Interview with Edward Acevedo State Representative of the 2nd District

Photo courtesy of Edward Acevedo Facebook

Edward Acevedo is serving his seventh term as State Representative of the 2nd legislative district, which includes portions of Back of the Yards, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village and McKinley Park.

Acevedo is the first Latino to be appointed to the assistant majority leader position within the House Democratic membership. He was also appointed to the House Joint Committee on Government Reform. Recently, Acevedo was re-elected Co-Chair of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus for state legislators and Co-Chair of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation.

Last year, Acevedo sponsored the Illinois Dream Act–legislation that would increase the number of undocumented students eligible to attend higher education institutions. He also sponsored several public safety bills to crackdown on individuals who sell firearms without a license, people who contribute to the impersonation of police officers by manufacturing and/or selling false badges and those who knowingly fail to provide vehicle registration records to the Secretary of State in order to conceal a vehicle’s identity.

Acevedo has also advocated for driver licenses and later driver’s certificates for undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for a social security number.

Acevedo has been in office since 1997. He is a second generation Mexican-American, born and raised in the 2nd Representative District, where he earned his associates degree in General Studies from City Wide College. Acevedo is a police officer for the Chicago Police Department, and he was decorated for heroism and valor by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for rescuing victims trapped in a fire.

Entrevista con Edward Acevedo Representante Estatal del Distrito 2

Edward Acevedo está sirviendo su séptimo término como Representante Estatal del 2º distrito legislativo, el cual incluye porciones de Back of the Yards, Pilsen, Bridgeport, La Villita y McKinley Park.

Acevedo es el primer latino en ser nombrado para la posición de líder mayoritario dentro de la membrecía Demócrata de la Cámara. También fue nombrado para el Comité Conjunto de la Cámara sobre la Reforma del Estado. Recientemente, Acevedo fue reelegido co-presidente de la Junta Latina Legislativa de Illinois para legisladores estatales y co-presidente de la Fundación Legislativa de la Junta Latina de Illinois.

El año pasado, Acevedo patrocinó el Dream Act de Illinois—una legislatura que aumentaría el número de estudiantes indocumentados elegibles para asistir a las instituciones de educación superior. Él también patrocinó varios proyectos de ley de seguridad pública para acabar con los individuos que venden armas de fuego sin licencia, las personas que contribuyen a la suplantación de oficiales de policía fabricando o vendiendo placas falsas y a aquellos que intencionalmente no proveen los registros de vehículos al Secretario de Estado con el fin de ocultar la identidad de un vehículo.

Acevedo también abogó por las licencias de conducir y después los certificados de manejo para los inmigrantes indocumentados que no son elegibles para un número de seguro social.

Acevedo ha estado en el cargo desde 1997. Él es un mexicoamericano de segunda generación, nació y se crió  en el 2º distrito, en donde obtuvo un título asociado en Estudios Generales de City Wide College. Acevedo es oficial del Departamento de Policía de Chicago y fue condecorado por heroísmo y valor por la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Cook por haber rescatado a unas víctimas atrapadas en un Incendio.

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You have been in office since 1997, becoming an influential voice not only in the state House but also in the Latino Caucus.

Can you give a recap on some of your greatest accomplishments since you first were elected into office?

What is your role as assistant majority leader and how independent are you outside the sphere of the House when it comes to fulfilling your constituents’ needs? What are the benefits of being close to Speaker of the House Mike Madigan? And are there any challenges?

In these upcoming elections you’re running against Cuauhuatemoc Morfin and Josip Trutin. Will you work to campaign against them or do you think your constituents already trust you in your role as state representative?

Has your platform changed in the 16 years you have been in office?

What have you done to support violence prevention programs in your community and what are some of the challenges given the current budget cuts, especially when youth services in our communities are at stake?

Do you support charter schools and think they are helping bridge the existing educational gap among school districts?

What would you say to the argument that neighborhood kids should have the right to attend a good neighborhood school as opposed to having charter schools that would accept students on a lottery basis regardless of where they live?

In terms of jobs, in the summer especially when the economy has been bad, the Governor has implemented job programs such as the YES program. What are the plans to bring in jobs in the community during this time of recession?