Graciela Guzman

Graciela Guzman was born in Los Angeles, California. She earned a bachelor's degree from Grinnell College in 2011. Guzman's career experience includes working as an organizer and founder of the Chicago Affordable Care Act Consortium. As of 2024, Guzman was affiliated with United Working Families, the Chicago Teachers Union, and Northwest Mutual Aid.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Graciela Guzmán (she/her/ella) serves as an Organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Graciela has organized policy campaigns around healthcare, child welfare, economic justice, and immigration. Most notably, Graciela led key victory by passing the Healthy Illinois for All act, making Illinois the first state in the nation to expand healthcare to low-income seniors aged 55 and over regardless of their immigration status, paving the way for bigger healthcare wins. At the height of the pandemic, she helped form the Belmont Cragin Mutual Aid and Northwest Mutual Aid hub. Through this work, she helped coordinate a network of volunteers delivering food, medicine distribution, and supplies. She helped establish a three-year contract for a mutual aid hub to stabilize this work.

Her passion for healthcare and community is derived from her family’s early experiences immigrating to the United States to escape the Salvadoran Civil War. Her interests in healthcare for all, immigration, racial equity, and an overall vision of a better Chicago have led her to join the Women's March Chicago, Health and Medicine Research Policy Group, and ACA Consumer Advocacy. She is running to represent IL’s 20th district to reimagine a better Chicago through her hyperlocal work organizing work, interlacing policy, and mutual aid.

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?

Healthcare for all people.Housing as a human right.Protect our status as a sanctuary state through crisis response that centers the humanity of our new neighbors.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ultimately, our core goal in healthcare transformation should be getting us to a single-payer healthcare system where rather than multiple competing health insurance companies we have a single public or quasi-public agency that takes responsibility for financing healthcare for all residents. Universal health coverage would be a major step towards healthcare justice and equity, especially for uninsured and underinsured Americans. This is in direct contrast to a lot of the overarching transformation work done that is shifting payments based on value or bundling and reduces patient care.

While we work towards getting there at a federal level, I would be a champion for the provisions in the affordability and feasibility study conducted at the state level in 2020 including exploring public option, and additional financial assistance for premium holders.

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

I look up to my parents, Norma and Candelario. They escaped the Salvadorean Civil War, raised five children, and worked multiple jobs to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. They instilled the power and strength of community values, and some of my earliest memories include my parents asking me to translate for neighbors and family who did not speak English. They fostered my ability to be able to fight for me, my family, and my community because they saw that having an advocate matters.

My mother worked her way over 24 years to being the general manager of a store and in that time, my mother showed me that she would never ask her team to do anything she wouldn't do herself. My boots-on-the-ground approach to how I operate comes from her example.

My father put himself in dangerous situations, drove multiple hours a day, and worked multiple jobs to provide for my family. His story is why I push for equity in all places and have found the power of our story because our story of coming up is the story of many people in our district. We're all trying to make it, and policy and legislation have the power to help us do so.

My parents are my heroes. Their example and our experiences drive how I think about community, why I have fought so hard for them and our community, and how I will lead with humility.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The accountability to our community is the strongest tenet of the work of an elected official. I was proud to be chief of staff in our 20th district office where we were able to lift roundtables around healthcare, housing, environment, violence prevention, veterans, education, and more. These tables meant that the community could not only help bring issues to the table but also help round out our offices' line of thinking. I was proud to be part of efforts to lift community-sponsored legislation and these kinds of partnerships are important to ensuring the office is doing everything in its power on behalf of the district.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Advocacy has been a core part of my work and identity since I was a child - it means I will go to bat to fight for this district and my experiences make me someone that knows how to navigate the legislative process to win for my community.

Being a servant leader who can lift the essence of helping others as the core part of my job will make me someone who seeks to be inclusive and compassionate while lifting up the dignity all our state's work should employ in all of their work.

My humble origins make me someone who will not quit or buckle under pressure. We have to be willing to take on powers and structures bigger than ourselves to bring transformation. I am grateful for my upbringing and the values my parents developed in me: love of community; presence of self; the push for truth; and respect for others. These values will make me someone accountable to my community.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

- Passing bills on public policy matters in partnership with community advocates and constituents

- Being partners in public education on state matters and resources

- Championing levels for state spending with a vested stake in capitol and infrastructure for the district

- To utilize the full tools of policy and the legislature to protect our communities, expand rights and resources, and codify best practices throughout our state.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I grew up in a working-class family and my parents worked multiple jobs to be able to provide for me and my 4 siblings. My very first job was at 13 years old - teaching music to children in my neighborhood. From that point, I worked in grocery stores and restaurants to save up for college and get through school. Upon graduating was able to lean into what has been my life's work, fighting for healthcare for all people. That fight came from the loss of my grandfather to cancer when I was five years old as an undocumented man who did not have health insurance or the financial means to pay. I have since worked for community non-profits, and advocacy organizations, as Chief of Staff to former 20th District State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, and as an organizer at the Chicago Teacher's Union.

These experiences have come from an unapologetic fight for the 20th district over my 12-year career to advance healthcare as a human right, preserving this district as home for our community, and advancing progressive causes like a clean environment, fully funded schools, and safe communities.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Rise Up - Andra Day

" I'll rise unafraid/ I'll rise up/ And I'll do it a thousand times again/ For you"

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

We are facing a cost of living crisis as a whole in Illinois, especially when we look at rising healthcare costs. Increasing healthcare accessibility and access to insurance has been my life’s work and I plan to continue to make that my priority in the Senate. My goal would be to bring healthcare reform to Illinois with universal coverage for all, with holistic offerings around mental health, reproductive justice, long-term care, and the ability to maintain self-autonomy. Our state took a first step in the door with the Healthy Illinois for All expansion I helped lead which made us the first in the country to expand access to Medicaid to all low-income seniors regardless of immigration status. With more folks underinsured and uncovered by employer coverage, thinking about solutions for Illinoisans will be key in tackling the rising cost of healthcare.

We also need to address income and wealth inequality at the state level. I’m familiar with the work it takes to secure statewide coalitions through my time with Healthy Illinois, and I will bring those experiences with me. I am committed to being a legislator who organizes with both grassroots and community organizations and also within the IL Legislature to pass legislation that our communities urgently need. I support a progressive income tax that allows millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share, an increased real estate transfer tax on property sales over $1 million, and will fight to lift the statewide ban on municipal income taxes.

Lastly, we need to tackle housing affordability across the district. I would work to lift the ban on rent control, fully fund service providers across Chicago and Illinois who provide permanent supportive housing, emergency and transitional services for youth and adults, and long-term support to prevent homelessness, tackle property taxes, and combat gentrification and preserve the cultural identity of our neighborhoods.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do believe it is beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government, politics, direct work with the community, and mutual aid. My experiences over my career and community involvement make me uniquely able to not only advocate for my community through policy but to generate solutions that directly are informed by their experiences.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I believe it is foundational to build relationships with other legislators. We need to work together to pass bold, progressive legislation. I have been endorsed by in-district representatives at every level of government, because of my history of coalition organizing. These existing relationships will allow me to hit the ground running on day one.

My experiences in coalitions have also taught me how to navigate different ideologies, opinions on tactics, and negotiations with opposition because building bridges matters not just to successful passage but to building understanding and education on issues.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Congresswoman Delia Ramirez has been a true mentor to me. She and I met while she was in the state house championing Healthy Illinois. I am honored to have the support of accomplished, progressives whom I model myself after not just in the body of work they have achieved, but their relentlessness for our community.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No, I am not interested in running for a different political office. I am running for State Senator at this moment because my community asked me to run. My lived experiences and legislative experiences make me excited about this office.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I have been humbled to hear from community members who have been recipients of provisions of the healthcare transformation I have fought for. I have heard from individuals who have received cancer treatment, diabetes medication, and all kinds of healthcare access because of the Healthy Illinois expansion and my work on the Affordable Care Act. These experiences also fuel me: we have a long way to go to ensure access to quality, affordable, transparent healthcare for all people in our state and I'm here for the long haul of this work.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

My experiences navigating statewide coalitions for policy fights in Illinois show that compromise, a clear set of demands, and inclusion of the community are necessary for policymaking. Policymaking is strongest when it involves those most directly impacted, and I believe the community should be at the table when provisions that limit the impact of a bill are being discussed. This helps ensure we are balancing the multiple interests that may surround a legislative proposal while centering community voices and ensuring we can ensure a bill that matches legislative intent with the strength of impact.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

US CONGRESS

Congresswoman Delia Ramirez

IL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

State Rep Will Guzzardi

State Rep Jamie Andrade

State Rep Lilian Jimenez

COOK COUNTY

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle

Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner Eira Corral-Sepulveda

Cook County Commissioner Anthony Quezada

Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita

CITY OF CHICAGO

Alderperson Daniel LaSpata (1st Ward)

Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward)

Alderwoman Ruth Cruz (30th Ward)

Alderperson Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd Ward)

Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa (35th Ward)

Alderman Andre Vasquez (40th Ward)

Alderman Matt Martin (47th Ward)

Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th Ward)

INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS/Grassroots Orgs

30th Ward United

The Peoples 32nd Ward

33rd Ward Working Families

United Neighbors of the 35th Ward

39th Ward Neighbors United

United Northwest Side

47th Ward Democrats

Northside Democracy for Action

United Working Families

Grassroots Collaborative

Citizen Action

The Peoples Lobby

Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA)

Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Sierra Club

Sunrise Chicago

UNIONS

Chicago Teachers Union

Cook County College Teachers Union

Chicago Federation of Music

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union

Teamsters Local 700

UIC United Faculty COPE

Illinois Federation of Teachers

EDITORIAL BOARDS/VOTER GUIDES

Girl, I Guess Voter Guide

What committees interest you?

My healthcare experiences interest me in participation in Health and Human Services and Insurance Committees.

As the godmother of a CPS kiddo, a Chicago Teachers Union organizer, and a public education advocate, I would love to sit on the Education committee.

With a vested stake in furthering our state's progression through the Clean Energy and Jobs Act, I would love to sit on the Environment and Conservation committee.