Chicago could elect its first openly trans nonbinary alderperson in 2027, as Far Northwest Side organizer S Gronkiewicz-Doran launches a bid for the 45th Ward seat.
Gronkiewicz-Doran, a Jefferson Park resident and longtime neighborhood advocate, is challenging incumbent Ald. Jim Gardiner with a campaign rooted in organizing, affordability and what they described as a need for more responsive local leadership.
If elected, Gronkiewicz-Doran would be the first transgender or nonbinary member of Chicago City Council at a time when trans people are facing escalating political attacks nationwide.
The race, first reported by Block Club Chicago, unfolds in a ward that has drawn scrutiny in recent years over Gardiner’s conduct in office and political positioning.
“I can’t think of a job that’s more important,” Gronkiewicz-Doran of the alderperson role, describing it as both a legislator and a frontline provider of city services. They see two vital stakes for the upcoming race: “One is the current representation in the 45th Ward, which is inadequate and actively harmful—and the second piece is bringing our community together in this process to make the change.”
A community organizer vying to make history
Gronkiewicz-Doran, 43, grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were the child of two public servants—a disability claims examiner and a counseling psychologist at the VA—whose careers shaped their understanding of government as direct service.
Gronkiewicz-Doran moved to Chicago as a young adult and has lived in Jefferson Park since 2015, raising their family while becoming involved in neighborhood organizing.
That work included helping lead a push to build affordable housing at 5150 N. Northwest Highway, a development that now houses dozens of families, as well as organizing with United Northwest Side, serving on a local school council and volunteering across the neighborhood.
Before launching their campaign, Gronkiewicz-Doran worked as a corporate attorney, including as a litigator and later handling cybersecurity claims, which is an experience they said prepared them to oversee contracts, manage staff and navigate city government systems.
Their decision to run, they said, is rooted in a broader concern about restoring power to everyday people.
“The balance of power… has been consolidating at the top at such an accelerating rate,” Gronkiewicz-Doran said. “And it’s taking power away from working people, queer people and families.”
Gronkiewicz-Doran is also running at a moment of heightened vulnerability for transgender people. They came out as nonbinary in 2022 and said seeking public office now comes with a responsibility to be visible and outspoken.
“My responsibility is to be brave,” Gronkiewicz-Doran said. “To stand up for the broadest boundaries of our rights… and to not compromise on that.”
A platform rooted in affordability—and a belief that ‘all issues are LGBTQ issues’
At the center of Gronkiewicz-Doran’s campaign is the rising cost of living, which they said is part of a “systemic pressure” on working people.
“We’re all being squeezed,” Gronkiewicz-Doran said, pointing to rising property taxes, rent and everyday expenses alongside public resources.
Gronkiewicz-Doran said city leadership must respond through legislation and stronger, more coordinated community organizing—an approach they said distinguishes them from traditional politicians.
Their platform also emphasizes infrastructure and climate resilience, including addressing chronic flooding on the Northwest Side.
“My basement has flooded twice,” they said. “Basements across the city flood because our infrastructure is crumbling.”
They also see a role for alderpeople beyond policymaking, particularly in defending immigrant communities and responding to federal enforcement actions.
“Your alderperson needs to be an organizer,” they said.
For Gronkiewicz-Doran, those everyday issues are inseparable from LGBTQ+ concerns.
“A lot of queer people are not doing well financially,” Gronkiewicz-Doran said, pointing to higher rates of housing instability, resilience on transit and economic precarity.
While Chicago has strong nondiscrimination protections on paper, they said the city must do more to enforce them—particularly as hospitals and other institutions respond to federal pressure around gender-affirming care.
“If you’re a partner to the city, then act like it,” they said.
Gronkiewicz-Doran said their campaign is ultimately about how power is exercised at the most local level—and who gets to shape it.
“This is about showing people that the government can work for them again,” Gronkiewicz-Doran said.