Matt is a lifelong progressive. Before being elected to City Council, he served as a civil rights lawyer in the Illinois Attorney General's Office, where he focused on issues including public safety, workers' rights, healthcare, and immigration. Through his work, he helped draft the consent decree to hold the city accountable in modernizing our police department, and worked on the front lines fighting back against Donald Trump’s disastrous immigration policies.

While Chicago is now his home, Matt grew up in Tucson, Arizona, raised by his mom Kathleen. His dad emigrated to the United States from West Africa to get a quality education. He met Matt’s mom while studying at the University of Arizona, and returned to West Africa following graduation to help build a better future for his countrymen. While Matt and his mom had hoped to follow him, they ultimately stayed in Arizona.

Matt and his mom didn’t have a lot when he was growing up, and she sometimes worked two jobs to make sure Matt never worried about having a place to sleep or having to skip a meal. Matt found a job down the street scooping ice cream and used the money he earned to buy a saxophone. He later received a scholarship to attend Northwestern University, where he studied music and political science. He later attended Harvard, where he earned his law degree.

Matt’s life experiences drive him every day. There are too many people in our community who work hard and still struggle. He ran for alderman because everyone deserves a life of dignity and respect, and is grateful for the opportunity to work for the people of Chicago and the 47th Ward making sure that happens.

As Alderman, Matt talks to people every day who share this simple but bold vision. We can take on big challenges like affordable housing, fully funding our schools, and modernizing our approach to public safety. Matt's proud to serve as a bold, independent leader accountable to our communities, not the well-connected and special interests.