FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Media Contact

Ivonne Rodriguez, ivonne@anabelforcongress.com

CHICAGO — In the leadup to the March primary election, Anabel Mendoza — a lifelong Chicagoan, immigrant rights organizer, and the youngest candidate running for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District — is taking her campaign directly into Black churches across Chicago’s South and West Sides, meeting voters where they are, and listening to their hopes, concerns, and priorities for the future of their communities. Over the past two Sundays, Anabel and her Outreach Director, Reverend Robin Hood, a longtime pastor and community organizer, visited nearly 10  Baptist churches and spoke with congregants about unity, justice, and the shared challenges facing Black and Brown communities in some of Chicago’s most historically segregated neighborhoods. 

Anabel has visited Greater Rock Missionary Baptist Church, St. Timothy House of Prayer, and Anointed Vessel Ministries in Lawndale, followed by Morning Star Baptist Church in Bronzeville, St. Stephenson Church on the Near West Side, New Greater St John MB Church in Garfield Park, and another six churches scheduled for the upcoming weekends. 

“The moment we’re in requires a fearless leader who will fight to unite our district in the face of efforts to pit us against each other,” shared Anabel Mendoza. “These church tours have been an opportunity for me to listen directly to my neighbors, hear their concerns about rising costs, housing instability, underfunded schools, and lack of economic opportunity, and work together to build an understanding  that lasting change comes when Black and Brown communities organize together.” 

Congregants responded with strong engagement and applause, particularly to Anabel’s message that Black–Brown unity is essential to winning meaningful investments in affordable housing, neighborhood schools, and family-sustaining jobs. Anabel’s church visits mark the beginning of a broader effort to engage faith leaders and congregations across the district, centering the voices of voters who are too often ignored in federal politics and ensuring their priorities shape the campaign’s vision for representation in Congress. Ahead of the March 17 primary, she and Reverend Hood will tour 50 churches across the city’s South and West sides and surrounding suburbs.