by APS & Associates Contributor | Aug 19, 2023 | Press
Politics in Chicago is like nowhere else — they don’t call it the Windy City for nothing. So, when AARP Illinois wanted to engage with the Chicago City Council for the first time after a historic mayoral race, we knew whom to call: Alexandra Sims, the founder and leader of APS & Associates.
Alex is a power player in the Chicago and Illinois political scene. Driven by the belief that one’s birthplace and economic status should not disproportionately determine one’s life journey, Alex has dedicated her career, and the work of her firm, to voting rights and social justice. And her work has been recognized: She has been named a Chicago Urban League fellow and a Top 40 Gamechanger by Ariel Investments and WVON Radio, and has been recognized by Chicago magazine, the Chicago Tribune, VoyageChicago magazine, and Rollingout.com. In the white-male-dominated space of political strategy, Alex has built a team of women of color into one of the top political strategy firms in the state.
Alex worked with the AARP Illinois team to build an effective initial strategy for engaging the 50 members of the Chicago City Council, of whom over two-thirds were new to the council. From “City Council 101,” where the Illinois team learned the not-so-formal processes of the City Council, to critical introductions and working relationships with the various caucuses within the council, Alex’s support and guidance were critical to AARP’s success in our first year of Chicago advocacy: two successful advocacy campaigns — one on utilities, another on the passage of an accessory dwelling unit ordinance. As a result, AARP Illinois has now established itself as an important voice and policy expert on issues for older adults in Chicago.
And our work continues: Alex has helped AARP Illinois build critical relationships with the governor’s team, including supporting our statewide graduated income tax campaign, as well as with new leadership in the state House of Representatives. With the shifting political winds in Chicago and Illinois, it is important for AARP to have a partner like Alex by our side.
Learn more about AARP’s Supplier Diversity Program.
Mary E. Anderson is a manager of advocacy and outreach for AARP Illinois.
by APS & Associates Contributor | Aug 19, 2023 | Press
The program, called the Black Bench, will launch on Martin Luther King Day and is co-chaired by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Jacky Grimshaw, a political advisor for the late Mayor Harold Washington and the current vice president of government affairs for the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
Black politicians and others connected to politics in Chicago are joining forces for a six-month training program for the next generation of Black leaders.
The program, called the Black Bench, will launch on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and is co-chaired by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Jacky Grimshaw, a political advisor for the late Mayor Harold Washington and the current vice president of government affairs for the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
Members of the program’s advisory board include Michael Strautmanis, chief engagement officer of the Obama Foundation; Andy Zopp, managing partner for Cleveland Avenue; Kurt Summers, former Chicago city treasurer; Greg Kelly, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Jonathan T. Swain, an election commissioner with the city’s Board of Election Commissioners.
SEIU Healthcare is an investor in Sun-Times Media.
Alex Sims, co-organizer of the Black Bench, founded her own PR firm, APS and Associates; it represents the Obama Foundation and State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, among others.
Sims said it’s important to start the effort now to “train my generation,” with a little more time before the next election. The situation also has added urgency, given the impact of COVID-19 on people of color, as well as the loss of the Black population in Chicago.
“We’re finding that there are a lot of gaps that need to be filled with leadership, but we don’t always have the skill set needed,” Sims said. “I think it’s really important to make sure that this group of leaders passes on the information that they have to my generation.”
Political experience isn’t needed, but it is encouraged. The program is looking for people who want to make an impact in public affairs by, for example, running for office or working in government, nonprofits, or media, Sims said.
The program is open to African Americans aged 25 to 45; applications will be accepted Monday through Jan. 31.
by APS & Associates Contributor | Aug 15, 2023 | Press
“Seeing President Obama come back to Chicago to make sure his roots are rebuilt, it’s really exciting to know he picked Chicago and picked the South Side,” said Alex Sims, 2012 Obama campaign regional director.
Pres. Barack Obama, Michelle Obama visit Chicago for Jackson Park presidential center groundbreaking – ABC7 Chicago
by APS & Associates Contributor | Aug 15, 2023 | Press
When U.S. Rep. Karen Bass is inaugurated mayor of Los Angeles next week, it will mark the first time that African Americans lead the nation’s four biggest cities… “Good, and about time,” Alex Sims-Jones said. “A young Black boy or a young Black girl can look and see that they can aspire to that and that they are represented, that their thoughts and beliefs, but more specifically, they can aspire to something larger.”
Op-ed: Black mayors leading the biggest cities is not a new trend (chicagotribune.com)
9 of Chicago’s most influential Black leaders are making real strides toward diversity at the city’s top institutions, from CPS to the Cubs
Black leaders in Chicago discuss DEI in 2021 (chicagotribune.com
by APS & Associates Contributor | Aug 11, 2023 | Press
