Five independents move to challenge Chuy García’s successor

As independent candidates race toward an Illinois filing deadline, challengers are aiming to disrupt Democratic plans to keep Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García’s 4th Congressional District seat this November—an effort they tie to García’s last-minute move to help his c

The first thing independent candidates say they learned is how fast an election can turn when paperwork becomes the battleground.

For this November’s race for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District. at least five candidates are trying to spoil efforts by Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García’s hand-picked successor to win the seat. The filing deadline is May 26 for independent candidates to submit at least 10. 816 valid petition signatures to the Illinois State Board of Elections. In a district where challengers want to prove they belong. those signatures aren’t just a requirement—they’re their claim to legitimacy.

Much of the pressure inside the race centers on a last-minute decision by García, who helped his chief of staff get on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for the 4th District. García said his health factored into the decision.

Democratic nominee Patty García—no relation to the congressman—has been campaigning aggressively since the fall. She has picked up the support of established Democrats, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She also has backing from Democratic Senate candidate Juliana Stratton and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Labor unions are also in her corner, including the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Illinois AFL-CIO.

But among independents, the fight is less about party line than about who gets to choose the next face of representation.

Patty García says the handoff is not what voters are focused on when she knocks on doors. Instead, she says people talk about the pressure they feel right now.

“I’ve been knocking on doors since November. I’ve yet to hear from a single person about the process. or about anything like that. ” Patty García said. “The only thing that I hear from people is struggling to pay for rent. struggling to pay for medicine. afraid about immigration coming back. And the main question that I get. I’ll be honest. the question that I get is. ‘Are you a Democrat?’ Yes. ‘Alright. That’s all I need to know.”.

Her campaign was formally announced Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.

For independent candidates, that reaction—people looking past the nomination fight to everyday hardships—can be both a promise and a problem. If the message is about costs and deportations, independents have to show they can compete with a nominee who already carries heavy institutional support.

Mayra Macías. a former teacher running as an independent. says she has pushed past the petition threshold needed to get on the ballot. A Back of the Yards native. Macías served as a field organizer for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and later became executive director for the Latino Victory Project. Her independent bid is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and End Citizens United.

Macías described the petition process as both necessary and demoralizing.

“We have knocked on almost 40. 000 doors to be able to get the number that we’re at today. and have traveled all over the district. ” Macías said. “…Across the district. I think the feeling that persists is just being overwhelmed by the cost of living. by the sense of helplessness. So it is. for me. very reaffirming to talk to voters and feel their excitement about the possibility of new leadership and really pouring their hope into me in the campaign.”.

She also criticized how the successor choice was made.

Macías credited Rep. García for building a pipeline of Latino leaders during his years in Congress, but said she was disappointed the process wasn’t open when it came down to choosing his successor.

“I’m sure there would have been Latino leaders in that pipeline who would have stepped up to run for this seat. ” Macías said. “And one of the disappointing parts is, what are we depriving this district of?. Like all of the work and investing in leadership and not having the ability to see it come to fruition.”.

Macías launched her independent bid in December.

Chris Getty, the Lyons mayor who filed his petitions on May 18, was the first independent to do so. Getty said he worked petitions into real-world routines—circulating at polling places for early voting and on Election Day. He said he collected 3,300 signatures on Election Day alone.

He also brought the sharpest critique from the start. In November, Getty wrote a scorching Chicago Tribune op-ed piece criticizing Congressman García for his last-minute decision not to run—and for perhaps creating the conditions for his own candidacy.

“It’s a move right out of the playbook of machine politics, anointing successors rather than letting the democratic process determine them,” Getty wrote in the piece.

In the race, Getty echoed that theme and said he thinks García hasn’t produced enough results in his eight years in office.

“What he fumbled the football on. I don’t know if it was intentional or an accident. is really he’s always tried to be an advocate for the Hispanic community. but then it’s never come with results. ” Getty said. “So I think across the board. there’s many different ethnicities and individuals in this district that want to see comprehensive immigration reform. and I think that will be a main driving part of my work as a congressman. to bring that to life.”.

Getty, elected mayor in 2009 at age 26, said he believes his suburban background could help rather than hurt.

“When you break down the district. the majority of the voters in both the primary and the general are in the suburbs. and then the polarity of that grows in the general. where more voters come out in the suburbs than the city. The city’s vote goes down and in the suburbs, it increases,” Getty said. “So I see it as a benefit.”.

Byron Sigcho-Lopez, an Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez from the 25th ward, was the first to announce interest in an independent bid in November—one day after the controversial petition deadline. Sigcho-Lopez said the voters he’s hearing from are worried about voting rights.

“We are encouraged by the number of small donors,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “We have over 1,300 donors and small donors almost from every single state in the country, and it’s exciting that we were able to get a fundraising quarter that was very competitive with the Democratic nominee that was anointed.”

He said he has raised close to $150,000.

Sigcho-Lopez also framed the campaign as a response to anger over the district’s political process. He said voters are “frustrated and angry that the election in this 4th Congressional District was rigged,” and he argued that the petition drive itself reflects real representation.

“People are ready to have real representation and it’s reflected on our petitions,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “We hope to file by the 26th and we’re encouraged by the number of small donors.”

His comments tied the stakes in the district to local violence and federal enforcement. Sigcho-Lopez cited “the murder of Silverio Villegas González. ” “the shooting of Marimar Martinez. ” and “many other shameful attacks by ICE on our community. ” saying the community is ready for a representative focused on communities over party interests.

“We are the only district without an open primary. even though we are the district that by far was the most affected. ” Sigcho-Lopez said. “The murder of Silverio Villegas González. the shooting of Marimar Martinez. many other shameful attacks by ICE on our community. so I think that the community is ready to see a fighter that puts the interests of our communities ahead of the interest of the party of the billionaire class.”.

Other potential independent candidates also remain in view. Lindsay Church. a veteran who runs a nonprofit serving minority veterans. has declared candidacy as an independent and attended an April 29 campaign forum at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Church’s campaign priorities include ending Citizens United and congressional stock trading. expanding civil rights protections. and ending immigration enforcement crackdowns.

Ed Hershey, of the Working Class Party, has filed petitions to run as well. Hershey said he was already planning to enter the race when Rep. García made his decision.

On the ballot’s other side, Lupe Castillo is the Republican candidate in the race.

The race has narrowed to two different kinds of urgency: Patty García’s insistence that constituents aren’t focused on the nomination mechanics. and independent campaigns’ insistence that the nomination mechanics matter because they shape who gets heard in the first place. As May 26 approaches. each petition drive will measure that argument in the same way—by how many signatures candidates can produce. and how quickly they can prove they’re not just showing up. but qualifying.

Illinois 4th Congressional District independent candidates petition signatures Patty Garcia Jesus Chuy Garcia election 2025 deportation cost of living Juliana Stratton Toni Preckwinkle labor unions