The 8th Senate District consists of the Forest Glen, North Park and West Ridge neighborhoods in the City of Chicago and the nearby suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie,[1] as of the decennial redistricting following the 2010 United States Census.
Villivalam was endorsed by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Brad Schneider, State Senator Laura Murphy, and Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar.
[7][8] Silverstein resigned a few days before the start of the 101st General Assembly, allowing Villivalam to be sworn on January 5, 2019.
[10][N 1] Prior to joining the Illinois Senate, Villivalam was the former political director for Brad Schneider and former legislative coordinator for SEIU Healthcare-Illinois.
[13] In September 2019, Villivalam succeeded Robert Murphy as the Democratic Party committeeperson for Chicago's 39th ward.