James Cappleman

James Cappleman (born October 26, 1952) is an American politician. On April 5, 2011, Cappleman was elected to the Chicago City Council, representing the 46th Ward of the City of Chicago. He took office on May 16, 2011.

A native of Houston, Texas and the son of a United States Army physician and nurse, Cappleman was one of 8 children raised by his mother after his father's death. After completing a Bachelor in Education from the University of Houston, he taught in the public schools in Houston until 1982 when he moved to the Midwest to join the Franciscan friars. He remained in Chicago after he left the order. Cappleman graduated from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Masters in Social Work in 1991. He served two terms as Board President of the Uptown Chicago Commission, leaving the organization in 2010 to run for public office. He currently serves on the board of directors of Annie's Legacy, a not-for-profit organization that provides mentoring to women who have had a history of domestic violence.

He previously ran for alderman of the 46th ward in 2007 against six-term incumbent Helen Shiller and was defeated, polling 47% in the run-off to her 53%. After Shiller announced that she would not seek a seventh term, Cappleman ran against ten other candidates in 2011 before winning with 55.5% in the run-off. In 2015, Cappleman won re-election with 53.7% defeating Amy Crawford in the run-off. He is a member of Budget, Ethics, Health, Housing, Licensing & Consumer Protection, Pedestrian & Traffic, and Zoning Committees.

Cappleman is openly gay. His partner, Richard Thale, is chair of the 19th Police District's Court Advocacy Committee and a CAPS facilitator for Beat 1914. After being a couple for over 20 years, the two entered into a civil union on September 8, 2012 and married the following year in Washington State. Cappleman is one of five openly gay Chicago aldermen. However, Cappleman was the first gay individual to be elected initially, as Ald. Tom Tunney, who was the first gay Chicago alderman, was appointed a month before being elected in 2003.