Edwin Reyes | |
Office: | Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from the 8th district |
Term End: | 2014 |
Predecessor: | Roberto Maldonado |
Successor: | Luis Arroyo Jr. |
Party: | Democratic |
Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
Spouse: | Iris De Jesus |
Children: | Naya and Mia Reyes |
Alma Mater: | Northeastern Illinois University |
Occupation: | State trooper |
Edwin Reyes is an American politician who served as Cook County Commissioner for the 8th district, in northwest Chicago. He held the position as a Democrat from 2009–2014.
Reyes attended Northern Illinois University in the early 1980s, after which he enlisted in the United States Air Force from 1983-1986 on active duty and eventually earned his bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Northeastern Illinois University in 1996.[1]
Reyes served as Chief of Staff for Chicago Alderman Rey Colón from 2003–2004. From 2006–2009, Reyes served as a state trooper on the security detail for governor Rod Blagojevich.[2]
One of Reyes' first official votes as commissioner was to override John Stroger's veto of a sales tax cut in 2009.[3] During the 2010 election, Reyes listed his top three priorities as healthcare access, violence prevention, and educational resources.[4] The Chicago Tribune declined to endorse him that year, reporting that "Reyes answers to the men who sent him, Democratic bosses Dick Mell and Joseph Berrios."[5]
In 2013, Reyes supported a $25 tax on gun sales proposed by Toni Preckwinkle.[6] Reyes chaired the committees on veterans and law enforcement.