I am humbled to be decisively selected by residents of the 9th House District to appear on the November ballot as the Democratic candidate for State Representative.
I am honored by the support from so many community groups, labor organizations and teachers who backed my candidacy. Their support tells me I had the right priorities for this office.
I am especially pleased with the support of the members of my union, SEIU Healthcare Illinois, many of whom live in the 9th District. We are a union representing workers who serve on the front lines of healthcare and childcare, and we fight every day to improve the lives of working families.
Throughout this campaign, so many people allowed me into their homes to talk about their hopes and dreams for themselves and for their communities. I heard the need for better schools, lower property taxes, better food options and the need to fight for affordable housing. In many of these conversations, I heard my own story reflected.
My passion for fairness and compassion for people is rooted in being a child of humble beginnings who lost my mother at a young age and living for a while in foster care. As a teenager I gave consistent care to my grandmother who had a severe disability.
That is why I worked in nursing homes for more than a decade caring for seniors and fought to pass legislation to raise staffing levels and improve their care. That is why I fought for a $15 minimum wage and for a fair tax.
We are witnessing a period of uncertainty and even fear due to the spread of the coronavirus. I salute my brothers and sisters in the healthcare field and continue to pray for those under their care. I am confident that we as a city, state and nation will get through this.
And when I am elected in November, I will take the lessons learned from this campaign to Springfield to fight like hell to deliver resource to the residents of the 9th District.
