A New
Voice For The
7th Ward.
Philanthropist. Entrepreneur. Mentor.
Samuel C. Sparks was born and raised in South Shore, where he attended Horace Mann Elementary School and South Shore High School. He knows both the promise and the pain of this community firsthand. Having experienced homelessness and hardship himself, Samuel leaned on his faith to see beyond his circumstances and build a life rooted in purpose. That faith still guides how he lives, serves, and leads.
For more than fifteen years, Samuel has poured that purpose into others. His work has reached more than 5,000 young people through schools, faith institutions, juvenile justice facilities, and youth programs. He has worked with Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County Juvenile Justice System, youth detention facilities, and the Steve Harvey Foundation, helping young people see beyond their circumstances and recognize what is possible for their lives.
Samuel brought that same purpose into business. After nearly a decade under Steve Harvey’s tutelage and as his stylist, he built Legacy Living across multiple states and later created The Brew. Through his Youth First employment philosophy, young people gain jobs, mentorship, real business experience, and greater responsibility. He believes business should not only build wealth. It should build people and strengthen communities.
When Samuel returned home, he put his belief in South Shore into action, investing more than $3.8 million of his own money into the community. Even after The Brew was robbed twelve times, he stayed and kept building. But he also came home to many of the same problems he remembered growing up. Businesses had disappeared, streets remained neglected, and too many families were still waiting for progress they could actually feel.
South Shore thrives when we all thrive. Misled leadership has stunted our growth and weighed on our spirits. This is not a political race, this is an impact race with one goal in mind: restoring our community’s heart posture.
Samuel believes change begins when we decide we want better and are willing to do the work to make it happen. He is running to restore hope, protect the people who built this community, and create opportunity for the next generation. For Samuel, this is bigger than winning a seat. It is an impact race rooted in faith, accountable through action, and driven by a simple belief: we are the answer we’ve been waiting for.