Caption by Ashmar Mandou

Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review George A. Cardenas announced his candidacy for Mayor of Chicago in front of a crowd of supporters and community leaders Tuesday morning at New Star Lighting. “I know what Chicago families are going through. I mean it,” he said. “The challenges that I faced long ago are still here today. Our family knows what it was like to worry about rent, and what it meant to stretch every dollar, and what it means to work hard and still be a paycheck away from disaster. That is my Chicago story, and to the people of Chicago, I give you that steadfastness, resiliency, not giving up, and having a vision.” Cardenas said his experiences with the Board of Review have shown the city of Chicago’s “management problem” with its finances and its priorities. Cardenas shared his plan to “enact serious reforms” without leaning on taxpayers. “It is a governance problem, a competence problem, because when city government is disorganized, families pay the prices, and when fiscal controls are weak, neighborhoods will suffer, and when oversight is missing, trust collapses, and when people do not feel safe, they leave.” Commissioner Cardenas now joins the list of candidates aiming for the top position at City Hall, which includes Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Representative Mike Quigley.

Photo Credit: Office of Commissioner Cook County Board of Review George A. Cardenas