Matthew J. O'Shea is the Alderman of the 19th ward of Chicago, serving since 2011.

O'Shea is a lifelong resident of the 19th ward.^[1]

O'Shea attended Christ the King elementary school and Mount Carmel High School.^[1] He received a degree from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.^[1]

In his career, O'Shea worked as a social worker, and later became the director of a community center.^[1] He also served as an aide to his 19th ward aldermanic predecessor Virginia Rugai.^[1]

O'Shea has sat on several boards in the Beverly neighborhood,^[1] and has been a volunteer and board member for the Special Olympics Chicago.^[1]

O'Shea was first elected alderman in 2011.^[1] He has been reelected in 2015^[2] and 2019.^[3]

He was supportive of Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of Chicago,^[4] and has claimed to have made safety a top priority for his ward.^[5]

Among the committees O'Shea has served on are Aviation,^[6] Budget and Government Operations,^[1][6] Committees and Rules,^[6] Economic, Capital and Technology Development,^[6] Education and Child Development,^[1][6] Finance,^[6] Health and Human Relations,^[6] License and Consumer Protection,^[1] Health and Human Relations,^[6] Public Safety,^[1] Transportation and Public Way^[1] and the joint committees on Committees and Rules/Finance,^[6] Health and Human Relations/Workforce Development,^[6] Public Safety/ Education,^[6] as well as the Special Legislative Committee on the Census.^[6] In June 2018, mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed O'Shea as the chairman of city aviation committee.^[7] He also has served as the vice chair of the Committee on Committees and Rules and the Joint Committee on Committees and Rules/ Finance.^[6]

In the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, O'Shea endorsed Jerry Joyce in the first round of the election^[8] and endorsed Lori Lightfoot in the runoff.^[9] His endorsement of Lightfoot has been credited with securing her strong support in his ward in the runoff vote.^[10]