You likely already know that U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, dropped out of his reelection race in a way that essentially handed his seat to his top aide.
García said his doctor advised him not to run again because of his heart condition, as did his spouse, who has multiple sclerosis that didn’t respond to her most recent treatment. And he and his wife had just adopted a grandchild after the death of his daughter. Amid all that, García said he decided the Friday before the Monday petition filing deadline to drop out. And he decided the same day to back his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, to replace him on the ballot.
The literally last-minute petition filing meant that people who would’ve run if García had announced his intent earlier were shut out of the race.
Some people don’t buy Garcia’s story, saying they heard the day he announced that rumors were circulating a few weeks before about how García might not run again. But those rumors, mostly secondhand, have circulated quite often since his 2023 mayoral loss.
When I told García that some felt cheated by his decision, the incumbent said that while he respects their views, he followed all the rules. And he did do that.
I was also interested in knowing how he managed to keep this handoff a secret. García said his organization collected 2,500 signatures for Patty García (no relation) over the weekend, so he said he was also surprised that nobody figured it out before he dropped the bombshell late Monday afternoon.
“I kept looking at my phone every little while [during the weekend], because I expected calls from mayors, trustees, political operatives, or just some of our super voters to see if everything was OK, or if Patty García had gone rogue or something, or we had had a falling-out.”
But he said, “Not one call.”
Chuy is one of the longest-serving politicians in Chicago (he was first elected to the City Council in 1986), but word didn’t get out. That’s quite something.
García and I also talked about the history of Latino political success on the Southwest Side and in the suburbs and his role in it. He said he recognized early on that the demographics were starting to change in that part of the city many years ago.
“We were following that, we were waiting for the ripening of the conditions,” he said.
García said they would constantly probe the machine over the years for possible openings, and analyzed “the old organizations and how they work,” including then-Speaker Michael Madigan’s operation. But, he said, it was crucial to watch not only demographics, but “especially understanding citizen voting age population and when it was a time to make the move.”
Huge numbers of Latinos were not old enough to vote back in the day, but time eventually solved that impediment. Hence, “the ripening.”
Years ago, I wrote that Madigan had essentially thrown in the towel to Garcia, agreeing to drop his support for white incumbents in city and suburban Latino areas against Garcia’s progressive candidates as long as his own direct sphere of influence, mainly his 13th Ward and the 23rd Ward, were left alone.
“We were able to deal from a position of strength,” García said, “because it was becoming more evident what was happening.”
It wasn’t a one-way street by any means. No progressive House Latinos joined the 19 House Democrats who successfully called for Madigan’s ouster, for example.
I’ve known García since he was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1992. Back then, so few Latinos were in the Senate that they joined the Black Caucus, which Chuy eventually chaired. He lost a primary in 1998 to a machine-backed candidate and was eventually elected to the Cook County Board and then Congress.
One of the things he said he’s most proud of is bringing younger Latinos into politics, and, in the last several years, helping women get elected.
“We’ve, over the past 10 years, redeemed ourselves by empowering more women, because that was one of the biggest shortcomings. That’s the case for women generally, but certainly we’ve tried to intentionally correct that, and I feel really good about that,” García said.
And the latest recruit is his chief of staff, Patty García, whether some people like it or not. Chuy studied the machine well.
- Beep boop - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 9:06 am:
Two things can be true 1) Chuy had a distinguished and inspiring career and advanced the careers of many Latino politicians which is admirable 2) He became the very machine he once railed against and his final act, despite his attempted deflections, is a significant dark spot on his legacy.
I still love the guy, but this was a classless move. Politics ain’t beanbag — but that doesn’t make this morally correct or even close. It was wrong. He knows it’s wrong deep down.
- Socially DIstant Watcher - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 9:28 am:
How can you not feel for the guy? It’s not like he was retiring to devote more time to his beloved insurance sales practice. That’s what makes him different from the old machine guys.
- Beep boop - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 9:33 am:
He had a responsibility to let his constituents know if he’s thinking about leaving so other local leaders, not his handpicked successor alone, have a chance to circulate.
Of course everyone will say “too bad that ain’t the way politics works here in Chicago” and you’ll be correct but it doesn’t make it just.
- lake county democrat - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 9:38 am:
It’s easy not to feel for the guy - he had contempt for the spirit of democracy even if he “followed all the rules.” Yeah, Mike Madigan “followed all the rules” when he ran dummy candidates with names that sounded like his pick’s real opponents too - didn’t make it less sleazy.
- estubborn - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 9:59 am:
Pulling a bait and switch to deny Latino voters the opportunity to choose their Representative for life is not cool. What is cool is the meltdown that Bryon Sicho-Lopez is having over it. I can’t excuse Rep. Garcia’s actions but I understand wanting to keep Sochi-Lopez and Ray Lopez away from Congress. I’m sure Mr. Garcia can now truly enjoy his retirement and the heat from his actions is a small price to pay for it.
- ElTacoBandito - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:02 am:
Tough look for him that every biography will end with this decision and the final feeling will be “he became what he swore to destroy”
- low level - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:04 am:
If you think Republicans dont do this or this is solely the work of the Chicago “machine”, you dont know what you are talking about. This happens in GOP states all the time.
- low level - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:04 am:
If you think Republicans dont do this or this is solely the work of the Chicago “machine”, you dont know what you are talking about. This happens in GOP states all the time.
- It's always Sunny in Illinois - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:07 am:
I was also interested in knowing how he managed to keep this handoff a secret. García said his organization collected 2,500 signatures for Patty García (no relation) over the weekend, so he said he was also surprised that nobody figured it out before he dropped the bombshell late Monday afternoon.
Says it all….totally calculated lowball political hack move
- Beep boop - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:11 am:
“The MAGA party does it too” is not a compelling argument to me and I expect my party to be better than this.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:12 am:
I agree with Socially Distant Watcher. Chuy also is retiring at a reasonable age instead of holding on the power forever. It seems like a lot of people are assuming the voters are going to be as outraged about this as some pundits. This is not a district of online types, however. A lot of people are not going to care really, or just think Chuy sounds like a nice guy.
- Suburban Observant - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:15 am:
I’m with Socially Distant Watcher on this one. Running an organization and building political power doesn’t automatically make you “machine” in the old Chicago sense. The real machine was built on patronage, contracts, and personal enrichment — that’s what defined it.
Whatever people want to say about Chuy, he never operated that way. He never cashed in, never built a patronage empire, never used public office to enrich himself. When he lost in 1998, he didn’t lobby. Meanwhile, plenty of people and organizations around him — some even close to him — ended up paying a price when the feds came knocking. He didn’t.
I remember looking at his tax returns in 2015 and being stunned that someone with that modest a salary was taking on multimillionaire Rahm Emanuel and actually giving him a fight. And the numbers weren’t much different in 2023. That’s not the profile of a “machine boss.” That’s someone who lived the same struggles as the people he represented.
Calling every political operation a machine is like calling every church a megachurch — it drains the word of all meaning.
- Remember the Alamo II - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:24 am:
=== Calling every political operation a machine is like calling every church a megachurch — it drains the word of all meaning. ===
Agreed.
- Huh? - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:24 am:
It is nonsense that Mr. Garcia has prevented potential candidates from running for office. While he may have not been completely open about his future, anyone could have circulated petitions and filed by the deadline. The residents of his district can always cast a write in vote.
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:38 am:
==never built a patronage empire, ==
So Patty Garcia got the job on her own merits?
- City Zen - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:46 am:
Is Chuy willing to refund any of the political contributions he’s received this election cycle? His PAC has $137,000 cash on-hand. He certainly doesn’t need all that if he’s not running again.