25th Ward Alderwoman candidate Aida Flores addressed a packed room at Pochos restaurant in Pilsen, laying out the stakes of the election and defining what true progressive leadership looks like in practice.

When Aida Flores took the microphone at Pochos restaurant in Pilsen, she didn't start with a speech. She asked the room a question: What do you love about Pilsen? Little Village? University Village?

The crowd shouted back their answers. That, Aida said, is why they were there.

The night was about collective power and what is at stake for the 25th Ward. Across the city, working-class communities are facing mass displacement and fighting to keep their families together. Aida made it clear that fighting those national battles requires local leadership that actually delivers, rather than a ward office that relies on performative politics while residents' basic needs go unmet.

She pointed to her own record as the contrast. During the pandemic, while some offices closed their doors, Aida turned her public school into a community hub. She organized mutual aid pantries, ran 40 virtual town halls to prepare families for a safe return to the classroom, and mobilized a team of 40 volunteers to build solidarity sidewalks that protected undocumented families.

"Sometimes that meant coaching parents. Sometimes it meant running a mutual aid pantry. Sometimes it meant becoming a public health practitioner overnight," she said. "That's what leadership looks like: you go where you're needed."

Aida challenged the room to reclaim the progressive movement in the ward by focusing on the material needs of the people. Values in practice means educating the most vulnerable. It means equitable investments in neighborhood parks. It means zoning decisions made alongside the community so renters, homeowners, and undocumented families can stay exactly where they belong.

Four years ago, the race for the 25th Ward was decided by just 467 votes. Aida closed the night by asking the room to give, to knock on doors, and to stand with the community on February 23, 2027.

"A teacher once told me it only takes one person to break a cycle," she said. "He was right. But to build what comes next, it takes all of us."