Ann Rainey

At a glance

Background

As alder, Rainey focused on economic development, especially along Howard Street, and played supporting roles in projects including the Theo cabaret theater and a senior affordable-housing complex at 1011 Howard St. that was named for her when she left office. [2] She serves on the board of Theo Ubique Theatre, which lists her as a director in its federal tax filings, and helped find a new theater director in 2025. [4][2]

Stated priorities

From the campaign’s website or announcement release. Listed, not evaluated.

• “Providing Evanston city staff with the leadership, support and tools they need to do their jobs effectively” [5]
• “Focusing on the needs of Evanston — not on my next political position” [5]
• “Working effectively with the City Council to strengthen its voice on behalf of all Evanston residents” [5]
• “Serving only the two-year term to ‘right the ship’” [5]

Record

Facts from public records, campaign filings and published news reports, each checked against its primary source. Same categories and the same review for every candidate. Listed, not evaluated. Last reviewed Tue Oct 6, 2026.

Campaign finance

• 2009–2023Rainey's aldermanic committee, Rainey for Alderman (ISBE ID 18461), reported reimbursing Rainey a total of $1,240.82 between 2009 and 2021. After new officers took office in December 2016, it reported paying its chair $2,695.80 between 2017 and 2023, of which $1,497.26 was labeled consulting or campaign staff and the rest was for yard signs, printing, postage, internet access and equipment, and paying its treasurer $399.60 for "Campaign Work" in June 2023.[7]
• 2011–2016Rainey for Alderman filed four quarterly reports after their statutory due dates — those for the first quarter of 2011 (13 calendar days late), the third quarter of 2012 (11), the first quarter of 2013 (1) and the second quarter of 2016 (4) — and each of the four reported $0 in receipts; as of Oct. 6, 2026 the committee does not appear on the State Board of Elections' list of unpaid fines.[8][9][10]
• 2013–2019Illinois State Board of Elections records list two itemized contributions from Rainey to other Illinois political committees, totaling $450: the Democratic Party of Evanston ($250, October 2019) and ActBlue Illinois ($200, June 2013).[11]
• 2016–2026Federal Election Commission records list 22 contributions from Rainey between October 2016 and February 2026 totaling $987.98, counting each contribution routed through ActBlue once and excluding tips to ActBlue; they include $100 to Sam Polan for Congress in the 2026 race for Illinois' 9th Congressional District, on Feb. 11, 2026.[12]
• 2022–2023Before closing in July 2023, the committee reported $4,122.86 in "Donation" payments to a landscaper and a bronze-plaque maker, which the Evanston RoundTable reported as three trees dedicated at the Levy Center on Aug. 17, 2023.[7][13]
• Jul 2026On July 28, 2026, Rainey formed the candidate committee Ann Rainey For Mayor (ISBE ID 41317), with herself as chair and another individual as treasurer.[14]
• Sep 2026As of Oct. 6, 2026, Ann Rainey For Mayor had reported two $1,000 contributions, received Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, 2026, on large-contribution (A-1) reports; neither came from an Evanston ZIP code or an out-of-state address.[15]
• Oct 2026Ann Rainey For Mayor reported a $1,000 contribution received Sept. 23, 2026 on a large-contribution (A-1) report that the State Board of Elections stamped received Oct. 1, 2026, one calendar day after the statutory due date; as of Oct. 6, 2026 the committee does not appear on the Board's list of unpaid fines.[16][9][10]

Public office

• 1983–2021Rainey was first elected 8th Ward alderman on April 12, 1983, in a two-candidate race, and served from 1983 through 1993 and, after defeating the appointed incumbent on April 1, 1997, from 1997 through 2021.[17][18][19]
• 2019–2021An Oct. 7, 2019 city memo states the Rules Committee had not addressed the Board of Ethics' advisory recommendation that Rainey not participate in Harley Clarke matters, and on April 26, 2021 Rainey moved Ordinance 47-O-21, a lease of the Harley Clarke mansion to Artists Book House, which was introduced 9-0.[20][21]
• Oct 2019At the Oct. 28, 2019 Planning and Development Committee meeting, Rainey seconded and voted for Northwestern's U2 temporary-events zoning amendment (135-O-19), which passed 4-3.[22]
• Nov 2019City Council minutes of Nov. 25, 2019 record the FY2020 budget and a tax levy 10.8% higher than 2018's each passing 7-2, with Rainey present and not among the two no votes.[23]
• Feb 2021In the Feb. 23, 2021 8th Ward consolidated primary, Rainey finished third of three candidates, behind Devon Reid and Matthew Mitchell.[24]
• May 2021In May 2021 a new affordable senior housing building at 1011 Howard St., developed by Evergreen Real Estate Group and the Council for Jewish Elderly, was dedicated as "The Ann Rainey Apartments" in recognition of her advocacy for the project.[25]
• Feb–Apr 1993In Evanston's first mayoral primary, on Feb. 23, 1993, Rainey finished first of five candidates; in the April 20, 1993 general election she finished second of two candidates, losing to Lorraine Morton.[26][27][28]

Property and taxes

• 2020–2021Cook County records show Rainey bought condominium unit 6033 N. Sheridan Rd. #13D in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2020, with the deed directing mail and tax bills to her Evanston address, and sold it on Oct. 12, 2021.[29]
• 2021–2026The address Rainey lists for her 2026 committee, 2519 Central St., is a three-unit building owned by Marlu Properties LLC since Aug. 31, 2021; leases are not generally recorded, and her federal donor records have listed this address since August 2024.[30][14][31]
• Oct 2021Cook County records show Rainey and a second owner bought condominium unit 5757 N. Sheridan Rd. #7A in Chicago on Oct. 18, 2021, with no later transfer recorded through Sept. 23, 2026.[32]

Legal and regulatory

• 1984–2001Illinois licensing records show Rainey held a real estate salesperson license from 1984 to 2001 and a state real estate appraiser license from 1994 to 1997, with no discipline recorded.[33]
• Oct 2018In October 2018 the Evanston Board of Ethics voted 4-0 that Rainey had violated the city ethics code's impartiality provision and, on one of two complaints, its abuse-of-power provision in matters related to the Harley Clarke mansion, in an advisory decision; on Dec. 3, 2018 she voted with the 5-4 Rules Committee majority to accept and file the board's report, which Corporation Counsel said meant no censure; Corporation Counsel also said council rules did not address whether she could vote.[34][35]
• Aug 2020In August 2020 the Evanston Board of Ethics dismissed a complaint filed against Rainey by Dan Coyne (19-BOE-006), ruling that her remarks "may have been intemperate and insensitive" but were not prohibited political activity; a city memo records "No finding of liability."[36][37]
• Dec 2020A Dec. 7, 2020 Corporation Counsel memo lists $12,732.50 in city-paid attorney fees for Rainey's defense in the two 2018 Board of Ethics cases, noting "liability found in part" in each, and states that the city paid respondents' fees "regardless of whether or not the respondent is found liable."[37]
• 2023–2024Theo Ubique Theatre's federal tax returns list Rainey as a director for tax years 2023 and 2024; its returns for 2013 through 2022 do not list her.[38]

Statements and conduct

• 1993In 1993 Rainey cancelled a $75-a-ticket campaign breakfast promoted by contractors on the city's library project and asked that any money collected be refunded, saying "I was very much in error for authorizing it (the fundraiser)" and that she had checked with the city attorney and found it legal; Ald. Jean Esch, who raised the issue, said it was not illegal. City Council minutes of March 29, 1993 record Mayor Joan Barr telling the Council that campaign contributions were not covered by the city's Ethics Code.[39][40]
• Jun 2012City Council minutes of June 11, 2012 record Rainey calling for a point of order during public comment and stating "this woman is Hysterical and having Hallucinations could you please put a stop to her."[41]
• Feb 2021At a Feb. 2, 2021 League of Women Voters forum, Rainey called her opponent, City Clerk Devon Reid, "a very scary person"; on Feb. 9, 2021 she said, "While I feel Clerk Reid is not ready to effectively represent the residents of Evanston's Eighth Ward, in no way do I find him personally 'scary' and I have apologized to Clerk Reid for my poor choice of words."[42][43]
• Dec 2023On Dec. 6, 2023, Rainey co-signed an Evanston RoundTable letter to the editor with Jane Grover, former Mayor Stephen Hagerty and one other signer that supported the City Council's Ryan Field rezoning and criticized opponents' legal challenges.[44]
• Mar 2025The Evanston RoundTable reported in March 2025 that Rainey was listed on Jeff Boarini's campaign website as a supporter of his 2025 campaign for mayor, in which Mayor Daniel Biss was his opponent.[45]
• Jul 2026At her July 28, 2026 campaign launch, Rainey said City Manager Luke Stowe "is not a city manager" and, asked whether she would like to see a new city manager, answered "yesterday."[46]