Illinois General Assembly - Senator Biography

Years served: 2021 - Present

Committee assignments: Human Rights (Chair); Transportation; Behavioral and Mental Health (Vice-Chair); Approp- Health and Human; Education.

Biography: Lifelong resident of the 7th Illinois Senate District; BA in political science from Amherst College; Founder and CEO of Blue Sky Strategies & Co., a firm that develops anti-racist public policy; Former Deputy Commissioner and Policy Director of the Dept. of Planning and Development for Chicago Mayor's Office; Deputy Director of My Brother's Keeper Alliance, an Obama Foundation initiative; Legislative aide for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin in Washington; Son of a Black-American mother and an Ethiopian-American father, both owners of small businesses in the 7th District; the first openly gay senator to serve in the Illinois Senate; Resides in Uptown; Avid reader, cyclist and lover of the great outdoors.

Associated Representative(s):	Kelly M. Cassidy
	Hoan Huynh

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