Each year, State’s Attorney Foxx presents the El Humanitario Awards in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. The Community Leadership Awards honor the accomplishments of outstanding individuals in Hispanic Community.
Candidates for the El Humanitario Awards must be Cook County residents and are considered using the following criteria:
- Leadership, Honor, and Integrity
- Community Involvement and activism
- Volunteer/Pro-Bono Work
- Youth Involvement and/or Mentorship Programs.
To nominate a Cook County community member for consideration, please send the following information in a single email to christine.chan@cookcountyil.gov. The subject line of your email should be " El Humanitario Award Nominee.”
Nomination materials should include:
- The Nomination Form (download; PDF)
- The nominee’s professional biography
- A nomination letter detailing why the nominee is deserving of the El Humanitario Award.
El Humanitario Award Recipients
2017
Mony Ruiz-Velasco, Executive Director of PASO-West Suburban Action Project
The Resurrection Project
2016
Honorable Carmen K. Aguilar, Associate Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County
Rey B. Gonzalez, President & CEO, El Valor
2015
Judge Jorge Luis Alonso, United States District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Sylvia Puente, Executive Director, Latino Policy Forum
2014
Judge Grace G. Dickler, Presiding Judge, Domestic Relations Division, State of Illinois, Circuit Court of Cook County
Ricardo Estrada, President & CEO of Metropolitan Family Services
2013
Maria S. Pesqueira, President & CEO, Mujeres Latinas en Accion
Mayor Domingo F. Vargas, City of Blue Island, Illinois
2012
Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., President of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute
Honorable Jesse G. Reyes, Circuit Court Judge of Cook County
2011
Honorable Ronald Amaury Guzmán, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Juan Rangel, C.E.O. United Neighborhood Organization (UNO)
2010
Honorable Elizabeth Loredo Rivera, Circuit Court of Cook County
Adela Cepeda, President A.C. Advisory, Inc.
2009
Carmen Velásquez, Executive Director, Alivio Medical Center
Michael J. Hernandez, Esq., Partner, Franczek Radelet
2008
Ricardo Meza, Midwest Regional Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
2007
Joseph J. Torres, Esq., Partner, Winston & Strawn
Salvador A. Cicero Dominguez, Esq.
2006
Michi E. Peña, Esq., Commissioner, Department of General Services, City of Chicago
2005
Javier Zamora, Esq., Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
2004
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, City of Chicago’s Dept. of Human Resources
2003
Amalia Rioja, Senior Policy Advisor, Attorney General’s Office
2002
David Cerda, Esq., Cerda & Associates
2001
Jesse H. Ruiz, Esq., Partner, Drinker Biddle
2000
Honorable Ruben Castillo, United States Northern District
1999
Honorable Gregory P. Vazquez, Circuit Court of Cook County
1998
Gery Chico, Board President, Chicago City Colleges
1997
Honorable Patricia Mendoza, Circuit Court of Cook County
1996
Martin Castro, Esq., Chair, Illinois Human Rights Commission
1995
Norma Reyes, Commissioner, Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection
1994
Leticia Magdaleno, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
