Celina Villanueva

Celina Villanueva was born in Chicago, Illinois. Villanueva earned a B.A. in Latina/Latino studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008. Her career experience includes working as a New Americans Democracy Project and youth engagement manager with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a political consultant, and the director of organizing with Chicago Votes.[1][2]

Celina Villanueva has not yet completed [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Send a message to Celina Villanueva asking her to fill out the survey.

If you are Celina Villanueva, click here to fill out [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out the candidate survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete [the profile publisher]'s Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's [the profile publisher] profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 32,000 candidates have taken [the profile publisher]'s candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Celina Villanueva to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing campaign@celinavillanueva.com.

Celina Villanueva did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A long time resident of the Little Village neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest side, Celina Villanueva is currently the State Senator for Illinois' 11th District. The daughter of Mexican immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico, Celina began organizing and advocating for her community at an early age.

​Before becoming State Senator, Celina was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2018, where she fought tirelessly to ensure that the voices of her constituents were heard through the negotiation of several large pieces of history making legislation.

Prior to joining the State House, Celina ran the largest immigrant civic engagement program in the state at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), while also working to advocate lawmakers to pass online, same-day and automatic voter registration - all of which are now law.

Celina continues to advocate and represent the people of the 11th district with the values and beliefs instilled in her by her family. The belief that people have the right to live openly, freely, have safe communities, ample resources and opportunities and should not be left to fend for themselves.

Celina is also a former union member and Union Steward of her unit under the NOLSW-UAW 2320.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

We need leadership from OUR Community representing us in Springfield. I am an experienced Leader that is from the community. Leadership For Our Community, From Our CommunityHealth care is a right and it's personal to me. Now more than ever, we need a health care system that is inclusive and affordable. You can count on me to fight for you to make health care a basic right!Working people fight every day to live, and I represent many of them in my district. This community is my home. I will fight for it every day.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

It is difficult to point to all the policy that I am passionate about because so many issues are complex and are interconnected. My legislative priorities are largely influenced by issues that impact working and middle class families in the district as well as the organizations, schools, and educators that work day after day to improve the lives of our families and children. My district has been severely impacted by COVID-19 and has further highlighted disparities that were already impacting residents in my district, I intend to continue bringing policy solutions, programs, and services that bring greater economic, educational, workforce, and health opportunities to the diverse communities I represent.

We cannot address access to quality and affordable health care and education without addressing job creation and housing stability. It is also important for me to provide holistic policy solutions to address gun violence and police brutality that include mental health support and cultural bias training. As someone who grew up just blocks from one of the leading economic corridors in Chicago, I value the role small-businesses play for economic development of families and neighborhoods. That is why I plan to push for additional programs and assistance to small-businesses as well as strengthening the opportunities of minority and women-owned businesses. As a former immigration organizer and daughter of immigrants, my commitment to protect immigrant communities is a priority.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Harold Washington died when I was 2 years old, but he has had a significant impact on my life due to the large coalition of people he brought together during his Mayoral campaign and during his tenure in city hall. His ability to bring people together and to understand the different experiences of people from different walks of life is something that I continuously strive for. Many of my political mentors are people who worked closely with him and oftentimes they will share the wisdom he imparted on them, but most importantly they all vividly remember how empowered he made them feel by working together towards a common goal.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

As someone who represents a predominantly Latino district, I have a unique perspective on this issue. I firmly believe in having an equitable process for redistricting. For a truly representative democracy, it is important that as communities grow in numbers, representation is also reflected across government levels. Had it not been for Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), former Senator Miguel Del Valle, and countless other stakeholders we would not have a voting rights district like mine. It took MALDEF and community leaders filing suit to create a Latino majority district several decades ago and setting a precedent. This process required bipartisan approaches to ensure a transparent process. It has taken historical pieces of legislation, like the Voting Rights Act, to be able to make headway on representation, but it has also taken a coalition of people to continue to do this work so that we get maps that actually provide representation for underrepresented communities. I am open to exploring options to address gerrymandering and redistricting reform, which is why I will continuously fight for a process that works for the people and their representation.