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Local commitment underpins Jeff Boarini’s mayoral run

Jeff Boarini, a 34-year Evanston resident and retired creative professional, will run against Mayor Daniel Biss in the April 1 election.
Jeff Boarini, a 34-year Evanston resident and retired creative professional, will run against Mayor Daniel Biss in the April 1 election.
Shun Graves/The Daily Northwestern

Behind double doors in the back room of a Central Street pizza joint, longtime City Council observers and the “Better than Biss” founder rubbed shoulders with political newcomers.

The eclectic group shook hands. They talked politics over slices of DeSalvo’s Pizza. But then, the doors closed, and the man of the hour stood up.

“I am Jeff Boarini, and I’m running for mayor,” Boarini announced to the room. “I am running for mayor to make sure that residents’ needs and interests are at the forefront of this community. I am running for mayor to bring transparency back to Evanston.” 

Mayor Daniel Biss’ sole challenger has ridden a wave of opposition against the incumbent, who weathered several controversies during his first term.

In late 2023, the Better than Biss committee emerged with one goal — finding candidates to unseat Biss in the next election. In his annual State of the City address last May, before he even announced his reelection bid, Biss jokingly braced the public for an “anti-incumbent” campaign.

But when the candidacy filing window closed in October, just one challenger emerged with the required signatures to run against the mayor. Now, at the helm of Biss’ opposition, Boarini has committed to a new era of transparency and accountability in Evanston.

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A 34-year Evanston resident, Boarini said he was introduced to the city when searching for an inclusive preschool for his son, Ted Gram-Boarini, who has cerebral palsy.

While living in Logan Square in Chicago, Boarini and his late wife, Rocky Kunz, enrolled their son at the School for Little Children in Evanston. As their son entered the Chicago Public Schools system, they struggled to work with the school to mainstream their son and decided to move to Evanston. 

Boarini said he grew up without an introduction to politics from his family. When asked whether anything in his professional background drew him to politics, he pointed to “the litany of hourly wage jobs (he) had before (he) became a professional.”

He then added that his experience as a creative freelancer and later as a creative director at McDonald’s Corp. taught him to recognize dysfunction and assess how teams worked together. 

According to his campaign website, Boarini worked as an independent writer for 10 years before accepting the job at McDonald’s. He retired in 2016, after seeing the company through both “financially rewarding times and very lean times.” 

He said his work with McDonald’s allowed him to recognize straightforward transparency within groups. 

“It was that that formed the basis for a lot of my reactions to how things are working here in Evanston,” Boarini said. 

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Beyond his professional life, Boarini has also overseen disability-focused nonprofits in Evanston and the Chicago area. 

Since its creation, Boarini has worked with the Center for Independent Futures — an Evanston-based nonprofit that supports people with disabilities through coaching, housing support and community activities. He served multiple terms on the board of directors, and after retiring from McDonald’s, he spent a term as one of the board’s co-chairs.

Richard Malone, the executive director of the Center for Independent Futures, said Boarini was “instrumental” during his time with the Center and continues to participate in the organization’s programs.

Between 2018 and 2021, Boarini served as president of the board of directors for Arts of Life, a Chicago area nonprofit that supports artists with disabilities, including Boarini’s son. 

Arts of Life Executive Director Denise Fisher said she considers their board a “working board” because the members expect to “get (their) hands dirty.” 

She added that she asked Boarini to head the board because of his corporate background and that he saw the nonprofit through financial concerns related to the organization’s growth. 

“He just was super level-headed and was 100% sure that we were going to get through it,” Fisher said. 

Now, Boarini said he occasionally works for both nonprofits on a consulting basis. He also plays guitar for Arts of Life’s band, Van Go Go, alongside his son. 

The band, composed of artists with and without disabilities, writes original songs and plays in venues around the Chicago area.

“They were desperate for help, so they had to go way deep in the bench to find me,” Boarini said.  

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Jeff Boarini addresses City Council at the Jan. 13 meeting. (Hannah Webster/The Daily Northwestern)

The political newcomer’s campaign has largely been defined in opposition to Biss. 

Paul Breslin, a 1st Ward resident and member of Evanstonians for Responsible Planning — which supports Boarini’s mayoral run on its social media — said he voted for Biss “with some enthusiasm” in the last mayoral election. 

He added that he even supported Biss’ 2018 bid for the governor’s mansion. The mayor finished second in the Democratic primary behind Gov. JB Pritzker.

However, Breslin said he became “disillusioned” throughout Biss’ tenure, referencing the Ryan Field stadium deal, the rental agreement to move out of the Civic Center and Envision Evanston 2045. He said he hosted a coffee event in his condo with Boarini and agrees with the candidate on several issues, such as affordable housing and the city budget. 

The challenger notched the endorsement of the Most Livable City Association, a group that has consistently criticized Biss’ tie-breaking vote to allow concerts at the rebuilt Ryan Field. According to Boarini’s campaign disclosure filing, additional campaign funds will be given to Most Livable City and Interfaith Action of Evanston.

Boarini is also tied to other prominent Biss critics. Parielle Davis, a candidate for the 7th Ward seat who helped found Better than Biss and Most Livable City, attended his campaign kick-off.

Boarini’s romantic partner, Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) has long criticized some of Biss’ key positions, such as his vote on Ryan Field and push to pass Envision Evanston. In November, when asked about the potential of being in a relationship while serving on City Council, both Kelly and Boarini told The Daily they would recuse themselves in any conflicts of interest.

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Supporters gather at Jeff Boarini’s campaign launch Jan. 17. (Hannah Webster/The Daily Northwestern)

Boarini summarized his top priority in just one word: transparency. 

“The city’s business is the residents’ business,” he said. “They need to be shown everything about it — how the decisions are made, what we’re going to do, what the plan is and how it’s going to turn out.”

Boarini said he began following local politics more closely about two years ago, and finances immediately caught his attention. He said in his corporate work, he learned to work within a budget, and he was surprised by the city’s lack of financial discipline.

To Boarini, a tight budget is not detrimental so long as it is adhered to. He said budgets, including the city’s, should contain “no surprises.” 

The city budget has been a hot-button issue in the past year. In January 2024, the city entered a 15-year lease to relocate from the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center and purchased the South End Community Center, formerly the Little Beans Cafe. Both expenditures have come under fire from critics. 

Boarini also joined a public turn against Biss’ push to pass Envision Evanston. 

At the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, Boarini joined a long list of public commenters, advocating in favor of extending the timeline to consider Envision Evanston and splitting the comprehensive plan and zoning proposals. The move echoed sentiments expressed in his first news release.

At the same meeting, the council voted to consider the comprehensive plan on the original timeline but pushed consideration of the zoning plan to this summer.

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Boarini faces an uphill climb to the April 1 election.

Biss’ campaign website boasts endorsements from state and national representatives as well as seven of the nine current councilmembers. According to his Friends of Daniel Biss campaign’s December filing, the incumbency campaign has $184,000 available. Boarini’s campaign, in contrast, ended 2024 with about $8,000 on hand.

Still, the candidate expressed optimism heading into the final stretch before the election. At his campaign launch, he urged supporters to spread the word about his campaign and reaffirmed his commitment to Evanston, alluding to the idea that Biss will seek higher office. 

“I am here only to provide good government. I’m not moving on to any other position beyond this,” he said. “I’m not a politician. I’m your neighbor.” 

Shun Graves contributed reporting.

Email: hannahwebster2027@u.northwestern.edu 

X: @hannahe_webster

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