On Tuesday, September 23, Labor activist Olgha Sierra Sandman of Naperville was honored as a trailblazer at Governor Pat Quinn’s “Latinos Building Illinois” exhibit in the James R. Thompson Center. Sierra Sandman helped organized migrant field workers in central Illinois in the 1970s, an effort that drew the attention of César Chávez. Their campaign led to enactment of the “Illinois Field Sanitation Act of 1983” which required owners to provide workers with drinking water and hand-washing facilities.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Sierra Sandman (center) is joined by the Governor’s Deputy Chief-of-Staff Juan Morado (left) and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Acting Director Rodrigo Garcia (right). The entire exhibit can be viewed at http://latinoheritage.illinois.gov.