For approximately six weeks, 30-year Garfield Ridge resident Al Cacciottolo has been ringing doorbells and speaking in-person to both established and new 13th Ward residents to introduce himself as a candidate to replace Marty Quinn as alderman in next year’s election.
Quinn recently announced his decision to not seek another four-year term.
A lifelong resident of the Southwest Side, Cacciottolo grew up in Archer Heights, attended Curie High School and moved to Garfield Ridge more than 30 years ago, he said.
“I’ve had a couple of businesses here on Archer Avenue and have been involved with the community for over 25 years,” Cacciottolo said, downplaying his outsized role in many Southwest Side organizations and as a city worker.
He has been president of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch group since its inception almost 20 years ago and for 22 years running, holds a seat on the Midway Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
“I’m all about the Southwest Side,” Cacciottolo said.
These days, Cacciottolo is focused on getting on the ballot but took time out to speak to the Southwest News Herald and Clear-Ridge Reporter about his motivation to run, qualifications and more.
What made you want to run for 13th ward alderman?
“I was redistricted into the ward seven, eight, nine years ago,” he said, “And we love Marty Quinn, but when Marty announced that he wasn’t going to run I was worried about who would take over; I was worried about our community.”
He did a lot of soul searching, talked to other people and determined he would run, he said.
“So far, I’ve received Marty’s (Ald. Quinn) support and his endorsement, Senator Mike Porfirio’s endorsement, state Rep. Angie’s (Guerrero-Cuellar) endorsement and certain 13th Ward organizations’ endorsement,” Cacciottolo said.
After receiving those votes of confidence, Cacciottolo felt he could win and take on Southwest Side issues, he said.
Endorsements from aldermen
“I will be supporting Al to be the next alderman of the 13th Ward,” Quinn said. “I believe Al has what it takes to do a great job for the residents on the Southwest Side.”
“Al’s going to do great things, I’m proud to be his friend and proud to support him in his campaign to be the next alderman,” Quinn said. “He has the background for this job whether it be in sanitation, being a member of the chamber of commerce, the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, his past experience on local school councils or coaching Little League baseball.
Quinn said Cacciottolo is a great Chicagoan, Southwest Sider and that he’s done great work with “Al” next to him over the years.
The standout project for the alderman was the Ella French statue that he and Cacciottolo worked side-by-side on in Wentworth Park, he said.
Two of the most difficult they worked on, Quinn said, were a neighborhood watch meeting with over 300 attendees over the shooting at Halina’s Pub or “when we took on dodgy businesses peddling hemp to kids.”
“Al has a real impressive background of being involved; being on the front lines in the community,” he said. “He’s a leader. This isn’t a guy coming into this position cold and most important, he’s a nice man with a good heart.”
Guerrero-Cuellar’s endorsement of Cacciottolo was succinct.
“Al’s the right man for the job,” she said. “He understands the ward, he understands the people, he knows constituent services are the number one item every day and he’s going to come in and do the work; he’s all in.”
“I’m hoping to have union support and that’s all going to come at some point,” he said based on his campaign flyers going out with mailers this week.
Why do you think you’re most qualified for this job?
“The reason I think I’m most qualified is because I’ve been a boots on the ground guy,” Cacciottolo said. “I think my community engagement over the past 25 years is huge. I jump right in when I see an issue and try to help. I’ve been on every board for every big community event and my streets and sanitation background gives me insight on a lot of city services.”
Cacciottolo is a 15-year Division Superintendent for the City of Chicago’s Streets and Sanitation Department overseeing four wards (13th, 14th, 22nd and 23rd wards.)
Division superintendents are responsible for day-to-day field operations acting as the operational link between local residents, local aldermen and the central city department including “non-sanitation bureau services,” reporting them to the correct city bureau or outside agency, according to the Streets and Sanitation website.
“The job is about things like garbage pickup, garbage carts, rodent and pest elimination, recycling program, snow removal and code enforcement; we work closely with forestry and CDOT, (Chicago Department of Transportation),” Cacciottolo said. “I’ve got a vast wealth of knowledge.”
What are the most pressing issues in the 13th Ward?
Quick to say he’s working and learning about ward concerns and how they relate to the City Council, Cacciottolo said the number one issue in the 13th is public safety.
“I want to continue the fight for the new 8th District police station at the Midway Armory that Alderman Quinn and our state officials began,” he said. “We have the biggest police district in the city of Chicago. The 13th Ward has over 45,000 residents and the 8th District needs to be split in two. I’m hoping with our continual fight and support that this will happen for the people of 13th Ward.”
With Mayor Brandon Johnson continuing to ignore residents who continue to plead for a new police station, Cacciottolo, a self-described “people person” hopes whomever the future mayor is will understand “our plight,” he said.
Proponents of the new station cite emergency services jeopardized by slow response times due to not enough officers and freight train lines that bisect the district, causing up to hour long waits for first responders and residents alike.
“I believe I can get them to see and understand that it’s proven we have a shortage of police because the district is too big; I believe I can work with anybody to try to make that happen,” he said.
Public schools
Recent developments in the funding fight for Chicago Public Schools has the Chicago Board of Education approving a $9.96 billion dollar budget that assumes $150 million in state funding that Springfield hasn’t approved yet is an issue Cacciottolo is not confused about.
“I support our public schools,” he said. “I attended Curie High School and am a Chicago public school product. We’ll see what’s going on with the budget; when I am elected, I will dive into it to help 13th Ward residents.
Flooding in the ward
Recent torrential downpours that repeatedly turned the Southwest Side intersections into ponds and sewers backing into resident basements multiple times are something Cacciottolo is familiar with both personally and professionally.
“I know these storms have been so bad,” he said. “These storms have just been out of control; we’ve never seen storms like we’ve had this past year, and I know there’s been a lot of damage. I have two inches of water in the basement.”
As a Streets and San division superintendent, he’s seen firsthand how it’s affected the residents, he said.
“As alderman I’ll be able to get more knowledge and then figure out how we can improve our sewer systems for our whole community,” Cacciottolo said.
Bike lanes, e-bikes, motorized bikes
Cacciottolo is not a supporter of bike lanes on Archer Avenue.
“I do not support the bike lanes on Archer Avenue because I think they hurt businesses and I think it hurts traffic [patterns],” he said. “Archer Avenue is a vital conduit with I-55 from the Southwest Side to Midway Airport and to downtown, he said.
When asked about e-bikes and motorized bikes, “ … that’s another animal,” Cacciottolo said.
Illinois Senate Bill 3484 taking effect January 1, 2027, tightened regulations regarding certain low- and high speed electric bikes, E-motos and other electric devices.
Cacciottolo said soon he will be sitting on a panel to have a discussion with the “alders” and the 8th District police commander about what we can do to deter them, he said.
If you had to tell a stranger what’s best about the 13th ward it would be …?
Constituent services, Cacciottolo said, citing Quinn’s fantastic job with and their current second-to-none quality.
“I’m going to emulate that and do as much as I can to make this transition smooth,” he said. “I do want to bring my own stamp to the ward, but I also want to continue the tradition of great services that the 13th ward has seen and expects.”
Your favorite place in the 13th Ward?
Simply put, Cacciottolo is a food guy.
He didn’t want to name any specific places as he goes to many of them and likes them all.
“I love to support our local restaurants; I support all our local pizza places and our local taco joints!,” he said happily.
Citing his tenure on the Midway Chamber of Commerce, Cacciottolo is pro-business.
“I want to see people support our local businesses and I’m about getting different kinds of businesses into the ward,” he said.
Please sum up why 13th Ward residents should vote for you.
“I’ve been a resident here in this Southwest Side community for over 30 years and I really believe that I know this neighborhood and ward like the back of my hand,” Cacciottolo said. “With all of my knowledge of city services and all of my knowledge of community organizations I think I’m a step ahead of other people that might want to run for this position.”
He would like to continue to bring businesses to “our community from 63rd to Pulaski to Cicero,” he said.
“I just want to bring businesses to our community, I want to keep our parks looking great, keep our neighborhood schools and community safe and just keep the 13th Ward moving,” Cacciottolo said.