The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners has certified the results of the April 4th runoff, making it official that 29th Ward Ald. Chris Taliaferro will serve another four years.
Taliaferro beat challenger CB Johnson by just over 300 votes. Taliaferro won 5,526 votes, or 51.43%, while Johnson garnered 5,218, or 48.57%.
The alderman waited until a week after the April 4th runoff to declare victory, and election officials made it official on April 25.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Taliaferro thanked Pastor Ira Acree and former 29th Ward Ald. Isaac Carothers for their support during the election, the Austin Weekly News reported. Carothers served as Taliaferro’s campaign coordinator.
Taliaferro had led the night of the election, but given the number of mail-in ballots both candidates waited for mail-in ballots to come in and be counted.
As those ballots trickled in over the last few weeks, the results showed a clear pattern that remained consistent, the Austin Weekly News reported: Taliaferro prevailed in precincts in the Dunning, Montclare and Galewood portions of the ward, while Johnson earned majorities in non-Galewood parts of Austin, except in the 16th Precinct in central Austin, which went for Taliaferro.
Taliaferro’s team said that he will continue his monthly Zoom meetings, but it may not be held on the third Wednesday of every month as before. Updates on when his new meeting time will be announced sometime in early May, a representative for Taliaferro’s office said.
The alderman will be sworn in for his third term on May 15 – along with the 49 other members of the Chicago City Council and Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, an Austin resident.
Members of the new Police District Councils officially start their service this week. An inauguration ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. May 2 at the Harold Washington
Cultural Center, 4701 S. Martin Luther King Drive.
The three-member councils in each of the city’s 22 police districts will provide civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. They will be paid $500 a month for jobs that are expected to take about 20 hours a week.
The top vote getters in the 15th District were Karen Winters (22.45%) and Deondre Rutues (16.03%), with Carmelita Earls (14.2%) winning the third spot by only one vote over Darius Newsome (14.19%).
Rutues told AustinTalks the first 15th District meeting will be held sometime in June, with the date being set sometime this week. Winters will serve in the nominator role, Earls will be chair, and Rutues will be the community engagement specialist.
Just under 16,000 votes were cast in the 15th District, a low turnout compared to nearly 45,000 votes cast in the 25th District. Out of the five candidates who competed, Angelica Green, Saúl Arellano and Jacob Arena came out on top. Green won the most votes – 28.13% – with Arellano receiving 25.59% and Arena 20.16%.