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Ram Villivalam

Ram Villivalam
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2019
Preceded byIra Silverstein
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth
EducationGeorge Washington University (BA)

Ram Villivalam is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate for the 8th district. The 8th Senate District consists of the Forest Glen, North Park and West Ridge neighborhoods in the City of Chicago and the nearby suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie,[1] as of the decennial redistricting following the 2010 United States Census.[2]

After Ira Silverstein was accused of sexual misconduct by a lobbyist, Villivalam announced that he would run against Silverstein in the Democratic primary. Villivalam was endorsed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Brad Schneider, State Senator Laura Murphy, and Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar.[3][4][5][6]

In the March 20, 2018 Democratic primary, Villivalam defeated the incumbent Ira Silverstein by more than 20 points in the first competitive primary the latter had faced since taking the seat.[7][8] Silverstein resigned a few days before the start of the 101st General Assembly, allowing Villivalam to be sworn on January 5, 2019.[9]

Villivalam is the first Asian American and first Indian American elected to the Illinois Senate.[10][N 1]

Prior to joining the Illinois Senate, Villivalam was the former political director for Brad Schneider and former legislative coordinator for SEIU Healthcare-Illinois.[12] He co-founded the Progressive Turnout Project PAC in 2015.[13]

In September 2019, Villivalam succeeded Robert Murphy as the Democratic Party committeeperson for Chicago's 39th ward.[14]

As of July 2022, Senator Villivalam is a member of the following Illinois Senate committees:[15]

  • (Chairman of) Appropriations - Government Infrastructure Committee (SAPP-SAGI)
  • Appropriations - Human Services Committee (SENE)
  • Healthcare Access and Availability Committee (SHAA)
  • Human Rights Committee (SHUM)
  • Licensed Activities Committee (SLIC)
  • Licensed Activities - Special Issues Committee (SLIC-SLSI)
  • Pensions Committee (SPEN)
  • (Chairman of) Redistricting - Chicago Northwest Committee (SRED-SRNW)
  • (Chairman of) Transportation Committee (STRN)

Notes

  1. ^ Yadav Nathwani is the first Asian-American and Indian-American member of the Illinois Senate. However, he was appointed after the 2018 general election to serve the remaining six weeks of outgoing Senator Chris Nybo's term. This was 39 days before Villivalam was sworn into office.[11]

References

  1. ^ "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 8" (PDF). May 18, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 8" (PDF). 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  3. ^ Zorn, Eric (December 1, 2017). "It's time for the secrecy to end in Springfield's highest-profile sex-harassment case". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. ^ Miller, Rich (December 5, 2017). "Silverstein, four primary opponents, accuser all file to run for GA". Capitol Fax. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Miller, Rich (December 15, 2017). "Recent endorsements: Raoul, Biss, Newman, Villivalam". Capitol Fax. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. ^ Miller, Rich (November 21, 2017). "Sen. Murphy endorses Silverstein challenger". Capitol Fax. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "Ram Villivalam Romps Incumbent State Sen. Ira Silverstein". Skokie, IL Patch. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  8. ^ Lourgos, Monique Garcia, Bill Lukitsch, Angie Leventis. "After sex harassment allegation, Silverstein's grip on state Senate seat slips away; Burke trails in bid to retain post in Illinois House". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-03-21.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Kapos, Shia; Hurst, Adrienne (January 7, 2019). "Democrat Ram Villivalam was sworn in Saturday as state senator". Politico Playbook. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Geiger, Kim (March 17, 2018). "Silverstein in tough primary fight following sexual harassment allegations". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Kmitch, Justin (2018-11-27). "Milton Twp. trustee fills state Senate seat in wake of Nybo's resignation". Daily Herald.
  12. ^ Ahern, Mary Ann (November 20, 2017). "Murphy Endorses Villivalam For Senate, Calls For Silverstein to Step Down". NBC 5 Chicago. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  13. ^ "Our Team". Progressive Turnout Project. Archived from the original on 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  14. ^ Stewart, Russ (September 15, 2019). "Bailouts multiply among Democratic committeemen". Nadig Newspapers. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "Illinois General Assembly - Senator Committees". ilga.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
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