The cost of campaigns and the exit interview

Allison Riggio, writing in The Beachwood Reporter this week, cites some interesting figures about the free-for-all in Chicago’s 15th Ward. Eleven candidates competed Feb. 27 to replace retiring Ald. Ted Thomas. The top two vote getters – Toni Foulkes and Felicia Simmons-Stovall – will face off April 17. Riggio reports that Foulkes spent about $225,000 to win 2,037 votes (34 percent). That works out to about $110 a vote. Simmons-Stovall spent $65,000 and nabbed 1,603 votes (26 percent), which comes to about $40 a vote.
And don’t miss Cyryl Jakubowski’s recent conversation – reported word for word in The Beachwood Reporter – with ousted Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd Ward).