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James M. Gardiner

Alderperson, Ward 45, Chicago City Council

We identified Gardiner’s voice at 15 meetings across five bodies.

9 of 19transcribed meetings with their voice identified
1.5min a meeting at the City Council, at least
9questions at the Committee on Public Safety
19 of 20present at roll calls, from the clerk

Also sits on 4 committees

See all

Next City Council meeting: Mon, Nov 2, 10:00 am · Agenda

Three clips, newest first

“We didn’t do it just in the city, we did it throughout the country. We told people, wait your turn. And as I said, we rolled snake eyes, right? We lost that gamble. And now we’re sitting here staring down the barrel of a $1.2 billion deficit.”James M. GardinerAlderperson · City Council · Dec 20, 2025 · 2:33:10Play at 2:33:10
“…have you or your community noticed aggravated assaults or violent crime being conducted while items to conceal are being worn?”James M. GardinerMember · Committee on Public Safety · Mar 3, 2026 · 2:15:03Play at 2:15:03
“…we know what, what the numbers were for CPD staffing that night compared to, say, an average weekend?”James M. GardinerMember · Committee on Public Safety · Jan 7, 2026 · 1:04:37Play at 1:04:37

Officials only. Public speakers are counted, never named.

Issues Gardiner raised, by number of meetings

We count who raised an issue, not which side they took.

Where Gardiner sits

Ward 45 on the current City Council map

Click a ward to open its member’s page.

Ward 1: Daniel La SpataWard 2: Brian HopkinsWard 3: Pat DowellWard 4: Lamont J. RobinsonWard 5: Desmon C. YancyWard 6: William E. HallWard 7: Gregory MitchellWard 8: Michelle HarrisWard 9: Anthony BealeWard 10: Peter ChicoWard 11: Nicole T. LeeWard 12: Julia M. RamirezWard 13: Marty QuinnWard 14: Jeylu B. GutierrezWard 15: Raymond LopezWard 16: Stephanie D. ColemanWard 17: David MooreWard 18: Derrick G. CurtisWard 19: Matthew J. O'SheaWard 20: Jeanette B. TaylorWard 21: Ronnie L. MosleyWard 22: Michael D. RodriguezWard 23: Silvana TabaresWard 24: Monique L. ScottWard 25: Byron Sigcho-LopezWard 26: Jessica FuentesWard 27: Walter Redmond BurnettWard 28: Jason C. ErvinWard 29: Chris TaliaferroWard 30: Ruth CruzWard 31: Felix Cardona, Jr.Ward 32: Scott WaguespackWard 33: Rossana Rodriguez SanchezWard 34: William ConwayWard 35: Anthony QuezadaWard 36: Gilbert VillegasWard 37: Emma MittsWard 38: Nicholas SposatoWard 39: Samantha NugentWard 40: Andre Vasquez, Jr.Ward 41: Anthony NapolitanoWard 42: Brendan ReillyWard 43: Timmy KnudsenWard 44: Bennett R. LawsonWard 45: James M. GardinerWard 46: Angela ClayWard 47: Matthew J. MartinWard 48: Leni Manaa-HoppenworthWard 49: Maria E. HaddenWard 50: Debra SilversteinCity HallDaniel La Spata · Ward 1Brian Hopkins · Ward 2Pat Dowell · Ward 3Lamont J. Robinson · Ward 4Desmon C. Yancy · Ward 5William E. Hall · Ward 6Gregory Mitchell · Ward 7Michelle Harris · Ward 8Anthony Beale · Ward 9Peter Chico · Ward 10Nicole T. Lee · Ward 11Julia M. Ramirez · Ward 12Marty Quinn · Ward 13Jeylu B. Gutierrez · Ward 14Raymond Lopez · Ward 15Stephanie D. Coleman · Ward 16David Moore · Ward 17Derrick G. Curtis · Ward 18Matthew J. O'Shea · Ward 19Jeanette B. Taylor · Ward 20Ronnie L. Mosley · Ward 21Michael D. Rodriguez · Ward 22Silvana Tabares · Ward 23Monique L. Scott · Ward 24Byron Sigcho-Lopez · Ward 25Jessica Fuentes · Ward 26Walter Redmond Burnett · Ward 27Jason C. Ervin · Ward 28Chris Taliaferro · Ward 29Ruth Cruz · Ward 30Felix Cardona, Jr. · Ward 31Scott Waguespack · Ward 32Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez · Ward 33William Conway · Ward 34Anthony Quezada · Ward 35Gilbert Villegas · Ward 36Emma Mitts · Ward 37Nicholas Sposato · Ward 38Samantha Nugent · Ward 39Andre Vasquez, Jr. · Ward 40Anthony Napolitano · Ward 41Brendan Reilly · Ward 42Timmy Knudsen · Ward 43Bennett R. Lawson · Ward 44James M. Gardiner · Ward 45Angela Clay · Ward 46Matthew J. Martin · Ward 47Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth · Ward 48Maria E. Hadden · Ward 49Debra Silverstein · Ward 50
James M. Gardiner sits for Ward 45. Click a ward to open its member’s page.Ward lines: Chicago Data Portal, Boundaries - Wards (2023-), p293-wvbd, fetched 2026-10-30.
Every roll call, and Gardiner’s other bodies

Present at 19 of 20 roll calls at the City Council

From the clerk’s own record. We don’t compare members on it.

PresentAbsentOldest first, 1 square per roll call

Absent 1. Nov 14, 2025 to Oct 14, 2026. The clerk’s record covers 20 of the 22 meetings we hold, through Oct 14, 2026.

Official roll call, from the clerk →
What they talk about

Commendations, ceremonies and memorials took the largest share of Gardiner’s speech with a checked topic: 27%

By the topic two AI readers agree on for each stretch of their talk, at the City Council and its committees. 31 of 47 minutes of their speech have a checked topic. How much they talk about it, not which side they take.

Commendations, ceremonies and memorials27%
Parks and recreation0.9%
Questions

Gardiner asked nine questions at the three Committee on Public Safety meetings where we identified them

At least this many: direct questions only.

Neighborhoods Gardiner named

3 places Gardiner named in meetings

Lines where Gardiner named the place, read by two AI readers that both agree it means that place. Each dot plays the newest one; brighter means named more often.

Chicago
  • Austin 2 times
  • Jefferson Park 1 time
  • West Garfield Park 1 time

Places are drawn at the centre of their own boundary in the city’s Boundaries - Community Areas file (City of Chicago Data Portal). A dot says the place was named, not where Gardiner was or what was said about it.

Meetings

Every meeting where we identified Gardiner’s voice

15, newest first. The date opens the meeting; the time plays the video at Gardiner’s first remark.

  1. Sep 29, 2026City Council2.5 min1:06:12
  2. Sep 22, 2026Committee on Police and Fire4.8 min53:28
  3. Jul 22, 2026City Council1.4 min38:52
  4. Jul 15, 2026City Council4.6 min1:56:18
  5. Jul 8, 2026Committee on License and Consumer Protection0.3 min12:56
  6. Jun 17, 2026City Council0.7 min2:27:12
  7. May 20, 2026City Council1.5 min6:29:17
  8. Apr 15, 2026City Council0.8 min1:53:42
  9. Apr 9, 2026Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation2.4 min1:10:58
  10. Mar 18, 2026City Council4.9 min1:44:19
Show all 15Show fewer
  1. Mar 3, 2026Committee on Public Safety1.7 min2:11:11
  2. Feb 3, 2026Committee on Public Safety1.1 min55:53
  3. Jan 21, 2026City Council8.2 min2:07:46
  4. Jan 7, 2026Committee on Public Safety8.2 min1:04:24
  5. Dec 20, 2025City Council4.3 min2:27:57
How we identify who is speaking · blind check, pooled across five cities: of 410 council lines drawn, 352 right, 0 wrong, 1 unclear, 57 couldn’t be judged

A meeting missing here means we couldn’t attribute the voice, not that Gardiner was absent. Claude and Gemini each read every transcript with that day’s roster. A voice gets James M. Gardiner’s name only when both agree and a code check finds the name said on, or just before, their turn. Voices our transcripts merge with someone else’s are never attributed, so every count here undercounts what Gardiner said. For councils and their committees, of 410 lines drawn, 352 were right, 0 wrong and 1 unclear, and the checkers couldn’t judge 57. We have since removed the voices behind 110 of those lines (0 wrong, 1 unclear, the rest we had already held for other reasons). Of the 300 lines we still publish, the checkers could judge 268: all 268 right (90% lower bound 0.99). They couldn’t judge the other 32. The check is one sample pooled across the five cities, not of Gardiner or of Chicago alone.