Amara Enyia

Last updated

Amara Enyia
Amara Enyia 2018.jpg
Enyia in 2018
Born
Amarachuku C. Enyia

1982or1983(age 41–42) [1]
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Education University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS, MEd, JD, PhD)
Occupations
  • Activist
  • community organizer
  • strategist
  • public policy consultant
Website amaraenyia.com

Amarachuku C. Enyia [2] is an American strategist, politician, community organizer, and municipal consultant. She is the policy and research coordinator for the Movement for Black Lives; the chairwoman of the International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG) of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent; and a senior advisor to the Institute On Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. She has also worked as the director of Chicago's Austin Chamber of Commerce; the interim village manager of University Park, Illinois; and chief executive officer of ACE Municipal Partners, a municipal consulting firm. Enyia was a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2019, receiving 8% of the vote in the first round of the latter election.

Contents

Enyia is regarded to be a political progressive. [3]

Early life and education

Enyia's parents were born in Nigeria and migrated to the United States in the 1970s. [1] She was born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in University Park, Illinois, where she attended Crete-Monee High School. [4] [1] Her father was a professor at Governors State University. [5] She attended graduate school and law school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received a Master of Education in 2008, a J.D. in 2009, and a PhD in Educational Policy Studies in 2010. [1] [6] At the University of Illinois, Enyia worked as a reporter, development editor and editor-in-chief for Illini Media. [7]

Policy work and community organizing

Enyia worked in the policy department of the Chicago mayor's office from 2009 until the end of Mayor Richard M. Daley's term in May 2011. [1] [4] In this fellowship she worked on a variety of matters, including ones related to transportation and ecumenic development. [8]

After her fellowship in Daley's office, she worked as a community organizer in Chicago's West Side. In April 2011, she was hired as the executive director of Austin Coming Together, an umbrella organization that promotes coordination and collaboration between community and nonprofit organizations in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. [9] [4] [10] She spent roughly a year in this position. [8] During her time as executive director of Austin Coming Together, she was also part of the Community Action Councils, which assisted the Chicago Public Schools to develop an educational strategy in the city's communities. [11] She also founded ACE Municipal Partners, a consulting firm that works with municipal officials. [4] In 2013, Enyia began working as the director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. [12] She held this position until 2019, when she stepped down amid her second campaign for mayor of Chicago. [13] Enyia also blogged about local government affairs under the pseudonym "The Municipal Maven." [8] [14]

Having aborted a campaign for mayor of Chicago months earlier, in September 2015, Enyia formed an exploratory committee to look at launching a possible primary election challenge to longtime incumbent Democratic congressman Danny Davis in 2016. [15] [16] In November 2015, she announced that would not challenge Davis and that she would instead partner with Davis to establish a new youth initiative called the "Bridge program". This program partnered local youth with elected officials and community stakeholders with expertise, [17] with the aim of increasing youth engagement in political organizing. In late-2015, the initiative was launched in the Austin neighborhood. [18]

Enyia was one of eight co-authors of the 2016 book Chicago Isn't Broke: Funding the City We Deserve, the main author of which was former Chicago alderman Dick Simpson. [19] Enyia also worked as a policy director for the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. [20]

In May 2017, Enyia took a job as the interim village manager of University Park, Illinois. [21] Her brief tenure as interim village manager was later reported to have been troublesome, with a dispute taking place between her and the village surrounding what her salary should be, and some village trustees criticizing her during her tenure for doing what they regarded to be an insufficient amount of work. [21] [22] The village's mayor Vivian Covington praised the value of Enyia's legal expertise, despite critics in the village arguing it was limited in value by the fact she was not a practicing attorney. [21] In August 2017, her tenure ended. [21]

In September 2017, Enyia began consulting work for Kids First Chicago, a significant school choice advocacy group. [23] This came despite Enyia's stated political opposition to charter schools. [23] Enyia worked as a consultant on Chris Kennedy's 2018 Illinois gubernatorial campaign. [22] Enyia founded of the Institute for Cooperative Economics and Economic Innovation social lab in 2018, for which she partnered with the organization Blue1647. [24] [23] [25] However, the social lab never advanced beyond a nascent stage before Enyia abandoned it to pursue her second campaign for mayor, [24] at which time she also left her role as director of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. [13]

In 2019, after her mayoral campaign, Enyia joined the board of directors of the Chicago Community Loan Fund. [26] [27] By 2021, Enyia had begun serving as the policy and research coordinator for the Movement for Black Lives. [7] [28] Enyia also has served chairwoman of the International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG) of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. [29] [30] She also has served as a strategist for the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing (GCRH). [31] Enyia also worked as a leader in residence at the Atlantic Institute. [7] Enyia is a senior advisor to the Institute On Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. [32]

Amid the 2020 George Floyd protests and coinciding civil unrest, Enyia helped organize local organizations and block clubs to protect local businesses in the Austin neighborhoods from vandalism and looting. [33] She also penned an op-ed for Injustice Watch arguing that Chicago should "defund" its police department. [34] In March 2021, Enyia gave her endorsement to an ordinance introduced by Byron Sigcho-Lopez that would see the city of Chicago spend $180 million in federal stimulus funding on creating new sites to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and increase the staffing at the city's health department. [35]

Mayoral campaigns

2015

Enyia announced her candidacy for the 2015 mayoral election on February 25, 2015. [14] [36] Alongside Robert Shaw, who announced the same day, she was one of the first two candidates to announce that they were going to challenge incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel. [14] [37] Enyia planned to run a grassroots campaign operation. [14]

Enyia's campaign failed to register in preference polls, and as a candidate she didn't disclose many specific plans. [38] She withdrew from the race on December 9, 2014 [39] and endorsed Bob Fioretti the next day. [40] Enyia dropped-out due to the fact that her candidature petitions were being challenged and her campaign lacked the resources to fight such a challenge. [37] [39] [41]

2019

On August 28, 2018, Enyia announced that she would once again run for Chicago mayor in the 2019 election at a campaign launch event in the Bridgeport neighborhood. [42] [43] [44] Enyia expressed support for police reform, increasing budget transparency, investment in neighborhood development projects, and proposed the creation of a public bank and the use of Community Benefits Agreements for large development projects. [45] [46] Politically, Enyia described herself as an independent Democrat. [47]

On October 16, 2018, she was endorsed by Chance the Rapper, [48] garnering significant attention for her campaign in local media [49] [46] [50] and national media. [51] Chance later donated $400,000 to her campaign. [52]

On December 12, her campaign saw a high-profile departure, with her communications director quitting citing "troubling factors". [53] Enyia replaced her departing communications director with Camonghne Felix. [54] Some ultimately characterized Enyia's campaign as disorganized. [55]

On January 31, Dorothy Brown, whose own candidacy had ended after she was removed from the ballot due to issues with her petition, endorsed Enyia. [56] [57] Enyia embraced this endorsement, and praised Brown. [56] [57] There was speculation as to whether this endorsement would be of assistance or detriment to Enyia's candidacy. It was speculated that it might have helped Enyia by introducing her to Brown's base of support (which tended to be older African American churchgoing women), and might have elevated her to be considered more of a tip-tier candidate. [58] It was also speculated that it could have harmed her candidacy, as Brown was a longtime officeholder with significant ethics concerns, which could have undermined Enyia's efforts to present herself as an outsider candidate seeking to upend political corruption. [57] [58]

Due to her 2015 campaign not filing quarterly finance reports after it was suspended, she accrued $73,540 in debt that would have to be paid for her to appear on the 2019 ballot. [59] On October 22, 2018, Kanye West made a contribution of that exact amount to Enyia's campaign. [59] [60] The campaign released a statement that its debt to the Illinois State Board of Elections had been paid in full and thanking West for his "generous action". [60]

Enyia's campaign focused much of its efforts on the youth vote. [61] One of her efforts was a February 11 "Party to the Polls", which Enyia described as a key part of her strategy aimed at engaging college students. The rally bussed college students from seventeen Chicago-area campuses to the Richard J. Daley Center for a rally followed by early voting. It went poorly. Despite having been advertised to appear, Chance the Rapper backed out the day of the rally. Despite heavy advance advertising of the event on college campuses, only roughly forty people showed up to the rally. [62] [63] Ultimately, youth turnout in the election was low. [64]

As press coverage of Enyia increased towards February, the increased scrutiny included some bad press. At the start of February the Chicago Tribune reported that in 2018, Enyia had failed to report a third of her income, including the $21,000 she received or her work on Chris Kennedy's gubernatorial campaign. [24] In mid-February, the Tribune reported that Enyia had allegedly failed to pay a former campaign spokesperson $24,000 for four-month of work. [65] Additionally, Enyia's campaign website was criticized for claims on her website and in past media appearances that she was an Ironman competitor, despite never having competed in an Ironman-branded event. [66]

In the preliminary election on February 26, 2019, Enyia placed sixth in a field of fourteen candidates, winning about 8% of the vote. [67]

Enyia opted against endorsing either Lori Lightfoot or Toni Preckwinkle in the runoff, arguing that neither of the two candidates were truly "progressive". [68]

In July 2019, Enyia's campaign was sued by 24 former campaign staffers alleging wage theft. [69] Enyia's campaign responded by saying that the campaign was in debt, and that it planned to continue holding fundraisers to pay off the debt and unpaid wages. Enyia and Gray are defendants in the lawsuit, along with campaign operations director Pilar Audain, field director Marcus Ferrell and treasurer and finance director DeAnna Gran. [70] Enyia's campaign manager, Joshua Gray, accused her of making promises to pay the staff in question, alleging that she promised them, "she could get the money from her celebrity donors who were giving her money at the time." On October 24, 2022, the Illinois Department of Labor's Law Division found that Gray had been responsible for the operations and involved in talks about expenditures. [71]

Enyia's campaign received significant coverage in the 2020 Steve James documentary series City So Real , which centers on the mayoral election. [72] [73] [74]

Personal life

At the time of 2019 mayoral candidacy, Enyia was residing in the Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago. [75] She has five siblings, including a twin sister. [44]

She describes herself as fluent in Igbo, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. [20]

Relatives

In 2020, her cousin Chibuike Enyia was elected to the village board of Oak Park, Illinois. [76] [77] [78]

Her brother, Chimaobi Enyia, was formerly the director of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and formerly an aide to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. 2023 Chicago mayoral election runner-up Paul Vallas, after his 2023 election loss, filed a lawsuit against Chimaobi Enyia for allegedly defrauding his campaign of $680,000 while working as a vendor hired for Black voter outreach. [79] [80]

Bibliography

Enyia was one of the contributors to political scientist and former Chicago alderman Dick Simpson's 2016 book Chicago is Not Broke: Funding the City We Deserve. [81]

Op-eds by Enyia
Other written works

Further reading

Electoral history

2019 Chicago mayoral election
CandidateGeneral election [82] Runoff election [83]
Votes%Votes%
Lori Lightfoot 97,66717.54386,03973.70
Toni Preckwinkle 89,34316.04137,76526.30
William Daley 82,29414.78
Willie Wilson 59,07210.61
Susana Mendoza 50,3739.05
Amara Enyia44,5898.00
Jerry Joyce40,0997.20
Gery Chico 34,5216.20
Paul Vallas 30,2365.43
Garry McCarthy 14,7842.66
La Shawn K. Ford 5,6061.01
Robert "Bob" Fioretti 4,3020.77
John Kolzar2,3490.42
Neal Sales-Griffin1,5230.27
Write-ins 860.02
Total556,844100523,804100

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Joravsky, Ben (May 21, 2014). "Amara Enyia runs for mayor! Wait, who?". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  2. "City of Chicago :: View Statements of Financial Interests for Independent Contractors 2018". www.cityofchicago.org. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  3. Rakich, Nathaniel (April 4, 2023). "The 4 Political Neighborhoods Of Chicago". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Erbentraut, Joseph (April 2, 2014). "This 30-Year-Old Community Organizer Thinks She Can Beat Rahm Emanuel". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  5. Apantaku, Erisa (August 28, 2018). "Amara Enyia: Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo". South Side Weekly. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. C., Enyia, Amarachuku (May 25, 2011). When good faith is not enough: Ensuring education equity during and after legal intervention (Dissertation thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 3 Findlay, Kathleen; Bresnahan, Lilli (April 5, 2022). "Amara Enyia sees journalism as 'an eye toward exposing injustices'". The Daily Illini. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Lydersen, Kari (February 20, 2014). "Who's Afraid of Rahm Emanuel?". In These Times. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  9. "'Austin Coming Together' brings together neighborhood at new headquarters on Chicago's west side". IFF. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  10. "Austin Coming Together getting a new leader". AustinTalks. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  11. "Mayoral Candidate: Mayor Emanuel Is The 'Typical Candidate,' And That's The Problem". CBS Chicago. WBBM-TV. June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  12. Ferencak, Dawn (December 20, 2013). "Austin Chamber of Commerce Holiday Party at Because I Care, Inc". www.austinweeklynews.com. Austin Weekly News. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Studenkov, Igor (April 3, 2023). "Austin Chamber regains city business development funding". Austin Weekly News. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Belanger, Christian (May 7, 2014). "Enyia vs. Shaw vs. Emanuel". South Side Weekly. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  15. Romain, Michael (September 17, 2015). "Head of Austin chamber explores possible congressional run". www.austinweeklynews.com. Austin Weekly News. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  16. "Amara Enyia Could Challenge Davis For 7th District House Seat". The Chicagoist. September 8, 2015. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  17. Hutson, Wendell (November 17, 2015). "Enyia won't run for Congress". www.austinweeklynews.com. Austin Weekly News. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  18. Dean, Terry (December 17, 2015). "West Side youth to learn leadership from adult mentors". AustinTalks. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  19. Simpson, Dick; Gradel, Thomas; Potter, Jackson; Kalven, Jamie; Baiman, Ron; Denk, Hilary; Enyia, Amara; Peck, Jonathan (July 26, 2016). "Chicago Is Not Broke. Funding the City We Deserve". The CivicLab. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  20. 1 2 Board, CST Editorial (January 9, 2019). "Mayoral candidate Amara Enyia". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Heinzmann, David (February 4, 2019). "Amara Enyia's financial problems: Underreporting income, tax lien, lawsuits". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  22. 1 2 Vinicky, Amanda (February 4, 2019). "Enyia Casts Personal Financial Issues as Selling Point in Campaign for Mayor". WTTW News. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  23. 1 2 3 Black, Curtis (February 7, 2019). "Amara Enyia and Dorothy Brown are a match made in Chicago political theater". Chicago Reporter. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 Heinzmann, David (May 11, 2020). "Amara Enyia's financial problems: Underreporting income, tax lien, lawsuits". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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  26. "Chicago Community Loan Fund Staff & Board". cclfchicago.org. Chicago Community Loan Fund. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  27. Pratt, Gregory (August 26, 2019). "6 months ago, they were part of the largest field of mayoral candidates in Chicago history. Here's what the former City Hall hopefuls are doing now". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  28. Tensley, Brandon (April 7, 2021). "Only time will tell just how 'big and bold' Biden's infrastructure plan is for Black Americans | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  29. Lawrence, DaQuan (January 9, 2023). "Amara Enyia on the Inaugural UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent Sessions – The Hilltop". The Hilltop. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  30. Steinberg, Neil (February 17, 2023). "Amara Enyia is fighting all problems everywhere". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  31. Brown, Stacy M. (July 21, 2022). "Vatican: Moment is Ripe for Serious Consideration of the Harms of the Transatlantic Slave Trade". The Seattle Medium. NNPA Newswire. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  32. "Assessing the Intersection of Economic Sovereignty, Development, and Reparations". event.newschool.edu. The New School. April 18, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  33. Sabino, Pascal (June 11, 2020). "What Does Public Safety Without Police Look Like? South, West Siders Say Block Clubs Are Cheaper, More Effective". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  34. Enyia, Amara (June 15, 2020). "Chicago must defund—not just reform—the police". Injustice Watch. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  35. Peña, Mauricio (March 24, 2021). "More City-Run Vaccination Clinics Needed In Hard-Hit Areas, Aldermen Say, As Vaccine Scandals Show Urgent Need For Oversight". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  36. Lydersen, Kari (February 20, 2014). "Who's Afraid of Rahm Emanuel?". In These Times. ISSN   0160-5992 . Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  37. 1 2 Slodysko, Brian (December 10, 2014). "Enyia dropping out of mayoral race, endorsing Fioretti". chicago.suntimes.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  38. Anspach, Rachel (June 25, 2014). "Community Organizer Amara Enyia is Taking on Rahm Emanuel to Make a Point". Gapers Block. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  39. 1 2 "Amara Enyia's Withdrawal Reflects the Ongoing Reality of Chicago Politics". Gapers Block. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  40. "Amara Enyia drops out of mayoral race". www.austinweeklynews.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  41. Sudo, Chuck (December 10, 2010). "Amara Enyia Drops Out Of Mayoral Race, Endorses Fioretti". The Chicagoist. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  42. staff, Chicago Tribune. "Morning Spin: Amara Enyia marks 11th challenger to enter crowded race against Mayor Rahm Emanuel". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  43. "Amara Enyia Takes Aim at Emanuel in Second Bid for Chicago Mayor". WTTW News. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  44. 1 2 "Amara Enyia: Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo". southsideweekly.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  45. "Chicago's deadly summer". The Guardian. August 12, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  46. 1 2 "Chance the Rapper's Mayoral Endorsement Is a Pretty Big Deal". Chicago magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  47. Mcclell, Edward (February 2, 2019). "Chance the Rapper Bids to Become a Chicago Kingmaker". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  48. "(Press Release) Chance the Rapper Endorses Amara Enyia for Mayor – AMARA". amaraenyia.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  49. "Chance the Rapper Endorses Amara Enyia for Mayor of Chicago". NBC Chicago. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  50. Multiple sources:
  51. Multiple sources:
  52. Lifshutz, Hannah (January 17, 2019). "Chance the Rapper Donates $400,000 to Amara Enyia's Chicago Mayoral Campaign". Complex. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  53. "Amara Enyia's Communications Director Departs, Citing 'Troubling Factors'". NBC Chicago. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  54. Far, Larissa (April 3, 2020). "Blue State Taps Former Warren Strategist". www.mediapost.com. MediaPost. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  55. McClell, Edward (February 21, 2019). "There's a Way Around Strategic Voting". Chicago magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  56. 1 2 Thometz, Kristen (January 31, 2019). "Dorothy Brown Endorses Amara Enyia for Mayor". WTTW News. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  57. 1 2 3 Byrne, John (January 31, 2019). "Dorothy Brown backs Amara Enyia in Chicago mayor's race". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  58. 1 2 Spielman, Fran (January 31, 2019). "Brown backing: 'Game-changer' for Enyia or 'much ado about nothing'?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  59. 1 2 Ruthhart, Bill. "Kanye West gives $73K to Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia, who is backed by Chance the Rapper". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  60. 1 2 "Kanye West Makes Donation in Chicago Mayoral Race". NBC Chicago. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  61. Rhodes, Dawn; Bowean, Lolly (March 1, 2019). "Ignorance, apathy, or just the weather? Why young people blew off Chicago's recent election". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  62. Rene, Shane (February 18, 2019). "Amara Enyia delivers a walk to the polls, but no Chance the Rapper". The DePaulia. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  63. Byrne, John (February 11, 2019). "Chance the Rapper a no-show at Amara Enyia's downtown early voting campaign rally". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  64. Wojciechowski, Charlie; Conboy, Benjamin (February 27, 2019). "Too Many Candidates, Poor Youth Turnout Blamed for Low Vote Totals in Chicago". NBC Chicago. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  65. Heinzmann, David (February 13, 2019). "Ex-spokeswoman sues Amara Enyia, alleges candidate failed to pay her $24,000". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  66. "Chicago Mayoral Candidate's Ironman Claims Scrutinized". MarathonInvestigation. February 11, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  67. City of Chicago Board of Elections (March 1, 2019). "Municipal General Election: February 26, 2019—Unofficial Summary Report" (PDF). www.chicagoelections.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  68. Enyia, Amara (March 12, 2019). "Amara Enyia: Mayoral candidates need to focus on economic divide". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  69. "24 Former Campaign Staffers Accuse Amara Enyia of Wage Theft". NBC Chicago. July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  70. Kapos, Shia; Hurst, Adrienne. "ENYIA in the spotlight — FOXX's first campaign event — KOKONAS' TRUMP connection". POLITICO. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  71. Gettinger, Aaron (October 24, 2022). "5th Ward ald. candidate Gray found liable for not paying workers on mayoral campaign he managed". Hyde Park Herald. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  72. Brotheridge, James (June 9, 2020). "Hot Docs Review: 'Hoop Dreams' Filmmaker Examines the Nuances of Chicago Life in 'City So Real' Directed by Steve James". exclaim.ca. EXCLAIM!. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  73. Fienberg, Daniel (January 28, 2020). "'City So Real': TV Review | Sundance 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  74. Weinert-Kendt, Rob (February 19, 2021). "Review: 'City So Real' explores Chicago, a great American city in need of redemption". America Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  75. "Who is Amara Enyia?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  76. Sheridan, Stacey (December 16, 2020). "Chibuike Enyia isn't your typical candidate". Oak Park. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  77. "Suburban Cook County Election Results". results421.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Cook County Clerk. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  78. Schering, Steve (April 7, 2021). "Parakkat, Enyia, Robinson leading vote in Oak Park trustee race, according to unofficial results". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  79. Schuba, Tom; Spielman, Fran (April 21, 2023). "Former Chicago mayor candidate Paul Vallas sues consultant Chimaobi Enyia, who allegedly defrauded campaign out of $680K". abc7chicago.com. WLS-TV. Sun-Times Media Wire. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  80. Laurence, Justin (April 21, 2023). "Paul Vallas campaign suing well-connected vendor over field work during mayoral race". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  81. Simpson, Dick; Gradel, Thomas; Potter, Jackson; Kalven, Jamie; Baiman, Ron; Denk, Hilary; Enyia, Amara; Peck, Jonathan (2016). Chicago is Not Broke: Funding the City We Deserve. Tom Tresser and CivicLab. ISBN   978-1-365-10977-5 . Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  82. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  83. "2019 Municipal Runoffs – 4/2/19". Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved April 17, 2019.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Chicago mayoral election</span>

The city of Chicago, Illinois held a nonpartisan mayoral election on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Incumbent Mayor Richard Michael Daley, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 1989, did not seek a seventh term as mayor. This was the first non-special election since 1947 in which an incumbent mayor of Chicago did not seek reelection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry McCarthy</span> American law enforcement officer and politician

Garry Francis McCarthy is the Chief of Police in Willow Springs, Illinois and previous Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. He was a candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chance the Rapper</span> American rapper (born 1993)

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, he released his debut mixtape 10 Day (2012) during one of his college suspensions. He gained mainstream recognition in 2013 following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. His third mixtape, Coloring Book (2016), was released to further critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bennett won Best New Artist and the mixtape became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award—Best Rap Album—while it spawned the single "No Problem", which won Best Rap Performance. His debut studio album, The Big Day (2019), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and saw moderate critical reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Chicago mayoral election</span>

An election took place on February 24, 2015, to elect the mayor of Chicago. The election was non-partisan and no candidate received a majority. A runoff election was held between the top two finishers on April 7, 2015, and resulted in the reelection of incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel. The elections were concurrent with the 2015 Chicago aldermanic elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuy GarcĂ­a</span> Mexican-American politician (born 1956)

Jesús G. "Chuy" García is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well as in the Illinois Senate and on the Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. He was also a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2023. Throughout his career in Chicago and national politics, he has been described as a progressive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Wilson (businessman)</span> American businessman

Willie Wilson is an American businessman and perennial political candidate from Chicago, Illinois. He unsuccessfully ran in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 Chicago mayoral elections, the 2016 United States presidential election, and for the United States Senate in 2020.

Michelle A. Harris is an American politician who is the alderman of Chicago's 8th ward and the chair of the Chicago City Council's rules committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Chicago mayoral election</span>

The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 26, 2019, to determine the next Mayor of the City of Chicago, Illinois. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held on April 2, 2019, between the two candidates with the most votes, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle. Lightfoot defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff election to become mayor, and was sworn in as mayor on May 20, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Chicago elections</span>

The 2019 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 26, 2019, and April 2, 2019. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago, City Clerk of Chicago, City Treasurer of Chicago, and all 50 members of the Chicago City Council. The candidates who won in these elections were inaugurated on May 20, 2019. Four ballot referendums were also voted on in certain precincts. The elections were administered by the Chicago Board of Elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna M. Valencia</span> City Clerk of Chicago

Andrea Marie Valencia is an American politician who serves as the City Clerk of Chicago. She was appointed to the position vacated by Susana Mendoza, and took office in 2017. She was elected to a full term as City Clerk in 2019. Although unsuccessful in her run for Illinois Secretary of State in 2022, she won reelection to City Clerk in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lori Lightfoot</span> 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 to 2023

Lori Elaine Lightfoot is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. She served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. In 2019, Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor. She ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff, becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoral elections in Chicago</span> Elections since 1837

Chicago has held regularly-scheduled popular elections to select the city's mayor ever since it was incorporated as a city in 1837.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Reilly (politician)</span> American politician

Brendan Reilly is an American politician who has served as alderman of Chicago's 42nd ward since 2007, when he unseated septuagenarian incumbent Burton Natarus. He served as Vice Mayor of Chicago, being elected to that position by the Chicago City Council, from 2015 to 2019. From May 2019 to May 2023, he served as President pro tempore of the Council, which means that he presided over council proceedings in the mayor's absence.