Politics

Sigcho-Lopez, Macías Failed to Qualify for 4th District Congressional Race: Elections Board

Neither Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez nor Mayra Macías collected enough valid signatures from voters to qualify for the ballot as independent candidates in the 4th Congressional District race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, the Illinois State Board of Elections ruled Tuesday.

If the board’s decision stands, Patty García will have a much smoother path to replacing the longtime congressman and her former boss in Congress. Patty García’s bid for the Democratic nomination was unopposed, since she was the only one who knew Chuy García would not run for reelection. The two politicians are not related.

Patty García is set to face the Republican nominee, Lupe Castillo, and Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, who is running as an independent to represent the congressional district that includes much of Chicago’s West and Southwest Sides as well as the south suburbs. It is home to a majority of Latino residents.

Because Macías, Sigcho-Lopez and Getty filed to run as independents, state law required them to each to collect 10,816 valid signatures. All three submitted 17,304 signatures, the maximum number allowed.

By comparison, Patty García needed just 697 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot as a member of an established political party.

Getty’s petitions were not challenged.

Macías, the former executive director of the Latino Victory Project, was 1,058 signatures short after a challenge brought by a member of García’s political operation who also works for him as a congressional aide, according to a ruling by Illinois State Board of Elections General Counsel Marni Malowitz.

“I believe Democracy is strongest when people have real choices,” Macías told the board just before the board voted unanimously to toss her from the ballot.

Board Chair Laura Donahue said she agreed with Macías, but said she had “come up short.”

Sigcho-Lopez, who has represented the 25th Ward on the City Council since 2019, was short 1,222 signatures, according to a ruling by Malowitz.

The board also voted unanimously to toss Sigcho-Lopez from the ballot.

Sigcho-Lopez told the board “unethical attorneys and unethical lobbyists” had conspired to steal this election.”

“What they are doing today is a shame,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “Today, democracy dies.”

Macías and Sigcho-Lopez could challenge their removal from the ballot in Cook County Circuit Court.

Many political watchers consider the high threshold for candidates to qualify for Chicago’s elections part of the legacy of the Democratic machine crafted by former Mayor Richard J. Daley and perfected by his son, former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Chuy García’s decision not to announce his retirement until after the deadline to qualify for the March primary election — clearing the field for his handpicked successor — triggered a political firestorm. 

The U.S. House voted 238-186 in November to rebuke Chuy García, with more than two dozen House Democrats, including two members of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation, voting for the resolution, along with all Republicans.

Chuy García is one of five members of Illinois’ congressional delegation who will not return to Washington in January. U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly lost their bids to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, while Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis are retiring.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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