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Dixon To Take On Ex-Ald. Chandler In 24th Ward

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Eighteen candidates ran for alderman in the West Side's 24th Ward, but now it's down to two – the current and former alderman.

Ald. Sharon Denise Dixon was elected in 2007, after narrowly defeating incumbent Michael Chandler in a runoff. Now, Dixon will be taking on Chandler again.

With all precincts reporting, Dixon had 1,783 votes, or 20 percent, while Chandler had 1,197 votes, or 13 percent.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Dixon believed some of the candidates running against her were Chandler allies who were trying to "pull her" into a runoff. Chandler called the charge "absolutely untrue," the Tribune reported.

Dixon recently made headlines not for her work in the City Council, but for being charged with driving drunk and suing the Chicago Police officers who arrested her two years ago.

In a January lawsuit, Dixon said she had a couple of glasses of wine at a friend's house in Evanston on Jan. 20, 2009, and was driving home when she was cut off by a police car on North Sheridan Road where officers were trying to control traffic near the scene of a fatal Rogers Park fire. Dixon says she attempted to explain that the police roadblock was confusing and dangerous – and asked for the officers' badge numbers when they became angry and agitated.

Police claimed Dixon smelled like alcohol and she failed sobriety tests after arguing for 30 minutes. Her attorneys said the officers invented the charge after she expressed "contempt of cop."

In February of last year, a judge found there had been no probable cause to arrest Dixon for DUI -- and the charge was later dropped. Dixon did, however, plead guilty to obstruction of traffic and paid a $200 fine.

But on the CBS 2 Morning News Wednesday, Better Government Association executive director Andy Shaw called her "probably the most embarrassing incumbent."

Chandler had represented the ward for 12 years before losing to Dixon, a community activist. At the time, Chandler pointed out new business that had opened on the West Side during his time in office -- including a shopping center on Roosevelt Road with a Dominick's store and a movie theatre that has since closed – but Dixon said the ward has declined and the city has not given it adequate services

Chandler, in turn, said in 2007 that Dixon had spent a lot of time living outside the ward and has not been there to witness the progress.

The ward includes the struggling neighborhoods of South Austin and North Lawndale.

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