Longtime Pilsen Ald. Solis won’t seek re-election
In a surprise announcement on Saturday, longtime Ald. Danny Solis (25th) said he won’t seek re-election in 2019 as he retires after more than two decades in the City Council chambers.
“After 23 years representing the greatest community in Chicago, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life and pass the baton of public service to another,” the Pilsen alderman said in a statement.
“Chicago’s challenges are many, but our capacity to meet them is unlimited and I know that the citizens of the 25th Ward will make their voices heard in this upcoming election season. I hope all the candidates in this race will listen closely and do their best to bring our Ward together.”
On Monday, Solis had told the Chicago Sun-Times that he still planned to run for a seventh term, despite being one of just two incumbent aldermen who did not submit signatures on the first day of petition-filing to appear on the ballot for the Feb. 26 election.
Solis wields considerable power in City Hall as chairman of the Zoning Committee, where he has been lauded for increasing transparency by disclosing agenda items. Solis also previously chaired the Council’s Hispanic Caucus.
He started as a schoolteacher in the 1980s, organizing several Latino community groups and co-founding the United Neighborhood Organization.
That politically influential group later came under fire for using a $98 million state school grant to hire contractors with ties to UNO executives, which Solis called “improper, at the very least” in 2013.
Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Solis as 25th Ward alderman in 1996 to replace Ambrosio Medrano, who resigned after pleading guilty in a corruption probe.
Winning re-election the next five cycles, Solis was a top ally to Daley as well as Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
More recently, he has been key in efforts to secure a developer for Chicago’s Old Main Post Office, and he was a vocal critic of a Chicago shelter that faced allegations of abuse against immigrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Danny Solis deserves the thanks and congratulations of our entire city after a lifetime of public service, and I will be the first in line,” Emanuel said in a statement. “As a leader in the City Council for more than 20 years and as a leader in his community for even longer, Danny has been a champion for immigrants, for school students and for families.”
Solis’ sister Patti Solis Doyle is a Democratic operative who managed Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaigns and her 2008 presidential bid. His brother Santiago Solis co-founded the clout-heavy firm Monterrey Security, a Chicago Park District contractor that has drawn scrutiny for its billing practices, among other issues.
As of Friday evening, five people had filed to run for 25th Ward alderman: Aida Flores, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Troy Antonio Hernandez, Alexander “Alex” Acevedo and Hilario Dominguez.
Sigcho-Lopez almost forced Solis into a runoff in 2015, when Solis took 51.1 percent of the vote to Sigcho-Lopez’s 18.5 percent, election records show.
The ward includes all of Pilsen and parts of Chinatown, the South Loop and West Loop.
Monday is the final day candidates can file to appear on the ballot.
A strong winter storm is expected to move through the Chicago area Sunday morning, with more than six inches of snow possible in some locations, according to the National Weather Service.
The affected areas cover Cook, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy and Will counties, the weather service said. Heavy snow and gusts up to 35 mph were forecast from 10 a.m. Sunday till 4 a.m. Monday.
Snow might fall faster than one inch per hour, according to the weather service.
Holiday travelers were warned of quick transitions from rain to a heavy, wet, slushy snow on Sunday afternoon.
Drivers should use extreme caution on snow-covered roads or in reduced visibility, the weather service said. Shovelers were warned to avoid overexertion.
“This storm is expected to hit at a time when millions of people are on the roads, heading home after visiting friends and family,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said in a statement. “Please take all necessary precautions, including altering travel plans to leave early or asking yourself if your trip can wait.”
Also, a lakeshore flood warning will be in effect from 9 p.m. Sunday till noon on Monday, according to the National Weather Service, which said waves of 12 to 16 feet are possible.
Temperatures should drop to the mid-30s to mid-40s Sunday and then dip into the 20s by evening, according to the weather service. The snowfall was expected to taper off before Monday’s commute.
The ABC7 Chicago 7-Day Outlook expects rain to change to snow from west to east on Sunday, with heavy snow possible. Four to six inches of snow was likely in Chicago, with between eight and 12 inches possible in the northwest suburbs, according to ABC7’s forecast.