Graciela Guzmán is an American politician and member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

from the 20th district since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and education

Guzmán is one of five children, born to refugees of the

Salvadorian Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

. She graduated from

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

in 2011 with a degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Early career

Guzmán founded the Chicago Affordable Care Act Consortium and the Belmont Cragin Mutual Aid and Northwest Mutual Aid hub. She later served as chief of staff to State Senator Christina Pacione-Zayas. She is an organizer with the

Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has ...

Illinois Senate

Guzmán defeated incumbent Natalie Toro in the Democratic primary for the Illinois 20th Senate District in 2024. She won the general election later that year and assumed office in January 2025.

Committees

In the 104th

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, Guzmán served as the vice-chair of the Appropriations - Education Committee. She also served on the Appropriations - Health and Human Services, Higher Education, Human Rights, Public Health, and Veterans Affairs Committees.

Electoral history

References

Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party Illinois state senators 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American women politicians Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Illinois {{Illinois-politician-stub