ALBANY PARK — Incumbent Ald. Rossana Rodríguez‑Sánchez is preparing for a competitive race to retain her seat on Chicago City Council. The 33rd Ward, which includes parts of Albany Park, Irving Park and Avondale, will hold its municipal election on February 23.
Challengers and Their Platforms
Rodríguez‑Sánchez, first elected in 2019 after a narrow 13‑vote victory over Ald. Deb Mell, is being challenged by two candidates. Maria Gordils, a retired sentencing advocate from the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, argues that the ward needs “new leadership.” Her platform emphasizes keeping property taxes low, improving city services, and working with law‑enforcement to boost safety. Gordils, a lifelong North Side resident, has lived in the 33rd Ward for more than four decades and raises two adult children.
Michael Mogan, a certified public accountant and longtime resident of Irving Park and Albany Park, entered the race with a message of “conservative leadership” for taxpayers. He pledges full funding for the police and fire departments, supports both commercial and residential development, and seeks assistance for the ward’s homeless population. Mogan also opposes head taxes.
Incumbent Record and Priorities
Rodríguez‑Sánchez chairs the Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations and has championed a network of social workers and medical professionals to answer mental‑health crisis calls. In 2021 she introduced the “Treatment Not Trauma” ordinance, modeled after the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon, and she continues to back Chicago’s CARE program, which deploys mental‑health clinicians and paramedics to respond to 911 calls involving mental‑health emergencies.
She has also advocated for affordable housing, supporting the 45‑unit Jigzibik development designed for Chicago’s Indigenous community. On transit, Rodríguez‑Sánchez helped expand the #93 California bus route and secured two neighborhood bike greenways on Grace Street and Sacramento Avenue.
Ballot Certification Process
The Chicago Board of Elections will hold hearings on petition challenges before certifying the final ballot by mid‑December. Mogan currently faces a petition objection filed by Nicholas Carusi, which could remove him from the ballot if upheld.
What Voters Should Know
All three candidates are local residents with deep ties to the 33rd Ward. Voters will decide whether to retain Rodríguez‑Sánchez’s progressive‑leaning agenda, embrace Gordils’ call for fresh leadership and fiscal restraint, or elect Mogan’s conservative‑focused platform. The race underscores the ward’s diverse concerns—from mental‑health services and affordable housing to public‑safety funding and tax policy.
For more information on each candidate’s positions, voters can visit their campaign websites linked in the original report.
Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.
