4TH WARD
PRENTICE BUTLER
The Chief of Staff for Alderman Sophia King, Butler is well groomed to pick up where his boss left off. The 4th Ward has come a long way since former Alderman Will Burns left. The Crusader wants the 4th Ward to continue being represented by a local candidate who knows the issues. Butler is that person. Let’s keep the 4th Ward seat local.
During his time of Chief of Staff, Butler has worked toward attracting quality commercial and residential development, improving neighborhood public schools, enhancing public safety, and increasing transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the city of Chicago.
Prior to working for the city of Chicago, Prentice was a legal assistant at the Law Offices of Ernesto D. Borges Jr. P.C., a bankruptcy law firm in Chicago, for seven years. He provided financial consultations for clients from low- and moderate-income communities from across the city of Chicago. His work helped to expand the client base of the office and improve the professional reputation of the company.
5TH WARD
DEE PERKINS
After 24 years under Alderman Leslie Hairston, the 5th Ward needs a fighter, who will not be bossed and bought by the special interest groups and the politically well-connected. The Crusader believes Dee Perkins is the right person for the job.
Crime is the biggest concern in the 5th Ward. The 71st Street corridor has suffered over the years from neglect, brazen shootings and urban blight. The Crusader likes Perkins’ vision of reimagining and returning South Shore to the vibrant community it once was.
Perkins will bring an edgy, uncompromising style of leadership to South Shore and Greater Grand Crossing—two 5th Ward neighborhoods that have been in decline for years. These qualities make Perkins an authentic, approachable individual who’s willing to advocate for her constituents.
South Shore has one of the highest eviction rates in Chicago and Cook County. The impending arrival of the Obama Presidential Center are fueling rising rent increases on tenants who are often victims of bad landlords. Perkins will help keep landlords in check, as she works toward boosting homeownership among residents who seek to control their own destiny and future.
Perkins earned a bachelor’s in Business Administration in accounting from Loyola University Chicago. As aldermen of the 5th Ward, she will serve her constituents well.
6TH WARD
WILLIAM HALL
Hall has spent his entire life in the 6th Ward. To address the ward’s crime problem, Hall plans to bring more resources, including social services, mental health clinics and violence prevention programs.
Chatham has suffered from years of disinvestment. The closing of the Target store in the neighborhood is one example.
The Crusader believes Hall will reinvigorate Chatham and boost transparency in the 6th Ward. Hall plans to hold monthly meetings with residents, as well as separate discussions with businessmen, school principals and faith leaders. He will do well in re-energizing neighborhoods that have suffered from poverty, unemployment and economic disinvestment.
Hall is the pastor at St. James Community Church in Chatham. He has worked as the National Field Coordinator for Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jr., and the Rainbow Push Coalition and in 2011 founded the Acts of Love Global Foundation, an organization dedicated to human rights and social services that helps to provide resources to kids in poor communities across the U.S. and the globe. Hall was educated at DePaul University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in religious studies.
8TH WARD
LINDA HUDSON
It is time for Linda Hudson to lead the 8th Ward. She has our endorsement. Hudson is pushing for more transparency and honesty when it comes to developments and infrastructure projects in the ward.
Hudson has a healthy agenda for her ward. She aims to build business and economic development. Hudson believes the 8th Ward needs more neighborhood businesses that meet the shopping needs of ward constituents. She plans to engage businesses and organizations with a strategic economic development plan.
Part of Hudson’s strategy is engaging residents in the planning process by seeking their input and concerns on how development projects will impact their neighborhood and property values. She plans to establish a business code of conduct for every business to adhere to in the 8th Ward. Hudson will explore funding, both public and private, to help expand and improve established and new businesses in the 8th Ward. She also plans to establish an Economic Development Committee of 8th Ward residents, business owners and professionals to ensure everyone has a voice in making the 8th Ward better for all residents.
Hudson’s family moved to the 8th Ward in 1969. Hudson attended Thomas Hoyne and Joseph Warren elementary schools and Chicago Vocational High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University.
9TH WARD
ANTHONY BEALE
With development projects and employment booming in the 9th Ward, Anthony Beale has emerged as a model alderman that political officials should emulate. He’s unbought and unbossed and stands up to the political establishment to fight for his constituents.
Beale delivers for his people. His record speaks for itself. That includes a 140,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse, which created 200 permanent jobs now that it is open. There is also a Walmart Supercenter that employs 400 residents, 40 percent of whom live in the 9th Ward. A restored National Pullman Monument in the historic Pullman area is open and re-energizing the Pullman and Roseland neighborhoods. In 2022, two new sit-down restaurants have opened in the Pullman neighborhood.
Beale is looking forward to the construction of the Pullman Artspace Lofts, a mixed-use affordable live/workspace for artists and their families. The development team has chosen a site located on Langley Avenue, just south of 111th Street, consisting of approximately 18,500-square-feet of vacant land book-ended by two historic apartment buildings. Under Beale’s leadership, Olive-Harvey College completed a $44.8 million renovation.
The Crusader wants the growth and hiring to continue in the 9th Ward. Beale is once again the alderman who will make that happen.
16th WARD
STEPHANIE COLEMAN
Alderman Stephanie D. Coleman, a lifelong 16th Ward resident, is the daughter of retired Alderman Shirley A. Coleman and Pastor David Coleman. In her freshman year as alderman, Coleman has done well. She fought for the Englewood neighborhood and the 16th Ward, when Whole Foods closed and a lower-quality store threatened to replace it.
The Crusader wants Coleman to remain alderman of the 16th Ward. For her second term, Coleman is putting crime as one of her highest priorities. She is tuned into the issues that affect her ward. Coleman believes that more public safety resources should go to local police districts, instead of redirecting them from the neighborhoods they serve. Coleman says the 7th Police District in Englewood is one of the busiest districts in the city, yet it remains understaffed year after year after year. Coleman says she supports more funding for CAPS, so that residents can participate in local public safety initiatives while also building relationships with local officers. Coleman believes more funding and more consistency means stronger relationships and more trust between officers and the communities they serve, which makes residents safer.
Coleman attended Emmanuel Christian School and Chicago Military Academy – Bronzeville. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Robert Morris University and a master’s degree in Non-profit Management from Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
18th WARD
HEATHER WILLS
The Crusader believes that before they run for office, aldermanic candidates should be activists in their community. That’s why the Crusader endorses Heather Wills for the 18th Ward. It’s time for change on the City Council, and Wills is the right person to usher in a new era in the 18th Ward.
Originally from Beverly, Wills has served as a community organizer for over 20 years. Wills believes collaborative efforts from the community will help improve the quality of life in the 18th Ward.
Wills has lived in the 18th Ward since 2016. She has worked with the Poor People’s Campaign, the Workers Center for Racial Justice and is the Chicago District Coordinator for the AME Zion Church Economic and Political Empowerment Committee, according to her website.
Wills is an ordained minister and a member of OPEIU Local 9, the Metropolitan Board, Chicago Urban League and is former vice president of the National Council of Negro Women.
According to her website, Wills believes in developing residential and commercial infrastructure, advancing community resources for all ages and implementing community-backed public safety strategies.
20th WARD
Jennifer Maddox
Maddox is loyal to her roots and deeply cares about the 20th Ward. That’s why the Crusader proudly endorses community leader and activist Jennifer Maddox.
A single mother of two males, Jennifer knows the struggle that single parents face as they try to protect and parent their children. This is why she strives to make our communities a better and safer place to live.
As a result of this passionate conviction, she founded the successful after-school program Future Ties in 2011. The program provides after-school and summer programs to increase the academic achievement of the youth who attend. Future Ties also works to equip parents, youth and teens of the Woodlawn community, primarily residents of Parkway Gardens Apartments, with the workforce development skills needed to be competitive in the workforce.
A recipient of the Crusader’s “Heroes in the ‘Hood” award, Maddox has received much recognition for her work in the community, including being selected as one of CNN’s “Top Ten Heroes” for 2017.
Maddox was born in Chicago and raised on the South Side. She graduated from Corliss High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois, Circle Campus. She earned her M.B.A. from St. Xavier University, and Jennifer is currently enrolled at Lewis University pursuing an ED.D in education—focusing on the impact of community programs in low-income communities.
21st WARD
Preston Brown
It took a lot of courage for Preston Brown to run against veteran alderman Carrie Austin in 2019. Now that the 34th Ward has been absorbed into the 21st Ward, Brown is fully prepared to usher in a new era in the ward. The Crusader knows he will put the residents above himself and special interest groups.
With crime the biggest concern throughout Chicago, Preston wants to create local legislation to provide incentives to hire new officers. He also wants to recruit 21st Ward residents to fill open police positions. Preston also wants residents to have a say in how menu funds are spent in the ward. He also wants to increase homeownership in the 21st Ward and execute a development plan for neighborhoods in the ward.
On education, Preston will focus on increasing skills-based education and vocational training programs. Preston also wants Chicago Public Schools to provide programs that will increase enrollment at local neighborhood schools.
As a graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Preston attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He also has an MBA degree in real estate from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from Governors State University, and a Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
24TH WARD
VETRESS BOYCE
The Crusader endorses Vetress Boyce who did well in the 2015 city election. Michael Scott won that race, but today Boyce seeks to unseat his sister, Monique for 24th Ward alderman.
Monique was appointed to the position in 2022 to replace her brother. But nepotism at City Hall should remain a thing of the past instead of the present and especially the future. The Crusader hopes Boyce will finally help put an end to this practice that has created voter disillusionment in the political establishment in recent years.
Boyce’s campaign message, “Forward, Never Backwards,” is very appropriate to Blacks in the 24th Ward. Not much has changed in North and South Lawndale in recent years. Urban blight and trash clutter neglected streets and sidewalks. It’s time for a change.
Vetress is currently the President, CEO of Boyce Enterprise, a new WBE/MBE Certified Medical Supply, PPE business and runs a successfully operated Beauty Supply store located on the West Side of Chicago in North Lawndale on 16th Street.
Boyce Enterprise has a retail location and supplies products to local businesses, residents and government entities.
In 2022, Vetress was selected as the Vice President of the Conrad Worrill National Community Reparations Commission and the city of Chicago Reparations Commission.
29TH WARD
CB JOHNSON
CB Johnson is a fresh face to Chicago politics. The 29th Ward needs people like him to not be a rubber stamp member on the City Council. For this reason, the Crusader endorses Johnson for alderman of the 29th Ward.
Johnson aims to improve the quality of life in his ward by holding Chicago’s Street and Sanitation Department accountable for potholes, speed bumps, garbage and refuse collection, rodent control, tree trimming, ice and snow removal and abandoned buildings.
As alderman, Johnson plans to be hold regular meetings in every neighborhood in the 29th Ward. He will listen to residents on zoning matters and will organize a block club on every block in the ward.
Johnson will also fight to ensure the safety for senior citizens, children going to school; mail men and women making deliveries will be a top priority.
37TH WARD
COREY D. BRADDOCK
Born and raised in Chicago, Corey D. Braddock has lived on Chicago’s West Side most of his life.
Braddock’s plan for the 37th Ward involves four specific areas: economic development, safety, education and corruption. As part of his agenda, Braddock aims to encourage neighbors to engage in the political process by voting and staying informed. Braddock believes that an engaged citizenry is empowered to advocate for itself and can solve societal problems.
As a community advocate and candidate, Braddock has been listening to his neighbors and learning what they care about. As alderman, he’ll continue listening to his neighbors’ concerns and partnering with them to make progress toward a better quality of life for each and everyone in the 37th Ward and all of Chicago.
One of eight children, Braddock’s mother was 13 when he was born in 1971. His father joined the Army soon after and they were out of touch for two decades.
Braddock holds two master’s degrees from St. Xavier University in Chicago. They include a Master of Science in Finance and a Master of Business Administration. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Wabash College in Indiana.
Braddock has served as an Indiana State trooper for two years and as an investigator and police officer for the Chicago Police Department for 10 years.
In addition to being a community activist, Braddock serves as a substitute teacher for Chicago Public Schools, an independent business consultant and an investigator for a small law firm.
He currently serves on his Local School Council.
