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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF RIGOBERTO "RIGO" PADILLA P?REZ
WHEREAS, Rigoberto "Rigo" Padilla P?rez lived a beautiful life filled with friends and family. Unfortunately, he lost his fight against brain cancer on August 20, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Rigo was born on February 11, 1988, in Jalisco, Mexico to Rigoberto Padilla Moreno and Juana Perez Mu?oz; and
WHEREAS, Rigo grew up in West Town and Gage Park where much of his adolescence was spent at the Erie Neighborhood House which is a local center located in the neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, since 2009, Rigo had been directly involved in the support of undocumented communities; and
WHEREAS, Rigo attended Noble Street Charter High School where he played soccer, rugby, and cross country; and
WHEREAS, upon graduating, he attended Harold Washington College and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he would eventually become one of the most prominent leaders of the immigrant rights movement in Chicago and across the country; and
WHEREAS, Rigo received both a Master of Art and a Bachelor's Degree in Latin America and Latino Studies (LALS) from UIC; and
WHEREAS, the once shy and introverted young man continued to find his voice at Radio Arte where he became part of a tight-knit community; and
WHEREAS, Rigo was stopped by an officer for a traffic violation and was turned over to Homeland Security; and
WHEREAS, Rigo would eventually face his own threat of deportation and fully establish himself as a force in the movement fighting not only for himself but for others facing similar cases across the country; and
WHEREAS, a founding member of the Immigration Youth Justice League (IYJL) ( now known as Organized Communities Against Deportations - OCAD) he helped organize against the oppression and marginalization of immigrants and people of color; and
WHEREAS, Rigo was also a national leader for the DREAM Act, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and the expansion of pr...
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