La Shawn Ford

La Shawn K. Ford (born 1971/1972)[1] is an American politician who is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 8th District since 2007.

La Shawn Ford
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 8th district
Assumed office
January 10, 2007
Preceded byCalvin Giles
Personal details
Born1971 or 1972 (age 50–51)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationLoyola University Chicago (BS)
WebsiteOfficial website

Ford was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 election.[2]

Early life, education, and career

Elected in 2007 to the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 8th District, Rep. Ford is an outspoken advocate for his constituents. Rep. Ford is focused on social justice and disparities in employment, education, and the healthcare system. He has also worked to increase opportunities for ex-offenders, foster small business development, improve access to affordable housing, expand protections for our veterans, safeguard our environment and address our state’s fiscal health.

Ford was born in Chicago's Cabrini–Green housing project.[3] He grew up in the Austin community of Chicago.[3] His family moved to the Austin community when he was two years old.[4] Ford never met his father.[4] His mother was an unwed teen, and he was adopted by his grandmother at birth.[4]

Ford grew up poor.[4]

Ford attended Lady Help of Christians Catholic Elementary School and graduated from Weber High School.[4]

Initially, after high school, Ford attended the Niles College Seminary at Loyola University in Chicago contemplating becoming a priest.[4] Ford ultimately received a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Loyola, with a minor in political science.[4] He played basketball while at Loyola.[4] He also received a degree from University of Illinois at Chicago.[4]

Ford became a history teacher and basketball coach for Chicago Public Schools. Later he became a licensed Illinois real estate broker, and became the founder of Ford Desired Real Estate in 2001.[5][4] He has served as a member of the Chicago and National Association of Realtors, board member of the Austin YMCA, board member of Circle Family Care, board member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, founding organizer of Zawadi Youth Group, and member of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church Parish Council and Finance Committee.[6]

Ford worked as a Democratic precinct captain in the neighborhood where he grew up.[4]

Ford is a firm believer in the power of responsible parenting and helped grow the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood, which aims to support fathers and help them to become more responsible and present. He consistently advocates for increased access to financial resources and institutions for marginalized communities and promotes the value of education among students in his district.

Legislative career

Ford was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2007, defeating incumbent Calvin Giles in the Democratic primary and winning the General Election with 83% of the vote.[5]

La Shawn is a national leader in social justice and civil rights issues. He believes in preserving communities, helping ex-offenders re-enter society and enshrining the sacred right to vote. He created a commission to confront economic problems that still plague Black communities, as well as the Distressed Counties and Communities Task Force, which finds innovative ways to help people who receive state social services and serves as a national model for a successful anti-poverty agenda.

Throughout his career, Ford has Chaired a number of committees: Appropriations—Higher Education; Financial Institutions, Restorative Justice. Ford's committee assignments are: the Appropriations Committee on Elementary & Secondary Education; Appropriations Committee on Human Services; Insurance: Property & Casualty; Tourism, Hospitality & Craft Industries; and Veterans' Affairs.[6]

Ford is a member of the Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Task Force.[7] To monitor how the State approaches and manages a new form of health care delivery system based on managed care models, particularly for people with disabilities and the elderly.[8] He is also a member of the Violence Prevention Task Force.[9] The Violence Prevention Task Force seeks to increase awareness of resources, jobs, and opportunities to prevent violence and to assist violence prevention groups and other social institutions in providing safe places for those at risk of violence.[8]

From 2006 until 2012, Ford had received $16,350 in campaign contributions from labor unions. This included $3,000 from AFL-CIO, $2,650 from AFSCME, $200 from Illinois Education Association; $2,500 from the Illinois Federation of Teachers, $7,000 from the Chicago Teachers Union, $1,000 from Service Employees International Union.[10]

In 2020, Ford voiced support for the abolition of history classes in Illinois schools, claiming that "current history teaching practices overlook the contributions by Women and members of the Black, Jewish, LGBTQ communities and other groups" and "until a suitable alternative is developed, we should instead devote greater attention toward civics and ensuring students understand our democratic processes and how they can be involved".[11]

As of July 2, 2022, Representative Ford is a member of the following Illinois House committees:[12]

  • (Chairman of) Appropriations - Higher Education Committee (HAPI)
  • Fair Lending and Community Reinvestment Subcommittee (HFIN-FAIR)
  • Financial Institutions Committee (HFIN)
  • Labor & Commerce Committee (HLBR)
  • Public Utilities Committee (HPUB)
  • Restorative Justic Committee (SHRJ)

Since 2007, La Shawn Ford has been re-elected six times to continue his advocacy for the 8th District, a diverse set of communities including the West Side of Chicago and the suburbs of Oak Park, Berwyn, North Riverside, Forest Park, Proviso Township, Brookfield, La Grange Park, La Grange and Western Springs.

2019 mayoral campaign

Ford ran for mayor of Chicago in 2019. After giving notice of a possible candidacy in late-September,[4] Ford officially announced his candidacy on October 31, 2018, joining what was an already-crowded field of candidates seeking to replace Rahm Emanuel, who had announced in early September that he would not seek reelection.[13]

Candidate Willie Wilson challenged signatures on Ford's candidature petition, but the Chicago Board of Elections allowed Ford to remain on the ballot, finding that, "candidate Willie Wilson's objection to his petitions was not made in good faith."[14]

In the polls he was included in, Ford never placed higher than 2%, and most frequently received around 1% support.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Ford placed eleventh out of fourteen candidates, receiving 5,606 votes (1.01% of the overall vote) in the initial round of the election.[23]

Personal life

Ford has a daughter named Tia.[4]

On November 29, 2012, Ford was indicted on charges of bank fraud, alleging he provided misleading evidence to obtain a $500,000 extension on a line of credit. The charges state he used the money for personal expenses rather than rehabilitating an owned property, as stated in the loan documentation.[1] On August 4, 2014, all 17 felony counts of bank fraud and false information against Ford were dropped by federal prosecutors in exchange for his pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor income tax charge, and Ford's trial was removed from the federal docket.[24][25][26]

Electoral history
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2006[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford 8,241 52.81
Democratic Calvin Giles (incumbent) 6,104 39.12
Democratic Glenn L. Harris 1,260 8.07
Total votes 15,605 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2006[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford 21,057 83.60
Republican Glenn L. Harris 2,975 11.81
Green Nathan Paul Helsabeck 1,157 4.59
Total votes 25,189 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2008[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 18,724 100.0
Total votes 18,724 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2008[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 34,666 100.0 +16.40%
Total votes 34,666 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2010[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 10,355 100.0
Total votes 10,355 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2010[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 23,179 100.00
Total votes 23,179 100
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2012[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 8,889 100.0
Total votes 8,889 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2012[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 37,824 99.97 -0.03%
Write-in 10 0.03 N/A
Total votes 37,834 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2014[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 6,340 100.0
Total votes 6,340 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2014[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 25,449 100.0 +0.03%
Total votes 25,449 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2016[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 24,131 100.0
Total votes 24,131 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2016[38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 38,493 100.0
Total votes 38,493 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2018[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 15,419 100.0
Total votes 15,419 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2018[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 31,923 100.0
Total votes 31,923 100.0
2019 Chicago mayoral election
Candidate General Election[23] Run-off Election[41]
Votes % Votes %
Lori Lightfoot 97,667 17.54 386,039 73.70
Toni Preckwinkle 89,343 16.04 137,765 26.30
William Daley 82,294 14.78
Willie Wilson 59,072 10.61
Susana Mendoza 50,373 9.05
Amara Enyia 44,589 8.00
Jerry Joyce 40,099 7.20
Gery Chico 34,521 6.20
Paul Vallas 30,236 5.43
Garry McCarthy 14,784 2.66
La Shawn K. Ford 5,606 1.01
Robert "Bob" Fioretti 4,302 0.77
John Kolzar 2,349 0.42
Neal Sales-Griffin 1,523 0.27
Write-ins 86 0.02
Total 556,844 100 523,804 100
Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2020[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 18,036 100.0
Total votes 18,036 100.0
Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2020[43]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent) 36,932 100.0
Total votes 36,932 100.0

References
  1. Staff (29 November 2012). "Rep. LaShawn Ford indicted on bank fraud charges". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  2. Preston, Charles (September 26, 2018). "An Interview With Rep. LaShawn K. Ford: Will He Run For Mayor". Chicago Defender. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  3. Blumberg, Nick (19 February 2019). "Mayoral Candidate Forum: Chico, Enyia, Ford, Lightfoot, McCarthy". WTTW News. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "La Shawn Ford enters race for mayor | The Crusader Newspaper Group". Chicago Crusader. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. Miller, David R., ed. (November 15, 2006). "Biographies of New House Members" (PDF). First Reading. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 3. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  6. "Representative La Shawn K. Ford (D) 8th District". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  7. Wolff, Jonathan P., ed. (October 31, 2018). "47005 Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Task Force" (PDF). Expiration and Vacancy Report for the Governor of Illinois. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 241. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  8. Gruber, Amanda (August 1, 2018). "Publication 425: State Board and Commission Descriptions" (PDF). Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 510. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  9. Wolff, Jonathan P., ed. (October 31, 2018). "43033 Violence Prevention Task Force" (PDF). Expiration and Vacancy Report for the Governor of Illinois. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 390. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  10. "Candidate Summary - La Shawn K. Ford", OpenSecrets
  11. "Chicago-Area Leaders Call for Illinois to Abolish History Classes". NBC Chicago. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  12. "Illinois General Assembly - Representative Committees". ilga.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  13. Bremer, Shelby (31 October 2018). "State Rep. La Shawn Ford Announces Run for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  14. "LaShawn Ford to Remain on Mayoral Ballot After Petition Challenge". NBC Chicago. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  15. "Polling" (PDF). static.politico.com.
  16. "Key Takeaways from New Survey of Likely 2019 Voters" (PDF). Chicago Teachers Union. January 4, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  17. Dr. Willie Wilson (February 1, 2019). "Dr. Willie Wilson on Twitter: "Victory Research Poll @nbcchicago @ABC7Chicago @cbschicago @fox32news @WVON1690 @wttw @WBBMNewsradio @wlsam890 @V103 @v103chicago @WGCI @1075wgci @WVON1690 @Power92Chicago @ChicagoPower92 @1063Chicago @B96Chicago @TheJamTVShow @GoodDayChicago @wsoeorg @Chicago_NC @WGNRadioNews‌"". Twitter.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  18. "Poll jam: Preckwinkle, Daley inch ahead as all 14 struggle to crack 13 percent". Chicago Sun-Times. 26 January 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  19. "Sun Times Chicago Mayoral Jan 2019 Draft | Opinion Poll | Margin Of Error". Scribd. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  20. Wilson, Dr Willie (February 16, 2019). "No bias. All the polls are "singing the same song" - Victory, Ogden & Fry, We Ask America and now Tulchin Research. And now that you know? You know what to do... punch 22 for Willie Wilson For Mayor! Everyone else is saying so! Click, read, like & share!pic.twitter.com/9CfzbfCoho". Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  21. Loria, Jane (February 24, 2019). "Three-Way Tie on the Eve of Chicago's Mayoral Election". Politico. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  22. "5-Person Dash to Finish of Chicago Mayoral Race, Poll Shows". NBC Chicago. 14 February 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  23. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  24. Janssen, Kim. "State Rep. La Shawn Ford pleads guilty to misdemeanor". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  25. Meisner, Jason (4 August 2014). "Surprising plea deal in state Rep. Ford's bank fraud case". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  26. Marin, Carol. "Feds back off on ruining a good man's life". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  27. "Election Results 2006 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  28. "Election Results 2006 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  29. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  30. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  31. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  32. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  33. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  34. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  35. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  36. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  37. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  38. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  39. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  40. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  41. "2019 Municipal Runoffs - 4/2/19". Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  42. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  43. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
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