George A. Cárdenas (born October 9, 1964) is an American public official serving as a commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review for the 1st district. He previously represented Chicago’s 12th Ward on the Chicago City Council from 2003 to 2022, where he served in leadership roles including deputy floor leader and chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy.
He won the Board of Review seat in 2022 and assumed office on December 5, 2022. His district covers portions of Chicago and a range of suburban townships.
Early life and education
Cárdenas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico, and moved with his family to Chicago in 1978, where he attended Lane Tech High School. After graduating, he served four years in the United States Navy. He later earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science from Northeastern Illinois University.
Professional career
Before entering public office, Cárdenas worked more than a decade in corporate roles, including at Centel, McDonald’s, Andersen Worldwide, Tenneco, and Ameritech/SBC; he also worked in auditing, tax policy and consulting. He also worked as a substitute teacher and auditor earlier in his career.
He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2015 (unopposed), and 2019. During his tenure, the ward included parts of Little Village, Brighton Park and McKinley Park. He was a member of several committees at various times, including Budget and Government Operations; Committees, Rules & Ethics; Finance; License and Consumer Protection; Contracting Oversight and Equity; Economic, Capital and Technology Development; and Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.
He chaired the City Council’s Latino Caucus.
Policy and initiatives
As committee chair, Cárdenas introduced a City Council resolution supporting the state’s Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), which the Council adopted. The committee’s jurisdiction includes matters relating to the abatement of air, water, and noise pollution. He also supported environmental resiliency efforts alongside other aldermen during instances of lakefront erosion.
Cárdenas endorsed Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 mayoral runoff, and he served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
In 2006, he ran for Democratic State Central Committeeman in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, losing to Ald. Ricardo Muñoz.
Cook County Board of Review
Cárdenas won the 2022 Democratic primary for the Board of Review’s 1st district, defeating incumbent Tammy Wendt, and ran unopposed in the general election; he assumed office on December 5, 2022. District 1 includes (among others) the townships of Barrington, Berwyn, Cicero, Elk Grove, Hanover, Jefferson, Lake, Leyden, Lyons, Palatine, Palos, Proviso, Riverside, Schaumburg, South Chicago, Stickney, West Chicago, Wheeling, and Worth. He has presented the district’s functions to the public through property assessment appeal workshops.
Personal life
Cárdenas resides with his family in the McKinley Park area of Chicago.
!colspan=2|Runoff election
|-
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
|-
| George A. Cárdenas
| align="right" | 2,173
| align="right" | 46.10
| colspan=2 rowspan=2| Runoff cancelled after Frias withdrew as a candidate
|-
| Rafael "Ray" Frias (incumbent)
| align="right" | 2,121
| align="right" | 44.99
|-
| Jose I. "Chavelo" Rodriguez
| align="right" | 420
| align="right" | 8.91
| colspan=2 bgcolor=darkgray |
|-
| Total
| align="right" | 4,714
| align="right" | 100
| colspan=2 bgcolor=darkgray |
|}