Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia

“I am honoring Mr. Taco, a family restaurant in Cicero that closed after 49 years. It was an important part of our community.”

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a small family business that was a staple in my district. After 49 years in Cicero, taqueria Mr. Taco, founded in 1976 by Carlos and Thelma Lopez, has closed. The Lopez family had a simple dream to serve good food and make every customer feel at home. They succeeded in building a family restaurant that offered kindness and amazing Mexican food, becoming a common lunch spot for many people who worked in the area. Others would go to Mr. Taco for that late night burrito after hanging out with friends or would take their girlfriends on a date. I heard of a couple who even went there on their wedding night. Mr. Taco leaves not only an empty space on the corner of Ogden and Austin in Cicero, it leaves an empty space in our tummies and our hearts.”

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  Speech in the House

  Signal 42 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I want to honor Chicago Alderperson Michael Rodriguez. He has served the 22nd Ward since 2019, fighting for working families, winning paid time off for workers, and protecting immigrants from federal enforcement. I thank him for his service.”

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of a community activist, nonprofit leader, a youth mentor, a beloved dad and husband, Chicago Alderperson Michael Rodriguez. Alderperson Mike Rodriguez is a lifelong resident of the 22nd Ward, representing it in the city council since 2019. Mike is my alderperson, my neighbor, and my good friend. I have proudly watched him fight for working-class families, always striving to increase city funding to improve the services of the neighborhoods. As a progressive leader, one of his most significant achievements is the paid leave ordinance, legislation that provides mandatory days off to Chicago workers. Mike is also a co-chief sponsor of an effort to strengthen Chicago’s welcoming ordinance, which prohibits city workers to ask about a person’s immigration status, ensures they are not denied city services based on immigration status, and prohibits the Chicago Police Department from cooperating with ICE. Madam Speaker, I wish Mike much success in the next phase of his career and thank him for all he has done for the 22nd Ward.”

“One year ago, federal immigration agents attacked Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz. They targeted nonviolent people, hurt innocent residents, and killed a father who just dropped his children off at school. The community stood together to protect each other, and the government backed down. But the agents who broke the law must be held accountable. The Department of Homeland Security cannot be fixed. We must take it apart and build a new immigration system.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 1 year since the Federal Government under the Trump administration invaded Chicago, an American city, through Operation Midway Blitz. President Trump was elected promising to go after ``the worst of the worst,’’ but what we saw in Chicago was a spree of violence committed by masked goons against nonviolent citizens who overwhelmingly had no criminal records. These Federal agents racially profiled people, pepper-sprayed neighborhoods, ripped families apart, and conducted military-style raids all to please much of the racist MAGA base. They did it all solely based on the color of a person’s skin or the work they did: construction workers, landscapers, and street vendors like the beloved woman outside my district office who simply sold tamales. Then they held these people in appalling conditions at the Broadview ICE Processing Center and beat those who protested outside. ICE agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez after he dropped his children off at school and then blatantly lied about it. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a Montessori teacher, five times and bragged about it. All of this violence was brought on by their own government. It is shameful. Donald Trump and his top officials, including white supremacist Stephen Miller, tried to take our dignity and divide our community, but they failed. The people of Chicago organized. We armed ourselves with whistles, phones, and our U.S. Constitution. We looked after each other. Rapid response organizers kept the community informed. Volunteers organized walking groups and carpools to get our children safely to school. Churches and nonprofits delivered groceries for those who were afraid to leave their homes. In the face of this massive opposition, the Federal Government largely backed down. One year later, people in Chicago are stronger, but many remain fearful and traumatized. Many of these agents continue to operate with impunity and no respect for due process. However, efforts to hold these agents accountable are moving forward. These criminals cannot continue free and immune after the heinous acts they committed while working under DHS. Operation Midway Blitz serves as a tragic example of why DHS cannot be reformed. It is a rogue, lawless agency built to harm us. It must be dismantled, and in its place, we must rebuild an immigration system that keeps us safe and honors humanity. When Democrats take over Congress and ultimately the White House, we must act. It has been over 40 years since immigration reform, and we are seeing what that is doing and has done to communities under this administration. Communities like mine can no longer wait.”

“I am honoring Tony Ortiz for his 26 years of service at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in my district. Under his leadership, the school served low-income students and grew into a national model with more than 40 schools across the country.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Antonio ``Tony’’ Ortiz, who recently concluded 26 years of dedicated service at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, including 16 years as president. For 30 years, Cristo Rey has transformed lives by providing a Catholic college preparatory education, integrated with professional work experience. Today, the school serves students who are 100 percent bilingual, 90 percent first generation, with a median family income of $43,000. Cristo Rey has nearly 3,000 alumni, 15 of whom now work at the school. Tony’s greatest accomplishment is the culture he built that proudly reflects the strength of my district. The vast majority of students, alumni, faculty, and staff live and maintain deep ties to the Fourth District of Illinois, making the school a strong pillar of the surrounding community. Under Tony Ortiz’s leadership, Cristo Rey Jesuit has become a model of educational excellence nationwide, and his vision has helped the school grow into a national network of more than 40 schools, serving over 13,000 students across the country each day. Mr. Speaker, I thank Tony Ortiz for his remarkable service and wish him all the best in the years ahead. He has left a lasting legacy in our community.”

“I am honoring Beatrice Lumpkin, who died at the age of 107. She spent almost 90 years fighting for labor unions and civil rights.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life and work of Beatrice ``Bea’’ Lumpkin, a union organizer, workers’ rights activist, academic, and writer who passed away on June 14 at the age of 107 years. Bea was a fierce defender of working-class people and an active fighter for civil rights. She was called by some the rock of the labor movement, because she grounded us and taught us how to stay committed to the search for justice and equity for those without power. Bea marched along with Dr. Martin Luther King in Chicago and was an ally of the Black Panther Party. She was present at every key moment of our labor and civil rights movement for nearly 90 years, up to the recent No Kings marches. Her engagement with the movement began with a factory job when she was 14 years old. She helped organize the Metal and Machinery Workers Industrial Union, a part of the newly formed Congress of Industrial Organizations. Her persistence and determination were best exemplified when Wisconsin Steel, the plant her husband, Frank, worked at, abruptly closed and 3,400 workers lost their jobs. For 17 years, the Lumpkins led a successful fight for those workers to receive back pay. As recently as 2024, Bea was focused on intergenerational work with youth activists and joined the Starbucks workers as they began organizing. As a retiree, she expanded her activism on issues such as climate justice, the rights of retired workers, and consumer protection against overcharges from utility companies. Mr. Speaker, Bea believed our job is to make the world a better place. She found joy in the work she did and inspired others, including me, to continue fighting. The labor movement has lost a giant. Rest in power, Bea Lumpkin.”