By Ben Joravsky
Passions are fired by the fact that almost all the players know each other well; some of them have been going at it since the early 70s, when most of Humboldt Park was still controlled by Keane, the 31st Ward’s alderman and Democratic committeeman. A combative old cuss, Keane ran the City Council for Mayor Richard J. Daley in much the same way Ed Burke now does for the late mayor’s son.
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Keane might have ruled forever, but he was convicted for his part in a complicated corruption scheme involving the sale of public land. After he went to prison in the 1970s his organization was taken over by state senator Ed Nedza, who attempted to cultivate Hispanic support by slating a schoolteacher named Miguel Santiago to run for alderman.
But the regulars reclaimed the aldermanic seat in 1991 when Ray Suarez was elected. A year later Santiago was elected state representative from the Third District, which includes most of the 31st as well as portions of the 35th, 26th, and 33rd wards.
In contrast, Delgado is more than willing to champion himself. As an orator–“I am loquacious and persuasive.” As a true believer–“I am a hyperenergized individual with nothing but passion in my heart.” As a role model–“I have mentored dozens of outstanding young people.” And, most passionately, as a jock–“In high school I wrestled and played baseball and I still work out. I’m five-foot-five, weigh about 150, have a 32-inch waist, and 12-inch biceps. They call me ‘Popeye Arms.’ I run a 4.3 40 [a world-class time]. I still play basketball and tennis. I’ll take you or anyone else on the court right now.”
But much of their venom’s reserved for Delgado. They know, they say, the “real Delgado.” They know what he did and who he did it with many years ago. And that’s probably true; Humboldt Park politics are incestuous, most of the players having run with or against one another since their college days. Perez, Chevere, and Torres call him “Roach Clip Willie.” They say he’s a creature of the “loony left,” with close ties to the extremist wing of the Puerto Rican independence movement. To prove their point, they’ve dug from the archives a Tribune article dated July 23, 1981 which describes how Delgado was evicted from the federal trial of a Puerto Rican bomb-making “terrorist” for not rising for the judge.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Willie Delgado photo by Cynthia Howe.
