Bio
Organizing, advocacy, and engagement: These words epitomize Rudy Lozano’s work on the streets and in the schools of the Southwest Side. He is a dynamic leader among youth, a staunch fighter for workers’ rights, and an aspiring public servant building on three generations of community and labor activism.
Rudy follows in the footsteps of his slain activist father Rudy Lozano Sr., an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union who, in 1983, ran for Alderman of the 22nd Ward in an attempt to be the first Mexican-American on the Chicago City Council.
Growing up in the Little Village community, Rudy saw firsthand the importance of technological and educational programs designed and implemented by the residents themselves. A community empowered, Rudy believes, can provide for itself and set an example for other poor and working-class communities of color.
As a mentor and educator at the Little Village Lawndale High School, Lozano motivated hundreds of youth to pursue their educational goals, graduate high school, attend college and successfully enter the workforce. To enable regular attendance at school without fear of sporadic gunshots, Rudy organized with families around safe passages to and from school, after-school programs to enrich education, and anti-violence initiatives that kept many young people in school and out of gangs.
Lozano has advocated for job-training programs for displaced workers and stood alongside union members fighting for pensions and health insurance. He believes strongly in organizing for better wages and working conditions to transform low-wage jobs into living-wage careers.
A graduate of AmeriCorps, Public Allies Chicago, and, most recently, Leadership Greater Chicago, Lozano has analyzed today’s toughest social problems, brought together diverse groups of people to tackle those problems, and articulated an inclusive, democratic vision for urban neighborhoods. Lozano carried that vision into his first campaign for State Representative. Though his campaign energized hundreds of volunteers across generations, it fell just a few hundred votes short of toppling a longtime incumbent. Rudy pledged to run again.
After the campaign, Lozano began working for the Instituto del Progreso Latino where he connects unemployed and underemployed workers to emerging green industries. In the recent fight to pass the Illinois DREAM Act, Lozano organized parents and undocumented students to attend rallies, spoke before immigrant rights organizations, and visited the offices of Senator Dick Durbin and other elected officials to press for the legislation’s passage.
On June 25, 2011, Rudy Lozano announced his second bid for State Representative. The 21st district includes portions of Garfield Ridge, Brighton Park, Cicero, Little Village, Lyons, Summit, Riverside, Bedford Park and Stickney.
Rudy Lozano earned his Bachelor’s degree in Community and Youth Organizing at Northeastern Illinois University and his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He lives in Little Village with his wife, Celia, and his two daughters, Yarina and Mireya.
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