In January 2009, Sandoval was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Transportation Committee, where he has worked to bring additional federal transportation dollars to Illinois. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that not only are we bringing federal stimulus funds in to repair bridges and roads, but that we are also looking to the future by expanding public transportation such as Amtrak. He has also focused on developing High Speed Rail, which will bring infrastructure improvement to areas around the State of Illinois.

As Chairman of the Transportation Committee, Sandoval has also worked with the State Police and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to pass legislation that will prohibit people from “text messaging” while driving. Texting has caused several high-profile accidents, drawing attention to the issue. In addition to this initiative, Sandoval worked to ban all use of cell phones within construction zones. This was another IDOT collaboration, which will help to keep workers safe while fixing Illinois roads.

In addition, Sandoval was instrumental in bringing parties from all four caucuses together to pass a capital construction budget; the first Illinois has had in over ten years. This capitol improvement budget has allowed Illinois to invest in our communities by building schools and improving local infrastructure and roads, which will promote growth locally and across the state.

Throughout his tenure in the Senate, Sandoval has also been a champion of both elementary and higher education. His goals for elementary students are to create smaller class sizes, to provide adequate learning materials, and to ensure that students have programs to attend after school.

One of Sandoval’s early proposals for higher education was the We Want to Learn English Initiative, which helps immigrants and refugees learn English where they live, work, pray, socialize and go to school. This program develops partnerships with community organizations that deliver English as a Second Language courses.

Sandoval also served as a member of the Appropriations II, Energy, and Licensed Activities Committees.

Sandoval’s career has included appointments to the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and ten years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was also a leader in various federal labor unions.

In February 2017, Senator Sandoval was elected as Co-Chairman of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus for the 100th General Assembly. The purpose of the Caucus is to work together to pass legislation that positively impacts the lives of the nearly 1.4 million Latinos living in the State of Illinois.

Senator Sandoval’s district encompasses the Southwest Side of Chicago, including the neighborhoods of Brighton Park, Clearing, Gage Park, Garfield Ridge, Little Village, West Lawn and West Cook municipalities of Bedford Park, Burbank, Cicero, Forest View, Lyons, McCook, Stickney, Summit and Riverside.

He is Chairman of the Transportation Committee VC of the Energy Committee and sits on the Licensed Activities and Pensions, Gaming and Veterans Affairs committees.