Waukegan · 1st Ward · Primary February 23, 2027

She ran for Team USA. Now she's running for the 1st Ward.

For 1st Ward Alderman

Building a Stronger 1st Ward Together

Born and raised in the 1st Ward of Waukegan. 17-time Illinois state champion, member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, and founder of FLY, which has helped more than 600 young people. Now she wants to work for her neighbors.

Join the team Meet Shakedia
104 days until the primary
Shakedia Jones smiling, in a green blazer and a gold top.

What she will push for

1st Ward Priorities

Four commitments for the blocks she grew up on. As alderman, she will advocate, vote and work with the city to get them done.

  • Add more speed bumps to make our ward safer.

  • Advocate for the removal of old and abandoned buildings.

  • Support the renovation and revitalization of homes in the 1st Ward.

Create a community center for the 1st Ward with resources for all ages.

  • Youth enrichment and after-school programs
  • Career, workforce, and small business resources
  • Family support and senior services
See how she will work on each one

About Shakedia

Born and raised in the 1st Ward of Waukegan, Shakedia graduated from Waukegan High School in 1997, ran for UCLA and Team USA, and came home in 2013 to work for Waukegan's kids. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.

  • 17 individual Illinois state titles in high school track
  • 2 World Junior gold medals for Team USA, 1998
  • 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, Sydney
  • 2 NCAA team titles with UCLA
  • 600+ young people helped through FLY
  • 2014 the year she founded Furthering the Lives of Youth (FLY)

Plus: two-time Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year and Lake County High School Hall of Fame (2019). She has coached the Waukegan High School girls track team.

Read her story

The honorary street name

Excellence from Waukegan.

In July 2024, Waukegan dedicated the honorary street name "Shakedia Jones Olympic Way" on George Avenue, near her childhood home. That August, the City Council honored her with a proclamation.

“Why isn't there a place where we can go to find out the people in Waukegan who have done amazing things...”

Shakedia Jones, Waukegan City Council, August 2024

She asked the city to give that place a home, so people can see excellence from Waukegan. She was asking for the next kid on the block, the one who needs to see that champions come from here. That is the job she wants: making excellence ordinary in the 1st Ward.

Shakedia Jones Olympic Way

Honorary street name on George Avenue

Dedicated July 14, 2024

Holding a framed proclamation, she speaks into a microphone in the Waukegan City Council chambers.
Honored by the City Council, August 2024.
Young people and adults in matching gray FLY shirts stand together on the grass at a park event.
FLY in the park, summer 2017.

Furthering the Lives of Youth

She built the program she never had.

In 2014 Shakedia founded FLY, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that steps in when talented, hardworking kids from families with limited means need a hand. It has helped more than 600 young people.

  • Track and volleyball fees, and the gear to go with them
  • A first cello for a young Waukegan cellist
  • Sponsorship of a youth track club team and community track meets
  • Trips, including to Los Angeles, and Chicago Sky games

“So this, in essence, is the program I would have been part of had it existed when I was younger.”

Shakedia Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2016

Furthering the Lives of Youth is a nonprofit organization. It is separate from this campaign and does not endorse candidates.

Get involved

Let's build a stronger 1st Ward together.

Sign a petition, knock a few doors, put up a yard sign, or tell a neighbor in English or Spanish. Every bit of help counts.

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