Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth Discusses Her Role in Government with Inside Government Club 

Loyola’s Inside Government club hosted 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth and 48th Ward director of neighborhood services Angel Rubi Navarijo Nov. 16 for a panel discussion about the inner-workings of the 48th Ward and to help attendees learn about local-level government. 

Manaa-Hoppenworth and Navarijo answered questions from the Logistics Coordinator of Inside Government Michael Clausen, a fourth-year student at Loyola, before opening the floor to anyone who had questions for the alderwoman and Navarijo.

Inside Government provides students with opportunities to learn about the functions of government on the local, state and federal levels and helps students develop their careers through community and alumni connections, according to Loyola’s website.

Clausen said he intended for the event to show students how they could get involved within local government and to connect students with the government officials who represent them in the 48th Ward.

He said the event was successful and that he was happy with the way students engaged with Manaa-Hoppenworth and Navarijo by asking the alderwoman questions about how she intends to help the community 

“I think it’s really important for Loyola as a community to be really involved and invested in the communities around us,” Clausen said. 

The 48th Ward covers the southern portion of Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus and parts of Andersonville, Edgewater and Uptown, according to Manna-Hoppenworth. 

Last May, Manaa-Hoppenworth took office as the alderwoman of Chicago’s 48th Ward after an election between 10 other candidates, making her the first Filipino to serve on the Chicago City Council, The Phoenix previously reported.

Manaa-Hoppenworth said she grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago before attending University of Illinois Chicago to study physical therapy. Post-graduation, she said she worked at the Cook County Hospital before moving to Andersonville where she opened Chicago Dance Supply, a dance and theater equipment store. 

Manaa-Hoppenworth said she attributes her choice to become more politically involved in her community to her disheartenment in the results of the 2016 presidential election.

“I remember sitting on the couch with my three kids and, you know, laughing because we just didn’t believe that our nation would elect someone like Trump,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said.

When former 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman stepped down in 2022 after 12 years in office, Manaa-Hoppenworth said her friends and family encouraged her to run. 

“I want to do what I’m already doing now but at a table where we can actually make real policy change, structural change — transformative change,” Manna-Hoppenworth said.

Manaa-Hoppenworth said running for alderperson as a LGBTQ+ Filipino woman felt like a challenge to the political machine of Chicago by forcing people to accept new avenues of change rather than old ones. 

Constituents should feel represented by their elected officials, which can’t happen if voters and representatives appeal to the status quo, according to Manaa-Hoppenworth. She said she appreciated being with Inside Government to talk with students who are interested in participating in government.

As a member of Manaa-Hoppenworth’s staff, Navarijo said he has been inspired by the Alderwoman’s hard work and dedication to helping the local community.

“I’m here to help her enlist the values that the residents of the 48th Ward elected her to do,” Navarijo said. “It’s been nothing but an honor and a pleasure.”  

Navarijo, who graduated from Loyola in May with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was a member of Inside Government, became one of the youngest staff members for the 48th Ward.

Navarijo said he attended a military high school in hopes to pursue a career in the armed forces, but when he found out he was undocumented at 17 years old he was forced to change his life plan and shift his career aspirations to politics.

“I can’t vote, you know,” Navarijo said. “I can’t leave the country, I can’t travel, but one thing I can do — the government — and so I thought that was the best way to enact change.” 

Navarijo said he was given an opportunity when then-President Barack Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy in 2012, so he chose to pursue government in order to increase his own political efficacy and make change. 

The DACA policy allows certain individuals who moved to the United States as children to request deferred deportation for two years, though subject to renewal, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The policy allowed Navarijo to remain in the United States to attend college and pursue a career.   

Both Manaa-Hoppenworth and Navarijo stressed the importance of being politically active as a young person through voting, community involvement and social media during the event.

“We have a lot of tools this generation, and I think you just need to use it,” Navarijo said. 

Despite the fact that the 48th Ward is one of the leading wards for voter turnout, Manaa-Hoppeworth said she was surprised by the amount of her constituents who informed her they were immigrants and unable to vote.

Voting can be a tool used to represent community members who don’t have the opportunity for their voice to be heard through the ballot, according to Manaa-Hoppenworth. 

Manaa-Hoppenworth said she wants to be a representative for marginalized people in the community such as women, non-binary people, transgender people and people with disabilities. 

This article was written by Julia Pentasuglio

Featured image by Max Bates