Immigrant. Veteran. Attorney. Entrepreneur. Dad.
Daniel Tobón’s story is rooted in opportunity, service, hard work, and a belief that government can help people build better lives when it works.
From Medellín to Chicago
Daniel Tobón was born in Medellín, Colombia, and came to the Chicago area when he was seven years old.
When he arrived he didn’t speak English, but great public schools gave him the foundation to succeed and helped his family live out the American dream.
At seventeen, Daniel enlisted in the Army.
While attending the University of Illinois, his education was interrupted by a deployment a few months after September 11. He later deployed again to Iraq, serving as a sniper in a reconnaissance platoon with the Illinois National Guard.
After returning home, Daniel finished college and earned his law degree from the University of Chicago.
Daniel received a fellowship with the ACLU after law school, but when his mother lost her job at the VA during the 2008 financial crisis, he took a corporate job to help support his family.
He later became an entrepreneur, building multiple companies in emerging industries and learning firsthand what it takes to create jobs, manage organizations, navigate government, and solve complex problems.
Today, Daniel leads a business with operations in Colombia and founded a company serving the cannabis and hemp industry with social justice and responsibility at its core.
Daniel and his wife are raising three children in Chicago.
He has served on the Local School Council at Kelvyn Park High School and has remained active in public life as a founding board member of the Progressive Alliance PAC of Cook County, helping elect fellow veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Why Public Service
Daniel believes government exists to make people’s lives better. It should stand up for working people, protect vulnerable communities, invest in strong public schools, support immigrants, create economic opportunity, and keep neighborhoods safe.
But those goals only matter if government can actually deliver.
His experiences as an immigrant, soldier, attorney, entrepreneur, husband, father, and neighbor have taught him that progress requires trust, competence, independence, and the willingness to solve difficult problems.
That is the approach he will bring to City Hall.