Flores was born in El Paso, Texas, but raised in suburban Northlake, Illinois, where he attended West Leyden High School.

Flores is noted as a champion of sustainability and government transparency, passing several landmark ordinances and initiating programs to develop the region’s green economy.

Alderman Flores has been working closely with the planning team to realize his vision to create the city’s first green manufacturing district in the Addison Industrial Corridor.

He worked closely with Baum Development, LLC, the City of Chicago Zoning Committee, and private businesses to ensure the former factory was not converted into residential condominiums.

Lathrop Homes, one of the oldest public housing projects in the city, is located in the northeast corner of the 1st Ward, close to the Green Exchange and the Addison Industrial Corridor.

[citation needed] In May 2009, Alderman Flores launched GreenEconomyChicago.com [1], a joint website and TV program, to bring everyday citizens into policymaking decisions concerning the development of the green economy in Chicago.

[4] The website and program—a collaborative effort between Alderman Flores, Mike Bueltmann of Clear Content, and Comcast CN 100—features discussion and information pages that will be moderated by experts from academia, the private sector, and government.

This important transparency ordinance places information about the City’s expenditure of tax dollars raised in TIF districts that was previously obscured to the public.

[9] The Chicago City Council adopted an ordinance proposed by Flores and Alderman Edward M. Burke to ban the sale of baby bottles and cups manufactured with BPA.