Chama St. Louis

Chama is an economic and racial justice community organizer who specializes in building coalitions. She’s running to be Mayor of Peoria; a deeply segregated city both in terms of where people live and the different economic opportunities. Peoria is ranked one of the worst cities for Blacks with the area schools being the most segregated. One in four residents are in or near poverty and unemployment is high in Peoria. Peoria is a millennial city and has great potential due to its geographic location, access to transportation, natural resources, major industries, and highly skilled residents but has been falling behind due to status quo leadership. Chama wants to economically empower residents through a monthly stimulus, supporting local scalable and startup businesses, closing the job skills gap, and reinvesting in our older neighborhoods making them attractive to live.

She has 17 years of experience working in her community both as a community organizer and as an advocate for Black businesses. Chama spent 12 years at the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce with four years serving as the youngest President and Chairperson of the Peoria Black Chamber of Commerce advocating for policy at the state level and connecting businesses with national and international opportunities.

Most importantly Chama is the mother of Ryann,14, Ellie,12, & Pharaoh,8.