Chuy Garcia

Jesus Garcia

Jesus "Chuy" G. Garcia is the member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 4th district. Chuy Garcia served previously as Cook County Commissioner "on the southwest side of Chicago and the neighboring Cicero and Berwyn communities."

Background

"Garcia's road to a big-city political career began in a small village in Mexico. He was born in Los Pinos, a village on the edge of a river near the Sierra Madre, in Durango. It had 200 inhabitants at most when he was a child; everyone was acquainted, and many were related. They gathered often for holiday celebrations and fiestas. Garcia's home was in the center of town; the church and school were across the street, so "everything that happened was right in front of my house."

"He was the youngest of four children raised by their mother. Their father had picked fruits and vegetables in Texas and California before finding work in a cold-storage plant in Chicago in the late 1940s. He was undocumented until the early 1960s; he visited the family when he had time off.

"Chuy Garcia remembers his childhood fondly. "Things got a bit scarce in the winter, but I never went hungry. There were always at least tortillas or tostadas, and you could put a little manteca on them—grease with salt." His mother milked a cow. His father's checks came regularly. The house was filled with music—church songs and country songs on a radio, or his mother, Celia, singing.

"Celia organized the church choir and holiday celebrations and led prayers at wakes. She'd attended school only through third grade—the education of girls was a low priority in Mexico—but she'd taught herself reading and writing well enough that she served as a literacy teacher in Los Pinos. "Raising four kids by herself and being able to do that on the side, with a third-grade education, shows a high level of social consciousness," Garcia said. "I've run into people at wakes here who have told me she made a great difference in their lives, that she opened their eyes to the world by teaching them how to read and write.

""So I think it's her fault," he added with a chuckle, "that I developed a passion for people, and for thinking about how things can be, versus how they are."

"In 1964, Chuy Garcia's father was able to get permanent residency status in the U.S. for himself and his family. The following February, when Chuy Garcia was ten, he and his siblings and their mother made the trip north in his uncle's station wagon, arriving in Pilsen on a snowy day.

"Chuy Garcia has lived since then in the communities of Pilsen and Little Village. After earning a Bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, he went on to acquire a Masters degree in Urban Planning. Today, Chuy Garcia lives in Little Village with his wife Evelyn Chinea and daughter Rosa. He has two adult sons, Jesus and Samuel.

Progressive activism

From a profile at the Chicago Reader:

"Advocacy of justice and equal opportunity led Chuy Garcia to work as a paralegal, as a community organizer and at a community-based housing organization. He was the Founding Executive Director of Enlace Chicago (a leading non-profit community development organization in Little Village, formerly known as LVCDC).

"Garcia served as a Fellow at De Paul University and as adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Departments of Political Science and Latino and Latin American Studies. He serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations including the Latino Policy Forum, a public policy and advocacy center, where he was the Founding President. He recently became Chairman of the Board of the Woods Fund of Chicago whose goal is to "increase opportunities for less advantaged people and communities."

"The summer after his freshman year at the University of Illinois's Chicago campus (later UIC), Garcia met a veteran Latino activist named Lola Navarro. She was a disciple of Saul Alinsky, the celebrated Chicago community organizer who advocated "direct actions" such as sit-ins and picketing. Navarro's targets had included the Board of Education, for its overcrowded public schools in Pilsen and Little Village, and the CTA, for its reluctance to hire Latinos.

"Following Navarro's example, Garcia and his friends decided to picket the Atlantic movie theater, on 26th Street near Pulaski. The building was decrepit, and rats roamed its halls. "People saw us picketing, and they were like, 'You guys are right, this is bullshit, it's insulting,' and they wouldn't go in the theater. The owner shut it down and cleaned it up. No protracted negotiations or anything. It was like, 'Wow, so this is how you organize.'"

"Later that summer, Garcia and his cohorts confronted a city official who ran a youth jobs program in Little Village. The only kids who were getting jobs were politically connected. "A group of us went over there one day and requested to meet with him." They were told he wasn't in. "We said, 'Well, we're going to wait for him.' And we waited and waited and he didn't come back. So we went into his office and took it over, and we demanded a meeting with him. The police were summoned, but they were hesitant to arrest us." Then the official showed up. "At first he said he couldn't do anything, then he said he might be able to do something, and toward the end of the meeting he said he would do everything possible. The short of it was, a group of kids got jobs that summer working with children."

"At college his sophomore year, Garcia and other students took over the chancellor's office at University Hall. That led to negotiations that resulted in the creation of the Latin American Cultural Center. When the center had its grand opening in October 1977, Garcia was emcee. The center is flourishing today.

Ceasefire Now Resolution

From an article from The Intercept regarding the Hamas-empowering Ceasefire Now Resolution dated October 20, 2023 by Ryan Grim:

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2023) — Today, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Andre Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia Ramirez (IL-03), alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Nydia Velazquez (NY-07) announced a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible.

Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar joined a few days later.

CPC PAC’s first-ever Executive Board

June 6, 2023, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC Co-Chairs Mark Pocan (WI-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) announced the CPC PAC’s first-ever Executive Board. The CPC PAC Executive Board will be comprised of Reps. Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Chuy Garcia, Delia Ramirez and Jill Tokuda.

“We are incredibly excited to have these exceptional progressives join the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC leadership as we prepare to bolster progressive power in Congress and win back the House majority in 2024,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC Co-Chairs Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, and Jamie Raskin. “These six talented CPC members bring a diverse range of experience to the CPC PAC Executive Board and the leadership they have demonstrated throughout their history of public service will enable the CPC PAC to build on the success of past cycles heading into one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history.”

Resolution condemning socialism

February 2, 2023 House Republicans moved a Resolution condemning socialism and certain dictators.

The Resolution began:

Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships;

Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide;

Whereas many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolás Maduro;

Eighty six Democrats voted no. Fourteen voted "present" and six didn't vote.

Representative Chuy Garcia voted "Nay".

"China Initiative" letter

On January 22, 2024, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) led an effort to stop House GOP members from reinstating the China Initiative, a Trump-era program created in 2018 that purported to combat espionage but in effect targeted and profiled those of Chinese descent.

The Department of Justice ended the program in 2022, after several of the alleged espionage and national security cases ended in acquittal, dismissal or were dropped altogether. But Republicans in Congress are now attempting to restart the program using a provision in a key House spending bill—at the same time that they are reviving racially motivated rhetoric against Chinese Americans.

“Republicans are essentially pushing the Chinese Exclusion Act 2.0,” said Rep. Meng, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative fostered bigotry and discrimination against Asian Americans, particularly those with connections to China, while doing little to actually advance national security interests,” said Senator Hirono, Executive Board Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation’s scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry,” said Rep. Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Other signatories included Senators Tammy Duckworth, Peter Welch, and Congressmembers Jake Auchincloss, Ami Bera, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Jasmine Crockett, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Chuy Garcia, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sanchez, Adam Schiff, Tom Suozzi, Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, Lauren Underwood.

No to China committee

Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday January 10, 2022, against creating a committee to investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.

The House overwhelmingly voted to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on a 365 to 65 margin, in one of the first votes since the Republicans took control of the chamber.

However, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Chuy Garcia.

Effort to Stop Development Projects

Rep. Ro Khanna, Tefere Gebre of Greenpeace, Grace Tuttle of Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights and Naadiya Hutchinson, Government Affairs Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice were listed as speakers for a "Special Town Hall" dated September 15, 2022 sponsored by Our Revolution. The meeting is to discuss strategies to stop the public from using strategic litigation to shut down development prjects. Our Revolution, Greenpeace, Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) and WE ACT for Environmental Justice participated. In a mass email, Our Revolution linked to a letter signed by democrats to thwart development projects.

From the event invitation:

"Our Revolution, America’s largest grassroots progressive organization, is partnering with Greenpeace USA to stop a looming threat to our communities and our planet. together, we are hosting a Town Hall to mobilize our networks of millions of members and hundreds of local chapters to stop a deal negotiated between Senator Joe Manchin, The American Petroleum Institute (API), and Democratic leadership to fast track permitting of fossil fuel extraction projects, leading to potential catastrophic climate impacts.

Join frontline communities and our allies in Congress to learn what you can do to help us stop Manchin's Dirty Deal!

From a mass email sent by Our Revolution dated September 12, 2022:

"Our Revolution is leading the charge alongside frontline communities and environmental justice groups like Greenpeace to kill Joe Manchin’s side deal for more dirty oil favors.

"Manchin is willing to shut down the government for more fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline in WV and strip safeguards from impacted communities.

"Dems can’t celebrate “the biggest climate steps in history” while reversing them by caving to a literal coal baron.

"Our coalition of 650 organizations is urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to detach the deal from the must-pass bill to fund the government — we cannot let Manchin hold us hostage!

"Bernie railed against it on the Senate floor this week and says he’ll vote it down, and Our Revolution is calling for a progressive mutiny in Congress.

"A coalition of 72 US House Reps have signed onto a letter led by US Rep. Raul Grijalva - but we need more of our representatives in Congress to stand in opposition.

Chuy Garcia signed the letter.

"Fact-Finding Mission" to Central America

April 1, 2022 Members of the U.S. Congress– Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04), and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) – as well as representation from the office of Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), joined U.S.-based solidarity organizations, including Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective, SOA Watch, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, and the Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program, for a fact-finding mission to Central America. Upon return, the Congressional representatives issued a joint statement, saying:

“We traveled to Central America to investigate the root causes of migration from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and the U.S.’ role in those causes. What we found is a resilient region where corporate interests, international development institutions, and the U.S. government have played a profoundly destabilizing role.

“In Honduras, we witnessed cautious optimism as newly elected President Castro and her administration work to uproot corruption and defend human rights. In Guatemala, however, we saw dangerous signs of regression toward authoritarian rule as civil society is persecuted and principled judges are forcibly removed from office. El Salvador is showing similarly worrisome trends. But the one constant we witnessed, no matter the political context, was the tireless work of organizers and dissidents defending Indigenous, environmental, and human rights.

“While we were overcome by people’s experiences of repression, criminalization, disenfranchisement, and persecution, we were also struck by the parallels between their struggles and those our own communities face. We return home determined and energized to advocate for a rights-based U.S. policy at home and abroad.”

While in Honduras:

The delegation met with Honduran President Xiomara Castro, members of her cabinet, and the President and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Honduran National Congress. The members of Congress visited the grave of internationally recognized Indigenous leader Berta Caceres, who was assassinated in 2016 for opposing a U.S.-backed hydroelectric project, and heard from her organization COPINH about the continued impunity enjoyed by the powerful actors ultimately responsible for her assassination. Three of those found guilty for Caceres’ murder to date received training at U.S. military institutions.

During a visit with the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), three members of the Congressional Black Caucus made connections about the impacts of the war on drugs, militarization, and state violence in Black communities. Leaders from OFRANEH shared how the ancestral lands of the Garifuna people have been affected by agrofuel plantations and tourist projects. A delegation from the Moskito people, who were victims of the May 2012 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) killings in Ahuas, joined OFRANEH in sharing their experiences with the delegation.

During a visit to communities organizing to defend the Jilamito River from a hydroelectric project to be financed by IDB Invest, a multilateral development bank of which the U.S. is the largest shareholder, the delegation saw firsthand how international economic development financing can benefit local elites and international corporations rather than those who need it.

The Agrarian Platform shared their many years of struggle to defend cooperative land titles in the Bajo Aguan region from powerful agri-business actors backed by military and paramilitary forces, often with U.S. training. Guapinol River defenders shared about their struggle against the Los Pinares mining project in the Carlos Escaleras National Park and that the eight water defenders who were recently released after 914 days in prison have only been granted provisional freedom. Bertha Oliva of the Committee of the Relatives of the Detained - Disappeared of Honduras (COFADEH) shared about the struggle for justice for victims of human rights violations following the 2009 coup and during subsequent U.S.-backed regimes.

While in Guatemala:

The delegation met with representatives from the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), Center for Legal Action on Human Rights (CALDH), and Association of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared in Guatemala (FAMDEGUA). They shared about current legal cases for crimes against humanity committed by the U.S.-backed Guatemalan state in the 1980s, including the Ixil genocide case and the Military Diary case, which includes charges for enforced disapeareance, sexual violence and other crimes against humanity.

Judge Pablo Xitumul spoke with the delegation about attacks on judicial independence, only two days after being removed from his position by the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice. This removal is widely recognized as a blatant act of criminalization towards Judge Xitumul, who issued historic sentences in the Molina-Theissen transitional justice case and the “Magic Water” corruption case against former Guatemalan Vice-President Roxanna Baldetti. His removal was the latest in a pattern of attacks against independent judges and prosecutors.

Members of the Peaceful Resistance La Puya met with the delegation at their permanent protest camp, which they have maintained for ten years at the entrance to the Progresso VII Derivada mine, owned by Nevada-based mining company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA). Local community members expressed their commitment to defend already scarce water resources from the devastating impacts of mining, and shared experiences of criminalization and police repression. They underscored the injustices of the arbitration suit that KCA has brought against the Guatemalan government for over US$400 million under the terms of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States.

The delegation was welcomed by a large turnout of thePeaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa at the permanent resistance camp erected in 2017 to halt mine-related traffic to the Escobal silver mine, owned by Canadian-U.S. company Pan American Silver. It held meetings with representatives of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala and Diocesan Commission for the Defense of Nature (CODIDENA). Community members discussed how the mine was violently imposed on them, how this led to forced displacement of one community, and called for the court-ordered consultation process underway with the Xinka People to respect their self-determination and be free of pressure, coercion, intimidation and violence.

The delegation met with Maya and Xinka Ancestral Authorities from across Guatemala, as well as several Guatemalan Congresswomen, who shared analysis on Guatemalan history and current events, including an analysis of systemic corruption, impunity, and racism and how extractivism and privatization are root causes of forced migration.

Representatives of the Maya Achi communities affected by the Chixoy Dam met with the delegation to discuss the ongoing effects of the dam’s construction and their leadership on the issue of reparations for Indigenous communities. In the 1970s and 80s, multilateral development banks funded the construction of the Chixoy Dam, which resulted in brutal massacres and mass displacement of Maya Achi Indigenous communities.

The delegation also had the opportunity to learn about the current political crisis in El Salvador, including rising levels of political persecution, militarization, threats of privatization of public services, and the ongoing role of U.S. foreign policy in creating unstable conditions in the country.

Humanitarian Needs in Cuba letter

December 16 2021 , House Rules Committee Chair James McGovern (D-MA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy Chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) led 114 Members of Congress in a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people as they experience the worst economic and humanitarian crisis in recent history...

In the wake of this year’s protests, the members urged the administration to support the Cuban people by suspending U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, remittances, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people...

Signatories included Chuy Garcia.

May Day 2021

Chicago, IL - The movements for immigrant rights, against police crimes, and the labor movement of essential workers united today to mark May 1, International Workers Day in Chicago. Banners read “Legalization for all,” “Stop police crimes” and “Justice for essential workers.”

The mobilization represented the unity reached between the major immigrant rights group the state, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). ICIRR’s two legislative priorities are legalization for all and a pathway to citizenship at the federal level, and community empowerment to hold the Chicago police accountable.

Speaking for CAARPR, co-chair Jazmine Salas said, “The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance will put us on a path to community control of the police – no more murders like those of Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez.” Both were killed by CPD in late March. Adam Toledo was 13 years old and had his hands in the air when he was shot; Anthony Alvarez was shot in the back while running away from the police.

Essential workers and their unions, particularly SEIU Locals 73 and Health Care Illinois/Indiana also joined the rally. HCII Vice President Jaquie Algee explained about the 1886 nationwide strike for the eight-hour day, organized mainly from Chicago, in honor of which May 1, is celebrated around the world as International Workers Day. She said, “It’s a disgrace that over 100 years later we’re still fighting for the same things: respect on the job and decent wages.”

The rally at Union Park was capped by remarks by Congressman Chuy Garcia, who pledged to support the PRO Act legislation in support of labor organizing; legalization for all, including removal of exclusionary bars; and a pathway to citizenship to be included in the budget reconciliation. “It’s high time to stop criminalizing immigration and desperation, and to end an immigration system entangled with the flawed criminal justice system. It’s no accident that the same communities that are over-policed due to racist policing and racial bias are suffering at the hands of immigration enforcement.”

Garcia then spoke about his legislation, the New Way Forward, which would end the mass criminalization and deportation pipeline.

After rallying in Union Park on Chicago’s West Side, they marched two-and-half miles to Federal Plaza in the Loop. A cultural program featuring youth performers was interspersed with speeches by Rev. Emma Lozano, her daughter Tanya Lozano, Frank Chapman of CAARPR, Oswaldo Gomez of ONE Northside and the Grassroots Alliance for Public Safety, and alderpersons Byron Sigcho Lopez and Carlos Ramirez Rosa, all of whom came together to help create the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance.

Labor Caucus

The Labor Caucus is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2021 members included Chuy Garcia .

Peace on Korean Peninsula Act

Congressman Brad Sherman introduced the 'Peace on Korean Peninsula Act' (H.R. 3446) on 5/20/2021 with co-sponsors including Rep. Andy Kim, Rep. Grace Meng, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Tom Suozzi, Rep. Al Green, and Rep. Marilyn Strickland.

Further co-sponsors included Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Chuy Garcia, Rep. Dwight Evans , Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Alan Lowenthal Rep. James McGovern, Rep. Andy Biggs Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

Refugee Resettlement

July 1 2019 Senator Tammy Duckworth hosted a roundtable with immigration rights advocates in Chicago to identify areas where additional federal support is needed. Duckworth was joined by U.S. Representative Chuy Garcia (D-IL-4), Illinois State Senator Omar Aquino (IL-SD-2), Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy (IL-HD-14), Cook County Board Commissioner Alma Anaya and leaders from local organizations working to help immigrants and refugees. Representatives from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, National Immigrant Justice Center, Centro Romero, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Jewish United Fund, HANA Center, Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Illinois Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services and PASO West Suburban Action Project joined the officials to share their work on immigration in Chicago and throughout Illinois.

People's Charter endorser

The People's Charter was released by the Working Families Party shortly before the 2020 election.

Endorsers included Chuy Garcia.

The People's Charter Launch

October 8 2020.

WFP PEOPLE’S CHARTER LIVE LAUNCH: We know that defeating Trump is a doorway, not a destination. Join us for the live launch of a #PeoplesCharter—a new, ambitious roadmap out of our current crisis, to an America that works for all of us. Featured speakers include Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Chuy Garcia, Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush. (via act.tv)

Moderated by Nelini Stamp and Maurice Moe Mitchell.

Henry Reeve Medical Brigades

Marguerite Horberg July 10 2020·

Meet a few of the amazing actors, poets and activists expressing solidarity with the Henry Reeve Medical Brigades who have treated Covid patients in more than 30 countries - Concert for Cuba salutes these humanitarian workers and calls for the end of the US blockade of Cuba. 2 nights of music and solidarity streaming live exclusively on HotHouseGlobal at Twitch.tv/hothouseglobal. Register https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concert-for-cuba-tickets-111083545876 — with Councilmember Mike Bonin, Mike Farrell, David Soul, Danny Glover, Felix Gonzales, Ed Asner, Baltazar Castillo, Jesse Jackson, Sr., Judith LeBlanc, Chuy Garcia, Medea Benjamin, Jonathan Jackson, Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, Medea Benjamin, Ronnie Malley, Ronnie Malley, Chelis Lopez and Judith LeBlanc LMT.

JStreet PAC endorsement

In 2024 JStreet PAC endorsed Chuy Garcia.

Defense spending cuts letter

May 19, 2020.

Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry:

We write to request a reduction in defense spending during the coronavirus pandemic. As you draft this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we encourage you to authorize a level of spending below last year’s authorized level. Congress must remain focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and distributing needed aid domestically. In order to do so, appropriators must have access to increased levels of non-defense spending which could be constrained by any increase to defense spending.

Initiated by Mark Pocan and Barbara Lee.

Co-signatories included Chuy Garcia .

New power base

U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia flexed his newfound political muscle February 2019, embracing a slate of aldermanic candidates pledging to reform a City Council reeling from the federal corruption investigation of Aldermen Edward Burke (14th) and Danny Solis (25th).

Garcia is threatening to build his own political machine after electing a slate of candidates last year.

They included: Alma Anaya as county commissioner; Beatriz Frausto-Sandoval as a circuit court judge; and Aaron Ortiz as state representative.

The Ortiz win was particularly satisfying to Garcia because Ortiz defeated Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago), softening up his brother, the alderman.

Wednesday February 20, Garcia played political kingmaker once again.

He stood beside incumbent Ald. John Arena (45) and eight aldermanic candidates to unveil a six-point “platform for reform” of a City Council mired in scandal.

The plan includes: banning outside income “if it causes recusals or conflicts of interest with city business”; expanding the inspector general’s powers to investigate aldermen, their staffs and programs; empowering the city inspector general to review all no-bid contracts over $50,000; and revising aldermanic prerogative to include “serious input” from area residents.

The reforms also include: requiring participatory budgeting to prioritize the $1.3 million in “menu money” earmarked annually for each of the 50 aldermen; and, public financing of political campaigns through a “small-donor match” that would “get big money out of politics.”

Garcia noted that more than 30 aldermen have either been convicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the 50 years since Burke joined the Council.

Burke has been charged with attempted extortion; he’s accused of shaking down a Burger King franchise owner for legal business for himself and for a $10,000 campaign contribution to Toni Preckwinkle’s re-election campaign for county board president.

The Chicago Sun-Times has since reported that Solis spent more than two years wearing a wire to help the feds build their case against Burke and secretly recorded more than a dozen conversations as movers and shakers sought city actions from Burke.

“Many have called this type of behavior the ‘Chicago Way.’ Well, that’s not the way I know or the people of Chicago expect from their elected leaders,” Garcia said.

“That’s why Chicago needs reform and is ready for it in 2019. The platform for reform that all of these candidates standing here today are committed to … will help restore peoples’ faith in government and return the power of government to the people.”

Politics

"In 1984, Garcia ran for Democratic ward committeeman in the 22nd. The efforts he and Lozano had made to build a multiracial coalition bore fruit: the only two black precincts in the ward voted overwhelmingly for Garcia, lifting him to victory in a tight race against the machine incumbent.

"Two years later, in a special election after a court-ordered ward remap, Garcia was elected alderman. The opposition of white aldermen had prevented Mayor Washington from passing legislation and securing appointments; Garcia helped break that logjam, and he soon became the ranking Latino in the mayor's council coalition.

"Garcia is also proud that services in his ward were fairly distributed while he was alderman. One of his longtime supporters, Ronelle Mustin, an African-American truck driver who's lived in the ward since 1977, said Garcia made sure the ward's few black residents "got our fair share of everything—streets repaired, sidewalks done, garbage picked up." Garcia was reelected in 1987. In 1991, the Independent Voters of Illinois named him one of the city's best aldermen, and he was reelected again.

"But after Washington died in office in 1987, and especially after Daley was elected mayor in 1989, the council reverted to its customary rubber-stamp role, and Garcia decided it was time to move on. In 1992 he became the first Mexican-American to be elected to the Illinois state senate. The rewards of representing a larger district more than offset the pay cut, he told me; aldermen then made $55,000, state senators $38,500.

"The Tribune endorsed him for reelection in 1996, calling him "one of the more independent and open-minded Chicago legislators." He won, and in his second term the Wall Street Journal lauded his efforts to work with different races and ethnicities, noting that he was chairing the predominantly African-American senate minority caucus.

"In 1997, Garcia opposed the UIC's southward expansion into Pilsen and the Near West Side. The university offered a plan that in the short term would bring more jobs and contracts to the affected neighborhoods, but Garcia feared it would hasten gentrification. He called for UIC to build more affordable housing in the area. In testimony before the board of trustees, he said the university had to choose between being an "arrogant, insensitive, bulldozing powerhouse" and an institution that "learned to involve its neighbors . . . as true partners." (This closely foreshadowed his view of the choice in the current mayor's race.)

"His demands of UIC were unheeded. The Tribune endorsed him again in 1998, but with much less enthusiasm; the paper urged him to be "a conciliator, not an obstructionist." An army of precinct workers aligned with Mayor Daley helped a political neophyte turn Garcia out of office. The Tribune attributed Garcia's loss partly to his "overheated charges of gentrification" regarding UIC's expansion.

"Garcia dropped out of politics after the 1998 defeat. He wanted to return to his roots of addressing problems at the community level, he told me.

"He founded Enlace Chicago, a nonprofit community development organization in Little Village, and served as its executive director while taking evening classes in urban planning at UIC.

"110% communist"

The mid 1980s court-ordered remapping of the 22d Ward, which encompassed much of Little Village, marked the inevitable transfer of political power from the old Slavic order to the Hispanic new. And the March 18 1986 "special ward election will formally complete that transition".

All candidates were Hispanic in the aldermanic election for the ward that is now bounded roughly on the north by Cermak Road and Ogden Avenue, on the south by the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, on the west by the city limits and on the east by California and Kedzie Avenues.

Recognizing the changing of the guard, Ald. Frank Stemberk, a member of the city council majority bloc, opted to seek election to the Cook County Board.

That left the field clear for Chuy Garcia, the ward`s Democratic committeeman and a city employee; Guadalupe Martinez, a grocer and shoe store owner backed by Stemberk; and beauty products retailer Fred Yanez.

Although Hispanics in the ward had only recently have begun to flex their political muscles, they display a firm grasp of Chicago`s traditional arm-twisting, mudslinging brand of politics. And in the inevitable head count to determine who will side with Mayor Harold Washington and who will join the team of his nemesis, Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th), the loyalties are clear in the 22d Ward race.

My opponent Chuy Garcia is 100 percent communist, if not 110 percent, said Martinez, who has the endorsement of Vrdolyak, the Cook County Democratic chairman.

Countered Garcia, a supporter of Washington, These are the wild accusations of desperate people. They have gotten the kiss of death from Vrdolyak, and they will die a political death.

Said Martinez The whole community . . . rejected Garcia because he is too radical.

Enlace Chicago

"In ten years, Garcia built Enlace Chicago—which means "connections"—into an organization with a $2.9 million budget and a full-time and part-time staff of more than a hundred. It's been instrumental in antiviolence efforts in Little Village and in upgrading housing there. On Mother's Day in 2001, a protest engineered by Garcia — a 19-day hunger strike by parents — won a commitment by the Chicago Public Schools to finally build a long-promised high school, Little Village-Lawndale. It opened in 2005.

"In 2009, Garcia decided it was time for other challenges. At a large staff meeting, he announced he was leaving Enlace Chicago. "There wasn't a dry eye in the room," said Mike Rodriguez, Enlace's current executive director.

Latino Leadership Council

In November 2018, Chuy Garcia announced the Latino Leadership Council, a collaborative effort with Luis Gutierrez.

In November 2018, Chuy Garcia announced the Latino Leadership Council, a collaborative effort with Luis Gutierrez in an effort "to build on higher voter turnout in the Hispanic community in recent elections that has been spurred in part by opposition to President Donald Trump."

From John Byrne of the Chicago Tribune:

"couple of high-profile Chicago Hispanic officials are launching a new political action committee designed to help political candidates and highlight issues important to Latinos.

"Incoming U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia and the man he’s replacing in Congress, Luis Gutierrez, announced the new organization Sunday, with business people and young elected officials taking part, Gutierrez said.

"“We want to create opportunities for people, both in politics and business, by making sure everybody knows the buying power of Hispanics, the entrepreneurial spirit of Hispanics, and that Hispanic representation matches that, which hasn’t always been the case,” he said.

"Garcia said the Latino Leadership Council sprang out of discussions about how to build on higher voter turnout in the Hispanic community in recent elections that has been spurred in part by opposition to President Donald Trump.

"“We need to take advantage of this enthusiasm,” Garcia said. “What we lack in the community, and what we hope to instill, is a culture of giving, to candidates, potentially to ballot initiatives that are important to the Hispanic community.”

"The group will raise money and use it to back political candidates who will tackle problems important to Hispanics, such as immigration issues, neighborhood gentrification and income inequality, Gutierrez said.

"Chicago’s history is full of examples of Latino political power centers, from the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization allied with Mayor Richard Daley to onetime Cook County Democratic Party chairman Joe Berrios’ Northwest Side organization.

"Gutierrez said he sees this new organization less as a progressive answer to those groups than as a public policy board. It will contribute money to candidates, he said, but also seek to bring attention to Latinos’ entrepreneurship and financial heft.

"“We want to elect people, but also educate people about our social and economic contributions,” Gutierrez said.

"But Garcia said the organization also will be seeking specifically to build on momentum around progressive positions. “We recognize progressive values play an important part in the higher turnout,” he said.

"Also part of the group: Alds. George Cardenas, Danny Solis, Rick Munoz, Gil Villegas and Joe “Proco” Moreno, as well as state Rep. Celina Villanueva and two state lawmakers who will be sworn in next year."

Selfie with Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley

On November 16, 2018, Chuy Garcia tweeted a selfie with Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.

On November 16, 2018, Chuy Garcia tweeted a selfie with Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.

"Taking it all in with @RashidaTlaib and @AyannaPressley. #congress #democrats #wecametowork"

Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC

In 2018 Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC (CPC PAC), the political arm of the 76-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, endorsed Chuy Garcia (IL-04) for the House of Representatives.

CPC new members

2018 Congressional Progressive Caucus new members included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Deb Haaland, Veronica Escobar, Chuy Garcia, Joe Neguse, Andy Levin, Mike Levin.

Anti-Trump Protest

"Leaders of area Muslim, Jewish, women, immigrant, LGBTQ and disability advocate groups gathered Tuesday near the Trump International Hotel & Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave., in a show of solidarity against Trump. The press conference was headlined by Cook County Commissioner and former mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, a Mexican immigrant who moved to Chicago five decades ago...The event was organized by the groups and the Democratic National Committee. U.S. Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) sent an e-mail to constituents Monday afternoon urging them to attend the rally."

Susana A. Mendoza and Rami Nashashibi also spoke at the rally.

Political career

First elected to the Chicago City Council in 1986 as a reformer and supporter of Mayor Harold Washington, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia helped give Mayor Washington a majority in the City Council to enact "progressive legislation." He was among Mayor Washington's most trusted allies.

Chuys fight for justice did not stop after the Mayor died.

In 1992, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia was elected and served two terms as State Senator. As the first-ever Mexican-American elected to the State Senate, Chuy pushed forward a broad range of legislation to benefit the working families of his district.

Unity column

Chuy Garcia contributed a column to Unity, journal of the League of Revolutionary Struggle April 30, 1990.

Communist Party USA

Chuy Garcia has a long history with the Communist Party USA, its people, fronts and causes.

Communist Party ties

In a report of the Communist Party USA's Mexican American Equality Commission, prepared as part of the discussion leading up to the Communist Party USA's 29th National Convention May 21-23, 2010, the Commission wrote of several electoral victories, of people obviously associated with the party;

Mexican Americans are a necessary force in the struggle to breakthrough the right wing obstructionism and counteroffensive and win progressive changes in health care, jobs and income, immigration, civil rights, labor rights and a more reasonable foreign policy in on going electoral struggles and the coming elections.. Mexican Americans are strong supporters of the Obama administration's efforts to move away from the right wing policies of the past and to move for progressive reform as evidenced by the 76% approval rating of California Latinos for Obama, in the January 2010 poll by the California Public Policy Institute. These developments are reflected in the strong races of Rudy Lozano for Illinois legislature, Rick Nagin for the Cleveland City Council and the big victory of Chuy Garcia as Cook County Commissioner in Illinois and Ana Rizo as Mayor of Maywood one of the cities of greatest immigrant concentration in Los Angeles County.

Bea Lumpkin's 100th Birthday

On August 3 2018, more than 300 people gathered at the Chicago Teachers Union Center to celebrate the 100th birthday of much beloved Chicago labor activist Bea Lumpkin. Seasoned trade unionists, politicians, labor lawyers, and labor historians rubbed shoulders with young people from INTERGEN, the activist intergenerational and multiracial alliance that Bea helped found in 2016. The young people who stole the night, including Lakesia Collins, co-Founder of INTERGEN, were there to pay homage to a woman who understands all too well the struggles of organizing during difficult times.

The crowd was transnational, multiracial, intergenerational, and, most importantly, energized. How could it be anything else? This was Bea’s crowd. Guest speakers including Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman-Elect Chuy Garcia, Chicago CLUW President Katie Jordan, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey, Co-Founder of INTERGEN Lakesia Collins, and Scott Marshall of the Steelworkers spoke about the enormous impact Bea had had on their own lives as she organized for worker power, racial justice, peace, and gender equality.

Peoples World Gala

People's World December 10, 2015.

People's World is proud to host our 28th Annual Gala, this Sunday, December 13th.

The gala's theme is: “Defending democracy: Advancing the struggle for economic and human rights!

Ishmael Flory tribute

Illinois Communist Party USA leader Ishmael Flory was honored at Malcolm X College in Chicago, September 29, 1991, by more than 100 guests.

Margaret Burroughs, a board member of the Chicago Park District MCed the event.

"Ishmael Flory is a man for all seasons...He never gives up", said State Senator Alice Palmer.

Alderman Chuy Garcia of Chicago's 22nd ward cited Flory's role in fostering African-American and Latino unity , and in building multi-racial coalitions for social progress.

Prof. Robert Starks of the Free South Africa Movement said "Ishmael has never failed to compliment me on my speeches, but at the same time he has never failed to pull me aside afterwards, too point out how I could have been a little more "progressive."

Tributes came from Communist Party USA chairman Gus Hall and Illinois organizational secretary Mark Almberg.

Other speakers included Crystal Bujol for the Flory family, long time friend Christine Johnson, Jack Spiegel of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union, Ronelle Mustin, peace activist Sarah Staggs, Harold Rogers, who brought greetings from Rep. Charles Hayes, Gerry Oliver, and Carl Bloice of the Peoples Weekly World.

2000 Chicago PWW banquet

The 2000 banquet, held October 28 at the House of Fortune restaurant featured Congressman Danny Davis as guest speaker.

Local honorees were;

• Jarvis Williams, president SEIU local 46, and vice president Chicago AFL-CIO
• Alice Bush, director District 1199, SEIU Local and leader of last summer's strike against Methodist Hospital in Gary Indiana.
• Bea Lumpkin, author of "Always bring a crowd"
• Chuy Garcia, former member of the Illinois State Legislature and presently director of the Little Village Community Development Center.

A special award went to Evelina Alarcon, co-ordinator to the Cesar E. Chavez Holiday Campaign.

Lance Cohn was a banquet organizer.

2009 Cook County Commissioner campaign

Rudy Lozano, Jr., Chuy Garcia

On November 3, 2009, Chuy Garcia announced his candidacy as a Cook County Commissioner for the 7th District to usher in a new era of reform, accountability, transparency and efficiency in government for the benefit of working people. His campaign theme: Clean it up, make it work.

His running mate was Communist Party USA affiliate Rudy Lozano, Jr., for State Rep. in the 21st District.

Garcia won his race, Lozano narrowly lost.

Endorsed Communist Party affiliate's State Rep. run

On June 25, 2011, Communist Party USA affiliate Rudy Lozano, Jr. announced his second bid for State Representative, for the 21st District.

Lozano's listed endorsers were;

• State Senator Iris Y. Martinez, 20th District
• State Representative Cynthia Soto, 4th District
• Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
• Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele, 2nd District
• Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia, 7th District
• Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, 4th District
• Alderman Ricardo Munoz, 22nd Ward
• Alderman Joe Moore, 49th Ward

Michelle Zacarias connection

Chuy Garcia with Michelle Zacarias.

Abdul-Aziz Hassan connection

Chuy Garcia with Abdul-Aziz Hassan.

David Bender support

In 2015 David Bender supported Chuy Garcia for Mayor of Chicago.

Scott Marshall connection

Chuy Garcia February 10, 2015 with Scott Marshall:

Lozano connection

Background

"In 1977, Garcia also became friends with Rudy Lozano.

"Lozano was four years older and had preceded Garcia at the UI's Chicago campus. He was organizing factory workers in Pilsen and Little Village, and advocating for unconditional amnesty for undocumented immigrants. The support for immigrants impressed Garcia, because Lozano had been born in the U.S. "I thought that people who were born here saw us as a step down, but he accepted everyone as equals."

"Garcia accompanied Lozano on some of his visits to shops to talk with workers about conditions, and to urge them to unionize. Employers occasionally responded by calling the police or otherwise trying to chase them off. "You had to push back," Garcia said. "You had to show some guts, because you needed to let workers know they could do this."

"Lozano believed that Latinos also needed to get involved in politics. In 1981, he and Garcia gave an award at a union hall to south-side congressman Harold Washington for his efforts in Congress on behalf of immigrants and bilingual education—causes that went beyond Washington's constituency.

""That's when Evelyn and I saved Harold's life...He started to choke on some mole that we served him—it went down the wrong pipe." Garcia pounded him on the back, Evelyn gave him some water, "and he cleared his throat, he was better. But he was still having a rough time, so Evelyn and I whisked him to the kitchen so he could get his composure. Then he goes, 'What'd you say your name was?' And I told him Jesus. He goes, 'Jesus? How do you spell that?'" Garcia spelled it for him, and Washington roared. "And he goes, 'Jesus—you saved my life.' He knew who I was from that point on."

"The ward that included Little Village, the 22nd, was predominantly Latino in the early 1980s, but it was represented by a white Democratic machine alderman. In 1983, Lozano ran against him, with Garcia managing his campaign.

"Meanwhile, Washington was running against incumbent Jane Byrne and state's attorney Richard M. Daley for the Democratic nomination for mayor. (Chicago's mayoral election has since become nonpartisan.) Because Lozano and Garcia believed in a multiracial coalition, they made sure their volunteers also passed literature for Washington, even though they knew it might cost Lozano votes; Washington wasn't yet popular in the 22nd Ward. In a five-person aldermanic race that February, Lozano finished second, 17 votes shy of forcing the incumbent into a runoff. Washington sneaked by Byrne and Daley in the mayoral primary, and in April he won the general election and became the city's first African-American mayor.

"Less than two months later, on a June morning in 1983, Lozano was fatally shot in the kitchen of his home on 25th Street near Pulaski. He was 31.

"A teen gang member was arrested and later convicted of the murder. The motive was never clear. Prosecutors maintained at the trial that Lozano had used gang members in his campaign for alderman, unintentionally weakening the gang to which Lozano's killer belonged.

"Garcia told me he and Lozano did their best to keep gang members out of Lozano's campaign, "but when people volunteer, you don't know who they are, and you can't weed everybody out." He said he still believes that forces "on the labor front or the political front" who felt threatened by Lozano were behind the slaying.

"Because the motive for the murder was unclear, Garcia and his friends worried that whoever was responsible might not be finished.

"Lozano's death "was one of the most difficult things to process," Garcia told me. "Rudy and I were inseparable." He paused, and looked away. When his eyes returned, they were wet, and his voice cracked as he continued. "I was dealing with the loss, the grief, the suspense, all at the same time."

"He'd been comfortable offstage, but after Lozano was killed he realized he needed to become the candidate who would help their movement succeed.

""I did it in part to keep his memory alive," Garcia said. "We thought getting elected was one of the most important statements we could make in terms of justice, politically and socially, for Rudy. It motivated me to run then, and it still does."

Congressional Tribute

Chuy Garcia honored his "Political Mentor" Rudy Lozano in Congress on June 7, 2023:

"Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great organizer and community activist, a leader who fought the Chicago machine and built multiracial and intergenerational coalitions, my friend, political mentor, and compadre, Rudy Lozano.

Tomorrow, June 8, marks 40 years since Rudy’s life was cut short. A labor organizer, he fought for workers’ rights. As a community activist, he fought for justice for immigrant families. Rudy brought together diverse communities to elect Harold Washington as Chicago’s first Black mayor in 1983.

Rudy knew political empowerment was vital to improving community conditions. My presence in Congress and the growing number of progressive Black, Latino, and Asian-American elected officials in Chicagoland represent the enduring impact of his legacy.

Let’s continue his legacy by working in coalition to ensure a more inclusive politics for all.

Que viva Rudy Lozano.

Lozano tribute

About 250 family, friends, colleagues and inspired young activists who gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago June 2008, 25 years after Rudy Lozano's murder at age 31, to celebrate his short but influential life.

Several speakers, including former state senator Chuy Garcia and Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd), credited Lozano with fighting for improved education, labor reform and minority representation in city government. Many said he was a crucial ambassador in forging a relationship between Latino and black voters that helped elect Harold Washington as the city's first black mayor in 1983.

Pepe Lozano on Team Chuy

Pepe Lozano was on Team Chuy, March 2018.

Lozanos back Chuy for Mayor

Pepe Lozano, September 2, 2017 near Chicago, IL ·

With Mary Alice Ochoa, Lupe Lozano, Dion Miller Perez, Celia Gonzalez Lozano, and Patricia Arreola Lozano.

CoC/DSA

Chuy Garcia has a long history with Democratic Socialists of America and the Committees of Correspondence.

"No Climate, No Deal"

Jamie Simmons, Michigan Climate Action, Rep. Chuy Garcia, Kaniela Ing.

Our Revolution endorsement 2022

Our Revolution endorsed Chuy Garcia in 2022.

Progressive Democrats of America, 2024

Progressive Democrats of America House endorsements 2024 Alma Adams, Becca Balint, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Judy Chu, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Chuy Garcia, Raul Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Jim McGovern, Summer Lee, Joe Neguse, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib, Mark Takano.

PDA 2020 endorsement

In 2020 Progressive Democrats of America endorsed Chuy Garcia's congressional run.

Medicare for All launch

With wide backing from unions and citizens groups, and majority public support, the Congressional Progressive Caucus formally unveiled its comprehensive Medicare For All legislation.

Surrounded by more than 100 backers at a Feb. 27 outdoor Capitol Hill press conference, from National Nurses United (NNU), the Center for Popular Democracy and Our Revolution, a parade of lawmakers, led by caucus co-chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., pitched the fight over the new legislation, HR1384, in human, justice and financial terms.

And while the ACA added millions of people to coverage – 330,000 in Cook County, Ill. alone, said Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill. — too many people, several speakers said, are one serious illness, or one illness of a family member, away from health-care-cost-caused bankruptcy.

Even people supposedly covered by the present system are still stuck with thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. Jennifer Epps-Addison, executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, told the crowd she usually doesn’t use her own story to illustrate problems, but she would here: Her husband, who has had multiple sclerosis for three years, is covered by CPD’s health insurance.

But while single-payer has wide public support, it also faces determined opposition from the health insurers, who have already launched a multi-million-dollar scare campaign against it, from the GOP, which calls it “socialism” and from the radical right. The health insurers don’t even like a “compromise” to set up a government-run system alongside their firms – and let consumers and companies choose their coverage option.

HR 109 endorser

By February 20 2019 endorsers of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's HR 109 (Green New Deal) included Chuy Garcia.

National Nurses United endorsement

National Nurses United 2018 endorsements included

• U.S. House of Representatives, IL-01 – Bobby Rush
• U.S. House of Representatives, IL-04 – Chuy Garcia
• U.S. House of Representatives, IL-09 – Jan Schakowsky

Coronado connection

Jesus Garcia March 3, 2016 ·

Congratulations Linda Coronado, Peggy A. Montes unsung heroine award recipient. The 7th District of Cook County commends you, and appreciates your service.

The People's Summit

At The People's Summit, Chicago 17-19 2016, a Saturday session was held "The People's Agenda";

Moderator Donna Smith - Progressive Democrats of America.

Speakers;

• Chuy Garcia - Commissioner, Cook County.
• Nina Turner - former Ohio State Senate.
• Tulsi Gabbard - Congressmember Hawaii.

Socialists

Carlos Rosa, Bernie Sanders, Chuy Garcia, Clem Balanoff, Robert Peters.

Far left endorsements

Chuy Garcia was endorsed by Cook County clerk David Orr, former state senator Miguel del Valle, civil rights activist Timuel Black.

Balanoff connection

Chuy Garcia is a close ally of Clem Balanoff.

C'ttee to Defend the Bill of Rights Bicentennial Celebration

On November 10, 1991 Jesus Garcia was listed as a member of the 1991 Tribute Committee for the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Bicentennial Celebration.

Jack Siegel tribute

Chicago Committees of Correspondence held a tribute banquet to 88 year old member Jack Spiegel, on October 3, 19993, with 250 in attendance.

Special guests included State Senator Jesus Garcia, Alderman Helen Shiller, Harold Rogers from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Carole Travis from the UAW, Larry Reagan from the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, Bernice Bild from the Coalition for New Priorities, Camille Odeh, from the Coalition of Palestinian Women and Meca Sorrentini from the Puerto Rican Socialist Party

Keynote speakers CoC co-chair Manning Marable. Illinois CoC co-chairs Sandy Patrinos and Mildred Williamson presented the awards. Maggie Brown sang songs, some written by her father Oscar Brown.

DSA/CoC meeting

Illinois State Senator Chuy Garcia and Bernice Bild from the Committee for New Priorities addressed a joint Chicago DSA / Illinois Committees of Correspondence forum on the 1998 elections. Senator Garcia gave a technical, electoral perspective on the outcome. Bernice Bild provided a look at the outcome from more of a policy perspective.

Progressive Chicago

A Progressive Chicago report to Keith Kelleher, dated October 27, 1993 listed several more contacts and potential members of the organization.

It stated that Alderman Joe Moore had agreed to participate and that State senator Alice Palmer was interested and was awaiting a call from Peter McClennon.

Members had been allocated people to contact;

• Peter McLennon - Chuy Garcia, Miguel Del Valle, Alice Palmer and Buzz Palmer, The Altged Group participants and John Steele.
• Dan Swinney - Carole Travis, UAW, Frank Lumpkin, Wisconsin Steel, Rev. Jim Reed, Methodist Church, Eddie Burke of the Teamsters.
• Carl Davidson - Slim Coleman, Helen Shiller, Don Weiner
• Madeline Talbott - South Suburban Action Conference

Others targeted for contact, but not assigned, included Clem Balanoff, Sue Purrington of NOW, Jane Ramsey at JCUA, Erlean Collins, Westside Black elected officials and PUSH, TWO and Joe Gardner's Project Hope.

Honoring Frank Wilkinson

Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights organized a "Celebration of the The Dynamic Life of Frank Wilkinson (1914-2006)" on Sunday October 29, 2006. Wilkinson had been a leader of the Communist Party USA, the New American Movement and Democratic Socialists of America.

Honoring Committee members included Chuy Garcia.

Defending the Public, Our Families, and Our Communities

A forum "Defending the Public, Our Families, and Our Communities" was held Saturday, April 9, 2011, Chicago Temple, 77 West Washington, Chicago.

Join progressive leaders and activists to discuss strategies for defending our rights to earn, learn, and live in dignity. In the wake of the all-out attack against workers' rights and against programs that help our communities, it is more important than ever to come together across movements and push to realize a vision of FDR's "Second Bill of Rights." Panelists will discuss a roadmap to fight back and push for progressive priorities including ending wars and militarism; enhancing workers' rights; and developing economic policies that promote jobs and communities instead of corporate profits.

Program:

Emcee: Lori Challinor ­ DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition

Opening Remarks: Chuy Garcia ­ Cook County Commissioner, 7th District

Panelists:

• Adrienne Alexander ­ Policy & Legislative Specialist, AFSCME Council 31
• Bill Barclay ­ Chicago Political Economy Group
• Judge William Cousins (ret.) ­ Member of the Board, South Side NAACP
• Bamshad Mobasher ­ United for Peace & Justice, Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice

Keynote: Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI"Towards a New New Deal: A 21st Century Full Employment Act"

Friends of Alice Palmer

In the mid 1990s Hon. Chuy Garcia was listed as a member of Friends of Alice Palmer (in formation), alongside Danny K Davis, Tony Rezko, Timuel Black and Barack Obama.

Tribute to Golub and Montgomery

ON November 16, 1989, Alderman Chuy Garcia served on the Tribute Committee for the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights Tribute to Leon Golub and Lucy Montgomery, held at the Congress Hotel, Chicago.

David Orr connection

Chuy Garcia with David Orr.

Democratic Allernatives for Illinois

From Democratic Left:

Chicago hosted a very successful Democratic Allernatives for Illinois conference]] October 31 1987. The Mayor Harold Washington greeted over 250 Democratic and community activists who camte together to formulate points of action for new progressive leadership in a post-Reagan era.

In addition to DSA, co-sponsors - including Citizen Action, Americans for Democratic Action, International Association of Machinists (IAM), and the American Federation of Government Employees; (AFGE) - urged the formation of a progressive coalition aimed at redefining Arnnica's economic needs and siezing control of a Democratic Party gone adrift.

After addresses by several panelists, including Congressman Charles Hayes and Alderman Jesus Garcia, Citizen Action co-director Heather Booth commended those gathered: "In the barrage of attacks during the Reagan era, it is hard to appreciate him vital the progressive forces are. This meeting was a way to remforce the people who are doing the work. These people are effcetive organizers, involved citizens.

Chicago's event is part of a larger DSA-initiated Democratic Alternatives program which began in Washington DC and has travelled to Albany, New York, and Kansas City, Missouri to date.

People for Bernie

In 2016 Shana East of Chuy Garcia Campaign, Girl Group Chicago, TRACERS was a leader of People for Bernie.

DUH winning candidates 2018

DUH - Demand Universal Healthcare winning candidates 2018.

Ro Khanna, Joe Neguse, Jared Polis, Chuy Garcia, Andy Levin, Jamie Raskin, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Deb Haaland, Madeleine Dean, Mary Gay Scanlon, Joe Cunningham, Veronica Escobar,

Medicare for All Act

In February 2019 Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019. By May 29 she had 110 co-sponsors including Rep. Chuy Garcia.

Immigration activism

On August 31, 1996, several Illinois Latino political leaders including State Senators Miguel del Valle, Chuy Garcia, and Congressman Luis Gutierrez and Alderman Rick Munoz held a press conference in Chicago to condemn, what they determined was "bad faith" on the part of the INS, over immigration raids, and citizenship applications.

Woods Fund of Chicago

Chuy Garcia served on the Board of the Woods Fund of Chicago from 2004 - 2010. He was serving on the Board as at Feb. 18, 2010. The Fund was established in 1941 and is a private philanthropic foundation that makes grants in metropolitan Chicago, Illinois. Woods Fund "supports nonprofits in their important roles of engaging people in civic life, addressing the causes of poverty and other challenges facing the region, promoting more effective public policies, reducing racism and other barriers to equal opportunity, and building a sense of community and common ground".

Endorsements

The following individuals and organizations endorsed Garcia in his 2010 run for Cook County Commissioner for the 7th District:

• AFSCME Council 31
• Americans For Democratic Action, Northeastern Illinois Chapter
• Citizen Action/Illinois
• Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Chicago
• 22nd Ward Independent Political Organization
• United Auto Workers, Chicago Area CAP
• United Electrical Workers, Western Region
• Congressman Luis Gutierrez
• Congressman Danny K. Davis
• Congressman Michael Quigley
• Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
• Miguel del Valle, Chicago City Clerk
• Frank Avila, Sr., Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner
• Debra Shore, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner
• Forrest Claypool, Cook County Commissioner
• Larry Suffredin, Cook County Commissioner
• Chicago Sun-Times
• Chicago Tribune

Democratic Committeepersons and Aldermandic Officials:

• Pat Dowell (3rd Ward)
• Willie Cochran (20th Ward)
• Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) (4th Congressional Committeeman)
• Joe Moore (49th Ward)

Harold Washington supporter

Chuy Garcia, Harold Washington, Ted Kennedy.

Chuy Garcia, Harold Washington, Cesar Chavez

In September 2014, when Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner invoked words of former mayor Harold Washington, to attack incumbent Governor Pat Quinn, a coalition of leaders who worked with, supported and espoused Harold Washington ideals and policies issued the below statement. Leaders who issued the statement are U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-1st), U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-2nd), U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-4th), U.S. Representative Danny Davis (D-7th), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia, Timuel Black, the Rev. Clay Evans, Jacky Grimshaw and the Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin:

“Harold Washington would be rolling over in his grave to see this desperate commercial run by a billionaire who didn’t hire a single African American executive at his own business and who wants to eliminate the minimum wage.

“Those who remember and loved Harold Washington know that he spent his entire career fighting against the Republican, anti-worker, benefit-the-rich policies that Bruce Rauner wholly represents.

“This is another desperate effort by a billionaire trying to change the subject from an ongoing federal trial targeting his company after misdeeds that led to the abuse, neglect and death of many senior citizens under his watch. Bruce Rauner can’t avoid responsibility for his business.”

Chicago elections/Bernie Sanders

In April 2015, just a weekend away from Election Day in Chicago's mayoral and City Council races, two progressive candidates and their supporters pre-emptively declared victory in bringing forth a new kind of peoples movement.

"Together we've already fundamentally changed the conversation," said Susan Sadlowski Garza, candidate for alderman in the city's 10th ward.

Chicago Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, speaking alongside Garza, mirrored the explosive enthusiasm of the crowd of 700 gathered Thursday evening in Chicago's far southeast side. Thirty years after the shutdown of every one of the area's four major steel mills, the ward's neighborhoods are still reeling from the poverty and despair created by these acts of corporate greed.

The rally's list of speakers ranged from Sadlowski Garza, Garcia and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, district Steelworker retiree leader Scott Marshall and East Side Methodist minister Rev. Z. L. Zocki. It was a snapshot of a movement growing on multiple levels.

"People are hungry to take Chicago back," said Garcia. He made it clear by "people" he meant working class. "You always treat working people with the highest dignity and respect and put their interests first," he continued, adding, "I need Susan in the City Council. We need someone who comes from Chicago's working classs." No one uses the eumphemism "middle class" in describing the 10th ward and its residents.

Sadlowski Garza is a school counselor in the same local elementary school that she, her four children and even her mother attended. She laid out a solid progressive agenda to "revitalize and unite" the 10th ward, leading with a call for a clean environment without toxins in the air and water and a call to direct tax dollars to developing green jobs at living wages.

Garza was introduced by Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis who made a surprise appearance, and the gathering reacted emotionally as she approached the stage slowly but deliberately, supporting herself on a walker. Lewis is recovering from surgery following the discovery of a brain tumor months ago. She recruited Chuy Garcia to run for mayor last Fall after her medical diagnosis forced her to drop out of the race against corporate Democrat Rahm Emanuel.

Lewis guided those gathered to look at a long-range picture: "This has got to be the start of a movement. We have the opportunity to change the political landscape," she said calmly and slowly, allowing the crowd a moment to look at itself and see a mass of steelworkers, teachers, high school students, Sierra club members, Working Families partisans and iron workers of many ages and hues. "It's messy, but this is what political democracy looks like," she concluded.

The Chicago Teachers Union made a conscious push after its 2012 strike to recruit and support candidates like Sadlowski Garza as viable candidates for the Chicago City Council. Tara Stamps, a fifth grade teacher, forced another Emanuel supporter into a run off in the West Side's 37th ward. Social Studies teacher Tim Meegan missed a run off by only two votes in the Northside 33rd ward. All the teacher candidates emphasized funding for schools, $15 hour minimum wage and opposition to privatization of public services.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders elaborated on the theme of building a peoples movement. "What we are doing is not just to make the 10th ward better," he said, "but demonstrating when people stand together there's nothing we can't accomplish."

Then he laid out what looked to the enthusiastic crowd a lot like a platform for the 2016 presidential race.

"We re gonna ask the richest people - billionaires and corporations - to start paying their fair share," he said right off the bat. Next he spoke of putting millions to work at green and living wage jobs by "investing in the crumbling infrastructure" and creating energy systems that cut carbons. He advocated free tuition in public colleges and universities, Medicare for All, raising Social Security benefits, overturning Citizens United and public funding for elections.

The rally took place in a former Steelworkers Union hall, just a stone's throw from the field where 10 striking steelworkers were gunned down by Chicago police on behalf of Republic Steel Corporation in May 1937 during the infamous Memorial Day Massacre.

"As the people from all walks of life band together to fight against a new era of corporate greed, the steelworkers who made the ultimate sacrifice would understand our struggle now," said Sadlowski Garza, the descendent of three generations of mill workers.

Change is in the air, observed steelworker retiree Marshall. "A powerful movement, led by labor, is being born."

Phillips connections

Chuy Garcia is within the Steve Phillips orbit.

Local Progress

Jennifer Epps-Addison October 27, 2015:

Jennifer Epps-Addison NY Council member Brad Lander, Chicago Commisoner Chuy Garcia and Wisconsin Working Families director Marina Dimitrijevic.

PowerPAC+ 2014 and 2015 Endorsements

PowerPAC+ 2014, 2015 endorsements;

• Stacey Abrams - Georgia State House
• Pete Aguilar - U.S. Congress, California-31
• Hector Balderas - Attorney General, New Mexico
• Cory Booker - U.S. Senate, New Jersey
• Wendy Davis - Governor of Texas
• Lucy Flores - Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
• Sandra Fluke - California State Senate, District-26
• Pete Gallego - U.S. Congress, Texas-23
• Chuy Garcia - Mayor of Chicago
• Kamala Harris - Attorney General, California
• Steven Horsford - U.S. Congress, Nevada-4
• Judithanne McLauchlan - Florida State Senate, District-22
• Joe Neguse - Colorado Secretary of State
• Michelle Nunn - U.S. Senate, Georgia
• Mark Takano - U.S. Congress, California-41
• Nina Turner - Ohio Secretary of State
• Marc Veasey– U.S. Congress, Texas-33
• Leticia Van de Putte - Lieutenant Governor of Texas
• Uduak Ntuk - Long Beach Unified School District Board
• Rebecca Thompson - Michigan State House

PowePAC+ attention

With the backing of Chicago’s powerful teachers’ union and endorsements from key black leaders like Chicago Teachers’ Union President Karen Lewis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cornel West and Congressman Danny Davis, Garcia has staked out a progressive agenda, calling for an end to school closings and railing against big corporations and special interests.

PowerPAC+ wrote;

"You can believe it when Chuy Garcia's finance chairman, longtime Chicago Democrat operative David Schaffer says that "Our polls show there's no way that Rahm can win; that Chuy will win pretty handily." By running on a strong, progressive agenda and building a new multiracial coalition in Chicago, Chuy Garcia is going to cause one of the biggest political upsets in recent years by defeating incumbent Rahm Emanuel. Garcia's key to victory is to keep effectively closing the racial gap with African-American voters and to continue positioning himself as the people-oriented and grassroots powered leader that he is.

Muslim Left connections

Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children Act

April 2021—U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act, or H.R. 2590, provides that no U.S. funds to the Israeli government may be used to support the military detention or ill-treatment of Palestinian children; the seizure, appropriation, or destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the occupied West Bank; or to facilitate further unilateral annexation of Palestinian land by the Israeli government in violation of international humanitarian law.

The bill establishes annual certification and reporting obligations on the Secretary of State to show that no U.S. funds have been used by the Israeli government to support the prohibited activities included in the legislation. The McCollum bill also requires oversight reporting detailing the Israeli government’s human rights violations against Palestinians.

Initial co-sponsors were Reps Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, Andre Carson, Marie Newman, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Raul Grijalva, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chuy Garcia .

Sponsoring organizations included Adalah Justice Project, Al-Haq, Americans for Peace Now (APN), American Friends Service Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Center for Constitutional Rights, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine, Churches for Middle East Peace, Church of the Brethren – Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, CODEPINK, Defense for Children International – Palestine, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Democratic Socialists of America BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Eyewitness Palestine, Freedom Forward, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, IfNotNow, Institute for Policy Studies – New Internationalism Project, J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Justice Democrats, MADRE, Massachusetts Peace Action, Middle East Children’s Alliance, MPower Action Fund, National Council of Churches USA, New Generation for Palestine, NGP Action, Norwegian Refugee Council, Palestine Legal, Peace Action, Presbyterian Church (USA), Progressive Democrats of America, Reformed Church in America, Sacramento Democrats for Justice in Palestine, Tree of Life Educational Fund, U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, United Church of Christ, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network, United We Dream Network, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), US Palestinian Council, Veterans for Peace, Win Without War, Working Families Party.

IMAM connection

Welcoming Correa

Chuy Garcia April 14, 2016:

Commish Chuy Garcia greets and welcomes Ecuador President Rafael Correa at premier showing (PBS) of The Royal Tour a film highlighting the richness and culture of Ecuador's people, geography, and natural resources. Viva El Ecuador!

Chief of Staff

Congressman-elect Chuy Garcia named Bill Velazquez as his Chief of Staff.

External Links

• Jesus Garcia's profile on the Cook County website
• Jesus Garcia's campaign website