North Side Ald. Tom Tunney, Chicago’s first openly gay alderman, announced Tuesday that he will not run for reelection to the Chicago City Council after his term expires next year.
The alderman of the 44th Ward since 2002, Tunney said in a statement that he would step down as alderman of the ward that includes Lakeview and Wrigleyville after nearly two decades of being on the council. He joins a string of current and recently departed aldermen who aren’t running for reelection to the council because they are either retiring, running for mayor or run afoul of the law.
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“I have always strived to do my best for the residents and businesses in the Lakeview community and have been honored by the remarkable opportunity to serve the residents of the 44th Ward for almost twenty years,” Tunney said in the statement. “I am grateful for the trust they put in me to help lead Lakeview forward in ways that benefited residents, businesses and visitors, alike. I will continue to work tirelessly for the ward through my last day on the City Council. As I look ahead, I see so many great ways in which I can continue to give back to the city I love.”
Tunney did not provide any additional details. There has been speculation he might run for mayor against incumbent first-term Mayor Lori Lightfoot. If he did run for mayor, that would add another one-time Lightfoot ally to the field seeking to replace her.
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The owner of Ann Sather Restaurants for 41 years, Tunney has had a reputation as one of council’s voices for the business community. But as the alderman whose ward includes Wrigley Field, he’s also tussled with the powerful Ricketts family, the owners of the Cubs. Tunney and the team have clashed over night games, parking, hotel development, garbage pickup and stadium shuttles.
First appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley in late 2002 to fill a vacant spot left by Ald. Bernard Hansen, Tunney has served as chair of several committees, including special events and economic development, and served on the Chicago Plan Commission. He also served as chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus, which currently has five members.
After supporting Lightfoot against Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the 2019 mayoral race, Tunney was the mayor’s pick to steer City Council’s powerful zoning committee following the resignation of former chairman Danny Solis.
But Tunney has suggested he would not support her for another run, telling the Sun-Times her leadership style needs to be “more collegial and respectful.”
Among the accomplishments Tunney touted in his announcement, he included securing funding to build the 19th District Police Station, the $20 million renovation of Lakeview High School and $7 million renovation of the Merlo branch of the Chicago Public Library, and the development of the Center on Halsted and other “important community institutions for Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community.”
Tunney’s announcement means a majority of the north lakefront will have new representation. To the south, Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, has already stepped down. Uptown Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, and Edgewater and Andersonville Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, have both announced they are also both retiring at the end of the term in May.
All are part of a Council exodus: longtime South Side Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, announced Friday she would also be retiring at the end of her term, and 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin has also said she will not run again after being indicted on federal bribery charges.
Three other members of the council — Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, Sophia King, 4th, and Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th — are running for mayor next year against Lightfoot, so they are unable to seek reelection as City Council members. Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, will exit the council before the end of his term should he be elected in November to serve on the Cook County’s Board of Review.
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Others, like Ald. Michael Scott, 24th, who left council for a job in the private sector, and Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, convicted of tax evasion and lying to banking regulators, have already stepped down and had their positions filled by mayoral appointment. Lightfoot replaced Daley Thompson with United Airlines director Nicole Lee, and replaced Scott with his sister, Monique Scott, a Chicago Park District supervisor.
