Daniel Solis is an American politician from Illinois. He served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council from 1996 to 2019. He represented Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the Lower West Side.

His sister is Patti Solis Doyle, who was Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager. Solis was a member of Clinton's Illinois Steering Committee.

Early life and career

Solis was born in 1949 in Monterrey, Mexico. When he was six, he emigrated to the United States with his mother. His father had already come to the country in seek of work. In 1996, after alderman Antonio Medrano pleaded guilty to corruption charges, Solis was appointed to the seat by Mayor Daley. He won a special election in February 1997 to serve out Medrano's term with 77% of the vote.

Scandal and FBI cooperation

In November 2018, Solis announced that he would not seek re-election to his seat. Shortly after his retirement announcement, it was reported that Solis was secretly recording fellow alderman Ed Burke, who had been charged with corruption. Court filings used to obtain search warrants at Solis’ home indicated that Solis had also recorded the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan. An investigation uncovered that Solis had paid himself hundreds of thousands of dollars out of his political campaign fund. Solis would also provide several days of testimony against Madigan during Madigan's trial as well.

In April 2025, the acting U.S. Attorney in Chicago asked that bribery charges against Solis be dismissed, noting that his cooperation was vital in securing the convictions of both Madigan and Burke. In May 2025 prosecutors would dismiss criminal bribery charges against Solis.

References

  • Danny Solis Alderman 25th Ward
  • Chicago City Council - Daniel S. Solis