Who's running for 14th Ward alderperson in 2027? Jeylú Gutiérrez is unopposed so far

Ald. Jeylú Gutiérrez is unopposed so far in the race for 14th Ward alderperson. She filed her nominating papers with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on Oct. 19, the first day of filing, and no one else has filed for the seat in the Board's receipts we have as of Oct. 21. Filing closes at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26.

That can change in the last days of filing, and the Board hasn't posted its own list of candidates yet. If she is still the only candidate when the ballot is certified Dec. 17, hers will be the only name printed for alderperson on the ward's Feb. 23 ballot. We'll update our 14th Ward race page as filings come in.

The 14th Ward covers most of Archer Heights and about three-fifths of Gage Park, and parts of Chicago Lawn, Brighton Park and West Elsdon, by the City's neighborhood boundaries. About 53,600 people live there; 44% of homes are rented, and the median household income is $50,039, according to Census figures on the race page.

Who is running?

Jeylú Gutiérrez (incumbent)

Gutiérrez won the seat in February 2023 with about 65% of the vote over Raul Reyes, succeeding Ald. Ed Burke, who had held it for 54 years, ABC7 reported. She described herself to ABC7 as "a former educator" who came to the U.S. from Mexico at 15. She took office in May 2023 and is finishing her first term.

• Petition: 293 pages; 2,357 signature lines by our count (12 crossed out). Candidates need at least 473 valid signatures, according to the Board's 2027 calendar. Our count is of filled-in lines on the petition copy the Board gave us, not the Board's count of valid signatures, which it makes only if someone objects.
• Campaign committee: Friends of Jeylu Gutierrez, with $168,492 on hand on Sept. 30.
• On the Council: She is vice chair of the Committee on Workforce Development. Read her record this term and her full page.
• Candidate page

Anyone else?

No one else has filed, and no one else has registered a campaign committee with the Illinois State Board of Elections that names the 14th Ward race, in the State Board's data as of Oct. 21. A committee isn't a ballot filing in any case: candidates get on the ballot by filing nominating papers with the Board of Election Commissioners.

What does a 14th Ward alderperson do?

The 50 alderpersons are the City Council. They vote on the City's budget, taxes and borrowing and on citywide ordinances, and they sit on the committees that review them first. The 2026 revenue ordinance, which set many of the City's fees and taxes, passed 29-19 on Dec. 19, 2025.

An alderperson also files the ward's own business. Much of what Gutiérrez filed this term was ward-level: liquor and packaged-goods license limits on stretches of Kedzie Avenue, Pulaski Road and 51st and 55th streets, signs, alleys and streets, according to our records. The ward office, at 3124 W. 59th St. in Gage Park, handles residents' service requests.

What are the key dates?

All from the Board's calendar:

• Oct. 26, 5 p.m.: filing closes. Anyone who wants to run for the seat on the February ballot has to file by then.
• Oct. 27 to Nov. 2: voters can object to a candidate's nominating papers. We track objections on our objections page.
• Dec. 17: the last day to withdraw; the Board certifies who is on the ballot.
• Dec. 24: the last day to file as a write-in candidate.
• Jan. 26, 2027: the last day of regular voter registration. Grace-period registration continues in person through Election Day.
• Feb. 23, 2027: Election Day, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• May 17, 2027: the new term begins.

How to follow the race

Our 14th Ward race page lists every filing as we receive it and the incumbent's record next to the Council median. Not sure of your ward? Start with your address in the voter guide, or see who's running in every ward.

The 14th Ward isn't alone. In the receipts we had on Oct. 21, the sitting alderperson was the only candidate in 25 of the 42 wards where the incumbent had filed, as our editor's note put it.

We list a candidate once they file with the Board, and we don't endorse. The race is unopposed so far; filing closes Oct. 26 at 5 p.m.