Meet Tim
Tim Thomas is a working class guy who was raised in a union household (ATU) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tim is a graduate of Vincennes University and holds a B.A.S from Indiana State University. He came to Illinois to work for SEIU. He was elected as Secretary/Treasurer of SEIU Local 4 and later Vice President of SEIU HCII. He is an autoworker at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and an appointed union official in UAW 551.
He is also a member of NAACP, member of Oak Park Liquor Control Review Board, Oak Park Township Youth Services Committee, an executive board member and policy chair of Americans for Democratic Action, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Chicago Democratic Socialist of America, and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, former chair of West Cook Democracy for America, former member of Oak Park Environment and Energy Commission, former member Illinois Department of Aging OASAC.
Through these positions and out of a personal sense of justice, Tim has advocated on various social justice issues, including immigration, fair tax policy, older adult services and mental healthcare access.
Why I'm Running...
I'm motivated to run for Township Trustee because I want to protect Township services. We live in a time where the coronavirus pandemic threatens people's health and the recession threatens people's economic wellbeing.
I want to represent you as an Oak Park Township Trustee. I understand how a good job, access to opportunity, and safety net services can keep a family out of poverty. If elected, I hope to bring knowledge of what's needed together with a vision of what's possible. Hopefully, I will be able to build the relationships that allow Oak Park Township to fund the services needed to maintain the social safety net... and ideally, expand to meet the needs of these unprecedented times.
Township government provides services to protect the elderly, support youth, and aid the poor at the local level; these services are vital to ensure our social safety net. Oak Park Township has lost revenue from strategic partnerships that could result in a reduction of services if not replaced.