Скачать или смотреть Candidate for Judge in the 6th Judicial Subcircuit - Linda Perez for Judge

ABOUT LINDA PEREZ
I am a Cook County Public Defender, a Certified Union Steward, a lifelong Democrat and a resident of the 26th Ward. My great-grandparents were migrant farmworkers from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, who came to Chicago and settled in a neighborhood known as Bush, in the South Chicago Community where I was born and raised.

They were drawn to employment opportunities in the Steel Mills.

My great-grandfather and great uncles joined the military and obtained their citizenship. My great-grandfather was a Democrat and raised a family that understood the importance of voting and letting their voices be heard.

My mother was raised in my great-grandparents’ home with her twelve aunts and uncles. I am the youngest of four children raised by a single mother. We were very poor but raised to share what we had with the less fortunate. My Mother was a social worker who worked long hours and made daily sacrifices to ensure that we had more educational and employment opportunities than she did. My siblings and I were bused to magnet schools north of where we lived. The magnet schools were more racially and ethnically diverse than the neighborhood schools. My siblings and I were latchkey kids. We lived across the street from a Chicago Park and we participated in every sports program offered. My mother encouraged our participation in the park’s programs because she understood that those programs kept us off the streets and out of trouble.

When my mother wasn’t working, she was always very active in politics. She took us with her on the campaign trail wherever it lead, south or north. We worked, played and slept at campaign headquarters. My mother taught us to be assertive and to protect others against any perceived injustice. We experienced racism and ethnocentrism, in school and on the campaign trail, and every experience made us stronger.

I was an International Baccalaureate student at Lincoln Park High School. I was a cheerleader, served on Student Council, and was the only girl on the boys swim team. My first job was working at Chicago Park District Beaches and Pools as a Lifeguard. I wanted other children to feel as safe and protected as I did while I played in the park. I worked for the Park District and at private pools in high school and throughout college. I taught children to swim and mentored the strongest swimmers through the Junior Lifeguard Program. I am a proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College, the oldest women’s liberal arts college in the country. It was there that I met women from around the world who inspired me to always be a positive role model for others and taught me that there is always more that I could be doing for the community. I had the honor of serving as Co-Chair of the Latina Students Association, Editor in Chief of the Latina Literary Magazine and I also served on Student Council. I attended NIU College of Law and served as President of the Latino Law Student Association.

I am a Cook County Public Defender in the felony trial division.

For nearly 17 years, I have represented indigent clients who are sometimes the lonely, the friendless, and often, the most feared members of our society. They are people, some with families, and some without. I have always strived to be a kind and compassionate person to them, because I have witnessed first hand the difference I have made in their and their family’s lives, just by taking the time to listen and then explain. I have worked hard to reassure my clients that despite their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, infirmity of mind or body, addictions, poverty or homelessness, that they are just as deserving of the protections of this country’s constitutional rights as anyone else. I believe that my background and qualifications have prepared me to continue my service to Cook County as a Circuit Court Judge.