Longtime Chicago Ald. Roberto Maldonado appears to be joining the parade of City Council members opting out of another term.
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The Chicago Board of Elections confirmed that Maldonado withdrew his candidacy for reelection Friday afternoon.
Maldonado did not immediately return the Tribune’s request for comment, but such a withdrawal would likely mean he would step down at the end of his term in May after more than 13 years on the City Council representing the area around Humboldt Park.
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He was first tapped to represent the 26th Ward in the summer of 2009 by Mayor Richard M. Daley. Maldonado became politically involved with Harold Washington’s mayoral run in 1983, and worked on Luis Gutierrez’s campaigns for alderman and congress. Before becoming alderman, Maldonado served three terms on the Cook County Board, representing the 8th District.
With less than two months before the Feb. 28 election, Maldonado’s withdrawal leaves five remaining candidates in the race for his City Council seat. Ward Democratic Committeeperson Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez and Julian Perez are assured spots on the ballot. Three other candidates — Jessica “Jessie” Fuentes, Kirk Ortiz and Anthony Rivera — are facing petition challenges.
In recent years, Maldonado has focused his attention on addressing gentrification near the popular trail known as The 606, successfully pushing measures that would eventually result in an ordinance that curbed deconversions near the trail in January 2021.
But he has also profited off house-flipping in the area, according to a Block Club Chicago investigation.
Maldonado served for two years as the chair of City Council’s Latino Caucus, between 2019 and 2021.He is the latest of several aldermen who have resigned, announced retirements or otherwise opted to leave the City Council in recent months.
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