Leo Rojas-Banda says the race for Chicago’s 23rd Ward comes down to immigration.
“I think that this is why the aldermanic election is so important,” he said. “Because I do think on some level ICE is on the ballot.
“Ald. Silvana Tabares was one of a few aldermen who tried to weaken the [city’s] Welcoming City ordinance to try to allow CPD to work with ICE, and it was an aggressive effort to do so.”
Rojas-Banda, a 28-year-old attorney and community organizer, is challenging Tabares for the Southwest Side seat. He is running on constituent services, flood relief and support for immigrant families as ICE raids continue.
He described the race as a choice between an incumbent who, in his view, does not care about her immigrant community and a challenger who wants to keep the city’s protections and strengthen them.
Tabares said her record is clear.
“I support law enforcement’s focus on violent dangerous offenders who choose to commit crimes, not hardworking immigrant families,” she said. “I have long advocated for our immigrant neighbors like my mother and so many others throughout the 23rd Ward.”
She said the ward needs thoughtful policy leaders like herself.
“Sadly, my opponent’s reckless ignorance will only continue to put our neighbors’ families in jeopardy and stoke fear,” Tabares said.
She said Mayor Brandon Johnson and socialist allies refused to work with her to limit the scope of federal agents in ward communities.
Their politics, led to collateral captures in the city, with nearly 80% of those apprehended not dangerous criminals but hardworking, long-term undocumented residents, Tabares said.
“In my career, I’ve worked to protect immigrant communities by sponsoring the removal of the term ‘alien’ from HB 5945 in 2016, the creation of the Illinois TRUST Act, adding multiple languages to government websites and immigration enforcement free zones at schools, hospitals and churches,” she said. “I’ll continue advocating for safe communities for all residents of the 23rd Ward.”
Two roles for the ward office
“I really think that the alderman’s office can function in two ways,” Rojas-Banda said. “One, with regard to ordinances and legislation, is strengthening these laws and making sure that they are utilized.”
He said the Welcoming City ordinance now keeps police from working with ICE and he wants the city to go further and stop sharing its databases and other information with ICE in any capacity.
He pointed to residents who apply through the city for food stamps and Medicaid, saying that information should not reach immigration agents.
“I also think that the alderman’s office can function beyond just laws, but to act as a resource hub for our families,” Rojas-Banda said.
That would include helping families find loved ones taken by ICE, working with Southwest Side rapid response groups and alerting neighbors to ICE activity with credible information, he said. He said an alderman can do a lot of this and that Tabares is not doing it.
Under city ordinance 1-173-042, Chicago police in many cases cannot cooperate with ICE, but the ordinance allows exceptions.
According to the Chicago Police Department’s website, police may communicate with the agency about “Individuals with prior felony convictions listed in the ordinance, active criminal warrants for serious offenses (e.g., homicide, sexual assault), individuals under investigation for felony-level activity and/or individuals on the terrorist watch list.”
Flooding, schools and federal money
Rojas-Banda said he hopes Democratic gains in Congress will bring more federal money to the ward and the city.
“The Southwest Side, unfortunately, has had to deal with a lot of flooding issues,” he said, listing storm damage, downed trees and poor-quality roads.
“Priorities that our campaign has, especially after talking to neighbors, is focusing on storm assistance, storm relief and all the aspects of how that affects our neighbors,” he said.
Before storms, he said, that means clearing sewer grates and debris and telling residents how to avoid flooding.
After storms, it means connecting residents with city, state or federal help. Long term, he wants to work with the city to upgrade a system that backs up so badly that streets become small rivers.
“The infrastructure in our schools isn’t the best either,” he said.
He said Hubbard High School still relies on mobile units and deals with overcrowding and that many area elementary schools have outdated buildings.
“I’m really hoping that the federal government is going to be able to provide funding for those things,” Rojas-Banda said.
State Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar (22nd) secured roughly $10 million to $15 million for the Hubbard High School expansion. City TIF money to buy the lot where the expansion would be built has not come through, because the city’s 2027 budget has not been agreed upon.
Tabares and Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) continue to push for TIF funds to buy the lot.
Traffic deaths, pollution and Medicaid
“With regard to public safety, our major corridors, Pulaski and Archer, we’ve had a ton of fatalities and issues there,” Rojas-Banda said. He said he wants to fix those corridors if he wins.
In April 2024, Tabares, Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez (14th), Quinn and other signatories sent a letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation asking for safety and road repair upgrades on Pulaski, a state road, citing dangerous conditions that had led to crashes and the deaths of constituents.
IDOT responded in May 2024, explaining that in January 2023 it and the Chicago Department of Transportation put in place a joint agreement to speed delivery of “scalable safety measures on local and state routes within” the city.
Residents reviewed Pulaski repair plans at a CDOT open house in July 2025. Presentations on planned upgrades to Archer Avenue followed in March 2026 and July 2026. Repairs and temporary safety upgrades on Pulaski have been underway since summer 2025.
Tabares said plans to install speed feedback signs at Archer and Laramie came after an onsite meeting with CDOT traffic engineers last week.
The signs would gather data on speeding cars to make the case for a speed camera at the intersection.
Rojas-Banda also tied the ward’s health to its surroundings.
“Regarding health care, the Southwest Side is subject to a lot of pollution for a variety of reasons, whether it’s that we’re near a lot of commercial buildings, like warehouses, or a lot of traffic. Of course, we’re by the airport, so that also produces a lot of noise pollution and things of that nature,” he said.
He said National Equity Atlas and census data show shorter life expectancy in the area than in parts of the North Side, which he attributed to those environmental and health concerns.
As alderman, he said, he would study the problem and “have conversations with the community about how we can help the health of our community.”
“Unfortunately, Medicaid cuts are anticipated next year,” he said.
He said Medicaid qualifications will change and the ward office should help residents through the process.
He urged people on Medicaid to watch for the changes and update their applications so they keep their coverage.
He welcomed Chicago’s first fully elected school board.
“I think it’s really great that the people of Chicago were able to voice who they want leading their education,” Rojas-Banda said.
His campaign is starting a new canvassing push and plans to knock on doors roughly every day from 3 to 7 p.m., he said. Volunteers can sign up at leonardofor23.com, and the campaign is hosting a potluck Nov. 13 at Iglesia Santa Cruz in Chicago, he said.