Anita Alvarez

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Anita's Race

Whether it’s running the Chicago marathon or running to become the next Cook County State’s Attorney, Anita Alvarez puts everything she has into the race.

Born and raised in Chicago’s Pilsen community, Alvarez comes from humble beginnings. One of three children, she grew up in a close-knit family. Her father, who was a waiter, passed away when she was 12 years old and Anita’s mother became the sole source of support for her young family. Anita’s mom worked as a seamstress to support her children.

“My Mom worked very hard as many single parents do to support us and to keep balance in our lives. She always stressed the importance of education and she pushed me to study hard and to pursue higher educational opportunities,” Alvarez said.

Anita attended Maria High School on the Southwest Side and then went on to work her way through college and law school. She graduated from Loyola University with a major in social work and then obtained her law degree from Chicago Kent College of Law.

Anita joined the Cook County State Attorney’s Office in 1986. At the time, she was one of just a few women or minorities hired.

Anita running in the 24th Chicago Marathon

Anita running in the 24th Chicago Marathon

“It was challenging at times to walk into a courtroom as a young female attorney, but I loved being a prosecutor from the first moment I stepped into a courtroom and put my name on the record on behalf of the people of Cook County,” Alvarez recalls.

As her career progressed, Anita began to successfully prosecute big cases involving gangs, violent street crime, domestic violence, sex crimes and public corruption and she began to rise through the ranks of the State’s Attorney’s Office.

In 1996, she became supervisor of the Public Integrity Unit where she won convictions against crooked police officers and other public employees. Anita was then promoted to Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Prosecutions Bureau and supervised assistant state’s attorneys who were involved in prosecuting important cases against high-ranking gang and drug dealers. In 2001, she was named Bureau Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit, supervising prosecutors in the gang, arson, organized crime/cold case, auto theft, public corruption, financial crimes and professional standards units.

That same year Anita prosecuted the case of “People vs. Patrick Sykes,” in what became known in Chicago and around the nation as the “Girl X” case. Anita helped to secure a 120-year sentence against sexual predator Sykes, whose brutal attack on a 9-year-old girl in a Chicago housing project left the child paralyzed, blind, unable to speak and confined to a wheelchair.

Like many women, Anita works hard to maintain a balance between her personal and professional lives. She and her husband, Dr. James Gomez, are the proud parents of four children: a son who is 18, twin daughters who are 10, and another son who is nine years old.

“It really is a balancing act on some days – running to baseball and hockey games after work and on weekends. But we get through it with a lot of optimism and a lot of humor, just like families all across this country do,” Anita said.

Alvarez ran track at her alma mater Maria High School and the running bug has been with her ever since. Although she has not found much time to compete during the election season, she runs as often as she can. She has raced in the Chicago marathon (personal best time of 4:12) and she enjoys running in community sponsored races and events.

Anita currently serves as the Chief Deputy State’s Attorney, the third ranking position in the nation’s second largest prosecutorial office. Anita entered the race for Cook County State’s Attorney in August of 2007. In a recent speech before the City Club of Chicago, she summarized her decision to run for the top job.

“When I entered the race for Cook County State’s Attorney, I viewed it as more of a personal decision than a political one. Running for this office feels more like a natural progression of my career than it does a political opportunity. After 22 years I still feel a deep commitment and a personal passion about the State’s Attorney’s Office and all that it stands for,” Alvarez said.

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