Daniel Francis La Spata (born February 26, 1981) is a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

politician. He has served as alderman from Chicago's 1st ward since May 2019. He won election to that office after defeating incumbent Proco Joe Moreno in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections. He is a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

Early life, education, and career

La Spata was born in

South Plainfield, New Jersey South Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in northern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is situated on the border with Union County, New Jersey, Union County in the Raritan Riv ...

in 1981 and graduated in 1999 from South Plainfield High School. He moved to Chicago in 1999 to attend

North Park University North Park University is a private Christian university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is located on Chicago's north side in the North Park community area and enrolls more than 2,600 undergr ...

, where he later received a bachelor's degree in psychology and music. In 2019, he completed his master's degree in urban planning and public policy at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. He was a member of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association for 10 years, including a stint as vice-president, where he worked on issues of equitable housing and community development. He has also worked as a community organizer for the Jane Addams Seniors Caucus, a policy and planning associate at Friends of the Parks, and policy intern at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. In the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections, La Spata ran for alderman of the 1st ward, challenging incumbent Proco Joe Moreno. He received endorsements from local community organization The People's Lobby and state representative Will Guzzardi. In February 2019, a photograph reportedly from his 2013 bachelor party was released in which La Spata, dressed in a banana costume and with his friends surrounding him in monkey masks, posed with four African-American boys at a downtown Chicago park. Following criticism of the photo as racist, La Spata issued an apology stating "I apologize unequivocally for the photo from my bachelor party six years ago." On February 29, 2019, he won election to the seat after defeating Moreno with 61.3% of the vote. On April 10, 2019, La Spata joined six other newly elected socialist members of the City Council in protesting against the approval of

tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program i ...

for the Lincoln Yards and

The 78 The 78 is a plot of land in Chicago from Roosevelt Road south to 16th Street and Clark Street west to the Chicago River that is not developed as of June 2025. The plot of land gained its name from a proposal in 2018, not built, that consisted ...

real estate developments.

Chicago City Council (2019–present)

La Spata was sworn in as alderman from the 1st ward on May 20, 2019. He is a member of the Progressive Caucus and Socialist Caucus within City Council. In November 2019, La Spata was one of eleven aldermen to vote against Mayor

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American politician and attorney who was the mayor of Chicago#List of mayors, 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she ...

's first budget. He joined all five other members of the Socialist Caucus in signing a letter to Lightfoot which criticized her budget for "an over-reliance on property taxes" and "regressive funding models" that are "burdensome to our working-class citizens, while giving the wealthy and large corporations a pass." La Spata has advocated for Chicago to altogether end its contract with

Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the primary electric provider in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquoi ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Spata, Daniel 1981 births 21st-century Illinois politicians Chicago City Council members Hispanic and Latino American city council members Illinois Democrats Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Illinois North Park University alumni People from South Plainfield, New Jersey South Plainfield High School alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni

Early life, education, and career

Chicago City Council (2019–present)

Electoral history

See also

References