Citizen champion Alderman Raymond Lopez announces his candidacy for U.S. Congress in 4th District
By Ray Hanania
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, who has been one of the most vocal champions of citizen rights in Chicago and the region, announced Tuesday that he will be running as a Democratic candidate in the March 19, 2024 Democratic Primary election challenging incumbent Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
Lopez made his announcement in his 15th Ward, which is ranked as one of the best wards when it comes to community services and responsiveness.
Lopez has been a strong outspoken voice challenging the failed policies of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a leader in fighting racial discrimination not just against Hispanics and African Americans and even White residents, but defending the rights of Arab AMerican and Muslim Americans who were targeted by Lightfoot’s racism.
Garcia was silent regarding Lightfoot’s Task Force closures of more than 100 Arab and Muslim owned businesses in September 2021 and May 2022. Lopez forced Lightfoot to reverse her stand and worked with the community to ensure that the City of Chicago ends discrimination against Arab, Muslims or anyone.
Lopez has also challenged many of the failed policies of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson who continues to struggle to define his administration policies regarding non-Black minorities including the everyday challenges faced by Hispanics, Asians and other minority groups in Chicago.
Without Lopez’s strong voice speaking out against bad municipal policies, there would be a deathly silence in Chicago.
Lopez can take his activism fighting in the Chicago City Council seeking fairness, equity, better schools and stronger economy, and against racist policies that separate Chicago residents into groups based on their racial background to the Federal Level representing a broader area in the 4th Congressional District and around Chicago, and in Illinois.
Here is Lopez’s candidacy announcement:
Good morning.
Thank you all for joining me here today at Jardin. Special thank you to Simon Cruz and his staff for welcoming us into your place of business today.
I believe in America. I believe in democracy.
I believe that elections, not coronations, should choose leaders.
Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you today to announce that I will be a candidate for United States Congressman in 2024, representing the 4th Congressional District.
I am thankful to my voters who have sent me to the Chicago City Council three times. I appreciate their faith in me and my abilities to work towards common sense solutions to some of our toughest problems.
Together, we have addressed public investment, job creation, entrepreneurship and, most importantly, public safety.
Working across communities with residents, I have been able to address some of our most pressing issues fairly, honestly, and directly – all with the stated goal of bringing finality to issues so many leaders before me chose to ignore.
Sadly, we find ourselves on the verge of being overwhelmed by the failures and stagnation of Washington DC.
Federal leaders play extreme partisan politics in an effort to distract from their collective unwillingness to tackle the tough problems looming before them.
Congress has failed to raise the federal minimum wage since 2009. Wages have been suppressed at $7.25 an hour for 14 years while prices have risen 43.11%.
Congress refuses to live within its means, spending more than it takes in. $6.27 Trillion in spending is sustained by $4.9 Trillion in revenue with $1.38 Trillion in borrowing. This has contributed to the $33 Trillion in debt to be paid for by generations to come.
Congress has failed American veterans. Despite allocating $381.7 Billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs, only 41% of veterans are familiar with the programs and services available to them after leaving the military.
Congress has refused to address a flawed and broken immigration system while spending $913.6 Million on Citizenship & Immigration Services. Both parties have failed to secure American borders in the same manner they secured airports, docks and ports. Congress has refused to create functional paths for legal immigration into the United States and addressing the legalization of Dreamers.
These are just a few examples of the problems facing America today.
I am ready to bring common-sense solutions back to Washington!
I support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2026.
I support increasing tax deductions for working-class families, such as mortgage interest deductions and doubling the standard deduction for joint filers earning $100,000 or less.
I support fiscal responsibility, ending the reliance on omnibus spending resolutions, deficit spending, and unending national debt. I will support budgets based on separate spending bills, federal spending equal to federal revenue, and inclusive of debt reduction.
I will build upon my efforts as an alderman working with the VA to raise awareness levels, registration, and participation among our American veterans, concentrating our efforts locally on their health and housing needs.
I will work to bring common sense immigration reform, including a secured border with increased enforcement tools, efficient and timely protocols for legal migration, legalized status for Dreamers, 120-day asylum turnaround on existing merit hearings, and a five-year moratorium on future asylum requests unless ordered by a vote of the United States Senate.
We need Representatives in Congress willing to confront these challenges more directly and decisively.
4th District voters deserve a fighter that will fight for our families and our future.
4th District voters need a leader willing to listen to all sides and seek common ground.
4th District voters want a Democrat they can be proud of, bringing their commonsense values to the nation’s capital.
We are in this together.
You know who I am. You know where I stand.
Who’s with me?
Click here to View the announcement on Facebook: Tuesday, October 3, 2023, 10 AM CST — also the live stream will remain on Facebook to watch anytime.
Watch the Facebook Live announcement today, October 3rd, at 10 AM CST from Jardin Restaurant in Berwyn, IL.
“Remember when Congress got things done for the American people? It’s time to get back to what makes Democratic families thrive? Common sense solutions!” Raymond Lopez.
Raymond is a lifelong resident of the southwest side of Chicago. He lives in the Brighton Park community with his husband, Hugo, and their rescue dogs.
Before seeking public office, Raymond worked as a skycap for Southwest Airlines for twelve years at Midway International Airport beginning in 2002 until he resigned in 2014 to focus solely on campaigning for his eventual successful aldermanic race.
Raymond was elected Democratic Committeeman in the 15th Ward of Chicago in 2012 becoming the first openly gay Latino to ever hold any elected office in Illinois.
Raymond ran for Alderman in 2015 after an unsuccessful bid in 2011, winning a run-off election. He was re-elected in 2019 to a second term.
In 2023, Raymond was elected to his third term on the City Council. The 2023 municipal election was the first time a 15th Ward Alderman won without a runoff in forty years and the first time an Alderman had secured three consecutive terms in sixty years.
Raymond’s roots began in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. His great-grandfather immigrated from Guanajuato, Mexico with nothing more than a suitcase, three kids, and a pregnant wife. Through the generations, Raymond’s family built a lot of the history of the Back of the Yards and the Stockyards, including Mary McDowell’s Settlement House and Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish on Ashland Ave.
Driven by his faith and a passion for fighting for the voiceless, Raymond’s advocacies consist of animal rights, fighting to ensure all residents, regardless of immigration status, income level, education, orientation, or gender, have access to quality resources in their communities.
Raymond is a parishioner at Five Holy Martyrs-Immaculate Conception Parish, an auxiliary member of the Canaryville Veterans Association, and a supporter of his local Boy Scouts of America troops. In his spare time, Raymond enjoys running neighborhood 5K races across the Chicagoland area, reading historical fiction, enjoying home-cooked meals, and spending time with his husband of 17 years.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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