Young SW Side Voters Deliver Pizza To The Polls: ‘We’ll Do Everything To Make Sure We’re Represented’
With a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Journalism from Loyola University Chicago, Lisa Nguyen has dedicated her career to covering educational issues in the city. She has worked for WBEZ, focusing on local initiatives and reforms affecting Chicago schools.
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PILSEN — As voters in the lobby of Rudy Lozano Library grabbed warm, cheesy slices of pizza, some wondered aloud which politician had brought the dozen boxes and several bottles of orange soda to the Pilsen polling site Tuesday. Is it free? a voter asked Tuesday around 7:30 p.m. as she waited to cast her ballot. Diego Garcia, 24, assured her the pizza was free — and not from a politician. It s from your neighbors, said Garcia, who wore a black T-shirt bearing the phrase Open the borders. Earlier Tuesday, Garcia and his friends, Mauricio Leyva and Jose Padilla, both 23, had faced long lines to cast their ballots. Assuming neighbors would have similar experiences later in the the day, Garcia — a community organizer on the Southwest Side since he was a teen — looked to the national initiative Pizza to the Polls to bring food to voters. I want to make sure voters stay in line and that young people are represented in elections, Garcia said. Leyva and Padilla had