Chicago City Wire

Chicago Alderman Ray Lopez this week announced plans to run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia in the March Democratic Primary.

The announcement sets the stage for a 4th Congressional District showdown between polar opposites within the Democratic Party.

Lopez is a moderate supporter of Chicago police. Garcia is a progressive who openly supported indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

They each campaigned for mayor earlier this year. Lopez, who represents the 15th Ward on the Southwest Side, dropped out of the mayoral race, opting instead to successfully seek re-election. Garcia, who began the mayoral election as the front-runner, failed to qualify for the April runoff with a 4th-place finish.

Garcia's mayoral campaign fizzled after it was revealed that the congressman had ties to two separate federal criminal investigations.

In January, federal prosecutors filed court papers in the corruption probe involving ComEd that cited an unidentified "member of Congress" who allegedly lobbied Madigan to appoint Juan Ochoa to ComEd's board of directors. The Chicago Tribune reported the unnamed individual was Garcia, who has not been charged with a crime.

During the mayoral campaign, Garcia also tried to distance himself from the federal indictment of former FTX executive Sam Bankman-Fried.

Federal records show that Garcia received a $2,900 donation from Bankman-Fried and more than $150,000 in in-kind spending on campaign mailers from a political action committee funded by FTX.

Lopez, a former Southwest Airlines employee, was first elected to the City Council in 2015. A vocal supporter of Chicago police, Lopez said he hopes to appeal to more moderate suburban voters.

Lopez has been quoted as saying that suburban voters in the 4th Congressional District feel Garcia's progressive politics have gotten "too extreme."

A Garcia campaign spokesman issued a statement that labeled Lopez's campaign announcement as "nothing more than an attention grabbing stunt."