Edgar González Jr.

Edgar Gonzalez Jr. is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 21st District. The 21st District includes all or parts of the Chicago neighborhoods of Archer Heights, Brighton Park, Garfield Ridge, McKinley Park, South Lawndale and the Lower West Side along with the nearby suburbs of Stickney, Forest View, Lyons, Riverside, Summit and Bedford Park.[1]

Edgar Gonzalez Jr.
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 21st district
Assumed office
January 10, 2020 (2020-January-10)
Preceded byCelina Villanueva
Personal details
Born (1996-12-25) December 25, 1996
Little Village, Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceLittle Village, Chicago, Illinois
Alma materHarvard University

Early life and education

Edgar Gonzalez Jr. was born and raised in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, two blocks away from Cook County Jail. A son of working-class immigrants from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, his father is currently an IUOE Local 399 union member, his mother was formerly an SEIU Local 73 union member, and his sister is a current student at Columbia University.[2]

He attended John Spry Elementary School for preschool and Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy from kindergarten to sixth grade. He enrolled in Whitney M. Young Magnet High School's Academic Center and graduated in 2015. He went on to Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in government with a minor in economics in 2019, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. During his time at Harvard, Gonzalez was a political cartoonist for The Harvard Crimson and a staff writer for the Harvard Political Review, as well as a tutor and translator for Harvard Student Agencies. He volunteered his time as a tutor for recent immigrant arrivals in English and subject tutoring at Chelsea High School and Malden High School, and launched a tutoring and mentoring program for at-risk Latinx youth in the Boston area with Roxbury nonprofit Sociedad Latina. On his breaks from school, he interned with Enlace Chicago his freshman summer, the MacArthur Foundation his sophomore summer, and with 22nd Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rodriguez (politician) his junior summer.

Upon graduation, Gonzalez began working as a constituency services liaison for Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García, specializing in casework and outreach ranging from immigration, social security, and veterans to criminal justice and education.[3]

Political career

Gonzalez was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives on January 10, 2020, to replace Celina Villanueva, who in turn had been appointed to fill the vacancy of State Senator Martin Sandoval of Illinois's 11th State Senate District. The appointment was conducted by a panel of local Democratic leaders. At the time of his inauguration, Gonzalez was the youngest state representative in Illinois at 23 years of age. He is the youngest Latinx state representative and the youngest Democratic state representative to be inaugurated in Illinois's history.

Electoral history
Democratic primary[4][5][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (incumbent) 9,048 100.0
Total votes 9,048 100.0

References
  1. "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 21" (PDF). 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  2. "Biography - Edgar Gonzalez Jr". 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  3. "Edgar Gonzalez Jr. Launches Candidacy for 21st District State Rep Seat". 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  4. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. "Election Results 2020 Primary - DEM - 3/17/2020". Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  6. "Suburban Cook County Election Results March 17, 2020 Presidential Primary Election". Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
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