Ten Chicago alderpersons have no opponent on the Board's list, and one open seat has a single candidate

In 11 of Chicago's 50 wards, only one person filed to run for alderperson in the Feb. 23, 2027 election, according to the Board of Election Commissioners' candidate filing report, printed after filing closed Monday. Ten of them are sitting alderpersons. The 11th is the open 22nd Ward.

Block Club Chicago has been reporting the uncontested races ward by ward this week, including Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), Peter Chico (10th), Debra Silverstein (50th), who Block Club said is running unopposed for the first time, and Anthony Napolitano (41st), also for the first time.

Why it matters: in these wards, voters will see a single name for alderperson unless a write-in candidate files by Dec. 24. Being unopposed does not end the review, though. Any voter can still object to these candidates' petitions through Nov. 2.

The 11 wards

From the Board's report, with our count of filled-in signature lines on each petition (not the Board's count of valid signatures; the minimum is 473) and each incumbent's record this term from our ward race pages:

• 4th: Lamont J. Robinson. 1,007 lines. Attended 100% of meetings; with the majority on 92.1% of divided votes.
• 10th: Peter Chico. 3,047 lines. 100%; 87.1%.
• 11th: Nicole Lee. 2,462 lines. 100%; 93.5%.
• 15th: Raymond A. Lopez. 1,975 lines. 100%; 47.3%, the lowest share among these ten.
• 21st: Ronnie L. Mosley. 3,060 lines. 97.6%; 98.9%.
• 22nd (open): Elianne "Ely" Bahena. 2,283 lines. Ald. Michael Rodriguez is not running.
• 39th: Samantha Nugent. 1,835 lines, marked incomplete because our copy has 26 fewer readable sheets than the Board's receipt. 100%; 90.2%.
• 40th: Andre Vasquez. 2,116 lines, also incomplete. 98.4%; 87.9%.
• 41st: Anthony V. Napolitano. 2,604 lines. 100%; 79.6%.
• 47th: Matt Martin. 1,469 lines. 99.8%; 85.7%.
• 50th: Debra Silverstein. 2,319 lines. 95.4%; 84.9%.

"Divided votes" are roll calls with at least one no vote. Each ward page also lists campaign cash on hand from State Board of Elections reports.

Two incumbents filed twice

The Board's report lists Nugent twice in the 39th Ward: once at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19 and again at 2:34 p.m. on Oct. 26. Block Club reported the double listing and said it was unclear whether it was a clerical error. The report also lists Ald. Monique Scott twice in the 24th Ward, on Oct. 19 and at 2:29 p.m. on Oct. 26. The 24th is contested: two other candidates filed.

The Board's 2027 pamphlet covers this. When someone files more than one set of papers for the same office, the Board must notify the candidate within two business days, which makes today, Oct. 28, the deadline. The candidate then has three business days to cancel the earlier set, in which case only the last set counts. If the candidate does nothing, only the first set is valid.

That may matter for our counts. The petition copies behind our figures for both members are their first filings, from the Board's receipts.

What our records add

Our candidate lists come from the Board's receipts for nominating papers, and they don't yet include everyone on Monday's report: 85 of the 140 people who filed for alderperson. Every one of the 11 candidates above is already on our pages with a signature count. In the other 39 wards, the Board's report lists between two and seven people; see our story on the most crowded wards.

What's next

• Oct. 28: Board's deadline to notify candidates who filed more than once.
• Nov. 2: objections due at the Board's office, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 800, the Board said.
• Dec. 17: the Board certifies the ballot.
• Dec. 24: last day to file as a write-in candidate.