I didn't see our community in our textbooks, and it was hard to understand who our community was in relation to everyone else, for Asian American students it will be a chance to learn our history, the contributions our community has made.

Ram Villivalam

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, as of the decennial redistricting following the 2010 United States Census.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.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. Silverstein resigned a few days before the start of the 101st General Assembly, allowing Villivalam to be sworn on January 5, 2019.Villivalam is the first Asian American and first Indian American elected to the Illinois Senate.Prior to joining the Illinois Senate, Villivalam was the former political director for Brad Schneider and former legislative coordinator for SEIU Healthcare-Illinois.In September 2019, Villivalam succeeded Robert Murphy as the Democratic Party committeeperson for Chicago's 39th ward.

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