The Chicago mayoral election of 1999, which took place on February 23, 1999, resulted in the re-election of incumbent Richard M. Daley over Bobby Rush, with 428,872 votes to Rush's 167,709. Daley garnered a landslide 71.9% of the total vote, winning by a 44-point margin. This was the first officially nonpartisan Chicago mayoral election, per a 1995 Illinois law.

Candidates Richard M. Daley, incumbent mayor since 1989 Bobby Rush, U.S. congressman from Illinois's 1st congressional district (since 1993) and former member of the Chicago City Council from the 2nd ward (1983–1993)

Disqualified Joe Banks Jr.

Campaign Daley was considered a broad front-runner from the start. Nevertheless, to dedicated significant funding and manpower to his campaign, and also gave support to several aldermanic campaigns.

Joe Banks Jr. was denied inclusion on the ballot due to issues regarding the filing of his nomination papers.Multiple sources: This left Rush as Daley's sole opponent. Rush was a well-known figure in the city. A congressman, Rush had first made his name in Chicago in the 1960s as a local Black Panther leader, and had received further notability thereafter as a member of the Chicago City Council.

The Chicago Tribune wrote of Daley's campaign,

The Chicago Tribune also observed,

Daley adopted a tactic of ignoring Rush, refraining from saying his opponent's name during campaign speeches. As was the case in all of his reelection campaigns, Daley did not attend any debates. He believed that a debate would only gift Rush free publicity.

Rush's campaign lacked funding. His campaign's theme was addressing an issue of there being a divide that had created "two Chicagos (similar rhetoric to the notion of a divide creating "Two Americas"). Rush argued that poor neighborhoods had been neglected by Daley, while Daley instead focused on downtown projects such as adding flowerpots to beautify downtown streets and the construction of a ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

Endorsements

Results Daley won a landslide re-election to an additional term, which (so long as he completed the full term) would make him the second-longest-serving mayor in the city's history behind only his own father (Richard J. Daley), and surpassing Edward Joseph Kelly.

Citywide result The Chicago Tribune considered Daley's win a significant landslide victory, writing,

Daley received his highest-yet percentage of the vote, slightly surpassing the share he received in 1991. However it was not an all-time record, as several earlier mayors had received higher vote-shares.

Results by ward Daley won a majority of the vote in 33 of the city's 50 wards. Rush won a majority of the vote in the remaining 17 wards.

The Chicago Tribune observed that Daley had,

This was the last of Daley's campaigns in which he did not carry a plurality of the vote in all 50 wards (as he would do in the next two mayoral elections).

Results by ward Ward Richard M. Daley Bobby L. Rush Total Votes % Votes % Votes 1 6,622 81.7% 1,482 18.3% 8,104 2 5,856 51.1% 5,595 48.9% 11,451 3 3,186 36.8% 5,480 63.2% 8,666 4 5,527 45.0% 6,754 55.0% 12,281 5 5,737 46.6% 6,580 53.4% 12,317 6 6,530 41.1% 9,372 58.9% 15,902 7 5,280 43.6% 6,840 56.4% 12,120 8 7,706 44.2% 9,728 55.8% 17,434 9 4,925 38.5% 7,869 61.5% 12,794 10 11,969 87.8% 1,664 12.2% 13,633 11 14,502 96.1% 582 3.9% 15,084 12 4,639 91.7% 420 8.3% 5,059 13 19,512 96.8% 642 3.2% 20,154 14 9,789 94.7% 552 5.3% 10,341 15 4,464 44.0% 5,671 56.0% 10,135 16 3,123 43.0% 4,132 57.0% 7,255 17 4,547 41.2% 6,480 58.8% 11,027 18 9,505 55.1% 7,731 44.9% 17,236 19 18,322 87.0% 2,744 13.0% 21,066 20 3,910 38.8% 6,157 61.2% 10,067 21 6,712 40.0% 10,088 60.0% 16,800 22 4,851 74.6% 1,650 25.4% 6,501 23 18,123 96.0% 752 4.0% 18,875 24 3,956 41.7% 5,539 58.3% 9,495 25 5,978 88.4% 788 11.6% 6,766 26 6,744 84.8% 1,212 15.2% 7,956 27 6,301 57.5% 4,659 42.5% 10,960 28 3,464 37.9% 5,678 62.1% 9,142 29 5,870 48.6% 6,213 51.4% 12,083 30 9,071 94.2% 557 5.8% 9,628 31 7,617 91.6% 696 8.4% 8,313 32 11,411 90.6% 1,178 9.4% 12,589 33 8,958 93.0% 676 7.0% 9,634 34 6,430 43.5% 8,365 56.5% 14,795 35 7,149 86.1% 1,157 13.9% 8,306 36 14,333 93.4% 1,016 6.6% 15,349 37 4,567 44.0% 5,813 56.0% 10,380 38 13,550 96.2% 532 3.8% 14,082 39 11,407 93.9% 744 6.1% 12,151 40 8,169 89.7% 940 10.3% 9,109 41 18,091 95.3% 892 4.7% 18,983 42 13,578 90.5% 1,421 9.5% 14,999 43 9,841 91.1% 962 8.9% 10,803 44 9,992 91.4% 939 8.6% 10,931 45 15,766 96.1% 645 3.9% 16,411 46 9,381 78.6% 2,550 21.4% 11,931 47 9,581 90.5% 1,007 9.5% 10,588 48 8,254 81.4% 1,887 18.6% 10,141 49 4,980 71.6% 1,974 28.4% 6,954 50 9,096 92.8% 704 7.2% 9,800 Total 428,872 71.9% 167,709 28.1% 596,581

Daley's victory speech On the evening of the election, Daley delivered a brief victory speech in which he touted his victory as, "a tremendous vote of confidence...built with votes from all of Chicago's neighborhoods," remarking,

In his speech, Daley further remarked on his victory,

The speech was the first of his campaign in which he mentioned Rush by name. Daley promised to collaborate with Rush (who would continue to Represent portions of Chicago in the U.S. House of Representatives) and other elected officials, "for the betterment of our city and all our neighborhoods."

Rush's concession speech On the evening of the election, Rush delivered a concession speech to a gathering of approximately 200 supporters at the HoneySuckle Chicago Restaurant. He declared that their campaign had "stood tall" in the face of a much better-funded opponent. While conceding the evident outcome of the election, Rush remarked,

Rush expressed no regret in challenging Daley, opining that he believed that it would have been "disingenuous" to have allowed Daley to be re-elected uncontested because there was a need for Daley to face an opponent promoting a movement "fairness and justice" for the entirety of Chicago. Rush remarked,

References