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Aurora Ald. Emmanuel Llamas said this week he lives in the 1st Ward he represents, and will continue to do so.
Llamas has been answering that question since he purchased a house earlier this year on Verona Ridge Drive on the city’s far West Side, in the 5th Ward, at the same time he was being reelected as alderman in the 1st Ward.
He said this week that he will continue to live at his Lincoln Avenue address.
“I did purchase a property in the 5th Ward; I also have one in the 6th Ward,” he said. “But no, I haven’t moved out of the 1st Ward.”
Purchase of the house has raised eyebrows among some in his ward, including one constituent who came to a City Council meeting asking that Llamas resign.
It is likely to be a topic at a meeting of the Northeast Community group this weekend. It was already discussed at a previous meeting of the group, a meeting Llamas did not attend, although he said he attends most of them.
Llamas said he purchased the new house because he and his wife, who have one daughter, are looking at the possibility of the family growing. He said it is possible they could move into the new house sometime within the next four years, at which time he would have to resign as 1st Ward alderman.
He also is looking at a possible change in his work situation. He is a partner in an Aurora law firm.
“I don’t know when that will happen,” he said. “You want to plan ahead. My wife and I are looking down the road a couple of years. There are so many variables right now.”
Llamas was first elected as 1st Ward alderman in 2019 and reelected earlier this year unopposed.