About Clerk Valencia

Anna Valencia was sworn-in as City Clerk of Chicago on January 25, 2017 overseeing one of the largest offices in the City serving 1.2 million Chicagoans and generating more than $140 million annually.

As City Clerk, Valencia is focused on making government accessible to all Chicagoans. Under her leadership, the Office of the City Clerk prioritizes finding new and innovative ways to bring services directly to residents, increase civic engagement, improve inefficiencies, and collaborate across government in the private and public sectors.

Recently, Valencia launched the Shopping in Solidarity initiative in response to the economic challenges Chicago businesses are facing like federal funding cuts, rising costs of living, immigration raids and tariffs. The initiative brings people from different communities to support our local businesses throughout the city and to take action by encouraging them to spend their money where their values are.

Valencia continues to expand the NextGen civic engagement program, which was introduced in 2018, in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools Social Science Department and CPS Intergovernmental Affairs Department. This program offers students from eight schools the opportunity to learn about Chicago’s legislative process and being civically engaged by working with students from other schools, local leaders and Civic Engagement Advisory Council volunteers. Students present, debate and vote on solutions to issues affecting Chicago’s youth at City Hall, which concludes with a mock city council meeting complete with a student mayor and clerk. Ultimately, one policy from the day is chosen for possible consideration in a Chicago City Council meeting.

With the goal of creating a Chicago that works for all its residents, Valencia created the Fines, Fees & Access Collaborative in 2019, a collaboration between community organizations, City Departments, elected officials and academic institutions that focuses on reviewing and reforming the City’s fines, fees and collection practices. One of the reforms that was introduced and implemented was City Sticker Amnesty Month, an opportunity for residents to purchase City Stickers without late fees or back charges. In 2025, City Sticker Amnesty Month brought in $1.6 million in new revenue and helped more than 15,000 residents get in compliance with the City’s Wheel Tax.

Additionally, Valencia established the Chicago Status of Women and Girls Working Group, bringing together 120 women from various sectors to recommend citywide policies and initiatives aimed at making Chicago a safer and more equitable place.

A credit to her leadership and successful track record, Valencia was charged with implementing the Municipal ID program, known as CityKey, which rolled out in 2018 and has served over 155,000 Chicagoans. Available to all Chicago residents, this government-issued identification combines access to government, city, and private sector services into one card. Last year, the program expanded its services to an online platform that allows constituents to schedule an appointment for a printing event to apply for a CityKey card in person.

Valencia continues to lead the first-of-its-kind City Council Modernization effort. The plan includes an e-voting system for the Chicago City Council, the first major U.S. city to implement e-voting, increasing transparency in government and holding public officials accountable.

Continuing the trend of modernizing government, the City Clerk’s Office updated its e-commerce platform, EzBuy, and is in the process of implementing a new Over the Counter platform, OTC, that will make payment processing more efficient and offer opportunities for more innovation.  

As Clerk, Valencia also serves as a Trustee on the Chicago Fire Pension Board and Chairs the “Chicago With You” taskforce.  

Clerk Valencia has received the following recognitions:

  • Chicago Magazine's 2017 “Emerging Power Player”
  • Negocios Now’s 40 under 40
  • Crain’s Chicago’s Who’s Who list
  • UN Women USA Chicago Chapter’s 2022 Gender Equality Award
  • Chicago Urban League’s 2024 Public Service Trailblazer Award
  • Girls in the Game’s 2026 Field of Dreams Champion Award

In addition to her public service, Valencia is civically engaged as a member of The Chicago Network, The Economic Club of Chicago, Leadership Greater Chicago, Accelerator for America, and Chicago Scholars among many more. Furthermore, Valencia is an alumnus of both the Carter Center Fellowship and HOPE Fellowship.  

Prior to her time as Clerk, Valencia served as the second woman and first Latina to run Mayor Emanuel’s Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs (LCGA) team where she spearheaded the passage of: police accountability reform; regulatory changes in the gig economy to both rideshare and short-term lodging services; the modernization of the CTA’s Red and Purple lines; the stabilization of pension funds; and the creation of the City’s first legal protection fund called “Chicago is With You” which assists immigrants and refugees threatened with deportation.

Valencia has also worked as an Illinois political professional in several positions including, but not limited to: serving as Campaign Manager for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s re-election campaign; Senior Adviser to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign; Deputy Director of the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund; a Communications Staffer for Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton; and Field Director for both Mike Quigley for Congress (IL-05) and Gary Peters for Congress (MI-09).

Valencia earned her degree in International Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She currently resides in the Illinois Medical District’s Tri-Taylor neighborhood with her husband and their daughter.