Our Work
The Illinois Latino Agenda advocates for:
- Equitable representation of Latinos in the government, business, philanthropic, and social impact sectors.
- Equitable investment and allocation of resources to Latino communities.
- Strengthening the political and electoral power of Latinos.
- Advancing the civil rights, social justice, and protection of all Latino communities.
- Upholding the diverse cultural identity of all Latino communities.
- Strengthening and supporting Latino-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
Current Committees
As our coalition grows, the Illinois Latino Agenda hopes to create new issue specific committees to have a greater impact in our communities.
Chicago’s Municipal Elections:
Members of the Illinois Latino Agenda and its member organizations, Hispanic Federation, La Casa Norte, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, and others launched a voter outreach campaign that included:
- VotaYaChicago.com to increase Latino voter participation in Chicago’s municipal elections
- Outreach by volunteers from La Casa Norte and Puerto Rican Cultural Center knocking on the doors of 10,000 Latino households, sending 260,000 text messages, making about 130,000 calls
- Get out the vote PSA in Spanish-language media and digital platforms
- Paid digital media campaign that reached more than 16,000 people
- A Mayoral Forum with questions for candidates focused specifically on policies that would impact Latinos and Black communities
In September 2022, the Illinois LaAtino Agenda’s Public Safety & Violence Prevention Committee hosted the largest violence prevention summit for Latino/a/x-serving organizations in Illinois. They had elected officials and advocates come together to discuss violence prevention efforts and how to increase access to funding now that the state has an additional $125 million for violence prevention.
Since the summit, this committee has worked to draft policies and recommendations for legislators.
The Illinois Latino Agenda wants to contend with leaders in the philanthropic, government, and private sector as they make decisions on how to invest in our communities.
Our members have met with large foundations to discuss the disparity in philanthropic distributions to the Latino community and advocated for a larger investment in the wellbeing of Latinos in Illinois.
We have met with a corporate leader who wants to expand their investments in Latino communities.
We were proactive in making recommendations to key leadership positions in Mayor Johnson’s administration to ensure equitable representation and guarantee Latinos have a place at critical decision making tables.
We will continue to work collectively and leverage our power to influence decision makers and encourage investing in the wellbeing of our people.
Held convenings to provide information on the latest projects and investments in the Latino community and identify ways to increase Latino participation in capital/development projects.