Delia Ramirez
Delia Catalina Ramirez (born June 2, 1983)[1][2] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 3rd congressional district since 2023.
Delia Ramirez
Marie Newman (redistricting)
Boris Hernandez
A member of the Democratic Party, she also served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 4th district from 2018 to 2023.
The 4th district includes the Chicago neighborhoods of East Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Bucktown, West Town, Ukrainian Village, East Village, and Logan Square.[2][3] Ramirez was elected to the House in 2018 and reelected in 2020. She was the first Guatemalan American elected to the Illinois General Assembly.[2]
In 2022, Ramirez was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Illinois's 3rd congressional district. After being sworn in in 2023, she became the first Latina to represent Illinois in Congress.
Early life and education[edit]
The daughter of immigrants from Guatemala, Ramirez was raised in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.[4] She graduated from Sabin Magnet Elementary School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in justice studies from Northeastern Illinois University.[2][4][5][6]
Early political and advocacy career[edit]
Before entering elected office, Ramirez worked and held leadership roles in social service agencies, nonprofit advocacy organizations, and local community organizations. Notably, she was president of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association from 2005 to 2007, executive director of the homelessness-focused nonprofit Center for Changing Lives from 2004 to 2013, and president of the Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) from 2016 to 2019.[7][8]
In the 2018 Illinois House of Representatives election, she ran for the open 4th district seat to succeed incumbent Cynthia Soto.[2][9] She identified stable housing and stable schools, reliable and responsible government, and public safety and justice reform as her primary issues of concern.[7] She was part of a slate of Latino candidates backed by then-Cook County Commissioner and congressional candidate Chuy García.[10] She was also endorsed by a number of local elected officials, labor unions, and progressive organizations, including U.S. Representative Luis Gutiérrez, aldermen Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Roberto Maldonado, Chicago Teachers Union, Illinois AFL–CIO, SEIU Healthcare and Local 73, United Working Families, and Our Revolution Illinois.[4] Ramirez won a four-way Democratic primary election on March 20 with 48% of the vote, and ran uncontested in the general election on November 6, 2018.[5]
Personal life[edit]
In October 2020, Delia Ramirez married Boris Hernandez. Hernandez is a DACA recipient.[41]
Ramirez is the first United Methodist Latina in Congress. She has said: "In this church, my parents have shown me and my siblings that being a Christian is much more than words and certainly much more than participating on Sundays. Being a Christian is a way of living, a way of treating people, and the way we show the light of God through our actions."[42]