Arcola's new mayor has his finger firmly on community's pulse

Aug. 7—ARCOLA — It's a gloomy, drizzling day in this Douglas County city of 2,927 when a smile lights up Main Street.

Adriana Rodriguez Garza has been eyeing the man across the street. She approaches, and her suspicion is confirmed: it's Jesús Garza, first-year mayor of this quiet hamlet.

In Spanish, they introduce: She's from San Juan, Nuevo León, in Mexico, about 30 minutes east of his hometown, Cadereyta Jiménez. She's in town visiting family, but wanted to see the mayor before she left.

The woman pulls out her phone and shows Garza a picture of himself in an article published by a Mexican news station. Then she asks for a picture of her own. The mayor obliges.

How often do these cold approaches happen to Garza?

"A lot, to be honest with you," he says.

Arcola's newest mayor isn't so new anymore. Fifteen months have passed since this blended city elected Garza, a now-51-year-old auto mechanic, as its leader.

He's the first Latino or immigrant to ever serve as Arcola's mayor, and perhaps the city's most popular figure. He has name recognition among elementary- and middle-schoolers — and most adults seem to have his cellphone number.

"I think it's because I'm on the streets all day long," he said from his seat in City Hall. "I don't like staying in my office."

Garza has made his name as an approachable public servant. All it seems to take is a wave and a "hey, Mr. Mayor" to earn his ear.

"He's very personable," City Administrator Bill Wagoner said. "Everyone feels comfortable going and talking to him. He has a great pulse on the community — not just the Hispanic community, but the community at large."

Neighboring towns, the state, even the country is taking notice of Garza's work, and his historic status. He got pats on the back from strangers and a few "good job"s when he last visited Mattoon's Cracker Barrel for breakfast with his grandkids.

Last month, his face was in a full-page ad in the New York Times. Garza earned a spot as one of the Carnegie Corporation of New York's 2022 "Great Immigrants," a diverse group of naturalized citizens who also include tennis legend Steffi Graf, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young and Jill Ellis, the former U.S. national (and Illini) women's soccer coach.

Just like when Garza was elected mayor by a 28-vote margin in April 2021, he cried upon receiving the honor, he said.

"I never expected that, never. My dad cried, too," he said. "I felt peaceful, like I've started doing things right, and the community has accepted that."

An 'ah-ha' moment

About 40 percent of Arcola's residents, and 45 percent of its schoolchildren, are Hispanic. The community has long been represented in businesses, school systems and youth sports leagues, but rarely in local government — until now.

At the same time Garza took his seat, the city voted in two Hispanic aldermen: Homero Garza and Jose Becerra.

"I think seeing him in that position, there's been an 'ah-ha' moment for a lot of Hispanic people in the community, that they can do more, be more involved," Wagoner said.

Garza leads an extensive list of volunteer improvement projects. Lately, he's recruited a ragtag group to rebuild the dilapidated pavilion and bathrooms of City Park.

For years, Wagoner said, the city's pool of 20-or-so volunteers remained static. Garza's connections, through business and three decades in the community, have freshened up the force of weekend warriors.

"Everybody's surprised the way I can bring people to help," Garza said. "People have a lot of experience here."

The city's kept busy revamping its streetlights from the old mercury vapor models to new LED lampposts provided by Ameren. But Garza's organized a few recent programs tailor-made for the city's Hispanic community.

Three weeks ago, 120 Arcola residents who are working toward their citizenship received debit cards loaded with amounts ranging from $1,500 to $2,000. The funds, distributed by nonprofit La Casa Michoacán, came from a $1.5 million state allocation to help immigrants who didn't qualify for last year's federal stimulus checks.

A week later, the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago paid a visit to Arcola, and helped residents obtain their Mexican passports.

"My job is passing the information on to everybody," Garza said. "There's a lot of immigrants here that are scared when the state wants your information, but when the state wants to help people, they will."

Irons in the fire

Garza emigrated here with his wife and infant son more than 29 years ago, seeking a better life for his family.

His father had done the same, alone, in 1970, working at the local Libman Co. broomcorn factory, the business lifeblood for this city. He'd send portions of his checks back to his family in Cadereyta. Garza's mother and brothers followed suit in the early '90s.

On Jan. 1, 1993, Garza arrived with his work visa, knowing little English. He got his start packing brooms at the Libman factory.

That's almost where his story ended. Factory work was hard on Garza — his heart was in auto repair. He gave himself eight months to find better work before he'd move back to Mexico.

So his father approached Jerry Beals, then-owner of Central Illinois Transmission, asking him to give his son a chance. The young Garza switched to the 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. night shift at Libman. He'd wake up at lunchtime, then work at the transmission shop for Beals before heading back to the plant.

Once Beals got word of Garza's 16-hour days, he made him an offer: Give your two weeks' notice at Libman, work for me full-time, and I'll pay for extra schooling — English-language classes and transmission work certifications. Garza took it.

"He believed in me, and that's why I'm working hard when someone gives you the opportunity," Garza said. "I think he had faith in me. He'd always say, 'You're the son I always wanted to have.'"

Garza became a naturalized citizen in 2000, and five years later started his own auto shop in town: 3 J's Transmission, named for his first three children, Jesús Jr., Jessica and Jane. (His fourth child, Jade — this year's "Miss Arcola" — came later.) His business expanded into one of the premier auto shops in central Illinois, with the help of TIF investment from the city.

Life has seemingly never slowed down for Garza.

These days, he usually wakes up around 4 a.m. to fulfill orders at 3 J's, then goes to city hall for work around 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. He returns to the shop, then heads back home at 7 p.m.

"I enjoy doing it; I love doing it," he said. "The more I do it, the more I keep going."

To balance his mayoral and familial duties, Garza starts his pickup truck and takes a nightly drive around Arcola with his wife, Hortensia, "looking around and making notes of what's wrong," he said. "That way, we can spend time together."

"People say they're hard workers, but are they really?" Wagoner said. "Jesús really is a hard worker. He's got a lot of irons in the fire, but he makes time for everybody."

'Everything is changing, 100 percent'

When preceding Mayor Larry Ferguson announced he wouldn't run again, Garza began his campaign on the premise of restoring Arcola's Main Street, where many small businesses have recently closed.

A quick drive shows it's getting its mojo back. Coyote Bar and Gaming just opened last month. New housing is soon to come. Hype is building for the upcoming Mexican bakery, Panadería Saldivar.

The owners, Arcola couple Abiud and Sandra Saldivar, have long operated their own baking side business. Abiud is the baker, Sandra the decorator — both are self-taught.

When Garza was first kicking around the idea of becoming mayor, he approached the couple, promising to help them start a brick-and-mortar business for their in-demand products.

They're hoping to open on Main Street before the Broomcorn Festival in September.

"He said, 'I know a lot of people like what you offer and we don't have a bakery here,'" Sandra Saldivar recalled. "To get fresh Mexican sweets, you have to drive to Chicago or St. Louis or Indianapolis."

Sandra Saldivar and her family moved to Arcola when she was 7 years old; her parents came to work at Libman. Her husband grew up in the same Cadereyta neighborhood as Garza.

"Jesús came here and started from scratch; he's a well-respected man who cares about this town," she said. "We've never had a Hispanic mayor, and not that the other ones were bad, but it feels like it's easier to say, 'Hey, this is happening, what can we do about this?' There are a lot of people here who still don't speak English; it's helped us a lot."

Government work hasn't been without its adjustments. Working a full-time job means some of Garza's appointments get delayed or pushed up. His son and eldest daughter have taken up extra duties at the transmission shop.

Both Junior, 29, and Jessica, 26, went to Parkland College; in the early days of his tenure as mayor. Garza often went to them for pronunciation help on dense city documents. He's finding his rhythm running council meetings.

"It's a different language as a politician," Garza said. "I had to practice a lot."

Where Garza thinks his Hispanic identity matters the most is dispelling prejudices about immigrants. In his mind, his election adds force to his city's multicultural momentum — he couldn't have won without the support of the American community.

In 29 years, he's seen businesses come and go, Illinois 133 widened, the immigrant community grow. Garza thinks cultural attitudes have changed, too.

"When my kids and friends 10 years younger than me went to the high school here, they still had struggles between the parents of the other kids and Hispanic kids," he said. "Now, you don't see that. Everyone joins together, walking on Main Street.

"Here in Arcola, everything is changing, 100 percent."