Chicago’s 19th Ward — covering Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park — will see a new alderperson in the 2027 municipal election. Incumbent Alderman Matt O’Shea, who has served four terms with more than 60 percent of the vote each cycle, announced in September that he will not run for a fifth term.
Filed Candidates
Three residents have submitted the required petitions and are now on the ballot for the Feb. 23 election.
Erin Ross, 56, is the chief of staff to Alderman O’Shea and has worked in the 19th Ward office since 2024. She previously served as executive director of the 95th Street Business Association for over a decade. A lifelong Beverly resident, Ross raised her four children in the neighborhood. Her campaign website lists her priorities as safe streets, strong schools and thriving local businesses. Ross comes from a family of first responders – her great‑grandfather was a Chicago firefighter and her grandfather, father and brother all served as police officers. She also emphasizes mental‑health support for first‑responders, noting that she lost both her brother and father to suicide in 2013 and 2023.
Jillian Robinson is a lifelong Beverly resident and journalist. Her platform focuses on infrastructure improvements, school quality, support for small businesses, public safety and neighborhood beautification. Robinson graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School and earned a degree in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago. She has worked as a freelance writer for ten years and says she is running to give her community a stronger voice after hearing residents in East Beverly express concerns that their part of the ward has been neglected.
Bob Murphy has filed the necessary petitions and a Statement of Financial Interests with the Chicago Board of Ethics, as required of all candidates. No campaign website or social‑media presence could be located at the time of this writing.
Election Mechanics
To qualify for the ballot, candidates must gather at least 473 valid petition signatures and file by Oct. 26, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. The Board will certify the ballot on Dec. 17. Election challenges were filed on Monday and will be heard by hearing officers; any rulings will be issued later this year.
Melanie Stathis, a Morgan Park mother who announced her candidacy in March, withdrew from the race the following month.
What Voters Should Know
Voters in the 19th Ward will choose among Ross, Robinson and Murphy on Feb. 23. The race marks the first open aldermanic seat in the ward in more than a decade, offering residents an opportunity to shape the future of their neighborhoods on issues ranging from public safety to school quality and local commerce.
For more information on each candidate’s platform, voters can visit the candidates’ campaign websites or contact the 19th Ward office.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
