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.
- Ugh - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:33 am:
Chuy knows better. If he was looking at his phone all weekend wondering why no one was asking if he had a falling out with his Chief of Staff, he had time to post a tweet or send out a quick email announcing he wasn’t running for re-election. Shame on him. I can’t stand Sigcho Lopez but I will support anyone who runs against the coronated Garcia. She too should be ashamed at how she’s entering this race. Obviously both of them think very very little of their constituents and of Garcia’s ability to win on her own credentials.
- I-55 Fanatic - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:34 am:
“It is nonsense that Mr. Garcia has prevented potential candidates from running for office.”
This is just totally disingenuous. If you’re a state legislator or other politico in Chuy’s district, it’d be foolish to challenge him in a primary if he’s running again. It’s an undeniable fact that there are people who would’ve run in a primary to replace him if he had announced retirement months ago. Get real.
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:38 am:
==never built a patronage empire, ==
So Patty Garcia got the job on her own merits?
- anon2 - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:38 am:
Incumbents are very hard to beat. Consequently, they don’t get many primary challenges. Open seats, by contrast, attract a crowd, as in the 9th CD that has 20 candidates. To say potential candidates had the freedom to file leaves out that they lacked the crucial info about the retirement. Had Chuy announced it to the public on that Friday, others may have filed.
- 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.
- MKVLY - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:47 am:
== on her own merits? ==
It’s not patronage, it’s continuity.
- Incandenza - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 10:48 am:
== meant that people who would’ve run if García had announced his intent earlier were shut out of the race. ==
Nothing stops folks from trying to run in a primary. Waiting for an incumbent to announce they will step down is just not smart: if someone thinks they’d do a better job, nothing stops them from collecting signatures to run. I don’t buy the complaints. If you wanted to be on the ballot, you would have tried for it no matter who else was on the ballot.
- OneOpinion - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:03 am:
It might make sense to adopt an approach used elsewhere, where incumbents have a filing deadline two weeks earlier than non-incumbents. Chuy is obviously correct that he followed the rules. That said, if the rules don’t serve the public interest well, and I’m open to the idea that they do not, perhaps changing the rules makes sense. My guess is that most legislators would resist such a change.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:09 am:
===where incumbents have a filing deadline two weeks earlier than non-incumbents===
Been thinking about that. It won’t work in cases like this. He could still wait until the final weekend.
What you’d have to do is require people to formally file as an office-seeker at least two weeks before a petition deadline. Not sure that would be constitutional or practical, though.
- Telly - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:34 am:
Throughout his long legislative career — General Assembly, county board, Congress — Chuy has been a back-bencher. It’s hard to think of a significant piece of legislation he passed or a policy initiative he lead.
However, he has excelled as a political organizer and operative, particularly in the advancement of Latino political influence. No one in this state has placed more folks in elected posts. His behind-the-scenes work to carve out a second Latino Congressional district was pretty impressive. As was — in a sheer Machiavellian sense — the ballot switcharoo he just pulled off.
He should’ve just embraced his reputation as a political heavyweight these last couple of weeks and said his motivation was to ensure the district stayed in Latino hands (something that would have been put in jeopardy in a big multi-candidate primary.) That would have been less damaging to his legacy than the mealy-mouthed cover story he’s been pushing.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:35 am:
I respected Garcia for taking on Emanuel and forcing him into a runoff. If the Laquan McDonald video had been made public sooner, Garcia could well still be the mayor of Chicago.
Over the years he’s had a generally positive impact on Illinois politics, and credit to him for that.
But the latest is just a hack move.
It’s a disservice to the community in general, to his party and to public trust.
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:45 am:
==It’s not patronage, it’s continuity.==
Madigan burner account?
- joand315 - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 11:58 am:
Politics ain’t beanbag.
- Trinity - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 2:55 pm:
This is a perfect example where you can have a great candidate (Chuy) and bad advisors (his team). Things just haven’t been the same since Ricardo Muñoz. He knew Chuy’s style best. Sad to see it end this way. Hopefully my comment doesn’t get erased
- Taco Man - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 3:21 pm:
This was a political strategic move by Chuy. Period. However, it tarnishes his legacy, though all he cares about is the Latino population, and he knows he leaves a happy standing with this particular group. *Chuy: You could have done better. Hypocrisy is the term here.
- Loop Lady - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 3:22 pm:
In my early days in State government, I remember when the HDO was being organized.
It didn’t take long for me to observe how the leaders operated, and it looked like more of the same.
- 44 - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 4:57 pm:
Good example of political climate. If it’s your team ok, other team it’s an attack on democracy, corruption , whatever.
- Got Chuyed Out - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 6:40 pm:
==Good example of political climate. If it’s your team ok, other team it’s an attack on democracy, corruption , whatever.==
Tell that to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
- low level - Monday, Nov 17, 25 @ 7:26 pm:
==Good example of political climate. If it’s your team ok, other team it’s an attack on democracy, corruption , whatever.
==
Isnt it interesting that its mainly other Democrats calling Chuy out?