García, Jesús, 1956 April 12-

GARCÍA, Jesús, a Representative from Illinois; born in Durango, Mexico, April 12, 1956; graduated from St. Rita High School, Chicago, Ill., 1974; B.A., University of Illinois, Chicago, Ill., 1999; M.A., University of Illinois, Chicago, Ill., 2002; member of the Cook County, Ill., Democratic party, 1984-2000; member of the Chicago, Ill., city council, 1986-1993; member of the Illinois state senate, 1993-1998; member of the Cook County, Ill., board of commissioners, 2011-2019; unsuccessful candidate for election as Chicago, Ill., Mayor in 2015; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 2019-present).

<p>U.S. Representative Jesús G. “Chuy” García proudly represents the Fourth Congressional District of Illinois. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2019, during the 116th Congress.</p>

<p>Throughout his career, Congressman García has been a progressive voice fighting to improve the lives of his working-class neighbors, many of whom are immigrants like him. He is a coalition builder committed to empowering youth and expanding access to quality education, affordable housing, and economic opportunity.</p>

<p>He currently serves as a member of the influential Financial Services Committee, Natural Resources Committee, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the Congressional Equality Caucus, Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, and New Americans Caucus. He is also the founder the Future of Transportation Caucus.</p>

<p>Congressman García was born in Los Pinos, a small village in the Mexican state of Durango. He is the youngest of four children raised by his mother while his father worked in the United States, first under the WWII-era bracero program and later at a cold-storage plant in Chicago. In 1965, Congressman García and his family immigrated to the United States with permanent resident status. He still remembers his first American meal: a bologna sandwich from a roadside diner in Texas.</p>

<p>Jesús G. "Chuy" García (born April 12, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Illinois Senate, as well as Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. A candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2015 election, García finished second in the February 24 general election and forced a head-to-head runoff against the incumbent, Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel won the April 7 runoff.</p>

<p>García was first elected to the Chicago City Council in 1986, and in 1992 became the first Mexican-American member of the Illinois Senate. In 2010, García won election to the 7th district of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and after his election was appointed floor leader by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. He won a seat in the U.S. House in the 2018 election, replacing retiring Representative Luis Gutiérrez.</p>

<p>García was born in Mexico in the state of Durango. His father was a farm laborer under the U.S. government's World War II-era bracero program.</p>