Meet the Candidate

Leonardo “Leo” Quintero is a lifelong resident of Pilsen, a father, community organizer, worker advocate, and caring neighbor. He is the proud son of monolingual Spanish-speaking immigrants from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Leo has lived on the same block for most of his life, moving only from the 1800 block to the 1700 block of Cullerton Street. He attended Cooper Elementary and Orozco before being pushed out of Juárez High School, and Chicago Public Schools system. He eventually found a second chance at Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy, an alternative school where he earned his diploma.

Leo became the first student in the school’s history to leave home and live on a university campus, helping make that path feel possible for others. The following graduating class sent three students to live on campus, turning what once seemed out of reach into an achievable goal.

That experience shaped how Leo understands government and public institutions. He knows what it feels like when a system gives up on a young person. He also knows what becomes possible when someone is given another opportunity, treated with dignity, and surrounded by people who believe in their future.

Leo began his community work at the age of 16. For nearly two decades, he has organized alongside young people, working families, returning citizens, immigrants, and residents navigating some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

His work has included serving as a court advocate for young people, advancing restorative justice practices within the criminal legal system, and working directly in violence prevention, intervention, and crisis response. He has supported families following acts of violence, helped young people avoid deeper involvement in the justice system, and worked to build public safety approaches rooted in prevention, healing, accountability, and opportunity.

In 2015, Leo co-founded Peace in Pilsen, a fully community-led and community-funded initiative. The effort began by supporting people experiencing homelessness and later expanded into youth engagement, violence prevention, community events, and neighborhood-based efforts that bring young people and families together. The initiative reflects Leo’s belief that safer communities are built through relationships, resources, and consistent investment.

Leo has also spent years organizing for economic justice. He was part of the fight for a $15 minimum wage in Chicago, supported efforts to unionize workers historically excluded from workplace protections, and organized for safer working conditions for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, Leo supports Chicago residents in overcoming barriers to stable employment and entering careers in construction, clean energy, and the skilled trades as they work toward livable-wage union jobs. His work has included supporting returning citizens and other workers as they navigate housing instability, transportation challenges, legal barriers, licensing issues, and the lasting consequences of involvement with public systems.

In 2023, Leo was elected as part of the inaugural class of Chicago District Councilors and selected to serve as the Chair. In that role, he has worked to make public safety institutions more transparent, accessible, and accountable to the communities they serve.

He has pushed for transparency and accountability regarding interactions between the Chicago Police Department and federal immigration agencies, advocated for stronger civilian oversight, and supported the expansion of mental health and alternative crisis-response services. He has also helped advance a Chicago Victims’ Bill of Rights so that victims, survivors, and their families receive clear communication, meaningful support, and dignified treatment when they interact with the justice system.

Leo proposed stronger investigative and accountability practices concerning officers with potential ties to hate groups to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. He has also worked to make District Strategic Plans more accessible through multilingual outreach, public participation, and greater transparency.

But Leo’s service did not begin with an elected title, and it has never depended on one.

It began on his block, in classrooms, courtrooms, union campaigns, community meetings, crisis responses, workforce programs, and conversations with neighbors who felt ignored by the institutions and representatives that were supposed to serve them.

Leo is running for Alderman of the 25th Ward because he believes government should do more than manage problems after they happen. It should create the conditions that allow people to build stable, healthy, and dignified lives.

That means homes working people can afford. Safe streets designed for pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. Fully funded public schools that never give up on a student. Good union jobs and opportunities for young people. Clean air and water. Strong tenant and homeowner protections. Public land used for public good. Development shaped by our residents rather than corporations. A ward office that is transparent, responsive, and accountable to you.

Leo believes the people who live, work, organize, and raise their families in the 25th Ward should have real power over the decisions that shape their neighborhoods. He is not running to hold power over the ward. He is running to put power back into the hands of the people who live here by building a ward office that listens, shares decision-making, and is accountable to every block and every neighbor.

Let’s create ONE 25 for ALL.