Jesse Rodriguez

Jesse Rodriguez served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1984 to 1990. Rodriguez earned a bachelor's degree from the Loyola University, Chicago in 1990 and a graduate degree from the Loyola University Chicago in 2008. Rodriguez's career experience includes working as a small business owner.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Jesse Rodriguez, and I am running for Illinois House Representative, District 83. I am a lifelong resident of Aurora, Illinois, Roman Catholic, a navy veteran, small business owner, husband, and father.

While in the navy, a served as an aircrew man in VS-22, a carrier based anti-submarine warfare squadron. I had the honor of deploying aboard the USS John F. Kennedy, CV-67, making a “Med Cruise”.

My degree is in Finance from Loyola University, Chicago. I also earned a master's in business administration from Loyola with a focus on operations management and business ethics.

Except for my time in service, I have worked in a private sector in personal insurance as a claims manager and fraud investigator, and for the past 15 years, I have owned a small paint franchise serving Aurora and surrounding communities.

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?

School Choice- Parents should decide the best educational option for their children; the money should follow.Affordable Government- legislation should make living in Illinois more affordable and not add to the cost of doing so. You know better what to do with your money. Illinois has more taxing bodies than any other state but for New Jersey and we may have taken over the dubious distinction since last year.Jobs, Jobs, and jobs. We should make it easy to do business in Illinois. Whether you own a small business or are the CEO of a multi-national business; We need to make Illinois your first state of choice to do business in.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

To make Illinois a magnet state for families and job creators.

Our current anti-family environment (what else could I call it?), was not always the case. From the Lincolns choosing Illinois over Indiana in the 19th century or my father and mother choosing Illinois over Michigan and Texas in the 20th century, Illinois was once the place to find work and raise a family. Time to make it so again.