Tyrone De'Andre Hawthorne wants Chicago's vote for the 17th Ward aldermanic seat.
He has been endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Local 20 and the Illinois Committee for Honest Government.
But Hawthorne, a volunteer for Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH coalition, active union member and laundry worker at Oak Forest Hospital, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2002.
"I spent a lot of personal money in the last election," Hawthorne said. "Of course I didn't win, couldn't rebound and started getting behind."
Richard Cohen, a commissioner for the Chicago Board of Elections, said no one presented bankruptcy as a reason to challenge an aldermanic candidacy. The board completed reviewing the 192 challenges Monday. Of 245 original aldermanic candidates, 180 remained on the ballot as of Wednesday. Of those 180 at least 10 filed for bankruptcy in the last eight years. That's 5.5 percent of the candidates.
Filing for bankruptcy "would not impact one's legal ability to be alderman," Cohen said. "It affects one's ability to wage a campaign because the costs of running for office continue to escalate, but that's a whole other issue. A candidate's financial status has no bearing on the ability to run for office.
The ballot for office is open to the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich."
Frank Avila, attorney for the Illinois Committee for Honest Government, explained that the group looks for candidates with the best interests of the community in mind.
"Somebody filing for bankruptcy in this day and age is not reason for (exclusion)," he said. "It's a serious issue but people running for office are often (stretched financially).
"... People could be one illness or one lawsuit away from bankruptcy."
Hawthorne and Joann Thompson, 16th Ward candidate and a Cook County correctional officer, are two of at least 10 aldermanic candidates in nine wards who have filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Two of the 10, Carrie Austin and Michael Zalewski, are running for re-election. In some cases, like Zalewski, candidates filed for bankruptcy multiple times.
The 10 formerly bankrupt candidates were discovered through a search of the public electronic records at Federal Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
Thompson could not be reached at work and her home voice mail was full.
Hawthorne deflected the bankruptcy question by citing his experience.
"I just negotiated $1.8 million for 2,000 health care workers," Hawthorne said, referring to the Cook County 2007 budget, which is slated for a vote by county commissioners towards the end of the month.
Debtors' choices
Chapter 7 bankruptcy results in the liquidation of assets and Chapter 13 allows debtors to repay creditors following a plan over time. Debtors who file Chapter 13 are "making money and want to save a secured asset like a house or a car."
Once a bankruptcy has been discharged, most debts are forgiven. Some debts, like student loans, may no longer be discharged since a new federal bankruptcy law took effect in fall 2005.
CORRECTION:
Tyrone De'Andre Hawthorne has not been officially endorsed by SEIU Local 20 or SEIU Illinois. SEIU is not a part of the AFL-CIO.
