Daniel Solis is an American politician from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. He served as an alderman on the
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...
from 1996 to 2019. He represented Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the
Lower West Side.
His sister is
Patti Solis Doyle, who was Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager. Solis was a member of Clinton's Illinois Steering Committee.
Early life and career
Solis was born in 1949 in
Monterrey, Mexico
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
. When he was six, he emigrated to the United States with his mother. His father had already come to the country in seek of work.
[
Solis began his career as a schoolteacher. He was the founder and executive director of Latino Youth High School as well as the executive director of the Pilsen Neighbors Community Council. Later, he was co-founder and executive director of the ]United Neighborhood Organization
The United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) is a non-profit organization in Chicago, Illinois. UNO's mission is to lead the transformation of the Hispanic community toward an educated, powerful and prosperous citizenry by engaging and challenging ...
(UNO) where he led a successful campaign to help 12,000 immigrants become naturalized citizens and register to vote. He also led grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
reform for the Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
by helping organize a campaign to enlist parents and community members to run in the first Local School Council elections.
Political career
Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...
appointed Solis to the Chicago Housing Authority
The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is a municipal corporation that oversees public housing within the city of Chicago. The agency's Board of Commissioners is appointed by the Mayor of Chicago, city's mayor, and has a budget independent from that ...
Board of Commissioners and the Regional Transportation Authority in 1995. In 1996, after alderman Antonio Medrano pleaded guilty to corruption charges, Solis was appointed to the seat by Mayor Daley. He won a special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in February 1997 to serve out Medrano's term with 77% of the vote.[
One of Solis's first actions was to present ]Angelo J. LaPietra
Angelo J. "The Hook" LaPietra (October 30, 1920– March 28, 1999) was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit, involved in extensive loansharking operations in the city's First Ward during the 1970s and 1980s. It is often repeated that ...
, the founder of the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club at 31st and Shields, a plaque and reward that recognized him as the leader of the community and 25th Ward.
As alderman, Solis focused on job creation and physical improvements in the 25th Ward ( Lower West Side) such as expanded National Museum of Mexican Art
The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) is a museum featuring Mexico, Mexican and Chicano art and culture. It is located in Harrison Park in the Lower West Side, Chicago, Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois. The museum ...
in Pilsen, the Ping Tom Memorial Park
Ping Tom Memorial Park is a public urban park in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood, in South Side, Chicago. It is part of the Chicago Park District (CPD). The park was dedicated in honor of Ping Tom, a leading Chinatown businessman and civic ...
in Chinatown, and a rehabilitation of the Archer Court Senior housing development. Solis also encouraged and negotiated with the International Produce Market and American Linen Company to stay and/or locate in the 25th Ward's Planned Manufacturing District (PMD) which has brought and continues to bring jobs and capital to the community.
Throughout his career as alderman, Solis had been an ally of Mayor Daley and in 2001 was appointed President Pro Tempore of the city council, allowing him to oversee council proceedings in the mayor's absence.
Solis served on seven committees: Aviation, Budget and Government Operations; Committees, Rules and Ethics; Finance; Education; Health; Human Relations; Public Safety.
Scandal and FBI cooperation
In November 2018, Solis announced that he would not seek re-election to his seat. Shortly after his retirement announcement, it was reported that Solis was secretly recording fellow alderman Ed Burke, who had been charged with corruption. Court filings used to obtain search warrants at Solis’ home indicated that Solis had also recorded the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...
, Michael Madigan
Michael Joseph Madigan (born April 19, 1942) is an American politician and convicted felon who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the longes ...
. An investigation uncovered that Solis had paid himself hundreds of thousands of dollars out of his political campaign fund. Conversations which Solis recorded between himself and Madigan would ultimately lead to Madigan being convicted in February 2025 on numerous charges related to his efforts to give Solis and his daughter paid state positions and Madigan's use Solis to aid his private law firm. Solis would also provide several days of testimony against Madigan during Madigan's trial as well.
References
External links
Danny Solis Alderman 25th Ward
Chicago City Council - Daniel S. Solis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solis, Daniel
American politicians of Mexican descent
Chicago City Council members
Living people
21st-century Illinois politicians
Chicago City Council members appointed by Richard M. Daley
Illinois politicians convicted of crimes
Illinois politicians convicted of corruption
1949 births