Good morning, Chicago.
Daniel Solis, the once-prominent Chicago alderman whose turn as an FBI mole took down the state’s two longest-serving Democratic power brokers, walked out of a federal courtroom on Tuesday with his gaze fixed on the floor.
In the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, Solis slung a backpack over his shoulder, hugged his attorney and stepped through the revolving door, bundled in a blue parka to shield him from the December cold.
No one met him outside. No shiny black SUV or taxi came to pick him up. Instead, the 75-year-old former lawmaker crossed the street, hands in his pockets, and walked west down Jackson Boulevard, disappearing into the foot traffic.
After six days of testimony against ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, Solis was off the witness stand and out of the public eye, perhaps this time for good.
His cooperation changed the state’s political trajectory, contributing to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s improbable election, putting former Ald. Edward Burke in prison and helping dethrone Madigan, the longest serving state legislative leader in the country when he resigned in 2021 before being charged.
It also altered Solis’ own place in city history, from once-respected community leader and public servant to another fallen Chicago politician with dark secrets — in his case, bribe-taking, tax malfeasance, extramarital affairs and visits to erotic massage parlors, to name a few.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Megan Crepeau.
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