Rossana Rodríguez Sanchez (born November 13, 1978) is a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

politician and community organizer. She is the alderwoman of Chicago's 33rd ward, having taken office as a member of the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mon ...

in May 2019. She won election to that office after defeating incumbent

Deb Mell Deborah L. "Deb" Mell (born July 30, 1968) is an American politician from Chicago. She is a Democrat and was formerly a member of the Chicago City Council, representing the 33rd ward. She previously served in the Illinois House of Representative ...

in the

2019 Chicago aldermanic elections The 2019 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 26 and April 2, 2019, to elect 50 aldermen to the Chicago City Council. Each alderman represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-r ...

. She is a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

Early life, education, and career

Rodriguez-Sanchez was born in

Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

in 1978. Her father was a community organizer, and Rodriguez-Sanchez cites attending a protest against the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station's practice of diverting water from her community as one of her earliest moments of political consciousness. She received a Bachelor’s in Theater Education from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 2003, as well as a Master’s in Applied Theater from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

in 2007. Rodriguez-Sanchez worked as a drama teacher in Puerto Rico before austerity cuts to public education on the island led her to move to

Albany Park, Chicago Albany Park ( ) is one of 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago. Located on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago with the North Branch of the Chicago River forming its east and north boundaries, it includes the ethnically diverse Alban ...

and accept the position of Resident Director of the Albany Park Theater Project. While working with APTP to create community theater that reflected the daily struggles of people in working-class, largely immigrant community, Rodriguez-Sanchez became involved with the Immigrant Youth Justice League, an organization led by undocumented youth to combat deportations.

Chicago City Council

2019 campaign

After announcing her intention to run for 33rd Ward Alderman in May 2018, Rodriguez-Sanchez soon drew comparisons to

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

, a fellow

member of Puerto Rican heritage who won a U.S. House Democratic primary election in June 2018 as a heavy underdog. Rodriguez-Sanchez placed first in the February 26, 2019 general election with 42.1% of the vote, advancing to a head-to-head runoff with the incumbent Deb Mell. She then won the April 2, 2019 runoff election by 13 votes, ending nearly 44 years of Mell family control of the 33rd Ward seat.

Aldermanic career

Rodriguez Sanchez assumed office as a member of Chicago City Council on May 20, 2019, and is a member of the

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, Progressive Reform, and Latino Caucuses. In July 2019, in response to President Donald Trump's threats of

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

raids against undocumented immigrants in major U.S. cites, the offices of Rodriguez Sanchez and her colleague

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (born February 18, 1989) is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015. He is a member of the Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, and was elected to serve ...

organized neighborhood defense brigades to patrol Albany Park in order to monitor ICE activity and disseminate know-your-rights information. Rodriguez Sanchez would later sponsor legislation to close loopholes in Chicago's

sanctuary city Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...

ordinance, and the strengthened protections were signed into law in February 2021. In November 2019, Rodriguez Sanchez was one of eleven aldermen to vote against Mayor

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...

's first budget. She joined all five other members of the Socialist Caucus in signing a letter to Lightfoot which criticized her budget for "an over-reliance on property taxes" and "regressive funding models" that are "burdensome to our working-class citizens, while giving the wealthy and large corporations a pass." In November 2020, Rodriguez Sanchez again voted against Mayor Lightfoot's budget proposal which included a $94 million property tax hike and a provision instituting future property tax increases tied to the rate of inflation. After the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...

ruled in '' Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'' to overrule ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

'' and '' Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', Rodriguez Sanchez introduced the Bodily Autonomy Sanctuary City Ordinance. The ordinance, which was passed into law in September 2022, prohibits the Chicago Police Department and all other city agencies from cooperating with criminal investigations launched by state or federal authorities targeting women who travel to Chicago seeking abortions and other reproductive healthcare. The law also protects "those seeking gender-affirming care in Chicago, medical providers who treat those patients and others who help those patients, such as by providing information, transportation and housing."

Electoral history

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez-Sanchez, Rossana 1978 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Alumni of the University of Manchester American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Chicago City Council members Democratic Socialists of America politicians from Illinois Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people in Illinois politics University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus alumni Women city councillors in Illinois