With his husband Hugo by his side, Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) wants to be the leader who saves Chicago. On April 6, 2022, he announced he was throwing his hat in to be Mayor of Chicago.
He was born and raised on the Southwest side of Chicago, near Garfield Ridge. Lopez went to school at St. Camilla’s Grade School and later attended St. Lawrence High School. Afterward, he enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he had two majors (Teaching of English Literature and Political Science) and minored in Biochemistry.
Alderman Lopez left UIC around 1998-1999 to take “a job in the Mayor’s Office of Special Events.” He worked there for three years as the Special Assistant to the Executive Director. “So I went with him and helped various departments within our office on everything from neighborhood festivals, parades, [and] block parties. As well as some of the bigger ticket items such as Taste of Chicago, Bluesfest, Gospelfest, and things of that nature,” stated the alderman.
Now he represents “the historic neighborhoods of Back of the Yards, Gage Park, Brent Park, and West Englewood.” He was first elected as alderman for the 15th Ward in 2015. In 2019, he was re-elected for the position.
Lopez decided to run for mayor because he believes the city needs leadership.
“We are facing some perilous times here in the city of Chicago,” the alderman said. “We see that crime continues to be the number one issue negatively impacting the residents, visitors, and people who work and call Chicago home every day.”
He continued on by saying, “From my experience as alderman, you have to have leadership that shows people how to work past these problems so that we can get through them together.” Lopez stated the current administration has not shown these qualities.
The Chicago native then described some of the issues he witnessed serving his beloved city.
“As alderman, some of the neighborhoods I represented were some of the most dangerous communities in the city of Chicago. For example, Back of the Yards routinely was in the Top 10 for being one of the most violent neighborhoods because of the generational gang violence that persisted there for decades. However, because I refused to accept gang violence, and indeed any violence, as normal, I was able to not only rally the community to step up and demand better but also to work with our local police commanders to show them that I was committed to helping and working with them to root out those magnets of violence.”
Lopez believes, “That is something that I think is replicable across the 77 communities in the city of Chicago. It is something I can bring to the table to address the most serious issue facing Chicago today. So that we can not only restore safety in our neighborhoods but then begin the outward growth of economic opportunity not only downtown but in our communities and help foster a greater sense of purpose and being for our city employees and first responders.”
The number one issue that Lopez wants to pursue as mayor is the safety and security of the people in the city.
“I will take ownership for people’s safety in a way that no mayor has in quite some time,” he said. “Too often political leaders refuse to get into the thick of it because they know trying to address violence is not an easy political task. Often times it’s a thankless task. And as it has been in my case, it can be a dangerous task as my whole office and life all have been threatened, on numerous occasions, by those very same gang bangers that I’m fighting against.”
“But someone needs to step up. I can be that someone because I have stepped up and shown a path in my Ward and more importantly that path can be replicated throughout the city,” added Lopez. To address the violence in the streets of Chicago, leadership must be provided.
You can’t as a political leader, whether it’s an alderman or as mayor, ignore the violence that is happening and impacting the lives of the innocent people in all of our neighborhoods.
Lopez took on the violence in the 15th Ward and feels he can take it on throughout the city of Chicago.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Source:
Interview: Alderman Raymond Lopez
WTTW: Ald. Raymond Lopez Announces Bid for Mayor, Setting Up Clash With Lightfoot; by Heather Cherone
Images Courtesy of TNS
