“Kamala Harris for the people. On behalf of the people. On behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender…,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in accepting her party’s groundbreaking nomination at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night. Harris is the first Black woman and the first Asian American to head the ticket of a major political party.
CAN-TV (Chicago’s public access television network), produced special local programming during the DNC via Munson Tonight and Chicago Politics.
Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th Ward, joined co-host and publisher of Illinois Latino News, Hugo Balta on Monday in the Chicago Politics’ segment Front and Center.
Sigcho-Lopez discussed Vice President Harris’ position on critical issues in this year’s election, including immigration. “Unfortunately, the Democratic party has adopted very anti-immigrant, xenophobic narratives. What we need from Vice President Harris is actually to look at the data and look at the evidence. What we’ve seen is operations like Operation Condor in Latin America destabilizing governments; actually arming and empowering dictators. The evidence does not suggest that we are addressing the root causes; quite the opposite. We are displacing more and more people,” he said.
On Tuesday, Alderman Gilbert Villegas, 36th Ward joined the conversation to discuss what local leaders can do to boost Chicago beyond the DNC .
“We’ve been very strategic about making sure that local, minority owned, women owned, veteran owned businesses are participating,” said Villegas in regard to contracts for Exposition Services at the Democratic National Convention. The DNC’s Chicago 2024 Host Committee reports that eight of the 17 major contracts were given to minority and women-owned businesses.
Miguel Blancarte led a roundtable talk on Wednesday with fellow Illinois Latino Agenda members, Juan Carlos Linares, Cristina de la Rosa and Marcela Rodriguez, focused on the issues that matter most to the Latino community this election cycle.
“How do we bring resources back in an equitable way to represent us; so that we can go out and thrive further,” answered Linares about the critical issues Latinos are facing.
Responding to the same question de la Rosa said, “Make sure more folks are eligible for certain immigration benefits. What that would do is allow folks to have a pathway to citizenship, to work, to make a life for themselves, to have some of their basic needs met.”
Latinos have grown at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since the last presidential election, reports the Pew Research Center. An estimated 36.2 million are eligible to vote this year, up from 32.3 million in 2020. This represents 50% of the total growth in eligible voters during this time.
As Illinois has experienced a steady decline in its overall population, the number and percentage of Latino residents in the state have surged, providing this demographic group with increasing political influence.
According to the 2010 Census, Illinois saw an increase of nearly 500,000 Latino residents, representing a 32.5% growth since 2000. By 2020, Census data indicated an additional rise of over 300,000 Latinos, boosting their share of the state’s population from 15.8% to 18.2%, even as the total population of Illinois continued to decrease.
To help voters prepare for the November 5 election, the Illinois State Board of Elections has released a “voting timeline” outlining important dates, from the start of early voting to the deadline for mail-in ballots.
Voters can cast their ballots early, either in person or by mail, from September 26 to November 4. On Election Day, November 5, make sure to visit your designated polling place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Need to register to vote?
“Residents of Illinois can register online, in person at the election authority’s office, at driver’s license facilities, with appointed deputy registrars in each jurisdiction, or by mail using the Illinois Voter Registration Application available in both English and Spanish,” according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Click here to register to vote online in Illinois.
Key Dates:
- Sept. 20: Vote by mail ballots
- Sept. 26: Early Voting Begins
- Sept. 26: Voting by mail begins
- Oct. 8: Close of voter registration
- Oct. 9: Grace period registration and voting begins
- Oct. 20: Online voter registration closes
- Oct. 31: Last day to mail vote by mail ballots
- Nov. 4: Last day for early voting
- Nov. 5: General Election
Cover Photo: Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic party’s nomination for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, August 22.