Miguel del Valle

Miguel del Valle (born July 24, 1951) is an American politician and the former City Clerk of Chicago.

After graduating from Tuley High School (now Roberto Clemente Community Academy) in 1969, he went on to Northeastern Illinois University.

At Northeastern del Valle was a student organizer, joining the Union for Puerto Rican Students and serving as treasurer.

He was also President of the Spanish Action Youth Committee during his early college days.

After earning a bachelor's and a master's degree in Education and Guidance from Northeastern, del Valle served as Unit Director of the Barreto Boys & Girls Club and then as Executive Director of the Association House, a non-profit organization providing social services and educational programs on Chicago's northwest side.

During his time as Executive Director of the Association House, del Valle was heralded by the Chicago Tribune as an "emerging young leader."

His leadership in redistricting cases in 1981, 1991, and 2001 led to the creation of Latino majority districts on the city, county, and state levels.

Del Valle sponsored legislation to protect homeowners by stopping the forgery of quitclaim deeds which is the process of transferring the title or deed of property to another individual or company.

He has also sponsored legislation to provide harsher punishment for ATM crimes; provide Illinois with more Early Childhood Teachers; provide comprehensive health coverage for every child in Illinois; and increase funding for Advanced Placement courses in Illinois high schools.

Del Valle is the founder of the Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees (IAHSE).

He is the co-founder of several Latino organizations, including the Illinois Latino Advisory Council on Higher Education (ILACHE); the Alliance of Latinos and Jews; and the Illinois Hispanic Democratic Council (IHDC).

He also developed the annual Department of Children and Family Services Hispanic Families Conference.

Del Valle was the Vice-Chairman of the Education Committee, Co-Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Education Funding Reform and the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus.

He also served on the Senate Executive Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Higher Education Committee.

This includes every ordinance passed since 1981, the Byrne Administration, as well as city budgets and Mayoral Executive orders going back nearly 30 years.

In addition, for the first time ever, City Council meetings can be watched live or on demand via a City Council video archive on the City Clerk website, www.ChiCityClerk.com.

In 1982, after organizing meetings, rallies, and lobbying Chicago's Chicago City Council, del Valle was successful in re-instating city funding for Association House's successful jobs program for unemployed youth.

Del Valle is married to Lupe, and has four children: Miguel Jr., Ivan, Esteban, and Vanessa.

He was an Illinois State Senator for two decades, representing the 2nd District of Chicago from 1987–2006.

In 1987, del Valle was elected the first Hispanic Senator in the Illinois General Assembly after he defeated Edward Nedza in the Democratic primary.

He was the Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois Senate, and he was the first Latino to hold that position.

He served as an outspoken advocate for Latino representation in the legislative and judicial branches of government.

He was the Co-Chair of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and was the first Latino member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.

In the 2006 Illinois primary elections, Del Valle received local media attention for his support of Ramon Ocasio III for judge over the Cook County Democratic Party-endorsed candidate, Ed Lechowicz, son of former Cook County Commissioner and Illinois State Senator Ted Lechowicz.

Del Valle, who sponsored legislation to create the subcircuit system, stated that the system was created to give women and minorities the opportunity to serve on the bench.

Del Valle was the first Latino male elected to the Illinois Democratic State Central Committee, where he served a four-year term.

In 2006, Miguel del Valle was appointed City Clerk of Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley after the previous clerk, James Laski, was indicted on federal charges.

Del Valle won a citywide election to the post in 2007, becoming the first Latino elected to the Chicago City Clerk's office.

As city clerk, del Valle's office is responsible for maintaining official city government records, distributing approximately 1.3 million vehicle stickers and residential parking permits, and issuing city business licenses.

Clerk del Valle is focused on bringing more efficiency and visibility to city clerk services by providing greater access to public records, including web casting of City Council meetings, expanding community outreach programs, modernizing operations to expedite the sale of dog registrations, city stickers and residential parking.

Significant City Council transparency efforts include posting nearly 700,000 pages of searchable City Council records to the City Clerk website, www.ChiCityClerk.com.

In 2008, del Valle served as an elected Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where he had a speaking role.

Del Valle established the Miguel del Valle Youth Leadership Development Foundation, which raised and distributed over $200,000 in support of numerous youth services.

Del Valle lost his bid for mayor in Chicago's February 22, 2011 municipal elections, coming in third with 53,953 votes.

After Mayor Daley announced that he would not run for another term, del Valle was the first to declare his candidacy in the 2011 Chicago mayoral election.

He was the first candidate to air a campaign ad on television, the first to have a website and Facebook page, and the first (and only) candidate to publicly declare he would not accept campaign contributions from companies that do business with the city.

Del Valle ran a grassroots campaign, which was energetic, but underfunded.

He served as the president of the Chicago Board of Education from June 2019 through June 2023, having been appointed to that position by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Del Valle was born in Puerto Rico and was brought to Chicago at the age of four by his parents.

He grew up in the predominantly working class Latina/o West Town and Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago.