Delia Ramirez
An experienced social service administrator, community organizer, and policy advocate
Rep. Delia Ramirez, a lifelong Chicagoan, is an experienced social service administrator, community organizer, and policy advocate who successfully ran for Congress to give her community a powerful new voice in Washington. The daughter of immigrants, Rep. Ramirez is the first Guatemalan American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly. She has dedicated her career to fighting for solutions to complex issues like housing, education, and criminal justice. Rep. Ramirez, a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, has served as the founding executive director of the Center for Changing Lives, board chair for both the Latin United Community Housing Association and Logan Square Neighborhood Association. In 2018, she was elected to represent her home community in the Illinois House of Representatives, and went on to serve as assistant majority leader. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Boris and her golden retriever, Lola.
A champion for Illinois women and families
Rep. Ramirez has an outstanding record of delivering for the Illinois families she serves, and she ran to be their tireless champion in Congress. In the Illinois House, her legislative priorities have included housing, health care, and child welfare. Making housing a top priority in the state, her leadership has led to the expansion of homeless prevention programs and $200 million in capital investments to build affordable housing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has filed and passed emergency housing legislation to protect those at risk of losing their homes by expanding eviction protections, as well as providing rental assistance and mortgage release. She was the lead sponsor of legislation to expand Medicaid coverage to include seniors ages 65 and over regardless of their immigration status, making Illinois the first state in the nation to provide health care coverage to undocumented seniors. A fierce advocate for child welfare, she has led the work of the Task Force on Children of Incarcerated Parents. Rep. Ramirez is an experienced leader and a skilled legislator who is ready to fight for policies that help grow our economy, create more good-paying jobs, and move our country forward at this critical juncture.
An historic victory in a new district
Rep. Ramirez ran for Illinois’ newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District and won. No Midwestern state had ever before elected a Latina to Congress, and she made history as the first. “I’m rooted and ready,” she has said. We showed Rep. Ramirez our full support and helped elect this champion for Illinois women and families to Congress in this must-win newly redrawn district.