She was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2002 defeating Bob O'Connor, an Aurora Alderman-At-Large, becoming the first Hispanic to win a seat in the state legislature outside of Cook County.
In 2014, Chapa LaVia made racial comments by calling state Representative John Anthony a "half."
[3] The daughter of Texas cotton pickers, Linda attended Northern Illinois University and enrolled in the R.O.T.C.
[5] In 2018, Chapa LaVia was appointed to Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker's transition committee on Veterans Affairs.
[6] On February 15, 2019, Governor Pritzker announced that Chapa LaVia would be appointed the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.