Illinois’ newest Latino congressional district brings heavy competition, divided Democratic visions
CHICAGO — On a recent Saturday, the fight for the Democratic nomination in Illinois’ sprawling new Latino-leaning congressional district played out in a few square miles of Chicago’s Northwest Side.
In a Guatemalan restaurant in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, state Rep. Delia Ramirez, 4th District, told supporters they’re working for a progressive who will keep fighting progressive fights: “We’re not just going to send the first Latina from the entire Midwest to Congress, we’re sending one of ours.”
Less than 2 miles west in the same neighborhood, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, knocked on doors to tell voters he’s best prepared “to hit the ground running, and to reach across the aisle in Washington, D.C., to get things done.”
The classic Chicago retail politicking on a raw spring afternoon more than two months before the primary looked familiar to anyone versed in the age-old local emphasis on a strong campaign ground game to connect with residents and get people to the polls.
But the race is also setting up as a modern referendum on issues ranging from diversity of representation to the political philosophies that are dominating the Democratic Party in Illinois and across the nation. And it’s all playing out in a new district that extends from progressive Chicago neighborhoods to historically conservative towns in the far reaches of what used to be the Republican stronghold of DuPage County.
Ramirez comes to the contest with
