south side weekly

Committee… We’ve had more than twenty pieces of legislation go through it, including my bill to keep people in their home in the midst of the pandemic.”

Ramirez rallied state Republicans and colleagues to pass comprehensive emergency housing legislation that included rent assistance and an eviction moratorium. Thought to be the first Guatemalan-American elected to the state legislature, she believes that she can take the issues that Illinois working families care about to D.C.

Working with both sides of the aisle is one of the things that Ramirez said has prepared her for Congress. During the process to replace disgraced Mike Madigan as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, she helped bring the Progressive Caucus and Latino Caucus together to support Emanuel “Chris” Welch. She nominated him on inauguration day and was chosen by Welch as an assistant majority leader in the House.

Ald. Villegas is a moderate Democrat who may appeal to more conservative voters in more distant parts of the 3rd District, analysts say. His policy stances have been less than progressive; he typically votes with the mayor and has voted in favor of controversial measures in Black and brown communities, such as expanded policing and large-scale developments like Lincoln Yards.

Records show that since 2015, Villegas received $64,800 in political contributions from Purple PAC, a PAC funded by Howard Labkon of General Iron that also contributes to the Republican Party.

Notably, as the chairman of the City Council’s Latino Caucus, Villegas has pushed for more Latinx representation, repeatedly questioning why there are so few Latinos on the City’s payroll. Recently, he contributed to a shortlived roadblock in the collective effort to reach a deal between the Black and Latino Caucuses on a new ward map— unsuccessfully pressuring the City Council to add two wards with Latinx plurality, due to their growing numbers in the city, at the expense of predominantly Black wards.

Ramirez is slamming Villegas in political ads for his work as a state lobbyist. The campaign claims that Villegas’s firm, Stratagem, lobbied for clients with ties to the prison industrial complex, as well as various energy companies, including ComEd, during a period when the company admitted to bribing elected officials in Illinois. ComEd hired the firm from 2018 to 2019, though Villegas told WBEZ that he was not personally involved in the lobbying efforts.

Villegas has also been criticized for rubbing elbows with State Rep. Luis Arroyo, who’s considered by many to be his political mentor. Arroyo was sentenced for bribing elected officials in Springfield over sweepstakes legislation; Villegas introduced similar sweepstakes legislation in the City of Chicago and received about $40,000 in campaign contributions from Arroyo.

Villegas did not respond to questions from the Weekly by press time.

García endorsed Ramirez in February, and shortly thereafter she received the endorsement of the Chicago Teachers Union for her role in helping to pass an elected school board. Other big names like Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky are also backing her.

Ramirez told the Weekly she visualizes herself working alongside leaders like Schakowsky on freedom of choice, Rep. Cori Bush and Julián Castro on housing, Reps. Verónica Escobar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on immigration, and with those working for the self-determination of Puerto Rico.

Further, she has the endorsements of SEIU Healthcare, SEIU 73, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Mijente, End Citizens United, United Working Families, and the Working Families Party.

Villegas has received endorsements from former Rep. Luis Gutierrez, outgoing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, former State Senator Iris Martinez, and alderpersons Susan Sadlowski-Garza, Ariel Reboyras, and Chris Taliaferro.

He also has the support of SEIU Local 1, the Teamsters Joint Council 25, the Chicago Firefighters Local 2, and the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association.

With most votes expected to be cast by city voters, the high-stakes race represents the fault lines that often divide the local Latinx electorate and the need for more representation at the federal level that will fight for the interests of this growing voting bloc. ¬

Jacqueline Serrato is the editor-in-chief of the Weekly. She last wrote about workers organizing at Amazon.

Meet the Challenger: Javier Yañez

His civic experience and grassroots values make him the best person for the 12th District Illinois Senate, he said.

BY SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Javier Yañez is the chief-of-staff of 25th Ward alderman Byron SigchoLopez. He said he took the initiative to run against Little Village-raised State Senator Celina Villanueva upon noticing her inaction in Springfield around ongoing issues like harmful industrial development, street violence, and families struggling to keep their homes. Yañez joined the race late in the election cycle, which limited his endorsements and fundraising efforts. The incumbent secured the endorsement of Rep. Jesús Chuy García, which makes for a challenging race for Yáñez, but he believes his civic experience and grassroots values are what will get him elected. The Weekly sent the candidate a short questionnaire, aimed at helping inform readers ahead of the primary. The answers are included below, edited for length and clarity.

What skills or experience do you believe make you the better candidate for this seat?

I am very fortunate to have been able to serve my community across different legislative offices at the county and City level for nearly ten years. From my vantage point as a staffer for then-Cook City Commissioner Chuy Garcia, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, and most recently, for Alderman Sigcho-Lopez of the 25th Ward, I had the opportunity to see in detail how our communities can be strengthened while also seeing the commonalities as to why so many of our current elected officials fall short.

I’ve learned how you come into public office is a critical reflection of how you will serve. My opponent, the incumbent, was not once, but twice appointed to the Illinois legislature by one of Chicago’s most notorious indicted politician Michael Madigan, and she has received tens of thousands of dollars in support from many of the elite financial donors who benefited from his five decades in Springfield.

I have the experience and, most importantly, the political independence and courage to stand up to entrenched interests in Springfield taking money out of the pockets of the hardworking people of the 12th District. What does that mean? It means I’ll actually fight to Lift the Ban on rent control, not just give the policy lip service, while taking money from Realtor PACs and cozying up to Senate President Don Harmon who is one of the biggest obstacles to the legislation reaching Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk.

POLITICS

It means I’ll fight to reform property taxes and make the ultra rich of Illinois pay their fair share. It means I’ll fight for environmental justice, clean air, and sustainable green jobs in our industrial corridors, and stand up to industrial polluters when they poison our communities like Hilco did to Little Village at the start of the pandemic in 2020—not remain silent while I accept political contributions. It means I’ll fight to keep Illinois a state where reproductive health and the freedom to choose is protected. It means investing in the immediate short term and long term solutions to public safety will be a top priority because our residents deserve the same safety that more affluent communities of Illinois enjoy. I will fight for us because I come from the grassroots, I am accountable only to the grassroots, and I’m fighting for our communities.

What legislative measures would you champion in Springfield?

Property tax reform so long term residents can stay in their homes, and lifting the ban on rent control so tenants can anticipate stable rent and mom-and-pop landlords who provide affordable housing can receive a break in their property taxes for the preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing.

Campaign finance and ethics reform: Illinois tax payers simply cannot afford the corruption tax any more, be it in their tax bills, their utility bills, or their lack of investment in essential government services. We need to take strong steps to preserve democracy in Illinois and ensure public officials work for the taxpayer, not for themselves and the billionaire class.

Investments in addressing the root causes of violence for immediate and long term solutions. It is not an accident that communities of the 12th District have higher rates of violence and crime on our streets when compared to communities across Illinois with better funded schools, social programs, and other critical services. Our economic corridors and labor force are some of the most vibrant in the state. As your state Senator, I will fight for the investments our communities are entitled to and for a better and more peaceful

Describe three issues that concern the constituents of the 12th District and how you’d begin to address them?

1. Affordable housing: The Southwest Side neighborhoods continue to rise in housing costs and property taxes. There is so much concern amongst the 12th District constituents about the security of their daily lives and where they are going to rest their heads at night. Our neighborhoods, which were seen as too dangerous to drive through, are now seen as “the coolest neighborhoods in the world,” according to Forbes magazine, and with this have come rising costs. But what makes our communities so vibrant is its people, which is now being lost. Tenants are facing skyrocketing rents. Momand-pop property owners, who have continuously provided affordable housing to residents, are being forced to sell their buildings to predatory developers, forcing not only the homeowners to relocate, but the tenants without the secure and stable housing they deserve. In Pilsen, we have already put a stop to predatory practices by developers, but the work is not done. 2. Public safety: Elected officials continue to talk about public safety and say that it is a priority, but it is not being done with the urgency that is required. Families are losing their children to gun violence at an alarming rate and all we hear is that there needs to be more investment into our communities, but it is happening at a devastatingly slow pace. During our campaign, we have talked with constituents that tell us that they want to go to their neighborhood parks and gathering spaces, but do not feel safe doing so, so they stay inside, rather than walk with their families and friends to the park or go to the playground with the children. Not every community in Illinois has the rates of gun violence that our communities do. As State Senator, I will fight to rectify the historic and entrenched inequality that starves our families and institutions of resources needed to keep our communities safe. 3. Environment: The Southwest Side has continuously been used as a dumping ground for polluting industry that the North Side doesn’t want. As a result, our communities experience disproportionate rates of illness and short life expectancy so that the Northside can stay healthy and billionaires can keep putting money in their pocket. My wife is a preschool teacher in Back of the Yards, and across from the school, not even half a block away from the playground is a trucking/ freight company. Freight trucks idle and spew out toxic diesel exhaust throughout the day while her children run, play, and climb trees, breathing in contaminated air. Rates and the severity of asthma have increased and it is not a coincidence. The families that my wife works with, amongst many others, are scared for their children’s health and safety, but also heartbroken that nothing is being done. The constituents have demanded time and time again that polluting companies have no place in our neighborhoods, and yet elected officials have stayed silent on the issue. If elected, I will fight for clean air, environmental justice, and a sustainable green corridor that strengthens, not weakens our families’ quality of life.

Explain how you would work with other elected officials or stakeholders to get things done.

This past year, I worked with state and county elected officials to secure over $500,000 of investments in public safety infrastructure and youth programming. During the COVID pandemic, I worked with local businesses and chambers of commerce across the Southwest Side to raise nearly $100,000 in resources for local families, many who are undocumented and unable to secure government assistance, to ensure these families could have support they so dearly needed. ¬