First Ward Alderman Manuel Flores, during a city council meeting in November, has been selected by Governor Patrick Quinn to head the Illinois Commerce Commission. José Moré/Chicago News Cooperative
Gov. Patrick J. Quinn may impress some Hispanic voters by nominating Manuel Flores, above, the First Ward alderman, as chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission. But the move did not go over well with Hispanic state legislators who have repelled challengers financed by the young, ambitious alderman.
In 2008, Mr. Flores donated more than $50,000 to a challenger to State Senator William Delgado, who sits on the committee that must approve Mr. Flores’s appointment.
“Manny called me to ask for my support, and I said, ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ ” Mr. Delgado said. “He tried to run me out of office. He’s a legend in his own mind.”
But another Chicago Democrat, State Senator Iris Y. Martinez, said, “It’s always a benefit for us to have Latinos in high places.”
Mr. Flores declined to comment.