La Shawn Ford

La Shawn K. Ford (born 1971/1972)^[1] is an American politician who is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 8th District since 2007. The district includes the West Side of Chicago and the suburbs of Oak Park, Berwyn, North Riverside, Forest Park, Proviso Township, Brookfield, La Grange Park, La Grange and Western Springs.

La Shawn Ford
Ford in 2023
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2007
Preceded by	Calvin Giles
Personal details
Born	1971 or 1972 (age 51–52) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Loyola University Chicago (BS)
Website	Official website

.

Ford was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 election.^[2]

Early life, education, and career

Ford was born in Chicago's Cabrini–Green housing project.^[3] He grew up in the Austin community of Chicago.^[3] His family moved to the Austin community when he was two years old.^[4] Ford never met his father.^[4] His mother was an unwed teen, and he was adopted by his grandmother at birth.^[4]

Ford attended Lady Help of Christians Catholic Elementary School and graduated from Weber High School.^[4]

Initially, after high school, Ford attended the Niles College Seminary at Loyola University in Chicago contemplating becoming a priest.^[4] Ford ultimately received a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Loyola, with a minor in political science.^[4] He played basketball while at Loyola.^[4] He also received a degree from University of Illinois at Chicago.^[4]

Ford became a history teacher and basketball coach for Chicago Public Schools. Later he became a licensed Illinois real estate broker, and became the founder of Ford Desired Real Estate in 2001.^[5][4] He has served as a member of the Chicago and National Association of Realtors, board member of the Austin YMCA, board member of Circle Family Care, board member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, founding organizer of Zawadi Youth Group, and member of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church Parish Council and Finance Committee.^[6]

Ford worked as a Democratic precinct captain in the neighborhood where he grew up.^[4]

Legislative career

Ford was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2007, defeating incumbent Calvin Giles in the Democratic primary and winning the General Election with 83% of the vote.^[5]

Rep. Ford is an outspoken advocate for his constituents. Rep. Ford is focused on social justice and disparities in employment, education, and the healthcare system. He has also worked to increase opportunities for ex-offenders, foster small business development, improve access to affordable housing, expand protections for our veterans, safeguard our environment and address our state’s fiscal health.

La Shawn is a national leader in social justice and civil rights issues. He believes in preserving communities, helping ex-offenders re-enter society and enshrining the sacred right to vote. He created a commission to confront economic problems that still plague Black communities, as well as the Distressed Counties and Communities Task Force, which finds innovative ways to help people who receive state social services and serves as a national model for a successful anti-poverty agenda.

Throughout his career, Ford has Chaired a number of committees: Appropriations—Higher Education; Financial Institutions, Restorative Justice. Ford's committee assignments are: the Appropriations Committee on Elementary & Secondary Education; Appropriations Committee on Human Services; Insurance: Property & Casualty; Tourism, Hospitality & Craft Industries; and Veterans' Affairs.^[6]

Ford is a member of the Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Task Force.^[7] To monitor how the State approaches and manages a new form of health care delivery system based on managed care models, particularly for people with disabilities and the elderly.^[8] He is also a member of the Violence Prevention Task Force.^[9] The Violence Prevention Task Force seeks to increase awareness of resources, jobs, and opportunities to prevent violence and to assist violence prevention groups and other social institutions in providing safe places for those at risk of violence.^[8]

From 2006 until 2012, Ford had received $16,350 in campaign contributions from labor unions. This included $3,000 from AFL-CIO, $2,650 from AFSCME, $200 from Illinois Education Association; $2,500 from the Illinois Federation of Teachers, $7,000 from the Chicago Teachers Union, $1,000 from Service Employees International Union.^[10]

In 2020, Ford voiced support for the abolition of history classes in Illinois schools, claiming that "current history teaching practices overlook the contributions by Women and members of the Black, Jewish, LGBTQ communities and other groups" and "until a suitable alternative is developed, we should instead devote greater attention toward civics and ensuring students understand our democratic processes and how they can be involved".^[11]

As of July 2, 2022, Representative Ford is a member of the following Illinois House committees:^[12]

• (Chairman of) Appropriations - Higher Education Committee (HAPI)
• Fair Lending and Community Reinvestment Subcommittee (HFIN-FAIR)
• Financial Institutions Committee (HFIN)
• Labor & Commerce Committee (HLBR)
• Public Utilities Committee (HPUB)
• Restorative Justice Committee (SHRJ)

Ford also identifies himself as a firm believer in the power of responsible parenting and helped grow the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood, which aims to support fathers and help them to become more responsible and present. He consistently advocates for increased access to financial resources and institutions for marginalized communities and promotes the value of education among students in his district.

2019 mayoral campaign

Ford ran for mayor of Chicago in 2019. After giving notice of a possible candidacy in late-September,^[4] Ford officially announced his candidacy on October 31, 2018, joining what was an already-crowded field of candidates seeking to replace Rahm Emanuel, who had announced in early September that he would not seek reelection.^[13]

Candidate Willie Wilson challenged signatures on Ford's candidature petition, but the Chicago Board of Elections allowed Ford to remain on the ballot, finding that, "candidate Willie Wilson's objection to his petitions was not made in good faith."^[14]

In the polls he was included in, Ford never placed higher than 2%, and most frequently received around 1% support.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Ford placed eleventh out of fourteen candidates, receiving 5,606 votes (1.01% of the overall vote) in the initial round of the election.^[23]

Personal life

Ford has a daughter.^[4]

Legal issues

On November 29, 2012, Ford was indicted on charges of bank fraud, alleging he provided misleading evidence to obtain a $500,000 extension on a line of credit. The charges state he used the money for personal expenses rather than rehabilitating an owned property, as stated in the loan documentation.^[1] On August 4, 2014, all 17 felony counts of bank fraud and false information against Ford were dropped by federal prosecutors in exchange for his pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor income tax charge, and Ford's trial was removed from the federal docket.^[24][25][26]

Electoral history

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2006^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford	8,241	52.81
	Democratic	Calvin Giles (incumbent)	6,104	39.12
	Democratic	Glenn L. Harris	1,260	8.07
Total votes			15,605	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2006^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford	21,057	83.60
	Republican	Glenn L. Harris	2,975	11.81
	Green	Nathan Paul Helsabeck	1,157	4.59
Total votes			25,189	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2008^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	18,724	100.0
Total votes			18,724	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2008^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	34,666	100.0	+16.40%
Total votes			34,666	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2010^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	10,355	100.0
Total votes			10,355	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2010^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	23,179	100.00
Total votes			23,179	100

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2012^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	8,889	100.0
Total votes			8,889	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2012^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	37,824	99.97	−0.03%
	Write-in		10	0.03	N/A
Total votes			37,834	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2014^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	6,340	100.0
Total votes			6,340	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2014^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	25,449	100.0	+0.03%
Total votes			25,449	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2016^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	24,131	100.0
Total votes			24,131	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2016^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	38,493	100.0
Total votes			38,493	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2018^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	15,419	100.0
Total votes			15,419	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2018^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	31,923	100.0
Total votes			31,923	100.0

2019 Chicago mayoral election
Candidate	General Election[23]		Run-off Election[41]
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Lori Lightfoot	97,667	17.54	386,039	73.70
Toni Preckwinkle	89,343	16.04	137,765	26.30
William Daley	82,294	14.78
Willie Wilson	59,072	10.61
Susana Mendoza	50,373	9.05
Amara Enyia	44,589	8.00
Jerry Joyce	40,099	7.20
Gery Chico	34,521	6.20
Paul Vallas	30,236	5.43
Garry McCarthy	14,784	2.66
La Shawn K. Ford	5,606	1.01
Robert "Bob" Fioretti	4,302	0.77
John Kolzar	2,349	0.42
Neal Sales-Griffin	1,523	0.27
Write-ins	86	0.02
Total	556,844	100	523,804	100

Illinois 8th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2020^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	18,036	100.0
Total votes			18,036	100.0

Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2020^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	36,932	100.0
Total votes			36,932	100.0

2022 Illinois 8th Representative District General Election, 2022^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	La Shawn K. Ford (incumbent)	22,187	75.51
	Republican	Thomas Hurley	7,195	24.49
Total votes			29,382	100.0

References

1. Staff (29 November 2012). "Rep. LaShawn Ford indicted on bank fraud charges". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
2. Preston, Charles (September 26, 2018). "An Interview With Rep. LaShawn K. Ford: Will He Run For Mayor". Chicago Defender. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
3. Blumberg, Nick (19 February 2019). "Mayoral Candidate Forum: Chico, Enyia, Ford, Lightfoot, McCarthy". WTTW News. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
4. "La Shawn Ford enters race for mayor | The Crusader Newspaper Group". Chicago Crusader. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
5. Miller, David R., ed. (November 15, 2006). "Biographies of New House Members" (PDF). First Reading. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 3. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
6. "Representative La Shawn K. Ford (D) 8th District". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
7. Wolff, Jonathan P., ed. (October 31, 2018). "47005 Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Task Force" (PDF). Expiration and Vacancy Report for the Governor of Illinois. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 241. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
8. Gruber, Amanda (August 1, 2018). "Publication 425: State Board and Commission Descriptions" (PDF). Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 510. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
9. Wolff, Jonathan P., ed. (October 31, 2018). "43033 Violence Prevention Task Force" (PDF). Expiration and Vacancy Report for the Governor of Illinois. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 390. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
10. "Candidate Summary - La Shawn K. Ford", OpenSecrets
11. "Chicago-Area Leaders Call for Illinois to Abolish History Classes". NBC Chicago. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
12. "Illinois General Assembly - Representative Committees". ilga.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
13. Bremer, Shelby (31 October 2018). "State Rep. La Shawn Ford Announces Run for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
14. "LaShawn Ford to Remain on Mayoral Ballot After Petition Challenge". NBC Chicago. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
15. "Polling" (PDF). static.politico.com.
16. "Key Takeaways from New Survey of Likely 2019 Voters" (PDF). Chicago Teachers Union. January 4, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
17. Dr. Willie Wilson (February 1, 2019). "Dr. Willie Wilson on Twitter: "Victory Research Poll @nbcchicago @ABC7Chicago @cbschicago @fox32news @WVON1690 @wttw @WBBMNewsradio @wlsam890 @V103 @v103chicago @WGCI @1075wgci @WVON1690 @Power92Chicago @ChicagoPower92 @1063Chicago @B96Chicago @TheJamTVShow @GoodDayChicago @wsoeorg @Chicago_NC @WGNRadioNews‌"". Twitter.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
18. "Poll jam: Preckwinkle, Daley inch ahead as all 14 struggle to crack 13 percent". Chicago Sun-Times. 26 January 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
19. "Sun Times Chicago Mayoral Jan 2019 Draft | Opinion Poll | Margin Of Error". Scribd. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
20. Wilson, Dr Willie (February 16, 2019). "No bias. All the polls are "singing the same song" - Victory, Ogden & Fry, We Ask America and now Tulchin Research. And now that you know? You know what to do... punch 22 for Willie Wilson For Mayor! Everyone else is saying so! Click, read, like & share!pic.twitter.com/9CfzbfCoho". Retrieved February 26, 2019.
21. Loria, Jane (February 24, 2019). "Three-Way Tie on the Eve of Chicago's Mayoral Election". Politico. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
22. "5-Person Dash to Finish of Chicago Mayoral Race, Poll Shows". NBC Chicago. 14 February 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
23. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL OF THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO" (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
24. Janssen, Kim. "State Rep. La Shawn Ford pleads guilty to misdemeanor". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
25. Meisner, Jason (4 August 2014). "Surprising plea deal in state Rep. Ford's bank fraud case". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
26. Marin, Carol. "Feds back off on ruining a good man's life". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
27. "Election Results 2006 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
28. "Election Results 2006 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
29. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
30. "Election Results 2008 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
31. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
32. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
33. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
34. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
35. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
36. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
37. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
38. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
39. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
40. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
41. "2019 Municipal Runoffs - 4/2/19". Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
42. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
43. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
44. "Election Results 2022 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2023-12-04.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

• Representative LaShawn Ford (D) 8th District at the Illinois General Assembly
  • By session: 100th, 99th, 98th, 97th, 96th, 95th
• Profile at Vote Smart
• La Shawn Ford Archived 2010-12-07 at the Wayback Machine at Illinois House Democrats
• Appearances on C-SPAN