Six people announced Saturday at a 9th Ward meeting that they plan to seek appointment by Mayor Daniel Biss to replace Ald. Cicely Fleming once she resigns from the job next month.
They are:
Dan Coyne, a 30-year resident of the ward, who lives at 827 Monroe St. He’s a social worker in District 65 schools and a former member of the Ridgeville Park District board.
Juan Geracaris, a 14-year resident of the ward, who lives at 536 Ridge Ave. He’s a senior systems administrator at Northwestern University and a board member of Evanston Latinos.
Ric Goodwill, a 15-year resident of the ward, who lives at 1721 Keeney St. He’s an attorney and has been active with the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Kathy Hayes, a five-year resident of the ward, who was born and raised in Evanston. She’s a retired social service case manager.
Shawn Jones, who ran against Fleming in the 2017 aldermanic election and lives at 601 Linden Place. Jones is an attorney in Evanston, was for 10 years a reporter for the Evanston RoundTable and has served on the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee.
Sebastian Nalls, a Purdue University student who finished third in the 2021 race for mayor and who has lived in Evanston most of his life.
Fleming said it’s the mayor’s decision who to select for the job and she doesn’t plan to make a recommendation.
She said Biss has told her he plans to open the application process for the job on Jan. 31, with a deadline for applications of Feb. 14.
She added that Biss then plans to hold a public meeting where candidates can introduce themselves on Feb. 16 or 17 and announce who he’s appointing on Feb. 22.
His selection would then be scheduled to be approved by the City Council on Feb. 28, and assuming it is approved, the new alderperson would be sworn in that night.