Carlos Ramirez-Rosa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carlos Ramirez-Rosa
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 35th ward
Incumbent
Assumed office May 18, 2015
Preceded by	Rey Colón
Personal details
Born	(1989-02-18) February 18, 1989 (age 36) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He serves as the Alderperson for Chicago's 35th Ward. He first won this role on May 18, 2015. When he was elected, he was only 26 years old. This made him one of the youngest members ever to join the Chicago City Council. He was re-elected by voters in 2019 and again in 2023.

Ramirez-Rosa is part of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus. This group works on new ideas to improve the city. He also supported Bernie Sanders in his presidential campaigns. He was a delegate for Sanders in 2016 and a state vice-chair in 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Early Life and Education

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 18, 1989. He went to schools in Chicago. He graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. There, he was the president of his senior class.

He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. While in college, he was an elected member of the Illinois Student Senate. He supported programs for women and LGBT students. He also backed green energy policies for the campus. He worked to ensure fair treatment for university employees. He earned his degree from the University of Illinois in 2011.

After college, he worked for Congressman Luis Gutiérrez. He helped people with their problems as a congressional caseworker. Later, he worked as an organizer for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He helped families who were new to the country. He also served as a community representative for the Avondale-Logandale Local School Council.

His family has roots in both Mexico and Puerto Rico. His mother is of Mexican descent. His father is of Puerto Rican descent. His uncle, Ramon Ocasio III, is a judge. His aunt, Magda Ramirez-Castaneda, is a writer and activist.

Serving Chicago's 35th Ward

Ramirez-Rosa campaigning in 2015

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was first elected as the alderman for the 35th ward on February 24, 2015. He won with 67% of the votes. He defeated the previous alderman, Rey Colón. Voters re-elected him easily in 2019 and 2023.

He is a member of several groups within the Chicago City Council. These include the Progressive Reform Caucus and the Latino Caucus. He is also part of the LGBT Caucus. He was the first leader of the council's Democratic Socialist Caucus.

Ramirez-Rosa is one of the youngest aldermen in Chicago's history. He is also one of the first two openly LGBT Latino councilors in the city. The other is his colleague, Raymond Lopez. Crain's Chicago Business recognized him in 2016 as one of "Twenty in their 20s." In 2023, they named him one of the year's "40 Under 40."

During his time as alderman, he has worked on many important issues. These include making housing affordable and lowering property taxes. He also supports immigrant rights and workers' rights. He works for environmental protection and police reform.

City Budget and Property Taxes

In 2015, Ramirez-Rosa disagreed with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan. The mayor wanted to raise property taxes by a lot of money. Ramirez-Rosa believed the city should use other funds first. He thought this would help working families in Chicago.

He voted against the mayor's budget in 2016. After the tax increase passed, he suggested a plan. He wanted to give $35 million back to homeowners who were struggling. He later worked with Mayor Emanuel to create a $21 million property tax rebate program. He said this plan would help the poorest homeowners the most.

In 2019, Ramirez-Rosa voted against Mayor Lori Lightfoot's first budget. He and other socialist aldermen felt it relied too much on property taxes. They believed it was unfair to working-class citizens. They thought it gave wealthy people and big companies an easy pass.

Supporting Immigrant Families

In August 2015, Ramirez-Rosa helped start the Chicago Immigration Policy Working Group. This group worked to help immigrants in Chicago. They successfully pushed the city to offer free or low-cost legal help. This was for Chicagoans facing deportation.

They also helped people apply for DACA. This program helps young immigrants. The group also worked to make city services available in more languages. They also helped create a municipal ID card.

In 2021, Ramirez-Rosa and the group made a big change. They removed rules that allowed the Chicago Police Department to work with immigration officials in some cases. This made Chicago's sanctuary city ordinance stronger. It ensures police do not help with immigration arrests. Ramirez-Rosa worked with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on this successful effort.

Affordable Homes and City Planning

Ramirez-Rosa has supported building many affordable housing projects. These are homes that people with lower incomes can afford. He helped build a 100-unit apartment building near the Logan Square Blue Line station. All these homes are affordable.

In Albany Park, he supported the "Oso Apartments." This project has 48 affordable units. When a library in his ward burned down, he supported rebuilding it. The new library would be built with affordable housing above it.

He also supports ideas like rent control. This helps keep housing costs stable. In 2021, he helped pass rules to keep affordable homes in his ward. These rules also added a fee for tearing down old buildings. He said these rules help save existing affordable homes.

In 2020, he supported allowing accessory dwelling units. These are smaller homes built on the same property as a main house. He has also helped save historic buildings. For example, he helped get money to restore Logan Square's Minnekirken, a historic church.

Ramirez-Rosa supported changes to Milwaukee Avenue. This included the Logan Square traffic circle. These changes made it safer for people walking and driving. In 2018, he helped create the First Nations Garden. This garden is a place for American Indian youth. It helps them connect with nature. The garden opened with a special ceremony. This ceremony recognized Chicago as an "indigenous landscape."

People Power in Government

Ramirez-Rosa believes in participatory democracy. This means people should have a say in how they are governed. He told The Nation Magazine in 2017 that people can build a better society from the ground up. He thinks working people should have power and govern themselves.

In 2019, he explained how his office uses "people-power initiatives." These programs help people make decisions together. He believes people can decide what their communities should be like. They don't need powerful leaders or rich companies telling them what to do.

His office supports three main "people-power initiatives":

• Community-driven zoning and development: This lets local people help plan new buildings.
• Participatory budgeting: This lets residents decide how to spend money on neighborhood improvements.
• Community defense committee: This group helps people facing deportation. They share information about rights. They also train residents on how to protest peacefully.

Ramirez-Rosa sees himself as a "movement elected official." He believes his job is to help movements that are building power from the community.

Police Reform and Safety

In 2016, Ramirez-Rosa worked on an ordinance called the Community Police Accountability Council (CPAC). This plan aimed to give civilians more control over the Chicago Police Department. He said it could be a model for police reform across the country.

In 2021, he helped combine CPAC with another plan. The new ordinance, called Empowering Communities for Public Safety, passed. Ramirez-Rosa was a main supporter. This led to the election of 66 civilians in 2023. These civilians now serve on police district councils.

In 2017, Ramirez-Rosa was the only council member to support the No Cop Academy campaign. This group wanted to stop the city from spending $95 million on a new police academy. They wanted that money to go to education, after-school programs, and job training instead.

Ramirez-Rosa argued that the police department already had enough money. He said the city should invest in community programs. He believed this would help prevent crime more than a new police training center. In 2018, he helped delay a vote on the academy.

In 2020, during the George Floyd protests, he helped many Black Lives Matter protesters. He helped them get back their bikes that police had taken.

Workers' Rights

Ramirez-Rosa has worked to raise Chicago's minimum wage to a living wage. He supports other measures to help workers. He helped pass the Fair Workweek ordinance. This law gives hourly-workers more stable work schedules. He also supported raising Chicago's minimum wage to $15 per hour. He worked to create an Office of Labor Standards. This office protects workers in Chicago.

In 2018, Ramirez-Rosa was part of a Fight for $15 protest. This protest was outside McDonald's headquarters. He was with striking workers who wanted a $15 wage and a union. He has spoken at many of these protests.

In 2017, he helped name Kedzie Avenue in his ward "Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Way." This honored a famous labor organizer. Lucy Gonzalez Parsons helped start the IWW union. She lived near Kedzie Avenue. At the street sign event, Ramirez-Rosa said that workers today face similar challenges. He said Parsons taught people to stand up and fight for their rights.

LGBT Rights

In 2016, Ramirez-Rosa supported a measure to protect transgender people. This measure made sure they could use the public bathroom that matches their gender identity. During the City Council debate, he said the city must "legislate love and to reject hate." He believed the city should show it will not discriminate against transgender people.

Electoral History

Aldermanic Elections

Democratic Committeeman

Ramirez-Rosa was the 35th Ward Democratic Committeeman from 2016 to 2020. This role helps organize the local Democratic Party. In 2022, he was appointed to serve again in this role.

Campaigns for Other Offices

In 2017, Daniel Biss chose Ramirez-Rosa to be his running mate. This was for the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election. However, Biss removed him from the ticket a few days later. This was due to Ramirez-Rosa's support for the BDS Movement.

After Congressman Luis Gutiérrez announced his retirement, Ramirez-Rosa considered running for his seat. This was for Illinois's 4th congressional district. But he decided not to run on January 9, 2018. He endorsed Jesus "Chuy" Garcia instead. He wanted to avoid splitting the progressive vote.

See also

• Chicago aldermanic elections, 2015
• Chicago City Council
• List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States

Images for kids

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  Carlos Ramirez-Rosa speaking at an event.

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  Ramirez-Rosa campaigning in 2015.