It’s the Chicago way.
Last week Cong. Jesus “Chuy” García, (D-4th District), who came up through independent, reform politics, orchestrated a time honored maneuver to ensure that his chief of staff, Patty García, no relation to Chuy García, would have an easy path to succeed him.
On Oct. 27, the first day candidates could file nominating petitions for the March primary Chuy García, 69, who has represented the 4th District in Congress since 2019, filed to run for reelection. Then, on the last day of the filing period, Nov. 3, his chief of staff Patty García filed her petitions to run for García’s seat in Congress just minutes before the end of the filing period at 5 p.m.
It was a prearranged maneuver that a number of other local politicians have used, including former State Senator Steve Landek, to ensure that García’s preferred successor would not have a primary opponent. Chuy García will now drop out of the race and it’s too late for anyone else to file to run in the primary although Chicago alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez said that he is exploring running for Congress as an independent.
Chuy García did not respond to interview requests by the Landmark but told multiple other reporters that his decision not to run again came about at the last minute after a visit to his cardiologist on the day he filed to run for reelection and after adopting a young grandson on Nov. 7.
“All of those things just converged all at once and led to my decision,” García said in an interview that aired on CBS 2 Chicago. “Is this the best way to do it? People are entitled to their opinions. It’s the decision I came to under the circumstances.”
García will serve out the remainder of his term. The 4th Congressional District covers almost all of Riverside and Brookfield and much of North Riverside.
If García had announced months ago that he would not be running for reelection, as his colleagues Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky did, the Democratic primary in the 4th Congressional District would have no doubt attracted a crowded field of candidates as the races to succeed Davis and Schakowsky have. Garcia had mentored and supported an impressive crop of younger politicians, some of whom would have no doubt jumped into the race to succeed him had they known he was not going to run again. Garcia’s maneuver was perhaps a way to avoid a civil war in his organization.
Patty García, 40, has worked for Cong. García since 2019. Before that she served as vice-president for the Latino Center for Leadership Development. Patty García could not be reached for comment but is expected to kick off her campaign on Nov. 12.
In addition to facing a Republican and a Working Families Party candidate in the general election García may get a challenge from Sigcho-Lopez who is exploring a run as an independent.
“I’m putting together an exploratory committee because we’ve been forced to consider a run as an independent given that the congressman decided at the last minute to appoint somebody,” Sigcho-Lopez told the Landmark in a telephone interview.
Sigcho-Lopez, 42, has represented the 25th ward in the Chicago City Council since 2019. He grew up in Ecuador and came to United States to attend college. He has lived in Chicago for the past 20 years. He lives in Pilsen.
Sigcho-Lopez decried what he described as old machine tactics by García.
“It sends a bad message to our constituents, to the city, something like this, especially by someone who portrayed himself as a progressive and a reformer. This doesn’t speak to those values,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “We want to make sure people know that as progressives, people committed to public service, that we don’t stand by that.”
Sigcho-Lopez said that at a time when democracy and immigrant communities are under attack from the Trump administration such undemocratic machinations cannot be tolerated.
“In a time like this it is unacceptable,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “It is simply unacceptable. I’ve seen a lot of anger and frustration in our community because in a time like this when not only our city and our state is being attacked but in particular immigrant working class communities are being terrorized we do need to make sure that we stand up for our principles, with our values, to protect our community and make sure that we have a strong representation in DC.”
To get on the November 2026 ballot as an independent Sigcho-Lopez will need to get 10,000 signatures on petitions that must be submitted in May, a daunting challenge.
Correction, Nov. 18, 2025, 12:15 p.m.: A previous version of this story misstated when Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García and Patty García filed their nominating petitions. Chuy García filed on Oct. 27 while Patty García filed on Nov. 3. The Landmark regrets the error.