Lakefront liberals

Lakefront liberals are described as geographically residing along the lakefront of Chicago in neighborhoods such as Lake View and Lincoln Park. Some included the South Side lakefront neighborhood Hyde Park as another area of Chicago where they resided. In 1987, the Chicago Tribune described lakefront liberals as a "loose-knit coalition" that had arisen in the late-1960s. ==Electoral impact in the 1970s and 1980s==

Lakefront liberals were credited with the two-term election of 44th Ward alderman Dick Simpson in the 1970s. Other aldermen considered lakefront liberals included Martin J. Oberman (43rd ward, 1975–87) and David Orr (49th ward, 1979–90 and later a long-serving Cook County Clerk). In 1987, the Chicago Tribune] described newly-elected aldermen Edwin Eisendrath (Oberman's successor in the 43rd ward) and Kathy Osterman (of the 48th ward) as having run as "Lakefront independents". Lakefront liberals were credited with contributing to the elections of Harold Washington in 1983 and 1987. A large portion of the northern lakefront was represented by Illinois's 9th congressional district, which the Chicago Tribune described in the late 1980s as being among the nation's most liberal congressional districts (particularly in Democratic primary elections). For 48 years (1949–1963, 1965-1999) the district was represented by Democratic congressman Sidney R. Yates, regarded to be a very liberal member of the U.S. House. ==Modern status==

A 1989 article in the New York Times cast doubt on the continued presence of the lakefront liberal bloc in Lincoln Park and the 43rd ward, writing, In the 2010s, some political writers again questioned whether lakefront liberals had become largely extinct. In November 2015, Whet Mose wrote an article in Chicago magazine which questioned whether Rahm Emanuel's "sweep of the affluent lakefront wards" in the 2015 mayoral election the signaling of a "death knell" for the lakefront liberal bloc. He posited the possibility that the voting bloc might have not coalesced in the 1970s due to support for progressive policy so much as it had due to anti-machine sentiment. Some analysts believed that lakefront liberals remained and had supported Rahm Emanuel in his 2011 election. Some writers believed that Lori Lightfoot was the beneficiary of lakefront liberals' support in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election. In the initial round the election, Bill Ruthhart of the Chicago Tribune wrote that her, "base proved to be in the liberal lakefront wards on the North Side." In the initial round, Lightfoot saw particularly strong performances in far north lakefront neighborhoods. Lightfoot also carried the endorsement of former lakefront liberals-supported alderman Dick Simpson. In the runoff of the 2023 Chicago mayoral election, a key portion of the vote that secured liberal Brandon Johnson's victory against a more conservative opponent was from voters in the northern lakefront wards. Johnson had also performed strongly in these areas during the preliminary round of the election. ==References==