Madhu Patel
CHICAGO: The New Year brings in a new era of South Asian political leadership in Illinois. This should serve as opportunities for participation in upcoming municipal elections in February 2019
On January 5, Ram Villivalam (D) was sworn in as the Illinois State senator from 8th Senate District, becoming the first Asian American State senator. He joined the newly formed Asian American caucus with Representative Theresa Mah (IL-2) and Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (IL-7). Together they aim to represent the needs of the Asian American community in their districts and across the State.
Asians and Pacific Islanders make up 21 percent of the population in Senator Villivalam’s district, the highest among all IL State senate districts. The 8th district also contains parts of municipalities with large South Asian populations.
Another significant result for the South Asian community was the re-election of Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) from 8th Congressional District in Illinois. Raja was elected to his second term after defeating Jitendra Diganvker (R) who incidentally was also of India origin. The IL 8th Congressional District also has a substantial South Asian community with 10 municipalities for which South Asians make up over 5 percent of the population.
In Schaumburg, the largest of these municipalities, a South Asian candidate, Nafees Rahman is running in the Mayoral election on April 2 against candidates Tom Dailly and Matthew Steward. Sunil Shah, another South Asian candidate, was slated to be on the ballot but he withdrew from the race in late December.
There are hundreds of other municipal elections taking place across Illinois on April 2 with elections for municipal offices (Mayor, City councils, Village Boards of Trustees, Clerks and Treasurers).
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