State Senator Ram Villivalam was raised on the northwest side of Chicago. He is the son of Indian Immigrants. His parents came here in the 1970s. Though his father and mother were a civil engineer and a teacher in India respectively, they had to work minimum wage jobs, go back to school, and work their way to more than 25 years each of public service.

Senator Villivalam will always remember their struggles and the middle class values he grew up with.

Prior to being sworn into the Illinois General Assembly, Senator Villivalam spent four years advocating on behalf of home care for seniors and people with disabilities, child care for working families, Medicaid for those in need.

Senator Villivalam also worked at the federal level of government for U.S. Congressman Brad Schneider as his Outreach Director. In this role, he was responsible for outreach on a variety of policy issues and had duties that ranged from signing people up for the Affordable Care Act to organizing Job Fairs.

Senator Villivalam is honored to be an effective, proactive, and progressive voice for the people of the 8th District. He has and will continue to be focused on issues such as income equality, reducing gun violence, providing a quality education to children regardless of the zip code they reside in, and advancing immigrant, LGBTQ, and women's rights.

Additionally, he is incredibly proud to be the first Asian American elected to the Illinois State Senate and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly. He is currently the Chair of the Transportation Committee and also sits on the Energy and Public Utilities, Health Care Access and Availability, Human Rights, Licensed Activities and Pensions Committees.

Senator Villivalam serves his community in other roles that include being a past President of the Indo-American Democratic Organization (IADO) and previous Director on the Board of Gun Violence Prevention PAC.

Senator Villivalam lives with his wife, Elizabeth, and his sons, Rohan and Lokesh, in the North Mayfair neighborhood in the City of Chicago.