INTRODUCTION Why did it take so long for Latinos in Chicago to achieve a political voice in the 'City of Big Shoulders'? That is one of the major questions this book attempts to answer. While the population of Latinos, mainly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, grew significantly over the following decades, their political representation severely lagged. Latinos wrestled with the problem of how to translate their population gains into some kind of political muscle. The Latino population grew steadily through the decades of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. In 1960, the U.S. Census estimated there were 110,000 Latinos in Chicago accounting for three percent of the city's population. By 1970, Latinos had increased to 247,343 or 7 percent of the city's population. And at the beginning of 1980, the U.S. Census counted 422,061 Latinos, or 14 percent of the city's population of three million. That was double their proportion of 7 percent in 1970. Despite their population growth, Latinos lacked political representation, they had no Latino aldermen in the City Council, no ward committeemen, no state legislators, no citywide elected officials, few city employees and no United States Congressmen. All they had for many years was one Cook County Commissioner, Irene Hernandez; University of Illinois Trustee, Arturo Velázquez, Jr.; and Cook County Circuit Court judges David Cerda and Jose Vazquez. By 1980, Juan Andrade, Jr., the executive director of an Ohio-based Latino empowerment organization called the Midwest Voter Registration and Education Project (MVREP), could name no place where the problem of Latino political underrepresentation was as severe as Chicago. Over the years, MVREP worked hard to register more Latino voters in Chicago and the Midwest. Meanwhile, Mexicans in various Southwestern states were making great strides into electoral politics. Mexicans were being elected as school board members, city council members, state legislators, and even mayors. Similarly, Puerto Ricans in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were also winning political victories and being elected as city council members and state legislators. In 1970, Puerto Ricans in New York even managed to elect Herman Badillo as Congressman from New York's South Bronx. Yet in Chicago, it was indeed baffling as to why Latinos found themselves outside the halls of power looking in. Many excellent books have been written about Chicago politics. Yet interestingly, most of these books make little mention of Latinos or the contributions they have made to Chicago politics. It's almost as if Latinos were an invisible community for many years. This book attempts to fill in that void. This book is a descriptive social history of Latinos, mainly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, and their long, hard struggle to achieve some political representation in Chicago. Of Chicago's 803,476 Latinos, Mexicans are by far the largest group accounting for 80 percent. Puerto Ricans are the second biggest group. There are other Latino groups in the city including Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Columbians, and Cubans. However, this book will concentrate mainly on describing how the city's two largest groups, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were basically shut out of the political process for decades. They initially were not invited to sit at the table of political power. This lack of political power or--"clout" as it is known in Chicago--undoubtedly made their adjustment, as immigrants to the strange, new city of Chicago, more difficult. Their neighborhoods received inferior city services. In fact, for many years Latinos had to engage in protests and demonstrations to get city officials to provide them with simple things like a street stop sign, a hot lunch program at the local elementary school, or regular garbage pickup. This book will describe the various obstacles Latinos had to overcome, from the decades of the mid-1950s to the present, in their quest for a political voice. It examines how Latinos fared politically under the mayoral administrations of Richard J. Daley, Michael A. Bilandic, Jane M. Byrne, Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer, and Richard M. Daley. The book looks at the experiences of Latinos who were eventually elected to political office in the past, and to a new generation of Latinos who are currently winning elected office. Finally, the book explores what the future holds for Latinos politically in Chicago. In terms of methodology, this book uses extensive interviews with Latino political figures and others, and examines past court cases, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books, archival materials, and historical documents. The book also uses photographs of many important political figures. It took Latinos a long time to finally get a slice of the political pie. However, they now steadily continue to make significant political progress in Chicago. And their population in the city continues to grow. In fact, Latinos have now surpassed African Americans as Chicago's second largest ethnic group. According to the U.S. Census: Latinos formed 29.7 percent of Chicago's population in 2016, their population climbed 17,751 over the previous year to 803,476. Meanwhile, the Black population dropped by more than 40,000 in one year. There were 793,852 Black Chicagoans, about 29.3 percent of the population. There were an estimated 882,354 White Chicagoans, about 32.6 percent of the population. And the U.S. Census of 2020 showed the City's Black population continued to fall by nearly ten percent over the past decade, with a loss of almost 85,000 residents. Blacks now make up nearly 29 percent of Chicago, down from more that 32 percent a decade ago. Meanwhile, the Latino population grew by more than 40,000, and they now represent nearly 30 percent of the city's residents. Whites make up 31.2 percent of Chicago's population. Today, Latinos are a rapidly maturing political power. Latino political empowerment is spreading in the city and the suburbs, and politicians and policy makers can no longer ignore them. Undoubtedly, Latinos will be key players in the political future of Chicago and Illinois. [end of excerpt] Excerpted from Latinos in Chicago: Quest for a Political Voice by Wilfredo Cruz All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
