- Credibility:
PILSEN — Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez won reelection in the 25th Ward to represent Pilsen and part Little Village.
Sigcho-Lopez garnered 52.4 percent of the vote to challenger Aida Flores’ 47.6 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting.
Declaring victory at a party at V Live in Little Village Tuesday night, Sigcho-Lopez said a lot was at stake in this election and his victory is a victory against big money and corporations in the Southwest Side ward.
“Our community has said, once again, that they want an independent voice of the people,” he said. “The people of the 25th Ward made us proud once again. That was a tough battle ahead of us.”
In his next term, Sigcho-Lopez said he’s going to “finish what we started” by continuing to advocate for affordable housing, fight for the Discount Mall to remain open, push back against skyrocketing property taxes, hold police and corporations accountable and more.
“This is a community that continues to fight, a community that is resilient and made of wonderful people,” he said.
Credit: Madison Savedra/Block Club Chicago
Sigcho-Lopez formerly was executive director of Pilsen Alliance, a prominent community group, before he was elected alderman.
Flores, a community organizer and former Chicago Public Schools principal, launched her campaign in August. She came in fourth in the 2019 aldermanic race that Sigcho-Lopez won.
Flores was endorsed by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, as he ran for mayor. She previously told Block Club was running again because she wanted to bring a leadership style that would unite neighbors and work for “collective solutions.”
“We envision making sure that our youngest residents to our eldest are fulfilled and age gracefully and independently and live a fulfilled life,” she said.
Sigcho-Lopez was elected in a 2019 runoff, becoming the ward’s first new alderman in more than two decades, after unsuccessfully challenging now-disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis in 2015.
Public safety and gentrification were two of the biggest issues facing the ward throughout the campaign.
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