An Interview by: Jane Jordan

Photos by: Gaby Valladolid

Jessie Fuentes woke up on the morning of February 28, 2023, expecting the three-way aldermanic race to represent Chicago’s 26th Ward to go to a runoff. The incumbent alderman Roberto Maldonado withdrew from the race in January, leaving several candidates, including Fuentes, to make their case to voters. 

It was a competitive race, and Fuentes didn’t know what the outcome would be, “I was like, be prepared for a runoff. Manage your emotions and all of the energy that comes with election day, because you’ve got five more weeks of work.”

“To our surprise, we had won outright. For me, it's a day I'll never forget.”

Fuentes ended up winning 55.6% of the vote, and will be the first woman and queer Latina to lead the 26th Ward, which includes parts of Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Hermosa, West Town, and Belmont Cragin. Fuentes grew up in Humboldt Park, and has over a decade of organizing and advocacy experience, having worked in youth outreach, public policy, and education for organizations like the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and the Puerto Rican Agenda. 

Her campaign centered issues including fighting gentrification and displacement, addressing the root causes of crime, and fully funding public schools. 

Shortly after her win, Fuentes was back in the field knocking on doors and talking with 26th Ward residents. She has endorsed Brandon Johnson in the mayoral runoff election, and plans to continue connecting with Ward residents around key issues while getting out the vote for Johnson.

“I want to make sure that we cross the entire 26th Ward again, at least once, to be on that listening tour, to listen to our educators, our business owners, our residents, our young people, to tell us all the ways that they want us to show up. And then utilize everything that we've heard from that listening tour to really develop what the first hundred days will look like.” 

Fuentes is also spending the next several months planning how the ward office will function under her leadership and hiring her team. She is, first and foremost, a community organizer, and she plans to develop participatory processes that engage ward residents on everything that her office undertakes. 

Fuentes notes a history of low voter turnout in the 26th Ward, and believes that rebuilding trust with community members is central to her work over the next four years.

“Residents in our community have lost trust in our ability to govern. So I want to make sure that we are engaging some of the voices that have been silent for so long.”

“For many reasons, there are residents across the 26th Ward that truly believe that their vote doesn't matter, that their voice doesn't matter, that it doesn't matter what they bring to the table because it’s never gonna be accounted for. What we want to show is that that is not at all the type of office that we are going to run.”

Fuentes is part of a growing movement of progressive leaders and organizations on the Northwest Side that has mobilized communities to elect organizers and activists at the city, county, state, and national level. She notes that support from progressive elected officials within that movement, like Illinois State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, has been invaluable.

“If you would've asked me two years ago, a year ago, would you run for office? I’d have told you, ‘You're outta your mind.’ It is not a space for us. These spaces are sexist, homophobic and transphobic often. I could not have envisioned myself in spaces that would kill my spirit...” 

“And then Delia and Cristina did the most bizarre thing. They transformed politics as we knew it. They took space, they led, they were unapologetic and unwavering in their commitment to community. They showed us that women can be in spaces and demand respect, and that we can also transform spaces and transform people around us.”

Fuentes will join a vocal group of Northwest Side progressive alderpeople on City Council – including incumbents Carlos Ramirez Rosa, Rossana Rodriguez, and Daniel La Spata – and Julia Ramirez, who just won her race in the 12th Ward. Fuentes also hopes to be joined on City Council by Lori Torres Whitt, who is heading to the April 4 runoff election against incumbent Gil Villegas in the race for 36th Ward Alderperson.

 “I'm so excited to be a Northwest Side progressive fireball with these folks. We're going to shake City Council up and we are going to make sure that we are passing policy that is in the best interest of our communities.”

“We are going to make sure that we pass Treatment Not Trauma, we're gonna make sure we pass Bring Chicago Home. Because we know that those are two pieces of legislation that can make a world of difference in the health of our community.”

From advocating for progressive policy on City Council to building trust and political participation to providing constituent services, the election day Funtes will “never forget” is the beginning of a new phase of her work. She will remain firmly rooted in Humboldt Park, continuing to invest and build in a community that invested in her. 

“It's so important, for a community like ours, and for a people like ours, when historical memory has been eradicated at every turn of our existence, not just in Humboldt Park, but from our migration from the island.”

“To be in a community in which we can ensure that our existence persists beyond us, I mean, it's just such a beautiful moment to be a part of. I joke around with my wife all the time, tell her I'll never leave Division Street [laughs], but really I'll never leave Humboldt Park. There’s no other community like ours.”

The 26th Ward includes parts of Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Hermosa, West Town, and Belmont Cragin.

www.jessiefor26thward.com