Eleven of the city's 50 wards are uncontested, according to filings with the Board of Elections. Ten incumbents are guaranteed reelection: Alds. Lamont Robinson (4th), Peter Chico (10th), Nicole Lee (11th), Ray Lopez (15th), Ronnie Mosley (21st), Samantha Nugent (39th), Andre Vasquez (40th), Anthony Napolitano (41st), Matt Martin (47th), and Debra Silverstein (50th). They will not need to raise money, knock on doors, or attend candidate forums.

Newcomer Elianne Bahena, chief of staff to retiring Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) and his handpicked successor, is also running unopposed. More incumbents could join the list after petition challenges are resolved.

Overall, only 140 candidates filed to run for four-year City Council terms, down from 210 in 2023, when 174 ultimately survived petition challenges. The 2027 field is 66% the size of the 2023 field before challenges.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), a leader of the Common Sense Caucus, said the decline could reflect public satisfaction with a more assertive Council. "It's possible that our constituents are pleased to see a City Council with teeth and a coalition of aldermen who are stepping up, doing the hard work and pushing back on the executive branch of government for the first time in many, many decades," Reilly said. "In other cases, maybe it's a job they simply don't want. There's so much upheaval at City Hall, perhaps some folks don't want to sign up for that circus."

Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), one of three veteran incumbents retiring, attributed the shortage of competition to the historic Nov. 3 election for 21 seats on Chicago's first elected school board. "Having these two election seasons intersect has taken a lot of potential aldermanic candidates off the table," Quinn said, noting that community activists involved in schools and block clubs were often the natural candidates for Council.

Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th), who is leaving after four terms, blamed the political climate. "You have a career that you would be leaving to go into public service, and public service is so ugly. There's so much negativity. There's so much distrust," O'Shea said. "And then, you go down to City Hall and you see people arguing about issues we have no control over, halfway around the world. I would guess that would turn off a lot of people."

O'Shea said the lack of interest should alarm residents. "When you look at communities in crisis, and you look at people elected in some of those communities, and they don't have opposition? That should be startling to people," he said. "There's no one in a community of 50,000 people who thinks they could do a better job or want to do a better job?"

The job pays $159,264 a year at the top end after the latest inflation-tied raise.

Mike Ruemmler, president of One Future Illinois, a nonprofit created by business leaders to influence city and state policy and elect a more conservative Council, said the reluctance is understandable. "People probably see the job and say, 'Why would I want to do that?'" Ruemmler said. "It's been a rough four years. A lot of rancor within the Council. Tough budgets to deal with. And it takes a lot to say, 'I want to serve.' It doesn't seem like a desirable job to have these days."

Veteran political consultant Delmarie Cobb pointed to the cost of running. "It's the gated communities. More and more buildings are locked. You can't knock on doors. People aren't answering their doors," Cobb said. "People used to volunteer for campaigns. They don't do that anymore. So you have to spend the money." She estimated a viable campaign now requires $300,000, and noted that many incumbents refuse to appear at forums, depriving challengers of free exposure.

Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), who is fighting to keep the White Sox in Bridgeport and a planned Amtrak maintenance facility out of the community, said the job is more demanding than outsiders realize. "This is technically a part-time job," Lee said. "And when I talk to people about that, I tell them it's more like two full-time jobs."

Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th), a leader of the 31-member conservative and moderate bloc that rejected Johnson's corporate head tax last year, said her outreach may have deterred challengers. "I'm a workhorse. I'm out in the community all the time," Nugent said. "Hopefully, no opposition just reflects that they know I'm there to support them."

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) attributed the uncontested races to the time members spend on "crisis management." He added, "Maybe they understand how bad the budgets are looking."

Four years ago, five ward races were uncontested at the close of filing, but ballot challenges doubled that number to 10. The modern record for candidate filings was 351 in 2011, when Richard M. Daley's retirement led to Rahm Emanuel's election; that field was reduced to 239 after challenges.

The 2023 election brought 16 new alderpersons to the Council, an unusually large turnover. The lowest turnover in modern history came in 2003, when just three new members joined: Manny Flores (1st), Howard Brookins (21st), and Rey Colon (31st).