Will Arroyo effect dampen Delgado’s bid to retain Illinois House seat?

How she was appointed to fill former state Rep. Luis Arroyo’s shoes had been an issue for Eva-Dina Delgado’s campaign.

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State Rep. Eva Dina Delgado, Illinois House 3rd district Democratic primary candidate, and challenger Nidia Carranza met with the Sun-Times Editorial Board on Friday, January 31, 2020.

Rich Hein/Sun-Times

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State Rep. Luis Arroyo gave up his 3rd District state representative seat last year after being charged with bribery, and controversy ensued when Eva-Dina Delgado was picked to fill his shoes.

That’s because Ald. Ariel Reboyras, Democratic committeeman of the 30th Ward, worked a deal with Arroyo, committeeman of the 36th Ward, to make Delgado’s appointment happen. Good government types were appalled that Arroyo was allowed any say at all.

That made for some drama in Tuesday’s primary as Delgado was being challenged by Chicago Public Schools teacher Nidia Carranza, who was being backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, among other organized labor groups.

With about 43% of precincts reporting, Delgado was leading Carranza 51.9% to 48.1% in the race to serve residents of Chicago’s Northwest Side.

For three years, Delgado served on the Chicago Police Board, the civilian panel that handles police disciplinary cases. A former Peoples Gas employee, she joined the board while Mayor Lori Lightfoot was its president. Lightfoot endorsed Delgado in this race.

Carranza is a CPS Pre-K bilingual teacher, Blackhawk Park Advisory Committee member and community organizer.