Real Life Investing With Jason & Rachel Wagner

55: Leslie Collazo: Republican Candidate for Illinois State Representative In The 8th District

• Jason & Rachel Wagner

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Meet Leslie Collazo, a passionate advocate and dedicated community leader from the heart of Chicago. Born and raised in Illinois, Leslie is a proud daughter of Puerto Rican heritage, bringing a rich cultural perspective and a commitment to serving her community. As she embarks on her journey to become the State Representative for the 8th District, Leslie's bilingual abilities amplify her connection with diverse constituents.

 Leslie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Communications from Northeastern Illinois University, where she honed her skills in effective communication and advocacy. Her career has been a tapestry of experiences—ranging from grassroots organizing and community engagement to teaching in charter schools and managing accounts in the nonprofit sector. Currently, she thrives in residential and commercial real estate, where she helps families find their homes and businesses establish their roots.

A true champion for the next generation, Leslie is committed to addressing the pressing challenges facing the 8th District. She believes in delivering pragmatic solutions that uplift all residents, whether they are first responders, business owners, or everyday working Americans.

Leslie is not just a candidate; she’s a common-sense leader with a vision for a brighter future. She is dedicated to education reform and human rights, ensuring that every voice is heard and every dream has the chance to flourish.

At home in North Austin, Leslie and her husband are nurturing their two children, who proudly attend Chicago Public Schools. This personal connection fuels her passion for improving educational opportunities and community resources for all families.

Join Leslie Collazo in her mission to bring fresh, impactful leadership to the 8th District—because together, we can save Illinois NOW!

For more information on Leslie and her campaign, please visit: https://www.collazoforillinois.com/

Jason Wagner:

Welcome back to another episode of the Real Life Investing Podcast with Jason and Rachel Wagner. We have an awesome one here for you today. We have a special guest. Leslie Colazzo is running for state representative in the 8th District for Illinois and she's running as a Republican and we are totally blessed and excited to have her for a candid conversation. And I think a lot of these conversations like kind of need to be had. We have like a huge decision kind of coming up here with election day around the corner and we're just like really excited to hear who Leslie is, what she represents and why she's running. So, Leslie, thank you for coming.

Leslie Collazo:

Thank you for having me, Jason, Rachel. It's really exciting to be here and I feel like I can breathe and actually take my time explaining where I come from, why I'm doing what I'm doing, and we'll see what the future holds.

Jason Wagner:

We talked yesterday and the first thing you said to me was I'm fed up, and can you tell us a little bit? What is it that you're fed up with, Can?

Leslie Collazo:

you tell us a little bit like what is it that you're fed up with? I just feel, generally, our city and our state has been headed in the wrong direction for a few years. I didn't realize how bad of a position we were in until I became a homeowner and until my children entered Chicago public schools and I felt that I had just had enough with being pushed in a direction that I felt me and my family could not be in. We were on a path that didn't align with who we are as a family and it didn't align with our values any longer. And feeling like expressing that and going against the grain, being judged and being labeled as something that we weren't just for standing up for who we are and what we believe in.

Leslie Collazo:

And I reached the point where I felt like I can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch this city and state going up in flames is how I viewed it and how I still view it, and I have to jump in somehow and I have to do something about it, because that's who Leslie is. She's a doer. Okay, everyone knows. You give me a task list. It's as good as done. And I couldn't. I couldn't sit around anymore. I had to do something and I felt like those who are creating the rules and forcing us to live by these rules. You know, they're not there permanently and we have a voice and we have a way to change things. And this is the way that I chose to jump in the race and jump into the game and see if we can turn things around. I have a lot of hope that we can.

Jason Wagner:

You're running as a Republican. How do you do that in the city of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs?

Leslie Collazo:

You have to have a tenacity and you have to have what I call thick skin and a soft heart. You have to know who you are and you have to have a level of faith that is deep and wide, and I wasn't always a Republican and I'd love to share that story.

Rachel Wagner:

Oh, I can't wait to hear this, oh yeah.

Leslie Collazo:

So, being born and raised in the city of Chicago, I am Puerto Rican and I was raised in a very strong Christian family, and I was raised in a very strong Christian family. But Latinos are basically I don't want to say taught, but it's inferred that you are a Democrat because the Democratic Party is the party for the working class. It was the party for minorities. They fight for our rights. They really push to make sure that we get what we need as Latinos or whatever the case may be, and it was almost like I was never told that, it was just assumed. You know that that that's what we are Latinos, as you know, we're Democrats and we they're fighting for us, the little guy. But being born and raised in a, in this family, like, with very strong Christian values and all these things, I was the one who voted for Obama in 2008.

Jason Wagner:

So you guys are in college.

Leslie Collazo:

At that time I'm already an adult and a new mom and he comes in with all of his change and hope and I'm going yes, this, this guy is it, he's awesome. And I voted for him twice. And then, as a mom and a new working mom which was a new thing for me in my life as well I began to experience the democratic policies as an adult. So it was no longer this cool thing to be a Democrat and be for the people. I was like, oh, now I'm an adult, working, I'm a mom and I'm living under these policies and I don't like these policies.

Leslie Collazo:

Specifically, the one I experienced was it was in regards to Obamacare, and I believe there's some part in the law you know don't quote me on this, but this was real. I believe there's some part in the law and don't quote me on this, but this was real that if you weren't insured, when you become insured, you had to pay premiums for the months that you weren't insured. So I'm entering a new job, I finally have health insurance and, with my husband being self-employed, health insurance is always a tricky thing for a family like ours, as I'm sure you know.

Jason Wagner:

We know that exact thing.

Leslie Collazo:

So here I am, starting a new job. I'm like this is a good wage and I now have to pay six months of insurance premiums for months that I was not covered and for a mom working, that's a lot of money. I wasn't sick, I didn't go to the doctor, I never went to the hospital and I felt like I don't like how that felt. Your hand is in my pocket, taking money out that I need for my family to cover me for insurance that I didn't need. I'm like, okay, that doesn't make sense. But here we are. So that's when I begin to ask questions.

Jason Wagner:

That's when I begin to ask questions.

Leslie Collazo:

The next election came around and it was Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump, and I can't give you specific reasons why, but I could not vote for Hillary Clinton.

Leslie Collazo:

I just felt like this woman is nothing that I want for my life, my future, and I had already had these feelings about these democratic policies and how it's kind of like not working for me. And I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 by default, because I felt that he was the lesser of two evils and my thought at the time was like, well, ronald Reagan was an actor and he was a good president, so maybe this TV guy or real estate mogul.

Jason Wagner:

Maybe he'll be good.

Leslie Collazo:

I don't know Anything's better than Hillary is what I was thinking at the time. So he gets elected. We have our four years with Donald Trump and in those four years I managed to. I keep saying I, but I have to say we, because I have to give my husband a lot of credit. I don't do anything on my own and I'm not even here without him. So just going to throw that in there we, we bought our first home. We bought one earlier on in our marriage, but that was before 2008. So I feel like nothing really matters before 2008. I don't know why, in my mind, that happens before 2008. I don't know why in my mind that happens, but as a married couple with children living in the city of Chicago, we bought our first home in 2020.

Leslie Collazo:

My husband is a veteran and he was able to, as a lender as well, really set us up to have the best situation to buy that home. We couldn't purchase in the city where we wanted. We felt that the homes were just too expensive, so we decided to move a little further west, but you know, within a few minutes from where we were living at the time and we were able to buy a home great interest rate. We were able to do really well in real estate and lending during those years. We had very little little debt and our savings were the most we had ever had as a married couple and I felt like, wow, this we can really get ahead, like we're doing really well right now. We're working hard, we're hustling and simultaneously I am working with my kids, making sure we can get them in the best schools in Chicago selective enrollment schools because I felt that that was going to be the best option for them and they had the. They have the capacity to do it.

Leslie Collazo:

So we feel like we're settled. Yeah, we're feeling good. Yeah, now we're in a new neighborhood, a little different than what we're used to. It's a very diverse neighborhood in the North Austin area, but we love our block, we love our neighbors, we love that we have access to, you know, coffee shops and grocery stores within walking distance and we feel okay with, you know, having our kids hang out outside or in our yard or whatever the case may be. But I also felt like this neighborhood it can be a little better, it can be a little cleaner. I think we can, you know, put a little effort in and let the community know, hey, we can put a little more effort here and really make this neighborhood great. It's good, but I think it can be better. And so I started to just get active in my community and making sure that trash was picked up, know, there was pride of ownership and people are taking care of their properties and, you know, we put together a block party and just meet your neighbors and we're here now and just forming a sense of community.

Leslie Collazo:

And I reached a point where, under the current administration, when the Obama-Harris administration took office, everything is different. We're not in that same good position that we were in a few years ago, and it almost seems to me like everything is backwards, everything is inside out and not the way that it should be. So we are experiencing a lot of homelessness, drug addicts in our area. We're experiencing a lot of illegal migrants in our neighborhoods. Every time we drive past the Department of Human Services offices there are lines around the corner. There are homeless tent encampments in Humboldt Park, which is where we drive by every day.

Leslie Collazo:

Puerto Rican neighborhood, where you know we hang out a lot sometimes, you know, especially during summer and the fest. So I've just reached the point where I'm looking around and I'm going what happened? How did we get here? From my experience, chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world. I mean, we have amazing architecture, amazing food, amazing communities. You know everyone wants to be in Chicago, right? People who live outside of Chicago say they're from Chicago, so that you could seem like you're from Chicago right, yes.

Leslie Collazo:

So the reason why I decided to change from being a Democrat to a Republican was because when the city was enforcing passport vaccine passports is what I'm going to call it- to eat at restaurants in my neighborhood.

Leslie Collazo:

I felt that that was very wrong. I had to prove that I was vaccinated to eat at a restaurant that we were, you know, patrons of for years, and I felt that is wrong. I feel like that should not be the case right now. How did we get here? And I started to do my research. How did we get here and I started to do my research. I started to ask questions and I will do. And what happened was I accidentally red-pilled myself, as some people have said?

Rachel Wagner:

Have you heard that? Oh, yes.

Leslie Collazo:

Take the red pill. Take the red pill. And I was like, oh my God, I'm not a Democrat, I'm a Republican. So I sent a text to my whole family. I said, guys, I'm coming out of the closet.

Jason Wagner:

Isn't this funny, rach? We were just talking about this. It's like when people shift, there is something that happens where we need to tell the world and we take so much pride in that acknowledgement, and you go on.

Leslie Collazo:

Absolutely Go on. I sent out a text and our you know, every family has their group chat Right and I was like, guys, I have an announcement from this day forward, I am a Republican.

Rachel Wagner:

What was the response to that?

Leslie Collazo:

They're like cool bro yeah. We've been where have you been? You're behind the game. Yeah, we've been. Where have you been?

Jason Wagner:

You're behind the game Really.

Leslie Collazo:

Yeah, welcome my husband. As a veteran and as a Cuban-American, he's been a Republican, you know, the whole time. I think he was just letting me ride it out and I think he thought well, she'll learn, you know, and I did, and that's when I made the switch and I don't want to say that I hid the fact that I was Republican To my family. I felt like I could just come out and say it. The challenge has been the labels that are placed on you when you say you are Republican are unfair. Now I will say that and I say this in some of my speeches when I'm out campaigning a lot.

Leslie Collazo:

My perception of the Republican Party was that it was the party for old, rich white guys. That's what's put out there for people like me, I guess, and my message today is this is the new face of the Republican Party. It's not for old, rich, racist white guys any longer. No, I am a Puerto Rican from the city of Chicago who was raised in a very strong Christian family, and I'm not loyal to a party. I'm loyal to my values, and my values are aligning closer to the Republican Party than the party that I was in before, and that's my message today and because I feel very confident in who I am, who I was raised to be, confident in my faith.

Leslie Collazo:

I feel like I'm okay to say that and if you want to label me as something, then that's on you. But this is who I am. Get to know me. You will know that I'm not any of the labels people want to put on a Republican. If anything, I feel I want to stand up and fight for people, especially people in my community who are suffering, or people in my community who, economically, are just not making ends meet, or people who have been victimized, and in the society we live in today, it's almost like the perpetrators are the ones who people sympathize with more than an actual victim. What is that about? That's not okay. So that's my message. That's how I got here. So that's that's my message. That's how I got here. And, being a republican in the city of chicago, I want to say there are more of us out there, yeah than they care to admit yeah and that's okay.

Leslie Collazo:

You know, if they feel that they need to keep that quiet to maintain peace in their life, that's that's. We live in a free country. Sure you're free to do that.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah.

Leslie Collazo:

I'm okay with rattling the cage a little bit and I just I want things to change and I want to make them better for everyone, not just for a certain group.

Jason Wagner:

Well, you have the confidence, and the confidence I can tell it came from your acknowledgement of a personal situation where you felt impacted and you're like this is no longer okay and I haven't been aligning with these values that you guys bring. And this side actually does bring it. And I think when people go through that, what has personally happened to me and my family, and they kind of dissected a little bit and they do an analysis and they're just like, oh Well, I feel so much confident in this choice because it just makes sense.

Jason Wagner:

You said things are backwards and inside out there's a lot of things that are really backwards, that all came within the last four years, and I mean from Chicago politics, state politics, all the way up to the federal stuff. I mean it all trickles down. Have you seen any people that are within your community kind of having the same identity shift?

Leslie Collazo:

If it's happening, they're not telling anyone about it and I feel like people are going to bring that feeling to the ballot box. And Illinois is such a strong, democratic political place I mean it has a foothold and I want to say that people who feel left out, their voice will be heard at the ballot box, but they're keeping it to themselves. They don't. There's no confidence that they can openly express their views. Right now Especially, you know, if you're historically known to vote in one way and you decide you're going to vote another way, it's almost like selling out. That feeling of selling out really can hurt someone to the point where they just prefer not to participate in the process at all.

Leslie Collazo:

And we don't want that either.

Jason Wagner:

Right Right, yeah so how do you get people to not stay home and do nothing Right? How do you get those people that I've actually had? A personal friend of mine, one of my best friends. He said there's no point in me voting because I'm in a blue state. There's no changing that. I hear that a lot.

Rachel Wagner:

And I feel like I even feel that way sometimes of like our vote doesn't really matter. But really early on in you speaking, you said that you're like these people are only there because we voted them in, like they're not there forever. We can change it, and so I like that progression.

Leslie Collazo:

Especially when you see that it's only a difference of a few hundred or thousand votes. Now, the reason I decided to run for state representative is because no one was running against the incumbent, so he automatically guaranteed his seat for another two years by being the only one on the ballot. And I said no way, Jose, absolutely not. We are going to do something about. We're going to give folks a choice. You're not just going to be handed your seat for another two years to continue pushing these democratic policies down our throats that we have to live by. And I jumped in on the race after the primary, in a process called being slated, and basically it is a constitutional right that if someone wants to run, they can within a certain timeframe after the primary. You still have to get your petitions and do your filings. You have to follow all the same rules. You're just doing it after the primary. So I decided I'm going to jump in on the race because I don't want this person to think that he's got it in the bag for another two years.

Rachel Wagner:

There was no Republican running during the primary whatsoever, it was just him as the incumbent Democrat Correct.

Leslie Collazo:

So I began the process. I was vetted and I was petitioning for signatures. I was about two months in and Governor Pritzker signed a bill overnight eliminating the slating process completely, while we were in the middle of the process. So the organizations that I was working with to get on the ballot they called me and they said, hey, we need to put a pause on what you're doing Because we don't know if you're breaking the law by continuing to get petitions and trying to get on the ballot. So that kind of stopped me in my tracks. And then I really got pissed off because I felt like I'm not a politician, I am a wife, mom, citizen, pays her taxes. I follow the rules. I am a wife, mom, citizen, pays her taxes, I follow the rules. I feel like we are completely overlooked and we're just going to continue to do the same thing over and over again. And then you're going to try to take me out in the process. And if you know Leslie Colazo, I'm going to tell you right now she is not going to lay down to that.

Leslie Collazo:

So the opportunity came where the Liberty Justice Center asked me if I would be their principal plaintiff in a lawsuit, because they felt that this was unconstitutional. And I said yes, and they went. They fought in Springfield and the judges ruled that it was unconstitutional for them to pass that bill, specifically because it was only for, like a certain part of the government, like the house. It wasn't across the board. So it just seemed very much like you're changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game so that you can just be guaranteed a seat.

Leslie Collazo:

You won't have to campaign or raise money or go door knocking, or you won't have to put the work in to earn a vote because you're the only one on the ballot. And bringing another candidate into the mix at that point of the race, I'm sure it can be frustrating, on top of the fact that it's a Republican candidate. With the way things are going these days, people are ready to vote different. They really are, and if they have that option, they may go with that option. So that was a hurdle that I had to get through. It did set me back by a few months, but we were successful and I am on the ballot, that's amazing.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah, what a story. Good for you, it's incredible.

Jason Wagner:

That's awesome.

Leslie Collazo:

It had an opposite effect. I think they were trying to just eliminate me, but what it did is create more media. You know I had articles written about it, that I was able to share interviews and getting my story out there. So it actually helped me then, you know, rather than hurt me.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, I mean, it's just clearly unfair. You know, and I think that's what a lot of voters have been recognizing, there's been a lot of unfairness that has happened lately and that's a great local example of the unfairness actually occurring. Yes and you winning. Yes and you calling it out and winning.

Leslie Collazo:

Yes, that's incredible. I don't know how I got here exactly, but I do know that every step of the way, whenever I hit a crossroad, I stop and I go. Okay, I can only do so much. I only have enough finance behind me and support behind me. I really am depending on God in this process and I don't necessarily lead this campaign with my faith, but it's a part of who I am and because of that faith I'm able to keep going, and then something will happen where it's like another door has opened that I get to walk through, like me being here today.

Leslie Collazo:

This was a door that opened, and I never intended on actually being a part of a podcast. It's something that I wanted to do, and the fact that I'm here today, it's just another example of every door that has been open for me in this process. So here I am and early voting started yesterday, and to hear rumors that people are voting for me and I just jumped into this race, you know, earlier this year, I think is pretty remarkable and exciting and gives me a lot of hope for our city and our state.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, yeah, oh, that's amazing, go ahead.

Rachel Wagner:

I was going to say, can we maybe talk a little bit more specifically about the position itself, the district that you're covering, those areas? Because I think oftentimes when we get in these big elections the smaller races aren't really paid attention to. Like you had said, it's only a couple hundred to a few thousand votes that are this is coming down to, and I think it comes from a place of people not really knowing, like, what that position is or what they do, and certainly you know enough about the people running. So could you share a little bit about where is the eighth district? I know we said Chicago, but there's some other areas it covers. And then, what is a state representative? What do they do? What are you going to be a part of?

Leslie Collazo:

Yeah, great question. So the 8th District has parts of Chicago, specifically in the North Austin and Austin neighborhood in Chicago, and then it has parts of Oak Park, Berwyn, LaGrange Park, LaGrange, parts of Western Springs, Hodgkins countryside and a little bit of Broadview. It's a very gerrymandered district, is how I'll describe it. Oak Park specifically, I think there's maybe like 10 blocks that touch the district, which is a very small area, and I think the problems that touch the district they're not all the same.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah, I was going to say that's interesting, cause if you think about I mean school wise those are very different districts, right? Not everybody's a part of CPS and they don't all have the same problem. Right, that's very interesting, that that's the district.

Leslie Collazo:

It is, and because I live in the North Austin neighborhood, the problems that I experience may not an easy area to live. You know, I live very nervously sometimes when my daughter has. They can just walk home from school and everything's fine. And that's one thing with public safety. If I call 911 because I'm in the middle of an emergency, I need my police to show up as quickly as possible, and I feel like, with everything that's happened in the last few years, the police have really gotten a bad rap happened in the last few years. The police have really gotten a bad rap.

Leslie Collazo:

Okay, and one thing I find interesting is that you know they have body cams that they wanted, right, and with these body cams they capture everything. And then they wanted to take the body cams away because they really weren't working in the way that they thought they would be working. They thought they would catch more police officers hurting someone who asked for help versus the person hurting the police officer. And now the police are saying no, no, no, you wanted the body cams. We're keeping the body cams and I think they're important for transparency and it's important for us to see with our own eyes what really actually happened, and even though we have footage of things, it's important for us to see with our own eyes what really actually happened. And even though we have footage of things, it's still debatable.

Leslie Collazo:

Like who was right, who was wrong. Was that called for? Was it not? So for me specifically, public safety is like a number one priority because of where I live and because what we have to deal with and because we need our police, and because what we have to deal with and because we need our police if something happens who do I call to come help?

Leslie Collazo:

me in a situation there's no one but 911 if they can get to me on time, you know. So I really feel like, as someone who has law enforcement in my family and people who have served our country in the military, I really feel that it's important to support our first responders, and if you live in an area like I do, we need them. I think oversight is important and I think transparency is important, and I think we need to be investing in technology. That's important to solve crimes, and I'm not trying to be one-sided about that. I feel like I do see all perspectives, but that's one point that I think is really hurting us in the city specifically, and, to answer your question, at the state level, you're basically creating laws for people to abide by, or creating laws or changing laws that can either help us or hurt us, depending on how you look at it. Regardless of what the bills are and what these laws are, they cost money and we, the people, are the ones who provide the money, through our income taxes, for these programs or these laws to go into effect, for these programs or these laws to go into effect, and I'm not in agreement with how our government spends our money sometimes, and I feel like the government needs to do a better job informing people on where their tax dollars are going and how they're being spent before they're spent, not after the fact. And to that point I feel like Illinois being a sanctuary state has really hurt us and there are bills being proposed to reverse that, and I want to get behind that.

Leslie Collazo:

I am all for legal immigration to our country. Who wouldn't want to be a part of this country? But it's important to know who's coming. Where you you going to live, how are you going to support yourself? We need to know those things because we want to assimilate you into this great American culture. But in the way it's happened in the last few years has hurt us, in my opinion, tremendously. My community's really upset with how much funding has gone to solve this sanctuary city problem and how those resources were not available to them, and this is why they're deciding to vote the other way this time, because they're now realizing that their own policies are hurting them more and more.

Jason Wagner:

Can you give us some specific examples of some of those resources that the migrants have been receiving, and maybe the other constituents in the areas are not?

Leslie Collazo:

So for a family like I don't want to say I'm from a middle class family. I feel like that line has been used too many times lately.

Jason Wagner:

I love it. You can still use it, though.

Leslie Collazo:

I'm from a middle class family. You know, as a part of the middle class, I was not only raised in it, but I'm still in it. I'm not a millionaire today and I can say I was, I still am in the middle class. So when I go shopping and I go to buy my groceries, I have to. You know I can't get the organic produce Sometimes. Sometimes I have to just get whatever's on sale and the prices have to. You know I can't get the organic produce sometimes. Sometimes I have to just get whatever's on sale and the prices of things.

Leslie Collazo:

You know I do the grocery shopping, as I'm sure many of your listeners do, and you know they have felt the pain of a simple thing like buying your groceries and to see that there are people receiving government funding for that when it's not available to people who could use it. That can be frustrating. Now, do we want people not to have access at all? I don't want to see people starving in our streets either. So it's just a part of this bigger issue that we didn't think this thing all the way through.

Leslie Collazo:

And what was the plan for becoming this sanctuary city? So that's just one small example of how people are frustrated because you know there are multiple generations living together trying to make ends meet and you know they all put their money together and they're trying to survive and they may not qualify for some of the government help that is available to them. So this is one thing. The other part that I find really interesting is to see people being given funds to purchase cars. It's a real issue in my neighborhood. So you'll see, you know, when you purchase a new car you have a temporary plate or no plate at all, which, in my opinion, I'm like I pay so much money to just get a city sticker and our registration every year, you see cars just rolling around, no license plate, no city sticker, no seat belts, kids riding in cars without car seats, babies being held in the front seat Things that, as Americans, we know.

Leslie Collazo:

You just don't do so, seeing these things, and go hey guys, you know that that child needs to be in a car seat, you know? Hey, roll your window down. I'm doing this because I'm old. It's not like a button to lower the window. I remember that. I remember that it's not like a button to lower the window. I remember that Lower your window, hey, that that baby needs to be in a car seat, right, you know just things like that that we see.

Rachel Wagner:

I've seen both of those things too recently, where I saw somebody holding a baby in the front seat of the car just over here I was telling you about that and I've seen kids just kind of flopping around in the backseat, you know, without seatbelts, and those are things I haven't seen for probably 20 years, cause I think that did happen when I was a kid, you know we'd be on road trips and my parents would let me play in the backseat without a seatbelt, but I mean that ended, I mean probably middle school age, and then everybody was in a car seat in the back and everybody had seatbelts on. So to see that again, I was like, well, where am I?

Leslie Collazo:

It was just crazy and it's dangerous.

Rachel Wagner:

Oh, it's so dangerous.

Leslie Collazo:

You know, we know what the rules are because we live here and we're taught the rules of the road and you go get your license and you take the test and you know even some of our you know driving laws aren't really respected or honored, so but I'm not understanding how we got here, you know, and to see cars also being used as a place to hang out, and it's something that we see in our community. We have, you know, a little bit of a shopping mall close by and you'll see people hanging out in their cars and drinking and you know it's a school night, there's kids out. You know it's late and I'm just, this is not the American way.

Rachel Wagner:

Can you pinpoint when you started to see these changes happen?

Leslie Collazo:

happen. Yes, it was in 2021. We were in our new home and we started noticing groups of women with children tied to their back, using blankets or backpacks, selling water, selling Gatorade, selling candy, and also small children five, six, seven years old in the I don't want to say in the median, the street, selling items. And, as a mom, I would not be okay with having my child standing in the middle of the street selling anything. It's super dangerous. And I started to notice, like where did this come from? You know, you're hearing about the buses being, you know, coming through Chicago or whatever the case may be, even families and people sleeping on the floor of police stations. You know, when I started to hear stories about that, I was like that's not real.

Rachel Wagner:

Not in America, where I live, we don't do that and and it was, it was a reality, you know, we saw that. So we just moved. About a year ago we were in the Jefferson Park area and I remember driving by the police station there off Milwaukee and it was just one day. I just happened to look over and people were just lined up in sleeping bags and there were all these bikes and like little kid, like toddler toys, outside parked, you know, right in front of the police station and I was like oh my, oh, my gosh, like I couldn't believe it, because I also was kind of like okay, like maybe that's happening downtown in the loop, but probably not some of the other neighborhoods. And it was right there, it's still there. It's been several years of people just sleeping in the lobby of the police station. I couldn't believe it. And people don't really believe me when I share that either. They're like what? No, like literally that is happening and it's full, they are full.

Leslie Collazo:

It is. There's a headline that I read this morning or last night that they are making some changes around this in the city of Chicago, where now they are going to take migrants for I don't fully agree with that word, I feel like that word is not accurate, but we'll use it in this case that they're going to combine them with the homeless community and I I really have to question this plan and I feel like citizens taxpaying citizens are asking a lot of questions and now these administrations are trying to shift. But I mean, we're in 2024. I started noticing this in 2021. We're three and a half, almost four years into this and now we're changing the plan. So I don't think our administration really has a handle on what's going on and that may be a conversation for another day as far as, specifically, the city of Chicago and Chicago politics, which, at the state level, may not be any different, but we need change.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, so it seems like a lot of this conversation so far has been talked about just in terms of just public safety, right it's.

Jason Wagner:

You feel like the first responders maybe don't have enough resources, they're not coming quick enough.

Jason Wagner:

We have a number of migrants that have come into the city. They don't have places to live and, and I will be honest, that is a big, big concern for us and that was a decision point where my wife and I we moved our family out of the city to go to Arlington Heights here in the suburbs, because we no longer felt that, you know, you kind of said you live a little cautiously or just like you're always watching your daughter kind of come home from school. We felt the same way just being in our front yard sometimes. Yeah, you know, and there's a lot of people in chicago that feel that way, because I've had conversations with with people there and you know, it caused us to make a choice to move away from it and we considered it yeah we considered leaving the state and a huge deciding factor for that was whether or not our children were going to attend selective enrollment schools in the city of Chicago, and had they not tested in, we would not be here.

Leslie Collazo:

I felt that a selective enrollment school would at least provide them with the level of academic rigor that my children are capable of, would at least provide them with the level of academic rigor that my children are capable of, and by them being accepted and entering those schools, we decided to stay. But had they not been accepted, we would have left. I am not ready to give up on Chicago and I'm not ready to give up on Illinois just yet. I've experienced our glory days and I think we can get back there. I just think we need the right people in power who really listen and are doing what they need to do to help those who want that. There are a lot of people in Chicago who are perfectly happy with the way it's operating right now. I am not one of those people and I want to say that there are more people in my camp than I may even realize.

Jason Wagner:

As a state representative, is there something that you can really kind of push and help with in terms of kind of public safety?

Leslie Collazo:

Yes, as far as the laws that are created with things like how much funding is available, yes, and we all know we need funding to hire more, and lowering the standard for people to enter, you know, in law enforcement is not helping us, and I think we need to keep those standards high. I think when people earn an education and they've put the work in, they show the ethic that's needed to serve publicly. I think some politicians probably could use some of that, to be honest. But yeah, I mean we make decisions as to where the flow of money goes, and I think that's always key. Now, you know we have to. I think politicians specifically need to remember that we, the people, are the ones who provide the money. They just decide where it's going to go, and I want to make sure that things like public safety are funded.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah, you've said that really well a couple times. Like there's no such thing as government funded, right, it's all taxpayer funded, so it is our money and we should care where it's going. We should have a say in where it's going and we should have a say in it before it's going there, right? I think you've said that very well a few times, I think with that specifically.

Leslie Collazo:

It's been something I've been harping on, because we need to remind the American people that you are in control. Okay, If you're going to sit this one out, you've relinquished control. But if you show up and vote for people who you've done a little research, you know what they stand on, you know what they want to do. Get behind them and help put them in office so that they can make decisions that represent you versus their own interests or another group that maybe you may not align with. It's important.

Rachel Wagner:

Are you seeing in other districts there being competitive races happening, or is it mostly incumbents running this election?

Leslie Collazo:

I think one of the challenges for Republicans is that we don't receive as much campaign backing as we need, campaign backing as we need, and we don't raise anywhere near as much money. As you know, democratic politicians, unfortunately, it's much easier for them to have access to funding and with that, with those campaign funds, you're able to get your message out there. You're able to, you know, recruit more technology or you know there are many ways for you to use those campaign funds. But I think that's one of the challenges for us is no one thinks you're going to win, so they're not going to donate. And I think that you know we can challenge that a little bit. I know we can. If we, you know, get together and if we back each other up, we can make something happen.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah.

Jason Wagner:

I kind of want to talk about your opponent here, lashawn Ford, and he has been in this seat since 2007, which I've noticed, so he's been there for some time. Is there anything that you could be a little critical on in terms of what he has done that maybe you would do the opposite of? Yeah.

Leslie Collazo:

So I had a debate with LaShawn last month. The League of Women's Voters of LaGrange, I believe, is I hope I didn't say that wrong, but we had a debate and it was my first time, you know, interacting with him and LaShawn's a really nice guy. Okay, like I'm not the person who wants to like bash my, bash my opponent, like it's just, that's not who I am. I think you know, on a personal level, I hear nice things about him. I've never experienced it and even in our debate he wrapped up his final remarks with almost endorsing me, saying Leslie Collazo is a model American who's the perfect type of candidate. Like I was. Like, okay, I just got endorsed by my mom. This is interesting.

Rachel Wagner:

I'm like am.

Leslie Collazo:

I that likable, didn't know it, but now I do. One of the things that I feel makes a huge difference between LaShawn and I is I really believe in small businesses. Okay, I feel like they're the underdog and I feel like small business owners. They launch their businesses out of a passion or just something in them that really led them to, you know, to launch this business. And you know they're, they're the small guy, and I feel like smaller communities or even in, you know, in some of the towns that are in our district, you have people who run dog grooming businesses or a laundromat or a CrossFit gym or I mean, you name it a cupcake shop, and these small businesses they add to their communities.

Leslie Collazo:

And it is so tough to run a business in Illinois it really is. And LaShawn did not sign any legislation to support small businesses and I feel that that was a big fail on his part. And in our debate he mentions how small businesses is one of his top agendas, you know topic, or one of the drivers for his you know, next two years in office, and I had to challenge him in our debate and say, yes, but you didn't sign legislation to help small businesses who need the help. So I feel like that's one differentiator between us Also.

Leslie Collazo:

I think he's just so used to being in office and so used to just counting on, you know, people in the Austin community to vote for him that you know. I really haven't heard much from from him. I did receive, you know, some mailers about go get your cancer screening, you know, and don't forget, school starts next month or whatever the case may be. I was like, oh, this is nice. I finally heard from my state legislature legislator. You know, after living here for four years, I never I didn't even know who he was until I moved into the area. So he's tried to run in other races. I think he has aspirations to, you know, run for other seats in the future. So I I don't know how his political career will, you know, advance, but I'm hoping that I can take him out this time and give him the time and space he needs so he can go pursue some of his other endeavors. So it's interesting he and I are both former educators and we're both realtors and we're both running for the same seat.

Rachel Wagner:

That is very interesting. We took note of that.

Jason Wagner:

We did take note of that as well is a challenge from newcomer Colasso, a real estate agent. You just said you're actually both real estate agents. Is it weird that they are calling you a real estate agent in kind of this headline?

Leslie Collazo:

I think that's all they have to go on, because they don't know who I am. I think that it's unfair to position me as just a real estate agent.

Jason Wagner:

it's unfair to position me as just a real estate agent.

Leslie Collazo:

No, it doesn't say just but but.

Jason Wagner:

But they do but that that's the way I read it, you know tell me your thoughts about it. Well, because I was the same. I was the same way. I'm like why are they calling her a real estate agent in the headline, when then I did a little digging and I saw, well, a licensed real estate broker? Why isn't it two real estate agents?

Leslie Collazo:

That would have been a much more interesting headline, right.

Jason Wagner:

It's almost like they're painting you as you're just a real estate agent and like there's a connotation of like real estate agents right?

Rachel Wagner:

Jason took a little offense. Are you all right? Because you?

Jason Wagner:

know real estate agents. All they do is open doors. They don't know anything. Right, I'm a smart real estate agent, as I know you are, and you need some brains to be a real estate agent. Heck, yeah, right, but that is sometimes the idea is, when you say use car salesman, right, you have a real estate agent. Sometimes they fit in the same conversation and it's unfortunate because when I hear that it's like if you think that way about your real estate agent, you haven't met the right one.

Leslie Collazo:

That it's like, if you think that way about your real estate agent.

Jason Wagner:

You haven't met the right one, correct, and so I think you have and you've been ingrained in the whole community, you've been helping people attain home ownership. I mean, that's kind of would you mind if we kind of talk a little bit about that? Home ownership is actually actually a really hard thing to achieve right now yeah hard thing to achieve right now.

Jason Wagner:

Is there anything from your potential seat here that maybe you can assist people with achieving the American dream of getting homeownership? Is there anything that you can kind of maybe help people find opportunity with that?

Leslie Collazo:

Yeah, absolutely, because I'm still practicing while in this process. One of the biggest challenges for buyers specifically is you know they can afford a home in a certain price point, but they can't afford the taxes.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah.

Leslie Collazo:

Okay, and because of how high the taxes are, like, they're not eligible to financially afford a home in the area that they want to be in. That's a problem, and that's a problem that can be addressed. You know, at the government level, Right, especially one of my clients who recently purchased in the South suburbs, and you know some of the challenges that they've had down there, as I'm sure you've heard, like with property taxes and even the misuse of government funds and all the shenanigans is what I'll call them. I do feel like there is an opportunity for us to help. Now here's the thing they continue to use our property taxes as a bank, increasing them when they need more funding. I think we need to really stop that.

Leslie Collazo:

And there are homes that are available that may be in a price point, but the property taxes have just become so high that it's not attainable. It's not doable. And does your property tax bill ever go down? Can you put a freeze on those? Yeah, when you're 60 plus, you know, as a senior, whatever the case may be, but I feel like this is an opportunity where we can really help people out if we can just find other ways to generate revenue in our state and not have to constantly be raising taxes on people who want to, you know, live in their own home. So that's that's one area that I think we really need to clean up.

Rachel Wagner:

Isn't there something on the ballot this year that Illinois has brought forth regarding regarding real estate taxes? It's like the millionaire tax, where they want to.

Jason Wagner:

That one was already shut down.

Rachel Wagner:

Oh, it was shut down, but I don't know there are three.

Jason Wagner:

There are three questions that are going to be on the ballot this year. Maybe you you know what they are.

Leslie Collazo:

Yes, I can't think of the three off the top of my head right now. I do know that you want to say no to all three, so that's as much as I'll say. And what I will say about those questions is they're always written in a way that sounds like you should say yes to this.

Leslie Collazo:

Yes, absolutely. Do your homework and post some information on those three questions. They're not questions to actually change a law or anything. They're just trying to poll you at that point to see what direction things should go. Oh, they're poll questions. They're intended to just kind of get a feel for what Americans are thinking in regards to those three areas.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, yeah, so we'll see those Interesting.

Rachel Wagner:

Can we go back a little bit to the small business conversation? You were talking about that and being in Illinois during and post COVID. Small businesses were impacted quite a bit with that. Can you speak to a little bit what, how maybe you would have handled that differently if you would have and then going forward, how you want to support or incentivize people to open small businesses here. Because you said it's a tough state.

Leslie Collazo:

It is. There's just a lot of bureaucracy around, you know, around it, not so much in, maybe, other towns outside of Chicago, but one of the things that happened with raising minimum wage is paying that $15 an hour wage. It really hurt a lot of businesses having to pay employees at that point, price point or I don't know wage point, for lack of a better way of putting it it really did put a strain on small businesses. So during COVID I mean COVID was just I think it was so eye-opening for everybody and I do understand the measures that were taken around the time that you know it made itself present and I do know that a lot of people you know did have. You know we did have casualties from COVID. There were people who you know had underlying conditions and I feel like we did a good job when it made itself known in just making sure we can figure out how do we beat this, and that was all great took COVID to a point where it was almost ridiculous in a sense.

Leslie Collazo:

Shaming people who would not get vaccinated or refuse to be vaccinated to me was shameful itself. I don't know if you've heard of this story of there was a young man who attended a private school in Chicago who was being bullied, saying that he wasn't vaccinated. He was in fact vaccinated, but he was being bullied to the point where he took his own life at the age of 15. And that, to me, is such an unfortunate, sad, terrible situation where we were shaming people to that extent we were firing people who didn't want to get vaccinated. I'm saying we, like I, did it.

Leslie Collazo:

I just feel like as a city, as a state, as a people, we should not have been doing that and I think that that was really wrong. And the way this ties back to small businesses is some small businesses were defiant. They didn't have to really necessarily follow the rules if they didn't want to. They had a price to pay because of that and I feel that that's really honorable. They took a stand, when you know, going against the norm. And because of those small businesses, some of them actually did well, because they were the only bar that was open, not asking for a vaccine passport.

Rachel Wagner:

Right.

Leslie Collazo:

You know what I mean. It's like if we wanted to go hang out, we were leaving the city of Chicago and visiting other areas that we normally wouldn't hang out at. So I think some of the benefits that small businesses have is more autonomy and more you know flexibility and freedom and they're not tied up in you know bureaucracy and they can really get creative around how they can generate you know more revenue for their businesses and which leads to you know more funding for their towns or their city and, essentially, for the state.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah, I hadn't heard that story. That's awful.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, it's tragic. You know everything that happened during COVID in our opinion as well we agree with you on this this is that that was the unveiling of a lot of things, that was the oversight of the overreach that has occurred, and you know, we didn't agree with that at all either. And it's it's nice to talk to people that are in that same boat, because a lot of times we felt like we were by ourselves.

Jason Wagner:

We were you know you talk to anybody. It was. That was peer pressure from the most extreme. Yes, everybody's family members were convincing each other to do this one thing and you know, if you stepped outside of that, you were basically shunned. Yes, that was discrimination like we have not seen in a, you know, in a recent timeframe. Right, and so, yeah, that was, that was the unveiling, and I'm glad that you bring that up. You know you just actually I want to, I want to talk a little bit about because you just got endorsed by the Polish American police association, which is amazing. Can you talk about that endorsement a little bit?

Leslie Collazo:

I didn't even know it was coming. Remember when I told you that these doors just open up and I get to walk through them? That's just another example of that. I didn't even know that they were going to endorse me, so that came from. I have a family member who is actively in the police Chicago Police Department and he sent me that information. He said hey, by the way, they're endorsing you. Here's your endorsement. I said well, this is just another one of those moments and I've been very vocal about my support of the police. And tomorrow night I have a fundraiser at Rizzo's in Wrigleyville where we are going to be honoring and appreciating our first responders and our frontline workers.

Leslie Collazo:

I feel like they deal with the public in a way that none of us have to and their lives are put at risk every time they walk out of the house. And my brother actually served in the Chicago Police Department for 15 years and we were always on pins and needles, just worried. Like is he going to come home tonight, his wife and and his children home, and them constantly worried, like it has an effect on your nervous system that puts you in a heightened state constantly and you just feel like you can't relax and living in the city has really, you know, had that effect on us in the last few years. So, you know, we want to say thank you and let them know that they are appreciated and the work that they do is important. And you know, especially these days where they're viewed as oppressors I don't know what they, you know they they're. There's a perception out there, and I understand, like there are bad apples in every group, right, but this is one group that I think really deserves a big hug from the community and we're going to have pastor Corey Brooks come and just share a few short words of encouragement to everyone in the room, and he's a pastor who's really taken a stand.

Leslie Collazo:

I feel like churches in general I've questioned where they've been in the last few years with the way things are going and wondered why they haven't taken more of a stand, because our values don't necessarily align with the way things are going. You know, and I feel like a lot of them have been silent he has not been and I really appreciate him for that. I think anyone who's taking a stand these days really deserves a platform, because we hear so much from the other side but I feel like we never get to be heard side, but I feel like we never get to be heard and I thought it would be perfect for him to come and address us. I heard him speak at a Trump rally last over the summer in McHenry County and that was an experience because, as a newcomer to this party, I just want to experience everything, and going to that was really fun, and so hearing him speak he was very inspirational. So I'm looking forward to having him on Wednesday night, along with some other candidates Republican candidates Bob Fioretti he is running for state's attorney and he really is an awesome guy.

Leslie Collazo:

He is a civil rights attorney served as alderman and, yeah, he's definitely someone Cook County wants to vote for for state's attorney served as alderman and, yeah, he's definitely someone Cook County wants to vote for for state's attorney, along with Robert Sumrell, who's running for state Senate in my district, and John Boris, who's former police officer attorney, who's running for Congress. So we're gonna have a few candidates there to just meet and greet people and just let everyone know to get out and vote and vote red.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, that's amazing. That sounds like a really tremendous event. What is something can how do? How can people vote right now? How or how can they check to see if they're registered to vote? I mean, just kind of walk through us that process.

Leslie Collazo:

Yeah, you can visit the Illinois Board of Elections website. You can plug in your address, you can find you know your polling place there and you can also check your voter registration status. You want to make sure that you are, you know, registered at the correct address and all that good stuff. And early voting started yesterday, so the polls are open. We are encouraging everyone not to wait till November 5th, to get out as early as possible and you know cast your ballot.

Rachel Wagner:

That is a big theme this year Vote early. We've we've never voted early and I'm I'm contemplating it this year because everyone's talking about it.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, well, it's always been. You know the uh, the Republicans would show up day of and um, the Democrats would. Would send in their mail-in ballots or vote early, but now that's that messaging seems to be a little shifting ballots, or?

Leslie Collazo:

vote early, but now that's that messaging seems to be a little shifting. Yeah, absolutely, and you know there were a lot of shenanigans is what I'll call them with, you know, last year or the last election around. You know ballots, and there's a lot of I don't want to call them conspiracy theories, because I think there may be a lot of truth to this, but we're just trying to make sure that there isn't any funny business happening, you know, with our votes. So we figure, if you vote early in that way, then you know we have a better chance of really showing up strong, yeah, and maybe encouraging other people to do the same.

Jason Wagner:

Yeah, yeah, awesome, you got anything else.

Rachel Wagner:

I'm debating. If I want to ask, let's go, all right, yeah, go ahead.

Leslie Collazo:

Ask me.

Rachel Wagner:

I'm here, let's do it. Well, it's a super controversial topic, okay, and very present in the presidential election this year, and Illinois being such a blue state. I guess I would just ask your positioning on the abortion stuff, because what I think we've recognized this year, especially with the presidential election, is that it's such a heavy female vote that's such a powerful topic for females. So just curious if you want to speak to that a little bit. I do?

Leslie Collazo:

I feel like this topic is probably the one that creates the most division in our country you know, and I'll have to dig into my faith a little bit around it, but as a state representative, I represent everyone and I'm not interested in making people feel like they don't have options. Even though I am a woman of faith, I believe that everyone should have access to make the decisions that they want to make in their life. I say that because I have to take it back to being vaccinated during COVID. I did not want to vaccinate my children and I felt it was an overreach for the government to put pressure on me, making me feel that I had to and that I didn't have a choice. Me feel that I had to and that I didn't have a choice. And that sense of not having a choice and being forced. I apply it to this abortion topic and I want to make sure that women have options when it comes to this topic. So, as a representative, I want everyone to know that I want to look at the whole spectrum. With that being said, everything needs boundaries in order for it to operate well, in my opinion, and we do need boundaries around this topic.

Leslie Collazo:

I don't think it's something that should be a free for all, and where I stand with it is I don't believe abortion should be used as a form of a contraceptive. I'm just going to get pregnant as many times as I want and I'll just abort the baby every time. That's not the best option for women, in my opinion, because we're not talking about the grief that comes with an abortion. We'll talk about the option and the choice that a woman has, but we won't talk about the aftermath of that decision. And as a person who has worked with women in the past and as a mentor to women and as kind of a spiritual guidance person for women, this act of having an abortion, it does have a sense of grief attached to it.

Leslie Collazo:

I also believe like this idea around how far into a pregnancy is it okay to have an abortion?

Leslie Collazo:

Like we need to make sure that there are boundaries around these things, cause I don't think it should go past a certain point, but I don't think it's okay to completely eliminate it, and I know that that's not a very popular stance either. It's like it's not popular on each spectrum, but like everything else, like because we live in this country and because it's founded on freedom, like we need to have, we need to make things available, but it has to have boundaries. I don't think it should be a free for all. You know, some people may strongly disagree with me and and, and that's okay, but I feel like there are so many other solutions, especially having family members who have adopted, you know, and not being able to, you know, have more children, and that being an option. There are options out there and I think being very extreme on the right and very extreme on the left on this topic is not good for our country. So that's how I feel about it, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

Rachel Wagner:

Well, I think I align with you a lot in that, and I'm sad that this has become such a forefront topic, because I don't think it's the biggest issue facing us as Americans or us as Illinoisans, but that's where it is.

Rachel Wagner:

It's become so divisive. But I think you actually the way you described it probably represent the majority of both Republicans and Democrats. I truly believe that there aren't as many people on the extreme spectrums as it seems. I think most people are truly in the middle. I think nobody wants to limit a woman's access to that decision up until a certain point and I also think nobody wants to be allowing abortion, you know, late term. I think most Americans actually agree on that topic and I would say that I think your position probably reflects a lot of current Republicans. I get really we've had so many conversations with people with regards to Trump's position on abortion because there's so much out there that says he wants to eliminate abortion and he wants to eliminate birth control and it's like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know that's actually not factual. So I think you probably align with most people.

Leslie Collazo:

Yeah, I have to say children are a gift. They really are a gift and I want to encourage everyone out there. If you've had an abortion, there's no shame attached to that. If you are contemplating an abortion, I want to encourage you to talk to someone who can share multiple perspectives. But children really are a gift.

Leslie Collazo:

I feel like I would not be the woman I am today if I had not become a mother. I think children have this way of serving as a mirror for us in our lives and we get to see ourselves in this little, small form because essentially they are us and we're raising new little versions of ourselves, and I'm really committed to making sure that the parts of me that need some tweaking I take care of within me and not replicate in my child, and they really are a blessing. So I would strongly encourage women if you find yourself in a situation where you are pregnant and you're contemplating an abortion, just get around different perspectives and consider adoption as well, which has been a joy in our family to have a family member enter our family in that way. Yeah, what a gift to give somebody else, right, absolutely, especially when they, you know, want that so badly Want a baby, yeah.

Jason Wagner:

That was awesome. Why don't we wrap so? How we like to end a lot of our episodes is just kind of asking what's the biggest takeaway from this conversation? And actually, rachel, I'll point it to you first or I can go here. I'll go. My biggest takeaway here, leslie, is just talking with you and actually the confidence that you bring and the calmness too, because it seems like right now we're in a state where there's not a lot of calm. You bring kind of something that's really encouraging and I sense that I just and I and I sense that I just met you right, I just met you, but I can already, I can already see that in your personality and you, you have a confidence to say what needs to be said in an elegant manner.

Leslie Collazo:

Thank you.

Jason Wagner:

Right and and I noticed that about your personality and I really respect that a lot, and so I just want to say that. So that's, that's just like the big takeaway I get. It's like I like you, you know, it's like you're likable, you're likable and that is. And sometimes when you talk to the left and people are just like you know, I align with a lot of the Republican policies, but I don't align with Trump because he's not likable. And sometimes when you, when you get into these other races, I just feel like we have the policies and we can pull people over from that side, because there's a lot of identity crisis that may be happening for people, but they need somebody that they can like, and I feel like you have that just from this conversation. So that's my big takeaway here.

Rachel Wagner:

Yeah, I would echo that as well. I think you are very relatable. There were so many things that you shared in this conversation that I feel like I could relate to very directly from our time of living in Chicago and just being a mom and looking around and being like we can do better, you know, I just feel like you were so relatable and probably very relatable to voters and people in your community and it's so refreshing, right, it's so refreshing to have people on the ballot that you can vote for, that are just like you. You know they're just citizens in a community wanting what's best for their kids and for their neighbors, and that's what American government should be about, right, is we the people, not we the power elite politicians who you know it's's just, it's just so refreshing to have this conversation. I really enjoyed it. And then I would also say I thought it was so awesome to listen to you kind of go through your timeline of you know how you grew up and were a democrat.

Rachel Wagner:

And then you're like, why are these things happening? And taking it upon yourself to look into why it was happening and what was causing it. And well, that I don't't like that. I don't actually agree with that. You know everything I thought I used to agree with. Well, this doesn't work for me and we need to do something different. And I think everybody can learn from that experience of yours and just kind of thinking well, why is this cost so high? Why is crime change? What's causing these things? What's the root cause of what's happening? Change what you know what? What's causing these things? What's the root cause of what's happening?

Jason Wagner:

So I thought that was really powerful. Yeah, leslie, what was your biggest takeaway?

Leslie Collazo:

I'm just grateful that there are more like-minded folks out there than I realize, and it can be really lonely, you know, to stand on your beliefs, and I think we were all created for such a time as this, where this level of strength is needed and leadership is needed, and how taking a stand and encouraging others to join you in that stand is necessary. I think what you guys are doing is really powerful and by going through this medium you know you're right up there. I potentially see this as being much bigger than even you two realize right now. So I encourage you keep going, keep bringing your heart and your belief system to the public. People need hope and they need encouragement, and I really believe that they can receive that from both of you and what you're doing. So thank you for having me. I am honored and I feel like I'm only here because the doors continue to be open for me and we'll see what we can do with whatever tools and access that we have at our disposal. So thank you too.

Jason Wagner:

Thank you for joining us and we wish you the best, and we will spread your message as much as we can. And best of luck on voting day.

Leslie Collazo:

Thanks, guys yeah.

Jason Wagner:

Thanks, leslie, all right, well, thanks for listening to this one. If you found any value in the show, please share it.