PILSEN — A 25th Ward candidate has filed a petition for a recount of the Feb. 24 election, contending longtime Ald. Danny Solis might not have landed enough votes to avoid a runoff.
According to the Chicago Board of Elections' unofficial results, Solis avoided a runoff by landing 50.95 percent of the vote in the five-way race. More than 70 votes separated Solis from a runoff race.
Byron Sigcho, who filed the motion with the Chicago Board of Elections, came in second place with 18.6 percent of the vote.
“With so few votes difference and so much at stake, we want to ensure all votes are counted,” Sigcho said. “We owe it to our supporters to make sure every vote is counted and every impropriety addressed.”
On Tuesday, Solis spokeswoman Stacy Raker said Solis was excited to get back to ward business now that the election was over.
"Alderman Solis is thrilled the voters of the 25th Ward reelected him with 51 percent of the vote and he was humbled to receive the most votes in every single precinct in the ward," she said.
In a statement, Pilsen Alliance executive Director Nelson Soza, a Sigcho ally, also called on the elections board to investigate "possible impropriety" leading up to the election, including "coordination between election judges and the Solis campaign and the harassment of volunteers of other campaigns."
Soza said machines were also malfunctioning at several 25th Ward polling places on Election Day.
In the weeks before the election, Sigcho accused the Chinese American Service League, a prominent Chinatown nonprofit, of engaging in electioneering on behalf of incumbent Solis.
In addition to Sigcho, Solis was challenged by CPS teacher Ed Hershey, activist Jorge Mujica and financial adviser Roberto "Beto" Montano, his former chief of staff.
Ahead of the race, Solis and his four challengers faced questions about gentrification in Pilsen and a controversial metal shredder project that the alderman supports.
Ultimately apologizing for the "bureaucratic snafu," Solis also addressed concerns over $140,000 in unaccounted for ward funds that had been set aside for art projects in the 25th Ward.
In 2011, the 25th Ward race went to a runoff, but Solis ultimately defeated challenger Cuahutemoc Morfin with 54 percent of the vote.
The 25th Ward includes parts of Pilsen, Chinatown, the West Loop, Little Italy and Heart of Chicago.
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