Patty García wants to move forward, as three other challengers vie for seat to replace Rep. 'Chuy' Garcia

There has been no shortage of controversy in the 4th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García’s last-minute decision to drop out of the primary race led him to helping his chief of staff quickly take his spot on the primary ballot.

Since then, Patty García — no relation to the congressman — fended off two independent candidates who railed on what they called a Democratic machine play, but ultimately failed to survive petition challenges with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty is now running as the lone independent candidate. Lupe Castillo is the Republican candidate and Ed Hershey, a teacher, is running as the Working Class Party candidate.

Patty García has been ignoring the noise, building major Democratic support, both in Illinois and in Washington. And while she has repeatedly defended the ballot switch, which the congressman attributed to family and health reasons, she’s also asserted that voters on focused on other issues, including immigration and affordability. Many people in the district are still fearful of ICE and reluctant to apply for citizenship.

Patty García has been fully embraced by Illinois Democrats, and kicked off early voting in Little Village last week with Gov. JB Pritzker’s running mate Christian Mitchell and Latino elected officials and candidates. She’s also campaigning with Congressman García.

She has also racked up more than 175 endorsements from Democrats, including U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton and Rep. Delia Ramirez. She’s also backed by the Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor and SEIU Illinois State Council.

Getty has served as mayor of Lyons since 2009 and is also the supervisor of Lyons Township. He’s also a licensed insurance producer. Getty says his priorities include improving the cost of living, immigration and public safety and government accountability.

Getty in November wrote a scorching Chicago Tribune op-ed piece criticizing Congressman García for his last-minute decision not to run — and perhaps setting the stage for his own candidacy.

“It’s a move right out of the playbook of machine politics, anointing successors rather than letting the democratic process determine them,” Getty wrote in the piece.

Getty, who was elected mayor in 2009 at the age of 26, said he thinks being from the suburbs could be seen as a strength in the district that has traditionally been represented by Chicagoans.

Castillo says she’s running on a platform of “pro-family values and policies.” She says she’s the only candidate who “will protect women’s sports and girl’s bathrooms,” and who would support law enforcement over criminals. She’s also supportive of voter ID and school choice. She has lived in the district for 43 years.

Hershey has been teaching at Lindblom Math and Science Academy in West Englewood for 16 years and says his work in schools has shown him how a lack of resources can affect students. He’s also served as a union representative and ran for alderman of the 25th Ward in 2015.