At 26, Jorge Zavala, Jr., is currently the youngest Illinoisan currently running for U.S. Congress. A native of the Logan Square neighborhood, he's currently seeking the 4th District seat currently held by Luis Gutierrez. Zavala is openly gay.
He said that his inspiration to run for office stems from his doing development work in Southeast Asia, shortly after graduating from DePaul University. "The experiences that were closest to my heart were women's issues, human rights issues and immigration issues. My role was to seek funding and resources to provide basic health care to women and children, and at the same time help promote education."
He added that, back home in Chicago, his family had been very active in community organizing a well, "whether it was to keep a local school from closing down, or grant writing to fund technology programs that benefit underserved communities." Zavala's father, Jorge Zavala, Sr., has also run against Gutierrez.
Expanding job opportunities within the Fourth District is a key concern for Zavala. "It's a challenge to find jobs, especially in this weak job market that we have, [and] particularly for our elders and our recently graduated youth. Many are working jobs that they could have gotten had they not gone to college. It's still a blessing to have the opportunity to work but, at the same time, to we have to secure jobs in our district that promote a stable community."
Residents of Zavala's district are primed to work, and elected officials have to work to bring businesses there, he said. "I would like to seek out more investment from prospective companies in our communities. I know that, in speaking with leaders in places like Humboldt Park, Cicero and Berwyn, there has been a deep interest in really securing more jobs in the community through active engagement and more investing. It's about getting other people to take notice."
He added that one consequence of the poor economy has been the closing of clinics offering mental health services. "[That] affected the community and forced the patients to seek healthcare places far away, and many of those patients don't have transportation on their own.
Zavala also would like to see an expansion of funding for services to LGBT constituents, especially LGBT youth, including testing services, mentoring programs and easier access to shelters.
"We really have to promote safety in our community," he added. "I'm working to hear the trans perspective on these issues as well. I have friends who identify as pre-op and post-op, and their health needs are completely different from that of a [cisgender] gay man or lesbian, for example."
Zavala spent some time working at the Mexican Consulate of Chicago, where he helped community members address concerns and secure needs regarding documentation. "My whole purpose was to create an environment that was less hostile and more welcoming."
Gutierrez has done a great deal of work on immigration reform. Zavala said, however, that much of his opponent's work has yet to trickle down to the district.
"[Gutierrez] is leading us in the right direction, but there hasn't been a local focus," he added. "When he speaks of issues like the DREAMers, those are wonderful, beautiful concepts, but that's what they are—concepts. … Residents cannot get useful information because agencies cannot provide it to them. I believe the Congressman is going in the right direction, but there is just not enough action at the local level."
Zavala said that he'd stand apart by engaging his district at the community level. "We're at a point where there are a lot of cultural wars going on, and we have to have our leaders be adults about these things," he said. "We need to be able to ask our leaders what they're doing. I'm transparent about what I plan to do."
