García, Jesús, 1956 April 12-

Jesús G. "Chuy" García (born April 12, 1956) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019.

Born in Los Pinos in the Mexican state of Durango, he moved with his family moved to the United States in 1965, settling in Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Rita High School in Chicago, graduating in 1974. García became an American citizen three years later. García worked at the Legal Assistance Foundation from 1977 to 1980 as he worked towards a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He then became Assistant Director of the Little Village Neighborhood Housing Service, where he worked until 1984. In 1984, García challenged longtime Chicago alderman Frank Stemberk for his place as a Committeeman in the Cook County Democratic Party, receiving the endorsement of Mayor Harold Washington and narrowly defeating Stemberk. García was also appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Water by Washington, a post he held from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, he was elected to the Chicago City Council, succeeding Stemberk. During his time as Alderman, Congressman García prevented non-attorney immigration practitioners from levying unreasonable fees. In 1986, he became the Chairman for the Council’s Committee on Aviation, where he helped implement the Automated Guideway Transit (ATG) at O’Hare International Airport. In 1992, García ran for the Illinois Senate in the 1st district, winning the primary and general election. He served there until being defeated in the 1998 Democratic primary.

After his defeat, García left office in January 1999, then founded and became Executive Director of the Little Village Community Development Corporation. In 2010, García ran for the Cook County Board of Commissioners, winning the Democratic primary and defeating minor party opposition in the general election. He was re-elected in 2014 unopposed. In 2015, he challenged incumbent mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, holding him under 50 percent in the primary election; Emanuel would win the runoff with 55 percent of the vote. On November 27, 2017, just six days before the final day to file petitions to run in the 2018 election, Congressman Luis Gutiérrez pulled his petition, effectively choosing to retire at the conclusion of his 13th term. The next day García signaled his intention to run for the open seat; García would go on to easily win the primary and general election.

Throughout his career, 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. 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.