Concluding more than a decade of leadership in Lincoln Park, Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) announced last week that she will not seek re-election to city council next year.

Instead, Daley will step down at the end of her current term, when a new alderman is sworn in next May. In a statement released through her e-mail list, Daley thanked her constituents and said she looked forward to traveling and spending more time with family and friends.

“I thought it was just about time I slowed down a little bit,” Daley said later in an interview. “There’s a lot of pressure in this office — we are working 24-7.”

The announcement came shortly after two other north lakefront aldermen decided to bow out of the forthcoming municipal elections: Ald. Helen Schiller (46th), who represents much of Uptown, and Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th), Edgewater’s city council member, both said that they would not seek another term.

Daley, who is of no relation to Mayor Richard M. Daley, took office in the 43rd Ward in 1999, leading with a focus on neighborhood-specific matters such as street-cleaning schedules and broadening communications between residents and Lincoln Park’s city council representative.

On a broader policy level, Daley was among the council members who successfully vetoed the labor-backed Big Box Living Wage Ordinance in 2006, a measure which would have guaranteed employees of large corporate retailers a wage of at least $10 an hour.

In recent years, Daley voted closely with the mayoral administration, according to data maintained by University of Illinois-Chicago political scientist and Skyline columnist Dick Simpson. In 25 votes on controversial measures the city council took between 2007 and 2009, Daley voted with the mayor’s position 91 percent of the time.

Last year, Daley drafted and pushed through a law restricting pro-life advocates from approaching women attending abortion clinics in the city.

Prior to her tenure as alderman, Daley served as executive director of the non-profit advocacy group Friends of the Park.

The revelation of Daley’s departure broadens the prospects for candidates looking to lead the ward, where issues of public safety and responsible real estate development dominate the agendas of resident association meetings and neighborhood forums.

Among the matters sparking constituent interest of late are the fate of plans for two major redevelopment projects. A mixed-used proposal for the site of the former Lincoln Park Hospital has drawn largely negative reviews from residents, while the community continues to await designs for the reuse of the soon-to-vacated Children’s Memorial Hospital campus.

With Daley out of the running, the race to succeed her appears to be led by at least two contenders: Michele Smith, who has not yet confirmed her candidacy, and Tim Egan, a hospital executive who also campaigned for the post in 2007.

Other candidates expected to run include civil rights lawyer Rafael Vargas and restaurant manager Bita Buenrostro.

“Now it’s an open seat, which is a very different thing than running against an incumbent,” said Smith, who narrowly lost to Daley in a run-off contest for the aldermanic seat four years ago.

Smith, the 43rd Ward Democratic Party committeeman, recently convened a forum on commercial vacancies in Lincoln Park that highlighted issues connected to the two hospital redevelopments. She said that those projects, along with issues of public school funding and crime, would be central to the upcoming race.

Smith’s campaign committee reported more than $200,000 in available funds at the end of June. She raised $100,000 in the first half of the year.

Egan, who endorsed Daley in the 2007 runoff, said he will take another shot at the 43rd Ward aldermanic seat.

“I’ve had no other thought since the last election,” he said.

In his run, Egan said he would call for greater transparency in discretionary spending and “menu funds” available to city council members. He said he would also work to revive the city’s bond rating.

Within the ward, Egan said that public safety was issue number one.

Egan has not yet filed campaign finance reports, but said he had a budget of $300,000. He registered a campaign Web site for the 43rd Ward race in July.

Daley has not yet decided on whether to endorse any candidates, stating that she would “hear them out” before making any decisions.

The next alderman of her ward, Daley said, would need to be able to handle the larger issues, while still attending to everyday services in the neighborhood.

“The big picture is important,” she said, “but people still want to be sure that the garbage gets picked up and that their streets are clean.”

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By Ron from Lincoln Park
Posted: 09/13/2010 11:50 AM

Definitely will vote for Egan. I've been lucky enough to speak with him on a number of occasions and feel that he will represent the Ward well. I like his vision and dedication and he isn't someone who'll get pushed around by other politicians. Can't wait till May.

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By Josh from Lincoln park
Posted: 08/13/2010 3:08 PM

I Hope Bita runs. I will vote for her. I've seen her in action for Years in the business she runs. I also know that she is President of the neighborhood watch, and she is married to a chicago police officer. the other people say stay care about crime, But what have they done about it?