Northwest Side Ald. Ariel Reboyras is stepping down at the end of his term next year, he announced Tuesday, marking the 15th retirement or pending departure of a Chicago City Council member ahead of the 2023 election.
The alderman of the 30th Ward has served his role for two decades, a career that has included chairing the public safety committee under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel during a turbulent time for policing in Chicago. Reboyras was seen as the face of Emanuel’s reform efforts following the Chicago police murder of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old Black boy, and was bounced from the leadership role after Mayor Lori Lightfoot was elected.
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In a news release rolling out his plans to retire in 2023, Reboyras said his reason for leaving was simple: “Family comes first.”
“Serving the residents of the 30th Ward since 2003 has been an unbelievable honor. I have seen this neighborhood change and grow. After 20 years, now is the time for me to regain my position as your neighbor and community activist,” Reboyras said.
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Reboyras started out as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools before working another city role as a truck driver. He then moved up through Fleet Management and the Water Department until being promoted to deputy commissioner of the Department of General Services.
Beyond his work on the safety committee, Reboyras chaired the immigrant and refugee rights committee and served as Democratic committeeman for the 30th Ward since 2006.
In 2019, Reboyras was forced into a runoff against challenger Jessica Gutierrez, daughter of former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, though he still eked out a victory.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Jessica Gutierrez said she plans to run again in 2023 and bring “energy” to the 30th Ward.
“That’s exactly what I plan on doing, is invigorating our business districts … (and) reimagining the police, right?” Gutierrez said. “Public safety is No. 1. People don’t feel safe in Chicago.”
Gutierrez was just barely mapped out of the new 30th Ward in the decennial redistricting process following the 2020 Census — a result she blames on Reboyras.
Reboyras largely supported the Latino Caucus map that would have kept her in the ward, but he ultimately voted for the Black Caucus map in the final compromise deal.
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Still, Gutierrez said she will seek the City Council position and would move into the ward if she wins.
Besides Reboyras, a slew of other aldermen are leaving or have left the City Council for a variety of reasons circumstances. Several are retiring; three are running for mayor; one was ousted because of a criminal conviction.
The growing exodus of those stepping down at the end of their terms recently included Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, and Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza, 10th. Others include Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th; Uptown Ald. James Cappleman, 46th; Andersonville Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th; South Shore and Hyde Park Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th; and indicted West Pullman Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th.
Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, has already stepped down following her recent announcement.
Three other members of the council — Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, Sophia King, 4th, and Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th — are running for mayor next year against Lightfoot, so they are unable to seek reelection as City Council members. Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, will exit the council before the end of his term should he be elected in November to serve on the Cook County’s Board of Review.
Others — such as former Ald. Michael Scott, 24th, who left the council for a job in the private sector, and former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, convicted of tax evasion and lying to banking regulators — have stepped down and had their positions filled by mayoral appointment. Lightfoot replaced Daley Thompson with United Airlines director Nicole Lee, and replaced Scott with his sister, Monique Scott, a Chicago Park District supervisor.
