Caption by Ashmar Mandou

Hyde Park residents of the 13th state senate district held a press conference on January 6th outside of the headquarters of Fourth Ward Committeeman Toni Preckwinkle, calling on Preckwinkle and Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston to hold a special election to replace Kwame Raoul as state senator in light of his election to the position of Illinois Attorney General instead of picking a replacement behind “closed doors.” According to residents, “a pattern of ward bossism had led to three of the officials in Hyde Park to all be appointed. The community intends to pressure ward committeemen to respect the traditions of Hyde Park and the broader South Side, which highly value and respect the right to vote, as our elected officials should.”