Omar Aquino (born June 24, 1987) is an American politician serving as a 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 ...

, representing the 2nd district. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he was elected in the March 2016 Democratic primary and appointed to the seat effective July 1, 2016, following the retirement of

William Delgado William "Willie" Delgado (born October 31, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 2nd district from 2006 until June 2016. He was first elected in 2006, replacing Miguel del Valle, who was elected Chicago Ci ...

. Sworn into office at age 29, he is the youngest-ever Latino member of the Illinois State Senate and one of the youngest state senators in Illinois history. Previously, he served as an aide to Congresswoman

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel serving since 2017 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States ...

Early life and career

Aquino was born and raised on the Northwest Side of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Of Puerto Rican descent, both of his parents were public workers, his mother working for the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

and his father for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation. Aquino graduated from Lincoln Park High School and

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

with both a Bachelor of Science in

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

and a Bachelor of Arts in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

in 2009.

Public service

Aquino worked as a bilingual case manager with the Illinois Department on Aging, serving low income elderly clients in Chicago as part of the Community Care Program. He went on to serve as a Legislative Aide in 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 ...

, and most recently as an Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman

2015 aldermanic campaign

Chicago conducted redistricting following the 2010 census, and a new Latino ward was created, the 36th Ward. Aquino decided to run for this open seat in the Chicago aldermanic elections, 2015. While he received the largest number of votes in the February election, there was an April runoff between Aquino and Gilbert Villegas. Aquino lost the election to Villegas by 938 votes.

State senator

Aquino announced in January 2016 he was running for the 2nd District State Senate seat that was being vacated by

. He ran with the endorsement of Delgado himself, most of the committeemen and elected officials in the district, as well as many labor and progressive groups including 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 ...

and

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing 2 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of m ...

. He won the March 2016 primary against

Noble Network of Charter Schools Noble Schools (formerly known as the Noble Network of Charter Schools and as Noble Street Charter School) is an open enrollment, public Charter schools in the United States, charter network of high schools and middle schools serving students thro ...

employee Angelica Alfaro by a 53% to 47% margin. As Delgado decided to retire from the seat early, Aquino was appointed to the seat effective July 1, 2016. As of July 2022, Senator Aquino is a member of the following Illinois Senate committees: * (Chairman of) Appropriations - General Services Committee (SAPP-SAGS) * Appropriations Committee (SAPP) * Education Committee (SESE) * Energy and Public Utilities Committee (SENE) * Executive Committee (SEXC) * Executive Appointments Committee (SEXA) * Executive - Elections Committee (SEXC-SEOE) * (Chairman of) Executive - Procurement Committee (SEXC-SEOP) * Higher Education Committee (SCHE) * Human Rights Committee (SHUM) * (Chairman of) Redistricting Committee (SRED) * Redistricting - Chicago Northwest Committee (SRED-SRNW)

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at

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 ...

**By session
99thState Senator Omar Aquino
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Omar 1987 births 2020 United States presidential electors American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni Politicians from Chicago Puerto Rican people in Illinois politics 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly United States congressional aides