The Chicago mayoral election of 1995 resulted in the re-election of Democratic Party nominee incumbent Richard M. Daley over independent candidate Roland Burris, with 359,466 votes to Burris's 217,024. Daley won 60.1% of the total vote, winning by a landslide 24-point margin. The Republican candidate, Raymond Wardingley, fared poorly with only 2.8% of the vote. A fourth-place candidate, Harold Washington Party nominee Lawrence Redmond, won 0.9% of the votes.

This was the last election for Mayor of Chicago where candidates ran under party labels, as a state law was enacted later in 1995 making all municipal offices in the state non-partisan.

The Democratic Party, Republican Party, and the Harold Washington Party all held primary elections for their nominations. However, only the Democratic Party's primary saw a sizeable number of voters participate. Daley easily defeated Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Commissioner Joseph E. Gardiner by a margin of more that 30 points. Wardingley, a perennial candidate and clown, very narrowly won the Republican nomination among a weak field of contenders. Redmond was unopposed for the Harold Washington Party primary.

Democratic primary Candidates Richard M. Daley, incumbent mayor Joseph E. Gardner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner and PUSH executive Sheila A. Jones, perennial candidate

Declined to run The following were speculated as prospective candidates, but did not run: Bobby Rush, U.S. congressman David Orr, Cook County clerk and former acting mayor Alice Palmer, state senator John Steele, 6th ward alderman Dorothy Tillman, 3rd ward alderman

Campaign Daley easily defeated two challengers in the primary.

Daley's main challenge came from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner Joseph E. Gardner. Gardner had been a high-ranking member of Harold Washington's mayoral administration and an executive at PUSH. By 1995, Sheila A. Jones had become a perennial competitor in the Democratic mayoral primary.

As was the case in all of his reelection campaigns, Daley did not attend any debates.

Daley vastly out-raised his opponents in campaign funds.

Endorsements

Results

Results by ward Daley won a majority of the vote in 31 wards. Gardner won a majority of the vote in the remaining 19 wards.

Results by ward Ward Richard M. Daley Joseph E. Gardner Sheila A. Jones Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes 1 5,459 80.3% 1,231 18.1% 111 1.6% 6,801 2 3,582 37.2% 5,814 60.4% 228 2.4% 9,624 3 2,194 24.6% 6,498 73.0% 210 2.4% 8,902 4 3,563 32.9% 7,093 65.5% 176 1.6% 10,832 5 3,733 34.0% 7,124 64.8% 136 1.2% 10,993 6 3,287 22.7% 11,082 76.4% 143 1.0% 14,512 7 2,891 28.5% 7,109 70.1% 146 1.4% 10,146 8 3,775 24.5% 11,484 74.5% 165 1.1% 15,424 9 2,252 21.2% 8,264 77.7% 122 1.1% 10,638 10 9,979 85.6% 1,565 13.4% 116 1.0% 11,660 11 14,571 95.8% 561 3.7% 84 0.6% 15,216 12 4,306 92.1% 314 6.7% 56 1.2% 4,676 13 19,414 96.3% 653 3.2% 96 0.5% 20,163 14 10,270 95.7% 405 3.8% 62 0.6% 10,737 15 2,581 32.8% 5,144 65.5% 132 1.7% 7,857 16 2,383 35.6% 4,144 62.0% 161 2.4% 6,688 17 2,323 23.4% 7,463 75.1% 150 1.5% 9,936 18 11,731 62.7% 6,816 36.4% 163 0.9% 18,710 19 16,192 85.5% 2,655 14.0% 83 0.4% 18,930 20 2,371 25.4% 6,835 73.1% 140 1.5% 9,346 21 3,250 22.7% 10,889 76.1% 162 1.1% 14,301 22 3,733 69.0% 1,597 29.5% 80 1.5% 5,410 23 20,287 94.6% 1,000 4.7% 164 0.8% 21,451 24 2,149 24.8% 6,330 72.9% 199 2.3% 8,678 25 4,828 87.5% 618 11.2% 69 1.3% 5,515 26 5,404 83.4% 979 15.1% 98 1.5% 6,481 27 3,806 42.9% 4,898 55.2% 168 1.9% 8,872 28 1,871 24.0% 5,780 74.3% 130 1.7% 7,781 29 3,240 36.2% 5,525 61.8% 182 2.0% 8,947 30 9,090 94.1% 481 5.0% 86 0.9% 9,657 31 5,533 89.7% 574 9.3% 59 1.0% 6,166 32 7,381 88.1% 914 10.9% 87 1.0% 8,382 33 6,673 91.2% 572 7.8% 74 1.0% 7,319 34 2,947 23.3% 9,472 74.9% 223 1.8% 12,642 35 6,365 84.7% 1,043 13.9% 106 1.4% 7,514 36 12,510 91.6% 1,057 7.7% 84 0.6% 13,651 37 3,191 36.0% 5,533 62.5% 132 1.5% 8,856 38 13,697 94.6% 672 4.6% 106 0.7% 14,475 39 9,748 92.0% 737 7.0% 108 1.0% 10,593 40 6,953 88.0% 871 11.0% 75 0.9% 7,899 41 14,384 92.7% 1,007 6.5% 126 0.8% 15,517 42 9,511 86.3% 1,428 13.0% 82 0.7% 11,021 43 7,525 88.6% 912 10.7% 56 0.7% 8,493 44 6,897 86.8% 986 12.4% 60 0.8% 7,943 45 14,863 93.9% 833 5.3% 127 0.8% 15,823 46 7,119 71.2% 2,680 26.8% 198 2.0% 9,997 47 8,627 88.5% 1,011 10.4% 109 1.1% 9,747 48 5,970 77.2% 1,699 22.0% 65 0.8% 7,734 49 4,105 67.7% 1,858 30.6% 99 1.6% 6,062 50 9,639 92.3% 733 7.0% 73 0.7% 10,445 Total 348,153 65.8% 174,943 33.1% 6,067 1.1% 529,163

Republican primary Raymond Wardingley narrowly won the Republican nomination.

The Republican field was regarded as weak. Wardingly had worked as a clown under the name "Spanky the Clown". He had thrice before run for mayor.

Candidates Themis Anagost (an attorney), Leon Beard, and Raymond Lear had been denied inclusion on the ballot due to issues with their petitions.

Results

Results by ward Results by ward Ward Raymond Wardingley Larry P. Horist Saturnino Nino Noriega William J. Grutzmacher Kimball Ladien Total 1 34 30.1% 25 22.1% 30 26.5% 21 18.6% 3 2.7% 113 2 39 24.1% 59 36.4% 39 24.1% 18 11.1% 7 4.3% 162 3 27 58.7% 5 10.9% 7 15.2% 5 10.9% 2 4.3% 46 4 25 34.7% 14 19.4% 23 31.9% 9 12.5% 1 1.4% 72 5 30 30.6% 30 30.6% 25 25.5% 12 12.2% 1 1.0% 98 6 35 46.7% 15 20.0% 14 18.7% 9 12.0% 2 2.7% 75 7 21 33.3% 20 31.7% 14 22.2% 8 12.7% 0 0.0% 63 8 31 35.2% 18 20.5% 27 30.7% 10 11.4% 2 2.3% 88 9 13 35.1% 11 29.7% 9 24.3% 3 8.1% 1 2.7% 37 10 86 25.4% 92 27.2% 66 19.5% 88 26.0% 6 1.8% 338 11 36 27.9% 42 32.6% 23 17.8% 24 18.6% 4 3.1% 129 12 20 29.0% 12 17.4% 22 31.9% 13 18.8% 2 2.9% 69 13 53 26.2% 67 33.2% 37 18.3% 42 20.8% 3 1.5% 202 14 31 22.3% 33 23.7% 37 26.6% 31 22.3% 7 5.0% 139 15 27 42.2% 19 29.7% 13 20.3% 4 6.2% 1 1.6% 64 16 20 41.7% 6 12.5% 11 22.9% 8 16.7% 3 6.2% 48 17 23 40.4% 14 24.6% 16 28.1% 4 7.0% 0 0.0% 57 18 38 29.5% 38 29.5% 26 20.2% 24 18.6% 3 2.3% 129 19 75 33.8% 56 25.2% 38 17.1% 48 21.6% 5 2.3% 222 20 26 38.8% 8 11.9% 23 34.3% 8 11.9% 2 3.0% 67 21 24 38.1% 9 14.3% 14 22.2% 14 22.2% 2 3.2% 63 22 20 32.8% 4 6.6% 28 45.9% 7 11.5% 2 3.3% 61 23 76 31.9% 54 22.7% 47 19.7% 55 23.1% 6 2.5% 238 24 13 43.3% 7 23.3% 6 20.0% 3 10.0% 1 3.3% 30 25 22 25.9% 15 17.6% 37 43.5% 9 10.6% 2 2.4% 85 26 28 29.2% 16 16.7% 36 37.5% 15 15.6% 1 1.0% 96 27 84 38.2% 47 21.4% 55 25.0% 26 11.8% 8 3.6% 220 28 13 30.2% 8 18.6% 15 34.9% 5 11.6% 2 4.7% 43 29 31 33.3% 22 23.7% 26 28.0% 8 8.6% 6 6.5% 93 30 75 30.2% 55 22.2% 61 24.6% 50 20.2% 7 2.8% 248 31 33 25.2% 30 22.9% 45 34.4% 20 15.3% 3 2.3% 131 32 45 23.2% 57 29.4% 48 24.7% 38 19.6% 6 3.1% 194 33 37 23.6% 43 27.4% 35 22.3% 30 19.1% 12 7.6% 157 34 30 46.2% 9 13.8% 20 30.8% 3 4.6% 3 4.6% 65 35 48 27.0% 32 18.0% 54 30.3% 36 20.2% 8 4.5% 178 36 67 25.4% 114 43.2% 33 12.5% 42 15.9% 8 3.0% 264 37 13 31.0% 8 19.0% 16 38.1% 5 11.9% 0 0.0% 42 38 93 28.0% 98 29.5% 49 14.8% 82 24.7% 10 3.0% 332 39 65 26.0% 70 28.0% 56 22.4% 47 18.8% 12 4.8% 250 40 46 22.5% 74 36.3% 46 22.5% 32 15.7% 6 2.9% 204 41 164 23.6% 211 30.4% 122 17.6% 181 26.0% 17 2.4% 695 42 152 24.6% 183 29.6% 158 25.5% 101 16.3% 25 4.0% 619 43 96 28.3% 103 30.4% 78 23.0% 41 12.1% 21 6.2% 339 44 68 23.6% 87 30.2% 71 24.7% 47 16.3% 15 5.2% 288 45 102 27.5% 148 39.9% 46 12.4% 71 19.1% 4 1.1% 371 46 95 32.4% 55 18.8% 76 25.9% 55 18.8% 12 4.1% 293 47 43 20.5% 40 19.0% 59 28.1% 56 26.7% 12 5.7% 210 48 67 24.5% 90 32.8% 64 23.4% 42 15.3% 11 4.0% 274 49 44 24.9% 44 24.9% 48 27.1% 34 19.2% 7 4.0% 177 50 54 30.7% 37 21.0% 46 26.1% 35 19.9% 4 2.3% 176 Total 2,438 28.2% 2,354 27.2% 1,995 23.1% 1,579 18.2% 288 3.3% 8,654

Harold Washington Party primary Lawrence C. Redmond went unopposed in the Harold Washington Party primary.

Candidates Phillip Morris and Ilene Smith had been denied inclusion on the ballot due to issues regarding their petitions.

Results

Results by ward Results by ward Ward Lawrence C. Redmond Votes % 1 12 100.0% 2 44 100.0% 3 39 100.0% 4 54 100.0% 5 38 100.0% 6 52 100.0% 7 80 100.0% 8 68 100.0% 9 63 100.0% 10 9 100.0% 11 3 100.0% 12 2 100.0% 13 3 100.0% 14 6 100.0% 15 64 100.0% 16 39 100.0% 17 58 100.0% 18 49 100.0% 19 30 100.0% 20 45 100.0% 21 75 100.0% 22 6 100.0% 23 2 100.0% 24 42 100.0% 25 6 100.0% 26 14 100.0% 27 59 100.0% 28 35 100.0% 29 36 100.0% 30 4 100.0% 31 3 100.0% 32 3 100.0% 33 5 100.0% 34 78 100.0% 35 13 100.0% 36 2 100.0% 37 78 100.0% 38 0 N/A 39 1 100.0% 40 9 100.0% 41 0 N/A 42 11 100.0% 43 7 100.0% 44 10 100.0% 45 2 100.0% 46 42 100.0% 47 11 100.0% 48 26 100.0% 49 42 100.0% 50 3 100.0% Totals 1,383 100.0%

Independent candidacy of Roland Burris Roland Burris ran as an independent. When first approached by black activists about running for mayor, Burris had declined. He ultimately ran, proclaiming to have been drafted by “the people”. By the time he decided to run, Joseph Gardner had already challenged Daley in the Democratic primary. Not wanting to run against Gardner and split the black vote in the primary, Burris decided he would run in the general election as an independent candidate.

General election Daley did not attend any debates. Burris complained of a lack of media coverage on his candidacy. Late into the campaign, Burris issued demands for Daley to address corruption and misconduct by aviation employees, especially Dominic Longo, the manager of vehicle operations at O’Hare. The airport had recently suffered a number of accidents caused by inexperienced runway crew leadership. Burris also alleged that Longo has coerced airport employees into making donations to the Daley campaign in order to keep their jobs. Daley's campaign spent $3 million in the election. Burris spent $250,000.

Endorsements

Polls Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror RonaldBurris Richard M.Daley RaymondWardingley Chicago Tribune March 1995 19% 57% 2%

Results Daley won a majority of the vote in 31 of the city's 50 wards. Burris won a majority of the vote in the remaining 19 wards. In response to Wardingley's abysmal showing, the Republican-controlled Illinois General Assembly passed legislation creating a nonpartisan, runoff election system for citywide offices in Chicago. Public Act 89-0095 was signed into law by Governor Jim Edgar and went into effect for the 1999 Chicago mayoral election.

Results by ward