1987 Chicago mayoral election

1987 Chicago mayoral election

← 1983 April 7, 1987 1989 (special) →
Turnout	74.08%[1] 7.99 pp
Nominee Harold Washington Ed Vrdolyak Donald Haider Party Democratic Illinois Solidarity Republican Popular vote 600,290 468,493 47,652 Percentage 53.76% 42.68% 4.36%
Results by ward
Mayor before election Harold Washington Democratic Elected Mayor Harold Washington Democratic

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Ballot measures and referendums State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
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This article is part of a series about Harold Washington
Legislative political career Illinois House tenure 1975 speakership campaign Illinois Senate tenure 1975 election 1980 Illinois Human Rights Act Illinois's 1st congressional district 1980 election 1982 election Mayoralty Elections 1977 1983 1987 Council Wars Chicago Cultural Plan of 1986 Cancellation of ChicagoFest Cancellation of 1992 World's Fair Construction of McCormick Place North Construction of new central library Transit projects O'Hare Airport expansion Chicago "L" projects O'Hare Branch Midway Branch Related Harold Washington Library Events in the Life of Harold Washington
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The Chicago mayoral election of 1987 saw the re-election of incumbent Democrat Harold Washington. Partisan primaries were held on February 24, followed by the general election on April 7, 1987. Washington defeated Ed Vrdolyak, the leader of the Vrdolyak 29, who ran on the Illinois Solidarity Party ticket. Former mayor Jane Byrne (who had held office from 1979 until 1983) unsuccessfully challenged Washington in the Democratic primary.