how much money they make, is taxed at 4.95%. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Raising income taxes by 3% on millionaires would generate $200 - $500 million more annually for the State, allowing the government to then either lower property taxes for the middle and working class, or issue property tax rebates for some. Is this a rehash of the Fair Tax from 2020? Yeah, kinda. But our state needs more revenue, and the fairest way to get it is by taxing the wealthy. The whole point of them is that they’ve got money, so they can afford it just fine. Vote YES.

  • §

The Assisted Reproductive Health Referendum

“Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?”

The Dish:

Health coverage in the U.S. is no easy feat, especially in a system where insurance is often tied to employment—if you’re lucky enough to have it at all. And if you do, it’s only natural to want comprehensive coverage that supports your body’s full health and wellbeing (cue mini-rant about dental and vision still being separate). This referendum is about expanding that coverage to include assisted reproductive treatments, like in vitro fertilization, under any health plan that already covers pregnancy-related care. The only ones footing the bill here are the insurance companies (boo insurance companies), and frankly, they can afford it. So, vote YES.

  • ♉

Establishing an Englewood and Greater Chatham Mental Health Services Program

“Shall there be established, to serve the territory commonly described on this ballot or notice of this question, an Englewood and Greater Chatham Expanded Mental Health Services Program, to provide direct free mental health services for any resident of the territory who needs assistance in overcoming or coping with mental or emotional disorders, where such program will be funded through an increase of not more than .025% of the equalized assessed valuation of all properties within the boundaries of the territory?”

The Dish:

Is this a property tax hike? Yes, but it is a small raise, only to the proposed territory (Englewood & Greater Chatham) that would be used to provide direct and free mental health services to ANY resident in that area.The referendum question asks residents to approve the program and it asks voters if they are willing to increase their own property taxes by .025% of the EAV of their property— an amount of approximately $4 per $1000 currently paid in property taxes— to pay for these expanded services. For example, a homeowner paying $5,000 in property taxes would pay an additional $20 per year.

By law, every penny of this money will stay in the communities and can ONLY be spent on mental health services for those in need. These funds will be overseen locally by a Governing Commission of residents living within the communities. This referendum is something the community has been fighting for, for years. We like expansive and accessible mental health services. Vote YES

  • ♉

Funding an Englewood and Greater Chatham Mental Health Services Program

“Under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, may an aggregate extension not to exceed $700,000 be made for the Englewood and Greater Chatham Expanded Mental Health Services Program for the 2025 levy year?”

The Dish:

So, this is where things get a little confusion but I think I got it somewhat figured out. While the above referendum was about creating the Mental Health Services Program and to raise property taxes, slightly. This referendum asks if voters agree to a specific funding amount—up to $700,000—for the program for the 2025 tax year. It works within the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), which limits how much property taxes can increase. This referendum would approve a specific amount of funding for the program, staying within those limits. This is necessary to actually fund the program’s operations for that year (2025), ensuring it has enough resources to run effectively within the limits of PTELL. Vote YES

  • ♉

Establishing a Near Southwest Mental Health Services Program

“Shall there be established, to serve the territory commonly described on this ballot or notice of this question, a Near Southwest Side Expanded Mental Health Services Program, to provide direct free mental health services for any resident of the territory who needs assistance in overcoming or coping with mental or emotional disorders, where such program will be funded through an increase of not more than .025% of the equalized assessed valuation of all properties within the boundaries of the territory?

The Dish:

This is effectively the same proposal as the “Establishing an Englewood and Greater Chatham Mental Health Services Program” just in a different territory. Check out that coverage for more details. Just as in Englewood, free and accessible mental health services for community members is important.

Vote YES

  • ♉

Funding a Near Southwest Mental Health Services Program

“Under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, may an aggregate extension not to exceed $1,200,000 be made for the Near Southwest Side Expanded Mental Health Services Program for the 2025 levy year?”

The Dish:

This is effectively the same proposal as the “Funding an Englewood and Greater Chatham Mental Health Services Program” just in a different territory and with a higher amount allotted to the community program. Check out that coverage for more details. Just as in Englewood, free and accessible mental health services for community members is important.

Vote YES

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Supporting a South Shore CBA Ordinance W7P1,9,10 & W8P5

“Shall our Alderman Greg Mitchell & Mayor Brandon Johnson support a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo & home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area by taking steps that include but are not limited to 1) funding home repair, increasing homeownership & property tax relief 2) eviction protection, rental relief and a ban on application & move in fees 3) development of 100% income based social housing on city owned vacant lots & 4) local hiring and jobs programs?”

The Dish:

Here we go again! A version of this question has been on basically every election that Girl, I Guess has ever covered, and saying “Yes the Obama Center should have a CBA, this is easy, the community deserves it, and the Obama Center is fucking up two whole neighborhoods during construction so they need to give something back to Hyde Park and South Shore” is basically Guide tradition at this point. Vote YES for a CBA for South Shore. Eventually we’ll run out of Wards and precincts in South Shore that haven’t run this question, because every single one of them have passed.

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Supporting Extra-Curricular Activities in CPS W16

“each public school in the Ward began and maintain extra-curriculum activities including; baseball, softball, flag football, track, band, and choir to begin at second grade through 12th grade”

The Dish:

Yes? Every election we have some extremely specific, seemingly commonsense question on the ballot in a single Ward or Precinct, and it looks like that tradition will continue! Extracurricular activities (yes, the text of the ballot measure says extra-curriculum, not extracurricular) are good for students, give youth something to do, and help them stay out of trouble, especially in places like the 16th Ward, on the Southside, where schools and programs have been slashed under previous Mayoral administrations. I see absolutely no reason to vote against school programs for kids. Vote YES.

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Funding a New Chicago Bears Stadium W29P6,8,9,10,12,13,15,17

“Shall the people of Chicago provide any taxpayer subsidy to the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium?”

The Dish:

This referendum asks voters whether or not they want the city to use taxpayer money to help fund the construction of a new stadium for the Chicago Bears. If approved, it would mean that the city government could provide financial support (such as subsidies or tax breaks) to the team for building the stadium. I may be biased because I’m not a sports person, (I once referred to the World Series as the Grand Cup), but I strongly strongly believe our community tax dollars should go to things our community needs and can all use like roads, sidewalks, parks, health services, transportation, etc, and not to providing subsidies to a billion dollar industry.

Vote NO

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Village of Skokie, Term Limits

“Shall the Village of Skokie, after the November 5, 2024, General Election, adopt an Ordinance amending the Skokie Village Code to enact term limits for the elected offices of Village Mayor, Village Clerk and the two (2) at large Village Trustees for no more than three (3) terms total for each office beginning with the 2025 Consolidated Election; and for the four (4) District Trustees beginning with the 2027 Consolidated Election?”

The Dish:

I do not like the idea of term limits at any level of government, largely because I am convinced by the research-backed argument that term limits do little to curb corruption and instead massively empower lobbyists. That, and also they’re an idea that’s often sold to progressives in the name of dismantling the US Gerontocracy, but are actually heavily supported by right-wingers (recent supporters have included the mid-90s Newt Gingrich-led Republicans,  Donald Trump in 2016, ted Cruz in 2023, Ron DeSantis in 2024, and the Heritage Foundation for at least the last 30 years).

Now, I don’t think that the folks pushing this measure in Skokie are evil right-wingers, and they genuinely think that this will help push democracy in the Village forward. However, the historical evidence and the research doesn’t lie. Term limits are a bad idea, and I can’t support them in good faith. Now, as I said in the 2022 Guide when discussing the first round of Skokie electoral reforms, I generally like to support them as a package so the reforms can work as intended. However, in this instance, I don’t think term limits accomplish anything that RCV won’t, since Skokie is going for RCV in their elections next year, and I believe that they’re such a bad idea that I’m moved to deviate from my precedent. If you’re a Skokesian (Skoker? Skokigander?), Vote NO on Skokie term limits, and let the voters decide when they’ve had enough of their representatives in their newly-minted government structure.

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Village of Oak Park, Ranked Choice Voting

“Shall the Village of Oak Park elect its President and Village Board of Trustees by 'Ranked Choice Voting'? 'Ranked Choice Voting' provides each voter with one vote and allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference to maximize the power of their vote. This method of voting would be used to rank candidates for President and Village Board. If approved, the following rules shall apply beginning with the April 2027 consolidated election: (1) voters shall vote by ranking one or more candidates up to the number of candidates in the race (the number '1' is the highest ranking, followed by '2' then '3' and so on); (2) a candidate for President who receives 50% plus one of first rankings and any candidate for Village Board Trustee who receives 25% plus one of first rankings shall be elected; (3) in the event that the President and/or all three Village Board Trustees are not elected by first rankings, tabulation for the unelected offices proceeds as follows: (a) for any elected Village Board Trustee who receives more votes than needed to win a seat, a part of each vote received by that candidate shall be transferred to each ballot's next-ranked candidate who has not yet been eliminated, where the part of the vote to be transferred is the number of surplus votes received by that candidate above the threshold needed to win a seat divided by the total votes for that elected Trustee (the fraction of the candidate's votes that were in surplus of the number needed to win a seat that would be wasted if not transferred); (b) any candidate for Village Board Trustee who receives 25% of the vote plus one after this transfer is elected, and, pursuant to step (a), a part of each vote in surplus of 25% plus one is transferred to the next highest-ranked candidate who has not yet been eliminated; (c) if there are no surplus votes to transfer and all seats are not filled, the candidate with the fewest total votes is eliminated, and votes for the eliminated candidate are counted for each ballot's next-ranked candidate who has not been eliminated; (d) steps (a) - (c) shall continue until a candidate for President is elected with 50% of the vote plus one and three Village Board Trustees are elected with 25% of the vote plus one. Ranked Choice Voting eliminate a primary election for President and Village Board of Trustees. In the event of a Village Board vacancy, Ranked Choice Voting shall be used, and the percentage required for a candidate to be elected shall be based on the number of vacancies. In the event a voter 'overvotes' by ranking multiple candidates at the same ranking, their vote shall be counted up to the overvote. For all declared write-in candidate(s), the ballot shall include a write-in line, and voters may write in a candidate's name and rank that candidate in the same manner as a candidate whose name is printed on the ballot. The election authority for Oak Park shall design and print ballots that allow Ranked Choice Voting and program electronic voting machines to enable Ranked Choice Voting.”

The Dish:

Wowza this ballot measure is long, but it’s way less complicated than it looks; the text is mostly spelling out the process by how Ranked Choice Voting works.

Readers who remember the 2022 will recall my support for RCV in Evanston, and my support has only grown since then. Ranked Choice Voting is a massive good for those of us who care about voting, engagement, and direct democracy. Using the Alaska 2022 Congressional Election as an example, when the State sent a Democrat to Congress for the first time in 50 years, voters using RCV engaged with more candidates, and found the system simple to use. In the 2018 Midterm and 2020 General Elections in Maine, RCV increased voter turnout. Sounds pretty good so far!

RCV also fights back against one of the most detrimental aspects of elections in the United States; the “first past the post” system, which says that the candidate with the most votes wins… even if they don’t have a majority. Chicagoans are familiar with the consequences of working around this system in our Municipal elections. Whenever an election for Alderperson or Mayor doesn’t yield a candidate that has commanded a majority of the vote, voters (and beleaguered voter guide writers) are condemned to expensive, low-turnout Runoff Elections. Rather than run a whole separate election, under RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference, first to last, and then votes are automatically reallocated until one candidate achieves a majority. Let’s use Chicago’s Mayoral Election as an example.

In the first round of voting in 2023, Paul Vallas commanded a plurality of votes, but nowhere near a majority. Brandon Johnson, the eventual winner, came in second, followed by incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and Congressman Chuy Garcia. If, hypothetically, Johnson, Lightfoot, and Garcia’s voters had ranked each of those three candidates as their preference before Vallas, one of them would have won in the first round as the other two were eliminated, giving their first-place votes to the candidate that each of their voters ranked second. And, voters are not required to rank every candidate, meaning that someone can support candidates that they feel positively about, without giving their support to candidates that they oppose. Additionally, RCV cuts down on negative campaigning and encourages positivity, coalition building, and collaborative campaigning. That would go a long way towards putting Chicago clowns and shit-stirrers like Ja’Mal Green out of a job, and that’s a positive in my book any day.

Everywhere could benefit from some robust electoral reform, and RCV is the way to go. In fact, I’m so much a fan of the system that I’ll be adding support of RCV to the Girl, I Guess endorsement criteria from now on. We need this in Chicago, we need this in Cook County, and we need this in Illinois. The suburbs are a great place to start. Make sure you head to the polls and vote YES for RCV in Oak Park.

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