Daily Whale Originals

When the deadline for challenges to candidates’ nominating petitions for the February 2015 Chicago elections passed last week, 131 candidates faced complaints from persons seeking to boot them from the ballot. In the interim period, six candidates have withdrawn from various races, but questions remain about how the races will look in many Chicago wards.

During its last meeting of 2014, the Chicago City Council bestowed the city’s Medal of Merit upon Cardinal Francis George. George stepped down from his position as Archbishop in November after serving 17 years in the post.

On Wednesday, George became the first person to receive the city’s highest honor in nearly a decade. The most recent prior recipient of the medal was James Hickey, who was awarded the Medal of Merit in 2004. Hickey was a U.S. Army Colonel from Chicago whose brigade aided in the capture of Saddam Hussein. 

Monday was the last day to file nominating petitions for Chicago’s 2015 elections, and more than 250 people submitted petitions to run for alderman before the filing period closed.

With Alderman Bob Fioretti (2^nd) running for mayor, one of the most-closely watched aldermanic races is set to take place in the 2^nd Ward. Candidates seeking to succeed Fioretti include: Stacey Pfingsten, Fioretti’s outreach director; Brian Hopkins, chief of staff for Cook County Commissioner John Daley; and restaurant group executive Bita Buenrostro.

When voters turned out for the 2014 general election, several Illinois polling locations experienced setbacks, including late start,  nonfunctional machines and a shortage of election judges.