Incumbent 15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez is running for re-election in 2027 on a platform centered on neighborhood infrastructure, public safety enforcement, and what he calls responsive government for the 15th’s southwest side ward neighborhoods.
In an interview, Lopez pointed to flooding, crime, and immigration enforcement as defining issues for his ward and the city. He criticized the Johnson administration’s response to these crises, saying the city has failed residents when they needed help most.
“That has remained true on almost every single topic that we’re dealing with, whether it’s the flooding that we saw last year, where tens of thousands of people were horribly impacted, with no support,” Lopez said. “Whether it’s the 100-year storms that have been hitting us every month, damaging trees, leaving debris everywhere with the city’s extremely slow response to the crime and the needs for not only constitutional policing, but enhanced equitable policing in our area.”
Public Safety and Crime Data
Lopez rejected what he called selective use of crime statistics by mayoral candidates.
“Unfortunately, many of our mayoral candidates are cherry-picking the data that they want to use,” Lopez said.
10 of 13 offenses in Chicago have declined in the first half of 2026 by more than 10 percent such as robbery (-28%), carjacking (-27%), and drug offenses (-23%) indicating the largest drops; nonresidential burglary rose sharply (+132%), with motor vehicle theft (+8%) and homicide (+3%) also increasing, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
Lopez called for expanded use of law enforcement technology, incorporating a vast camera network and license plate readers.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be ShotSpotter but you need something along those lines,” he said, such as Ring cameras that face ‘public ways,’ access by police including coordinating with sister agencies like Chicago Public schools, the CTA and the Chicago Park District, all of whom have “vast security networks that are heavily reliant on CPD.”
Currently, two of the three cooperate with Chicago police.
Lopez continues to support a new police district on the Southwest Side with its home based at Chicago’s Midway Armory.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, despite $3 million in funding appropriated by the Illinois legislature for renovations, continues to ignore Southwest Side residents calling for the new district, he said.
“These are just one of several examples where we’ve seen government’s lack of action have negative impacts on the quality of life, not only in my ward, but throughout this entire city,” he said. “And that’s exactly why I’m running again. Because you need a strong, consistent voice for the people demanding better in the neighborhoods.”
Immigration and ICE Enforcement
Lopez said he met with Chief Immigration Officer Tom Homan before the Trump administration took office at a meeting organized by faith community members who wanted to “see a compassionate execution of immigration laws without unduly harming communities that have been promised a path forward.”
Homan stated that focusing on non-citizens with criminal histories combined with the ability to work with local municipalities would have limited the need to go into neighborhoods to execute searches, Lopez said.
Homan explained he would not be able to ignore non-citizens, whether or not a non-citizen has a clean background if community searches happened, he said.
Lopez blamed the Johnson administration for rejecting a proposed amendment by him and Alderman Silvana Tabares (23rd) to the city’s Welcoming City ordinance that he said would have limited ICE’s scope.
He pointed to a 75% collateral capture rate under Trump administration enforcement as evidence that the city’s refusal to cooperate with federal authorities has backfired.
The collateral arrest rate by Immigration and Customs Enforcement fluctuated in the Chicago area between 2025 and 2026 dropping to 13% by early 2026 (when targeted enforcement took priority) after a 53% peak during a large enforcement surge in 2025, according to a WBEZ/Chicago Sun Times analysis of ICE data in a September 2026 story.
ICE had better success detaining the “worst of the worst,” outside of operation “Midway Blitz,” the story said.
During its peak in 2025, detention topped 3,800 persons in 68 days with eight of 10 held at the Broadview processing facility having no criminal convictions. Six of 10 had civil immigration violations with remaining detainees having unspecified pending criminal charges.
Housing and Seniors
Lopez said the city should use tax increment financing funds to help seniors maintain their homes and stay in their neighborhoods. He criticized Mayor Johnson’s proposed landlord restrictions, saying they discourage property owners from renting units.
“Seniors raised me,” Lopez said. “My grandparents basically took over when my parents could not. And we must do everything we can do to help seniors stay in their homes, stay in the communities that they built and loved.”
Lopez said seniors and families who own multi-unit buildings in Brighton Park, Archer Heights, West Lawn, and McKinley Park are afraid to rent out units because of tenant protections and the risk of non-payment diminishes their capacity to accrue generational wealth.
He said the mayor’s proposed requirement that landlords pay tenants nearly six months’ rent to tenants whose leases are not renewed amounts to an indirect tax on property owners.
“The mayor wants you to give first right of purchase to your tenants, and they have the ability to block the sale of your property for up to one year,” Lopez said. “And then at the end of that year, they could say, ‘Well, I’ve changed my mind.’ But by then, you’ve already lost your buyer.”
Update: The Mayor’s office announced revisions to the PRO ordinance eliminating the resettlement payment to tenants for owners of buildings with six tenants or less who have been asked to leave without “just cause,” reported by Block Club Chicago. Move in fees would continue to be banned and security deposits are capped at one month’s rent among other things.
Data Centers and Economic Growth
Lopez said the city should not reflexively reject data centers, which he framed as essential to Chicago’s future competitiveness. He drew a historical parallel to the railroad industry.
“If you come in with just an absolute no, then Chicago will be left behind for the 21st century,” Lopez said.
He cited Chicago’s growth beginning with its rail systems hauling freight into the city making it a national hub that resulted in its stockyards that provided jobs. Without them, ” … there wouldn’t be a Chicago as we know it, the third-largest city in America.”
He said the city should negotiate fairly with data center developers rather than exclude them outright.
“Is there a right way and a wrong way to do it? Absolutely. Do we need to give them massive amount of tax subsidies without them paying their fair share? Absolutely not. But if that is the way of the future, why would we arbitrarily exclude ourselves from it?” Lopez said.
A summary of reports on data center water usage statistics and center exemption from benchmarks and performance ratings was submitted by the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy for full City Council consideration at its Sept. 23 meeting.
Neighborhood Infrastructure as Priority
Lopez said his office has handled increased city service requests over three and a half years, meaning residents trust him with basic neighborhood concerns.
He said his top priority if re-elected would be securing funding for infrastructure upgrades in areas without tax increment financing or other dedicated revenue sources and remains committed to finding ways to increase ward neighborhood income to upgrade lighting, street and alley improvements that will increase residents’ quality of life.
“That’s what matters,” he said. “We can either do it with our partners or the city could start investing in those neighborhoods themselves, but that has to be our goal and that’s exactly what I’m committed to,” Lopez said.