Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin filed a petition Tuesday challenging the legitimacy of new state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, a Chicago Democrat chosen by local party leaders to replace former state Rep. Luis Arroyo.
The challenge came the same day Arroyo pleaded not guilty to a bribery charge in a federal courtroom in Chicago. Arroyo is charged with bribing a state senator to support sweepstakes gambling legislation that would have benefited one of the former legislator’s City Hall lobbying clients.
Durkin’s petition said allowing Arroyo to have a role in selecting his replacement “calls into question the integrity of the process and the House itself.”
When Arroyo resigned his seat Nov. 1 after being charged, House Speaker Michael Madigan warned Democratic Party leaders in the 3rd House District that any replacement selected with votes from the 36th Ward, where Arroyo remains the committeeman, “would call the legitimacy of the appointment into question, and the qualifications of their candidate would be challenged by the full Illinois House of Representatives.”
A group of committeemen on the Northwest Side defied Madigan and went ahead on Nov. 15 to name Delgado, then chief of staff at Peoples Gas, to the seat with votes from the 36th Ward. While Arroyo did not participate in the vote directly, he gave his share of the weighted vote to 30th Ward Ald. Ariel Reboyras, who then had enough of the vote to control the process. Reboyras has said he didn’t consult Arroyo about the selection.
“A clean break from the arrested legislator is required to reestablish the General Assembly’s trust with its constituents,” Durkin wrote in the petition, filed Tuesday with the House clerk. “Had the votes of Mr. Arroyo not been part of the selection process, this appointment would not be called into question.”
Despite his public statement before the selection, Madigan had been silent on the subject since. Spokesman Steve Brown said in an email Tuesday that Madigan will review Durkin’s petition “and take the appropriate action required by House rules.”
Delgado, an attorney and former Chicago Police Board member, pushed back against the idea that she was Arroyo’s choice for the position, noting that he circulated nominating petitions for another candidate.
“I wouldn’t have participated in the process if Arroyo had been involved in any way,” she said. “Part of the reason I even stepped up to do this is I didn’t want the district to go a whole year without being represented.”
Delgado said she met briefly with Madigan last week but did not discuss the possible qualifications challenge. “As far as my qualifications go, I think they stand for themselves,” she said.
Democratic Rep. Anne Stava-Murray of Naperville also filed a qualifications challenge against Delgado on Tuesday.
Now that the petitions have been filed, House rules call for the formation of a special committee to review the appointment. Democrats would have the majority on the committee, but the exact number of members would be determined by Madigan.
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The committee would investigate the allegations raised in the challenge petitions and make a recommendation to the full House. Ultimately, it would require a three-fifths majority vote to remove Delgado.
She would have the right to be represented by an attorney, present a defense, and confront any witnesses or evidence presented against her.
Reboyras has vowed to take legal action if the House votes to remove Delgado. He and other committeemen who participated in the selection process said naming a replacement without input from Arroyo’s ward would disenfranchise thousands of voters in the majority Hispanic district.
Some of the district’s committeemen, however, including Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, and state Sen. Robert Martwick, boycotted the vote.
Delgado was appointed to serve out the remainder of Arroyo’s term, which runs through January 2021. She’s currently running against Chicago teacher Nidia Carranza in the March 17 Democratic primary. No Republicans have filed to run in the district, so the primary winner is likely to be unopposed in the November general election.
While Arroyo pleaded not guilty Tuesday, he has waived indictment and has been charged instead in a one-count criminal information, a sign he is likely to plead guilty at a later date. His next court hearing is set for March 17 — the same day as the primary.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
