The 2015 Chicago aldermanic elections happened on February 24, 2015, to elect the 50 Aldermen that represent Chicago in the City Council. The elections were non-partisan and if no candidate received an absolute majority, a runoff would be held between the top two finishers on April 7, 2015.
Ward boundaries had been redrawn since the previous 2011 election, to reflect the results of the 2010 United States Census. The new ward map had been approved by the Chicago City Council in January 2012.
Overview
Campaign
43 incumbent alderman sought re-election. Aldermen Edward M. Burke (14th Ward), Marty Quinn (13th Ward), Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) and Harry Osterman (48th Ward) all ran unopposed in this election. Aldermen Toni Foulkes (15th Ward) and Nicholas Sposato (36th Ward) ran in different wards than those they had been incumbents of: the 16th and 38th, respectively. Incumbent aldermen Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward), James Balcer (11th Ward), Latasha Thomas (17th Ward) and Timothy Cullerton (38th Ward) did not run for re-election.
In the first round, two candidates who ran for re-election lost their seats, including Joann Thompson (who died in office, but remained on the ballot). There were runoffs in 18 wards. Six additional incumbent alderman were defeated in runoffs.'
Seat changes
Election calendar
North Side
1st Ward
Incumbent alderman Proco Joe Moreno was reelected. Moreno had been appointed alderman in 2010 by Mayor Richard M. Daley, and had subsequently been reelected in 2011.
Candidates
One candidate was removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures: Mia Lena Lopez
Endorsements
Results
2nd Ward
Incumbent second-term alderman Bob Fioretti did not seek reelection, instead, opting to run (unsuccessfully) for mayor. Brian Hopkins was elected to succeed him, defeating Alyx Pattison in a runoff.
Candidates
Endorsements
Results
32nd Ward
Incumbent second-term alderman Scott Waguespack was reelected, defeating Elise Doody-Jones, his sole challenger.
Candidates
Endorsements
Results
40th Ward
Incumbent eighth-term alderman Patrick J. O'Connor was reelected, defeating Dianne Daleiden, his sole challenger.
Candidates
Endorsements
Results
42nd Ward
Incumbent second-term alderman Brendan Reilly was reelected, running unopposed.
Candidates
Results
43rd Ward
Incumbent first-term alderman Michelle Smith was reelected, defeating Caroline Vickrey in a runoff by a narrow 79 vote margin (equal to 0.54% of the votes cast in the runoff).
Candidates
One write-in candidate filed: Steven McClellan
One candidate was removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures: Steven McClellan subsequently ran as a write-in
The following candidate filed nominating petitions but withdrew before ballot certification: Andrew Challenger
Endorsements
Results
44th Ward
Incumbent third-term alderman Tom Tunney was reelected.
Candidates
One write-in candidate filed: Robin Cook
Endorsements
Results
46th Ward
Incumbent first-term alderman James Cappleman was reelected, defeating Amy Crawford in a runoff.
Candidates
Endorsements
Results
47th Ward
Incumbent first-term alderman Ameya Pawar was reelected, defeating Rory Fiedler, his sole challenger.
Candidates
Endorsements
Results
48th Ward
Incumbent first-term alderman Harry Osterman was reelected, running unopposed.
Candidates
Results
49th Ward
Incumbent sixth-term alderman Joe Moore was reelected, defeating Don Gordon, his sole challenger.
Candidates
Four candidates were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures or other reasons: John Beacham Connie Gates-Brown Grady A. Humphrey Nathan Benjamin "Ben" Myers
Endorsements
Results
50th Ward
Incumbent first-term alderman Debra Silverstein was reelected.
Candidates
Two write-in candidates filed: Hilaire Fuji Shioura Peter Sifnotis
Two candidates were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures: Hilaire Fuji Shioura subsequently ran as a write-in Peter George Sifnotis subsequently ran as a write-in