ABOUT
ANDRE
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Andre Peloquin has always placed community service at the heart of everything he does.
He believes in the importance of showing up, helping out, and advocating for the diversity and heritage that makes the 48th Ward such a special place. He is a teacher at heart and a supporter of pragmatic and progressive politics throughout our city and state. Andre believes that we need to take an expansive view of the way communities and local governments work together so we can achieve practical solutions for our neighborhood’s residents.
Andre has called Chicago his home since graduating from California State University, Chico. He grew up in a single-parent household with his mother, Mary. From her, he learned the importance of giving back and following her example of volunteering in the community even when they might not have had a lot to give. His mother Mary, continues to be one of Andre’s biggest supporters, both on the campaign trail and off.
An educator at heart, Andre worked as a substitute teacher in California before being inspired to join the AmeriCorps program City Year Chicago.
He applied and was accepted, moved across the country, chose our Uptown neighborhood to live, and became a classroom aid at the Howe School of Excellence. Every day, Andre took the CTA from his home in Uptown to the West Side community of Austin. He was struck by how different, in resources and services, communities that were within the same city could be.
Instead of continuing to work in education, Andre tried to address those inequalities by becoming involved in progressive politics. In 2012 he worked on the field team that secured Tammy Duckworth a place in the U.S. House of Representatives. Andre went on to do call time and campaign finance for Shelia Simon when she ran for Comptroller in 2014.
After another year in progressive politics, Andre began to consider a career in personal real estate. He realized it would allow him to be his own boss and start building a life with Hannah, the woman he loves. However, it would also allow him to be in service to the families he helped educate and navigate the home buying and selling process. Andre knows what it is like to work hard, save up all of your money, and then finally be able to buy your first home. He wants to help others be able to do the same.
Andre continues to be involved in the neighborhoods he has lived in - Edgewater and Uptown - and the city as a whole.
He has continued to be involved in progressive political campaigns and civic institutions. Since 2019, he has served on the Auxiliary Board of the Lincoln Park Zoo. Locally, Andre is a member of the Friends of the Edgewater Library and he currently represents Edgewater as the Chicago Association of Realtors’ Diversity Committee, known as “The 77,” tackling topics like fair housing and economic development while engaging with local chambers of commerce and quasi-governmental bodies (TIF Boards). Additionally, he previously served on 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman’s Citizen Housing Committee before the pandemic hit.
Andre can often be seen throughout the our wonderful neighborhoods of Andersonville, Edgewater, and Uptown with Hannah and their labrador-pit Oscar. If you see them out and about, make sure to say “hello” to your neighbor!