With 11 members of the city council announcing that they will not be on the ballot in February, voters are guaranteed a full slate of new names to choose from.

The composition of the City Council will affect everything from Chicago's tattered finances to affordable housing policy, environmental regualtions, and who gets to serve on the city's commissions and the boards of its sister public agencies. Whether Daley's exit means there will be more debate and review of the next mayor's positions remains to be seen. (The current crop hasn't done so on important issues like crime and education.? In the individual wards, meanwhile, it's likely that aldermen will retain a fair degree of power over critical ward-level issues, like zoning and development.

As with the mayoral candidates, we have put together a database, which we will continue to update, tracking the money and the endorsements of all the candidates in all 50 wards. The list of candidates is based on the latest information from the Chicago Board of Elections. The financial information is based on each candidates' committees filed with the State Board of Elections (some candidates have yet to file with the SBOE). In the column all the way to the right, we have included the groups that have endorsed a slate of candidates and noted which candidates they have endorsed (this includes the SEIU State Council, which sponsors this site.)

• SEIU - Service Employees International Union         
• AFSCME - American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 
• FOP - Fraternal Order of Police         
• UNITE HERE - Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees; Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union     
• FBC - For a Better Chicago         
• CFL - Chicago Federation of Labor
• CTU - Chicago Teachers Union
• IVI-IPO - Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization