11 Facts About James Cappleman

James Cappleman was born on October 26,1952 and is an American politician and a former member of the Chicago City Council.

James Cappleman was elected to the Council in 2011 as the alderman for the city's 46th ward, which includes parts of the Uptown and Lakeview neighborhoods.

James Cappleman completed a bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Houston, and graduated from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Masters in Social Work in 1991.

In 2012, Cappleman completed Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett Foundation LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

James Cappleman ran for alderman of Chicago City Council's 46th ward in 2007, challenging incumbent Helen Shiller and making issues of crime and public safety central to his campaign.

James Cappleman lost to Shiller in 2007, but ran again in 2011.

Shiller was retiring from the seat that year, and James Cappleman defeated Molly Phelan in a run-off election.

James Cappleman worked with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to encourage the City of Chicago to create a housing-first pilot project that housed 75 people living under two Uptown viaducts along Lake Shore Drive in 2016.

James Cappleman has endorsed her for reelection in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.

On July 5,2022, James Cappleman announced that he would not run for reelection and would retire at the end of his term in May 2023.

James Cappleman is one of six openly LGBTQ Chicago aldermen, and the first LGBTQ candidate in Chicago's City Council to be initially voted into public office.