Sara Feigenholtz
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Sara Feigenholtz
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Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 12th district |
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| Assumed office 1995 |
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| Born | December 11, 1956 Chicago, Illinois |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | State Representative |
| Religion | Jewish |
Sara Feigenholtz is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Since 1995, Feigenholtz has represented the 12th District, which includes the lakefront communities of Lake View, Lincoln Park and the Near North neighborhood in the city of Chicago.
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[edit] Background
Feigenholtz was elected to her first term as State Representative of Illinois' 12th District in 1994 after unseating a 16-year incumbent.
Since assuming office, Feigenholtz quickly became one of the state's leading voices on health care expansion and reform. She was the driving force behind expansion of Illinois' Community Care Program -- administered by the state of Illinois Department on Aging -- which provides seniors with in-home care and community-based services as alternatives to institutionalized health care delivery. Feigenholtz was also the chief sponsor of the FamilyCare bill alongside then-State Senator Barack Obama, which provides health care to uninsured working parents and their children.
Adopted as a child, adoption reform has also been a central focus of Feigenholtz' legislative agenda. She passed a series of reform efforts in 2005 to take the profit-motive out of the adoption process in Illinois in the wake of the highly public "Baby Tamia" case, an interstate adoption battle that resulted in a child being returned from her adoptive parents in Utah to her birth mother in Chicago.
Representing Chicago's "Boystown" neighborhood located on the northern part of the 12th House District, Feigenholtz has consistently demonstrated her support for Illinois' LGBT community. She has sponsored legislation championing same-sex partnership rights and has publicly voiced her support for marriage equality. Feigenholtz is also credited with expanding the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in Illinois, which provides lifesaving drugs to low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS. In 2001, Feigenholtz was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Feigenholtz' advocacy on behalf of women and children has gained her widespread acclaim from several organizations including the American Cancer Society, the Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition, the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, the Families and Children's AIDS Network and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Feigenholtz earned her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern Illinois University and went on to earn her fellowship degree from the University of Illinois School Of Public Health.
[edit] Community Involvement
Feigenholtz is active with several community organizations. She serves as a member of the governing council of the American Jewish Council, as well as, the Illinois State Director of Women in Government. Feigenholtz sits on the advisory boards of the Lincoln Park Conservancy, the Chicago Baseball Museum, the Ed Feldman Development Center, the Illinois Masonic Medical Center Charitable Foundation, Northeastern Illinois University, Emerald City Theatre, Lakeview Citizens Council and the Theatre Building.
[edit] State Representative
Sara Feigenholtz is Chairperson for both the House Appropriations Committee for Human Services and the House Adoption Reform Committee. Additionally, she serves on the House Committees for Insurance, Juvenile Justice Reform, Mass Transit, and Tourism and Conventions.
[edit] Special congressional election
Feigenholtz came in third place in the 2009 Special Primary Election to fill the 5th congressional district seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, who resigned to serve as President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff.
[edit] External links
- Representative Sara Feigenholtz' state website
- Illinois General Assembly - Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D) 12th District – Official Illinois House website
- Project Vote Smart - Representative Sara Feigenholtz (IL) profile
- Follow the Money - Sara Feigenholtz
- Illinois House Democrats - Sara Feigenholtz profile
[edit] References
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