Longtime Southwest Side Ald. Marty Quinn on Wednesday became the first City Council member to announce his retirement at the end of this term.
Quinn told the Tribune he will not run for reelection in next year’s election after representing the 13th Ward since 2011, saying “I’ve left it all in the field.”
The political lieutenant of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has kept busy throughout his now-final term, most notably opposing Mayor Brandon Johnson on a smattering of legislative skirmishes amid a period of historic council independence that he predicts will continue to grow.
“For the last six months or so, I’ve been, I’ve been contemplating this being my last term,” Quinn said in a phone call. “It’s just my time.”
Quinn led the charge with watering down a signature housing plan of Johnson’s — the legalization of building new coach houses and “granny flats” — by securing the power for aldermen to opt out of the program. He also muscled through an ordinance outlawing unlicensed businesses in Chicago from selling most hemp products, but Johnson issued a mayoral veto.
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And of course, Quinn was part of the aldermanic opposition that defied Johnson in the last budget battle that the mayor continues to condemn today.
Asked who would be a good candidate to succeed him, Quinn named his ward superintendent, Moeen Zahdan, though no candidates have announced a bid yet. That would be a similar path to how Quinn himself was handpicked for his seat by Madigan, who was Democratic committeeman for the 13th Ward for half a century and is now serving a prison sentence for corruption and bribery.
Whoever runs with Quinn’s blessing will have a leg up in a corner of the city where bare-knuckled ward politicking continues to be part of the fabric of the bungalow belt neighborhoods.
Quinn never had to face an opponent until 19-year-old David Krupa’s campaign in 2023, a primary that saw 13th Ward campaign workers aggressively bombard residents to revoke support for Krupa. Quinn ultimately dropped his challenge and won resoundingly.
But despite the sea changes in today’s political landscape, Quinn said the old Democratic machine’s mantra of recruiting and rewarding a loyal coalition to amass power at City Hall continues to ring true — though the entity now flexing that muscle is the Chicago Teachers Union.
“I think what has replaced it, in many respects, is the CTU,” Quinn said. “When the CTU coupled with (Service Employees International Union) to create United Working Families, in many respects that replaced the political machine. Very powerful, and that’s one of the issues that the mayor is facing heading into the reelection, is the rift.”
Johnson — who has not yet announced a reelection bid, but asserted on Tuesday that the progressive movement is “alive and well” — soared to victory in 2023 with the financial backing of the CTU and SEIU together, but the two labor juggernauts fell into a bitter membership dispute that has yet to heal. Still, Quinn said it’s too soon to count out either the freshman mayor or the CTU.
What would be the “Achilles heel” for Johnson, Quinn said, is that “I don’t believe residents of the city of Chicago trust him with Chicago’s checkbook.” That’s why he believes the next mayor will be someone who has held elected office before, Quinn said.
“I think the city of Chicago is ready for institutional knowledge. The learning curve to do this job, both with Mayor (Lori) Lightfoot and Mayor Johnson, has been at times pretty steep. … That used to be sort of taboo, right? A career politician, but I think the city of Chicago needs a career politician right now.”
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who has declared her candidacy, and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who hasn’t, are expected to be among the best-known alternatives to Johnson. But Quinn said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley should not be counted out, either. Especially because Quigley’s district contains the lakefront liberal voters who backed Johnson over Paul Vallas in the 2023 runoff election, when the latter struggled to beat back attacks of being a closet conservative.
“Whoever is going to be a formidable mayoral candidate will have to compete on the north lakefront,” Quinn said. “They have to do more than just collect the votes of the anti-Johnson administration, and that’s what Paul couldn’t do. That’s where the battleground is, from my perspective. … Lori sort of gave up on that constituency maybe midterm and sort of pivoted to exclusively the African American constituency.”
As for Chicago’s fiscal mess that will surely make City Hall a contentious arena again this fall and beyond? Quinn said he hopes to further check the mayor’s power on his way out in the form of an ordinance he introduced that would require three-fifths of council, or 30 votes, to approve all bond issuances, rather than a simple majority. He also said the aldermanic opposition is stronger now after defeating Johnson last time.
But even Quinn conceded the next term will have to see some tough decisions from leaders.
“I would say the answer to that is no,” Quinn said when asked if the next mayor could keep any potential campaign promises to hold the line on property taxes. “I think there will need to be new revenue.”