La Shawn K. Ford

La Shawn K. Ford (born February 28, 1972) 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.

Ford was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago in the 2019 election. He is the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Illinois's 7th congressional district in the 2026 election.

Early life, education, and career

Ford was born in Chicago's Cabrini–Green housing project. He grew up in the Austin community of Chicago.

Ford worked as a Democratic precinct captain in the neighborhood where he grew up.

Ford is focused on social justice and disparities in employment, education, and the healthcare system. He has worked to foster small business development, improve access to affordable housing, expand veterans' protections, safeguard the environment, and address Illinois' fiscal health. He also advocates for preserving communities, helping ex-offenders re-enter society, and enshrining the right to vote. He created a commission to confront economic problems that 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.

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. He is also a member of the Violence Prevention Task Force, which 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.

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".

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

(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, 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.

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."

In the polls he was included in, Ford never placed higher than 2%, and most frequently received around 1% support.

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

2026 U.S. House campaign On May 21, 2025, Ford filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Illinois's 7th congressional district, currently represented by Danny Davis, in 2026. On July 31, Davis announced his retirement and endorsed Ford as his successor.

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. 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.

Electoral history

2019 Chicago mayoral electionCandidateGeneral Election 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