Matt O'Shea Announces Run For Fourth Term As 19th Ward Alderman

CHICAGO – Matt O’Shea has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2023 Chicago City Council race. O’Shea is seeking re-election for a fourth term as 19th Ward Alderman, which serves the Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park neighborhoods. The election is Feb. 25, 2023, in which candidates must carry 50 + 1 of the vote to avoid a runoff April 4, 2023.

Mike Sheahan, former Cook County Sheriff, Jerry Joyce, attorney, Fred Waller, former director of operations for the Chicago Police Department, Julie Troglia, a leader in the fight to improve working conditions for Chicago police officers following the death of her husband Jeff Troglia, and Deanna Panatera, an advocate for Special Olympic programming, will co-chair O’Shea’s campaign committee. All committee co-chairs have worked closely with O’Shea on various issues throughout his tenure as alderman, are residents of the 19th Ward, and represent a cross-section of the community.

“Our community has always demanded and been fortunate to have strong and competent leadership,” Jerry Joyce said in a news release. “From the quiet competence of legislators Jim Keane and Ed Maloney to the always active and visible Tom Hynes, Alderman Ginger Rugai and Sheriff Mike Sheahan, the 19th ward community has always been represented by those who knew their job was to help ensure the economic vibrancy and safety of our community. That tradition has continued under Matt O’Shea. I believe that in these challenging times, Matt has proved what a valuable asset his leadership is to the 19th ward community,” said Jerry Joyce.

Sheahan also endorsed O'Shea in the 2023 city election.

“No one has a better understanding of all the efforts that have gone before him to make our community an incredible place to live and raise a family more than Ald. Matt O'Shea,” Sheahan said. “I am proud to support him in his re-election for alderman of the 19th Ward. There is no one better for the job and this community"

O’Shea was first elected Alderman of the 19th Ward in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Over the past four years, O’Shea has worked tirelessly on public safety issues, improving schools, attracting new businesses, and advocating for people with intellectual disabilities.

“I have been honored to serve this great community for the past 12 years,” O’Shea said. “I look forward to building on the progress we have made in a number of areas. While we have accomplished many things, there is more work to do.”

Many of Chicago’s police officers, firefighters and other first responders call the 19th Ward home. As an avid supporter of law enforcement, public safety has always been O’Shea’s top priority. He has worked with the 22nd District to fund more than two dozen new public safety cameras to help officers work more efficiently. As CPD staffing levels dropped, he introduced an ordinance to create recruitment incentives to attract new officers.

O’Shea has raised more than $500,000 to purchase new bulletproof vests for officers, as an advisory board member of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation He also serves on the board of the Chicago Police Chaplains Ministry and has been a strong advocate for greater mental health resources for first responders. Working with the Chicago Police Department, O’Shea secured a new officer wellness facility, which will be open in the 19th Ward in 2023. He has also been a vocal critic of the city’s continued reliance on cancelled days off, and passed legislation creating a first-of-its-kind financial benefit for the families of first responders who die by suicide.

O’Shea claims to have secured more than $140 million in capital improvements in public schools throughout the 19th Ward, including resources to address overcrowding at Mount Greenwood and Cassell Elementary Schools. Recently, O’Shea and CPS announced $31 million in investments in local early childhood education programs. He also secured $40 million in funding for Morgan Park High School to be used for science and computer labs, facility upgrades and a new football field for students.

In the city ouncil, O’Shea has sponsored many pieces of ethics legislation. In 2019, he passed a ban on paid lobbying by elected officials; O’Shea’s ban is the strongest such regulation in the country. Most recently, he worked with colleagues and the Board of Ethics to pass a new reform package that increased penalties for ethics violations. He also went toe to toe with big tobacco to ban the sale of flavored tobacco vaping products.

During the pandemic, O’Shea collected more than $100,000 and 50,000 pounds of food for local pantries who were overloaded with demand. He also provided meal delivery to more than 3,000 senior citizens in the community, and 20,000 first responders and front-line medical workers. When the economy shut down, Matt raised more than $400,000 for the small businesses within the 19th Ward.

An outspoken advocate for people with disabilities, O’Shea has been a member of the Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities Board of Directors since 2015. In this volunteer role, he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization, has served as past president, and is the current vice president. Most recently, he launched the After 22 Program which provides educational and employment opportunities for students with disabilities after they age out of the CPS system at age 22. He also launched an art and music therapy program offering weekly group art and music therapy sessions in Special Education cluster programs in CPS schools throughout the city.

O’Shea is a lifelong resident of the 19th Ward. He is a graduate of Christ the King Grammar School (1983), Mount Carmel High School (1987), and Saint Mary’s University of Winona (1991). He and his wife Cara, a high school teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, reside in West Beverly, and are the parents of three children.