Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl named the new 9th Ward alderman Friday. Brian Miller, chief of staff of Cook County’s 13th district commissioner, will fill the position, the mayor announced on Twitter.

“Brian is a dedicated member of the Evanston community, and will be an enthusiastic and responsive alderman for Ninth Ward residents,” Tisdahl said in a news release.

The alderman spot was made available after Coleen Burrus left the position in April for a job at Princeton University as director of corporate and foundation relations. Burrus also stepped down from her post as senior director of corporate engagement at Northwestern.

Miller was one of five people who applied to be the next alderman.

The city hosted a public candidate forum in April so residents could hear from the five applicants about their positions on a variety of issues and proposed solutions for city concerns.

“Good government is good infrastructure,” Miller said at the forum. “The day-to-day face of government is our streets, our parks, our police cars, our fire trucks … We have an aging infrastructure that we need to address.”

Ald. Jane Grover (7th) said she was impressed by the “high caliber” of candidates who were willing to serve. With the appointment of Miller, Grover said she was ready for City Council to work back at “full force.”

Council will vote to confirm Miller at a special council meeting Monday, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz told The Daily.

Miller is a lifetime 9th Ward resident. Apart from his job in the commissioner’s office, he serves as president of the Democratic Party of Evanston and has previous legal experience working with the state’s attorney general and the Chicago law department. He also has been involved with non-profit organizations, including the McGaw YMCA, where he served as co-chair for its Camp Echo Committee.

Miller is originally from Evanston and graduated from the NU School of Law in 2008.

This post was updated May 3 at 10:02 p.m. with background on the aldermanic race and on Miller.

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