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It is rather difficult to sum up the talents of a woman like Patricia Rangel, our Hispanic legislative chair. She is not your typical big city success story. She grew up in small town between Kankakee and Champaign with a graduating high school class of just over 20. Of course, they all went to college; that says something about the quality of teaching there.

 

She graduated from Northeastern Illinois U. with a B. A. and an M.A. in Reading. She then went to John Marshall Law School for her doctorate in Jurisprudence. At Northeastern, she met her late husband, a professor with his own private practice in law. She became a partner in his firm—Rangel, Rangel & Associates—where she is now the owner. Her firm covers all aspects of family law: guardianship, adoption, divorce, real estate, and bankruptcies. 

 

After completing her education, Rangel taught in the CPS for three years, and then went to Malcolm X College for 14 years. At MX, she helped develop the ESL Program there with her colleagues from English and Speech. Then, she transferred to the Wright English Department where she teaches Reading, Paralegal courses, Criminal Justice, Business Law, etc. She also served as co-chair of the English Department for five years and supervised as many as 45 adjunct faculty members. Whew!

 

Over the years, she has been active with many community groups which is how she knows so much about the Hispanic/Latino community. She chairs the Scholarship Committee of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, is president elect of the PRBA as well, serves on the board of ASPIRA, Inc. of Illinois (part of a national organization to prevent a high dropout rate of Hispanic students through alternative education in charter schools), and the list goes on.

 

In 2006, the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce made her Businesswoman of the Year; in 2008, the Chicago Bar Association gave her a Vanguard Award. And now the Cook County College Teachers Union, through President Perry Buckley, has asked her to help the union reach out to Hispanic/Latino legislators. 

 

Patricia says, “I have always been active in the union on the college level. I serve on the Distinguished Service Professor Committee currently. I was glad to help, because these days we all must pull together to face harsh economic times.” 

 

So when you see an attractive, well-dressed woman speaking in English or Spanish to a legislator, you’ll know that Patricia Rangel is taking care of business. And she always does good work for the people she cares for. We are fortunate; she is one of us.