Chicago Ald. and 30th Ward Committeeman Ariel Reboyras
Chicago Ald. and 30th Ward Committeeman Ariel Reboyras
Chicago Ald. and 30th Ward Committeeman Ariel Reboyras is not backing down in his escalating battle with Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) over naming a replacement for disgraced former Illinois state Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago).
“Speaker Madigan has threatened to defy the will of Latino voters and remove any candidate our supermajority Latino district selects to fill Arroyo’s seat,” Reboyras said in a letter he penned with state Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago), the second letter Reboyras has addressed to the longtime House Speaker in which he has blasted the process and the party's unfair tactics. “Ever since Luis Arroyo resigned his position as state representative, the old-time party machine has advanced a plan to deprive our supermajority Latino district of a replacement of our choosing. Insiders are creating chaos and demanding that the law be violated in an effort to secure the appointment of David Feller, a non-Latino Cook County bureaucrat.”
Several media outlets have reported that Madigan recently sent a letter of his own to committee members in which he detailed plans to block certain wards from having any influence in naming a new face of the 3rd District.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago)
“This scheme is absolutely unethical, and the Speakers’ threat is against the law,” Reboyras and Martinez wrote. “We know these are strong allegations, but this corrupt program must be stopped. Under state law, party bylaws and longstanding custom and practice, when an official leaves office before an election, committeepersons from the district fill the vacancy. As leaders in the Latino community, we are standing up for the voters of the 3rd District, not Arroyo. We are committed to following the law and to giving our community a voice.”
After serving 13 years in Springfield, Arroyo was recently forced to step down after being taking into custody on federal bribery charges amid allegations he offered a sitting state senator a $2,500 monthly payout in exchange for support on a state gambling bill.
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