Patrick Daley Thompson

Patrick Daley Thompson (born July 8, 1969) is an American former politician and convicted felon who most recently served as an alderman from Chicago's 11th ward and was previously a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. A member of the prominent Daley family, he is a grandson of Richard J. Daley and a nephew of Richard M. Daley, both of whom served as longtime mayors of Chicago.^[1]

Patrick Thompson
Thompson in 2016
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 11th ward
In office May 18, 2015 – February 14, 2022
Preceded by	James Balcer
Succeeded by	Nicole Lee
Personal details
Born	Patrick Daley Thompson (1969-07-08) July 8, 1969 (age 55)
Political party	Democratic
Education	Saint Mary's University, Minnesota (BA) John Marshall Law School, Chicago (JD)

Early life

The son of Patricia (née Daley), a schoolteacher, and Bill Thompson, a real estate developer, following his parents' divorce, Patrick and his siblings moved to Bridgeport with their mother to be closer to her family.^{[citation needed]}

Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners

In 2012, Daley successfully ran for a position on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Board of Commissioners. His campaign received sizable fundraising, and endorsements from high-profile politicians, including Michael Madigan, Rahm Emanuel, Edward M. Burke, Toni Preckwinkle, and John P. Daley, as well as the endorsement of the Cook County Democratic Party.^[2]

Aldermanic career

Thompson, who succeeded long-time alderman James Balcer, was elected to office in a runoff election against John Kozlar in April 2015 and sworn in on May 18, 2015.^[3] The 11th ward encompasses several neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side, including Bridgeport, where Thompson was raised and currently resides.

Thompson was reelected in 2019. In the runoff of the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, Daley Thompson endorsed Toni Preckwinkle.^[4]

Conviction

On April 29, 2021, Thompson was indicted on federal charges related to the investigation into the collapse of Washington Federal Bank for Savings. He was charged with two counts of making false statements to the FDIC and five counts of filing false income-tax returns.^[5] On February 14, 2022, Thompson was convicted on all charges.^[6] According to Illinois law, Thompson's federal conviction makes him ineligible to continue serving as the 11th Ward alderman and bans him from running for public office in the future.^[7]

On July 6, 2022, Thompson was sentenced to four months in prison for these charges.^[8] He began serving his sentence in August 2022 at a medium-security prison in Oxford, Wisconsin.^[9] Thompson appealed his case to the US Supreme Court, arguing that his statements were misleading but truthful.^[10] In March 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Thompson's statements specifically needed to be false for prosecution, but it remanded the case to the lower courts for that assessment.^[11]

Electoral History

2012 Water Reclamation District Board election Democratic primary^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debra Shore (incumbent)	194,936	21.05
	Democratic	Kari K. Steele	182,369	19.70
	Democratic	Patrick Daley Thompson	162,329	17.53
	Democratic	Patricia Young	129,670	14.01
	Democratic	Patricia Horton	128,432	13.87
	Democratic	Stella B. Black	125,147	13.52
	Write-in	Others	2,968	0.32
Total votes			925,851	100

2012 Water Reclamation District Board general election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debra Shore (incumbent)	1,071,670	26.34
	Democratic	Kari K. Steele	919,841	22.61
	Democratic	Patrick Daley Thompson	893,178	21.96
	Republican	Harold "Noonie" Ward	334,207	8.22
	Republican	Carl Segvich	341,603	8.40
	Green	Dave Ehrlich	200,953	4.94
	Green	Karen Roothaan	189,505	4.66
	Green	Nasrin R. Khalili	117,089	2.88
Total votes			4,068,046	100

Chicago 11th ward aldermanic general election, 2015^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patrick Daley Thompson	4,644	48.37
	Nonpartisan	John K. Kozlar	3,399	35.40
	Nonpartisan	Maureen F. Sullivan	1,558	16.23
Total votes			9,601	100

Chicago 11th ward aldermanic runoff election, 2015^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patrick Daley Thompson	7,229	58.09
	Nonpartisan	John K. Kozlar	5,216	41.91
Total votes			12,445	100

Chicago 11th ward aldermanic general election, 2019^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Patrick Daley Thompson (incumbent)	7,537	73.44
	Nonpartisan	David Mihalyfy	2,726	26.56
Total votes			10,263	100