Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez, 33rd Ward: the record

Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez's votes, legislation, attendance, committees and campaign money this term, as she faces Maria Gordils on Feb. 23.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 22, 2026

Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd Ward), her official City Council photoCity of Chicago

Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd Ward) filed for a third term on Oct. 19, and Maria Gordils filed against her the same day (who's running). This is her record in the term that ends May 17, 2027, from the City Clerk's roll calls and legislation, the Illinois State Board of Elections and the City's Board of Ethics, as our 33rd Ward page compiles them.

In short: she had no recorded absences, voted with the Council majority about as often as the typical member, filed a little less legislation than the median and raised far less from lobbyists than the typical colleague.

How long has she been in office, and what does she chair?

Rodríguez Sánchez took office in May 2019 after unseating Ald. Deb Mell by 13 votes in that April's runoff, CBS Chicago reported.

Since May 24, 2023, she has chaired the Committee on Health and Human Relations, according to the Clerk's committee records. She sits on nine more, among them Finance, Budget and Government Operations, Housing and Real Estate and Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

In her ward, she has followed federal immigration agents to warn neighbors. On Oct. 21, 2025, she and her chief of staff trailed agents in Albany Park honking and blowing whistles, and masked agents gave her a "warning" for "impeding" their operation, Block Club Chicago reported. "This is the moment when we need all hands on deck," she told Block Club. The Department of Homeland Security said she was never detained or arrested.

How does she vote?

On the 90 divided roll calls this term on which she voted, Rodríguez Sánchez sided with the majority 87.8% of the time; the Council median is 87.4%. She cast 11 nay votes on key legislation, against a median of 12.

She voted no on the police union's amended contract, which passed 42-7 on Dec. 13, 2023.

How each ward voted

41 yea, 6 nay, 1 not voting · Dec 13, 2023 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

O2023-0006332: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

She also voted no on the ShotSpotter ward-choice order (passed 34-14), the acoustic gunshot detection contract (33-14) and the mass-gathering curfew, which passed 27-22 on June 18, 2025.

How each ward voted

27 yea, 21 nay, 1 not voting · Jun 18, 2025 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

SO2025-0016732: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

On the budget, she voted yes on the 2025 revenue ordinance (27-23) and the $830 million bond issue (26-23), and no on the 2026 revenue ordinance (29-19). She voted no on Ald. Marty Quinn's rule requiring 30 votes instead of 26 for City debt, which passed 32-15 on Sept. 29, 2026.

How each ward voted

32 yea, 15 nay, 3 not voting · Sep 29, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

O2026-0026270: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

What did she pass, and what stalled?

She filed 52 pieces of legislation as lead sponsor this term, not counting routine items like permits, against a Council median of 58; 38 passed. Among them:

A call for hearings on expanding mental health services, including mental health centers and crisis response, adopted Sept. 14, 2023.
A call on Gov. JB Pritzker to have the Illinois Commerce Commission stop utility shutoffs for nonpayment, adopted Feb. 18, 2026, after her committee recommended it.
A rule letting commercial pickup trucks and vans under 8,000 pounds park on part of North Albany Avenue, passed Nov. 15, 2023.
Changes to package-goods and liquor license limits on Kedzie Avenue, Irving Park Road, Elston Avenue, Lawrence Avenue and Montrose Avenue, all passed.

Pending: an ordinance creating a Chicago Construction Workforce Equity Advisory Board, filed July 2025, and a call for hearings on algorithmic price fixing in rents, filed September 2024. A similar parking ordinance for the 4200 block of North Monticello Avenue was recommended by committee in 2024 but hasn't had a Council vote.

Does she show up?

Our records show no absences for her this term. They also show her as not voting, rather than voting yes or no, on nearly every roll call at two meetings: 23 of 24 on Dec. 13, 2023, and all 23 on Oct. 30, 2024, according to the Clerk's roll calls. Those 46 roll calls aren't counted in her attendance or her majority share.

Who funds her campaigns?

Her committees, People for Rossana and Rossana for Committeeperson, reported $194,325 in itemized contributions ($150 or more) this term, below the Council median of $358,915, and $118,485 on hand on Sept. 30, according to State Board of Elections reports.

Since 2019 they have raised $618,758: $320,403 reported as individual contributions, $234,125 in transfers from other political committees and $63,978 in in-kind contributions. The largest organizational givers since 2019 are the Chicago Teachers Union PAC ($98,000), the SEIU HealthCare Illinois Indiana PAC ($84,783), the United Working Families PAC ($24,532), the Cook County College Teachers Union ($19,750), the SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund ($16,625) and AFSCME Council 31's PAC ($13,987).

Registered City lobbyists reported $400 in contributions to her, in four gifts, to the Board of Ethics; the Council median is $49,779. We report these figures next to her votes; they are not evidence that any contribution affected a vote.

Who lobbied on her legislation?

The Board of Ethics filings name the department lobbied, such as "City Council," not the individual alderperson, so we can't say whom a lobbyist met. The legislation she co-sponsored with the most lobbying filings is the Clean and Affordable Buildings ordinance, with 33, still in committee.

The good

No recorded absences. None on the 1,178 key roll calls counted for her this term.
Little lobbyist money. $400 from registered lobbyists, against a Council median of $49,779.
Her committee's work reached the floor. The utility shutoff resolution and her mental health services hearing call were adopted with no opposition.

The bad

Not voting at two meetings. The Clerk records her as not voting on 46 roll calls, nearly all of the Dec. 13, 2023 and Oct. 30, 2024 meetings. The record doesn't say why.
Less legislation than the median. 52 lead-sponsored items, against a median of 58 (33rd Ward page), and resolutions in her own committee are still waiting: a call for a federal human rights report has been held in Health and Human Relations since September 2025.
A 2023 social media poll. In 2023 she posted a Twitter poll asking the "best way to honor Italian-American heritage," with options including monuments to espresso machines and Italian ice, NBC Chicago reported. An Italian American group called for her resignation, and Ald. Nick Sposato said she should be censured. She defended the poll on social media as "light-hearted and playful," according to NBC. We found no record that the Council took any action.

Her full record is on her 33rd Ward page. She faces Gordils on Feb. 23; see who's running.