Rhymefest concedes, No recount: Alderman Willie Cochran wins 20th ward race

Apr 10, 2011

The City Council dreams of a Grammy Award-winning rapper appear to be over, for now at least.

Rhymefest announced Friday morning on Twitter that his campaign would not seek a recount in Chicago’s 20th Ward runoff election, essentially conceding to incumbent Alderman Willie Cochran. It marked the end to a six-month-long political odyssey for the socially conscious rapper, who promised to continue his advocacy for the community despite failing in his bid for alderman.

After Tuesday’s election, Che “Rhymefest” Smith was over 300 votes behind his competition. His campaign had insisted (and still insists) that there were irregularities at polling places throughout the ward, and said at the time that it planned to contest the results. Rhymefest said more information on that subject would be forthcoming on Monday.

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