Aarón Manuel Ortíz is a Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

for the 1st district.

Early life

Prior to his election to the Illinois House of Representatives, Ortíz was a teacher and college counselor at Back of the Yards High School. He is a son of immigrants from

Nuevo Ideal Nuevo Ideal is a city in the Mexican state of Durango. In the 1920s, a population of Mennonite immigrants, originating from Canada, settled in the area. As of 2020, Nuevo Ideal had a population of 12,850. The city is located on the eastern slop ...

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He is a graduate of the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, having earned a BA in Urban Planning in 2013.

Illinois House of Representatives

Ortíz defeated

Daniel J. Burke Daniel J. Burke (born December 17, 1951) was a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 23rd district from 1991 to 2013 and the 1st district from 2013 to 2018. Burke was defeated for the Democratic nomination ...

in the 2018 Democratic primary as part of a slate of Latino candidates backed by now Congressman

Chuy García Jesús G. "Chuy" García ( ; born April 12, 1956) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Illinois's Illinois's 4th congressional district, 4th district since 2019. A member of the ...

, and Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

. He was sworn into office January 9, 2019. On March 17, 2020, Ortiz handily defeated his primary challenger Alicia Martinez, a worker with Brackenbox, Inc., and a former staffer and member of Alderman Edward M. Burke's political organization. On January 21, 2021, Ortiz was added to House Leadership and was named as a new House Majority Caucus Whip. On February 5, 2021, Ortiz was elected as the House Chair for the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus. As of July 2, 2022, Representative Ortíz is a member of the following Illinois House Committees: * Appropriations - Elementary & Secondary Education (HAPE) * Appropriations - General Service (HAPG) * Appropriations - Human Services (HAPH) * Labor & Commerce (HLBR) * Medicaid & Managed Care Subcommittee (HAPH-MEDI) * Mental Health & Addiction (HMEH) * Transportation Issues Subcommittee (HVES-TVSI) * Transportation: Vehicles & Safety (HVES)

Ward Committeeperson

On March 18, 2020, the same night of his first re-election, Ortiz defeated 52-year incumbent

Edward M. Burke Edward Michael Burke (born December 29, 1943) is an American politician found guilty of racketeering, bribery, and extortion who served as the alderman of Chicago's 14th ward from 1969 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first ele ...

to become the first Latino Ward Committeeperson in Chicago's 14th Ward.

Electoral history

References

External links

Representative Aaron M. Ortiz (D)
at the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

Illinois House Democratic CaucusCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortíz, Aarón 1991 births Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Illinois Living people Politicians from Chicago Schoolteachers from Illinois University of Chicago alumni 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly