I’ve always wondered what political types really say to each other in their unguarded conversations after a tough election defeat.
The voice mail recording I obtained Wednesday of a late night phone call to Ald. Danny Solis (25th) was everything I’d ever imagined and more.
“Hey, Danny Solis. This is Eddie Jr. Let me tell you something, m————,” begins the phone message that Solis found sufficiently threatening to file a police report Wednesday.
Solis identified the voice of the caller as Eddie Acevedo Jr., son of state Rep. Eddie Acevedo (D-Chicago), who is retiring after 20 years in the Legislature.
OPINION
I was unable to reach Acevedo Jr. for comment, but others who heard the message and provided me the recording also said they recognized his voice.
The senior Acevedo, from whose cell phone the call was allegedly made, initially told me the accusation was “absolutely false,” later adding: “I have no idea what you’re talking about because I was already asleep.”
Just hours before the call to Solis came in at 12:40 a.m., awakening the alderman and his wife, unofficial election returns had given the Acevedos some bad news.
They had failed in their effort to install Alex Acevedo, Eddie Sr.’s son and Eddie Jr.’s brother, as the father’s replacement.
Instead, the winner by 500 votes was Theresa Mah, who rode a wave of ethnic pride in Chinatown and the endorsements of key Latino leaders including U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez to win the Democratic nomination.
A likely victory in November would make Mah the first Chinese-American in the General Assembly.
And that must have put quite a damper on Election Day for Eddie Acevedo Jr., who had been active in his brother’s campaign.
The caller blamed Solis for Alex Acevedo’s defeat, even though the alderman publicly endorsed him and carried the ward for Acevedo, albeit by a slim 51-49 margin.
Solis said the hard feelings might stem from his refusal to work against Mah in the parts of his ward that are in Chinatown, which she carried by wide margins.
“I told them that from the very beginning. I made it clear. They understood that,” Solis said.
The call reflects a different understanding:
“You’ve been f—— our family over for years. You know what, f— you, m———–. You f—– up this election, and you’re going to deal with me, m———–.”
“So you can call my dad, whoever the f— you want to call, because I’m not my brothers, and I’m not my f—— father, m———–. So you’re going to have to deal with me, you b—- ass m———-.
“We lost the election because of your b—- ass, m———— b—- ass. So remember that, m————. You know what (unintelligible)’
“So when I see you, it’s m———– on. OK? So I don’t care. You take this message as it is, bro. Because you f—– our family. Remember that, m———–. Eddie Jr., b—-.”
Ald. Ric Munoz (22nd) is among the sources who confirmed the voice to be Acevedo Jr. He said Solis played it for him on his phone.
Solis said two calls and a text came in from the same number in short succession. After the third, his wife asked who was calling. Solis then played the message, and she heard for herself.
“My wife got really upset,” Solis said. “She said he sounds really crazy.”
She told him he shouldn’t go to work Wednesday, which was a City Council meeting. Solis said he brushed it aside and went downtown anyway.
But after he got there, Solis said he decided, “My wife is right. Those people are crazy. You can’t take any chances.”
So he said he filed a police report against Acevedo Jr. and was told a detective would follow up.
I called the phone number that Solis said appeared on his caller ID and left a message. The elder Acevedo, a former policeman, called back. The second time he called he wanted me to convey a message to Solis.
“I can tell you secrets about Danny that you would freak out on,” Acevedo said. “Tell Danny he should be the last one to talk.”
I observed to Solis that the only explicit threat on the message was when the caller said that the next time he sees him, “it’s on.” Expletive deleted.
“I don’t think it means he wants to debate me,” said the 66-year-old Solis.
No argument there.
