Who's running for 36th Ward alderperson in 2027? Gil Villegas is unopposed so far

Ald. Gilbert "Gil" Villegas is unopposed so far in the race for 36th Ward alderperson. He filed his 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 he is still the only candidate when the ballot is certified Dec. 17, his will be the only name printed for alderperson on the ward's Feb. 23 ballot. We'll update our 36th Ward race page as filings come in.

The 36th Ward stretches from Montclare on the Far Northwest Side to Ukrainian Village and East Village near downtown, a shape critics have compared to a pool noodle, CBS Chicago reported in 2023. By the City's neighborhood boundaries it takes in about two-thirds of Ukrainian Village and three-fifths of Montclare, and parts of Belmont Cragin, East Village, West Town and Humboldt Park. About 67,900 people live there; 55% of homes are rented, and the median household income is $70,992, according to Census figures on the race page.

Who is running?

Gilbert "Gil" Villegas (incumbent)

Villegas was first elected in 2015. In 2023 he won a third term in a runoff, 58% to 42% over Lori Torres Whitt, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, CBS Chicago reported. He served in the Marines, according to CBS. In 2022 he ran for Congress in the new 3rd District and lost the Democratic primary to state Rep. Delia Ramirez, 66% to 24%, the Sun-Times reported.

• Petition: 240 pages; 2,182 signature lines by our count (5 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 Gilbert Villegas for Alderman, with $267,333 on hand on Sept. 30.
• On the Council: He chairs the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards. Read his record this term and his 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 36th 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 36th 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: liquor-license limits on a stretch of a street, alley access and sign permits. The 36th Ward's alderperson keeps two offices, at 6560 W. Fullerton Ave. and 2246 W. Chicago Ave., according to our records, for residents' service requests. As zoning chair, Villegas also runs the committee that hears rezonings from every ward.

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 36th 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 36th 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.