1st Congressional District Candidate wants to see impactful changes in District
Charise Williams is running for 1st Congressional District. Photo provided by Charise Williams. WILLIAMS PHOTO CAPTIONS
She was asked to run for the office two years ago. When Congressman Bobby Rush announced that he would not seek re-election, Williams was again asked to run, and she decided to do it.
“We are in this time in history where, this Country and particularly this State, will have an influx of a billion of dollars and I’m tired of us being ignored,” Williams said.
Williams has experience applying for and obtaining federal funding on behalf of the State of Illinois, as well as designing equity grantmaking policies to ensure the funding would go to communities that needed it the most.
Williams worked on the Fight for 15 Campaign for the City of Chicago, an organized effort to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour. She acknowledges $15 an hour is not enough to raise a family. Now, she is fighting for a livable wage, which would be $16.48 an hour for a family of four. On the state side, Williams’ work with the Illinois Justice Information Authority included the legalization of cannabis in two parts. Part one, ensured there was a labor agreement for dispensary and craft growers so those workers could have good wages and good healthcare. Part two, was the R3 program – restore, reinvest and renew -- which provided 25% of cannabis tax revenue into communities most impacted by disinvestment.
Williams also worked on the SAFE-T Act, which was signed into law in 2021, in regards to changing qualified immunity for police and would hold them accountable.
Williams believes that representation matters. She was the first Black woman to serve as Interim Executive Director at the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority and the first woman and person of color on the HIRE360 Board. She believes it is critical to have the right person at the table who can make changes. She made inroads to diversify and bolster staff at the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority.
At HIRE360, Williams developed a strategic program to work with community groups, trade groups, developers and general contractors to ensure there was a direct pathway from communities to apprenticeship programs.
Williams is looking forward to a time where there won’t be anymore firsts. While, if elected to Congress in the 1st District, she would be the first woman, she is hoping she would not be the last. Once in office, she would build her succession plan to make it accessible for another Black woman to have the opportunity to be in that office.
“I’ve been for people when nobody was looking, just because it was the right thing to do. I’m looking forward to being in that room and I’m looking forward to building that legacy and looking for someone to come in behind me and continue that legacy as I move on to my next bigger thing, whatever that might be,” Williams said.
During the pandemic, Williams used her relationships with community members to serve them. Some of those included working with women and families to ensure they had a safe space to go if they were experiencing domestic violence, distributing hotspots and laptops for students to use for remote learning, as well as working with the Comptroller to ensure families or organizations could receive funding in a timely manner.
In talking to families and individuals, Williams understands the economy is the biggest issue in the District. “Being able to understand and address the diversity of the District is going to be important,” Williams said. “Elected officials are supposed to be servants. You are supposed to be able to provide opportunities. You are supposed to be able to serve the communities that elected you to represent them. Transparency and accessibility is key.”
Williams has received endorsements from people in the entertainment industry who have Chicago ties, Coodie Simmons and J. Ivy, as well as former opponent Dee Nix.
For more information on Charise Williams and her campaign, visit chariseforcongress.com.
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