A native Chicagoan, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) has served in the Illinois General Assembly since 2003. Hunter serves in leadership as the Majority Caucus Chair and is the vice-chair of the Ethics and Executive Appointments Committees. She serves on the Behavioral and Mental Health, Energy and Public Utilities, Executive, Healthcare Access and Availability, and Transportation Committees. She is also a member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.
The former grassroots community organizer earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Monmouth College and a master’s degree in sociology from Jackson State University in Mississippi. She additionally holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from Monmouth College.
As State Senator of the 3rd District, Hunter’s priorities remain focused on protecting schools, increasing public safety, creating economic opportunities, expanding access to healthcare, and fighting for equality.
Licenses in alcohol and drug counseling and prevention has equipped Senator Hunter with expertise in crafting substance abuse and addiction prevention policies.
Hunter also served for years as vice president of the Human Resources Development Institute Inc., where she developed and managed programs focusing on abused women and children, behavioral health, youth and ex-offenders.
Working abroad, Hunter headed the Center for Health and Human Services in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a managing director and participated in coordinated U.S. State Department Demand Reduction Workshops addressing substance abuse in South Africa.
In 2006, Hunter was appointed a Lifetime Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. She was also named Legislator of the Year by numerous organizations in the fields of health care, youth, child welfare and education.
Senator Hunter is an active member of various organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (Theta Omega Chapter), Credit Union of Illinois board of directors, Health and Human Services co-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), co-chair of Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee for The Council of State Governments (CSG), Midwestern Board Member and the Health Policy Institute’s National Advisory Committee of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. In 2018, she was named the Midwest Regional Director of the Women in Government Board.
Over 400 bills regarding breast cancer, childhood vaccines, health care access, substance abuse treatment, youth employment, environmental issues and education were passed during Hunter’s career. She has also established several boards and commissions including the African American Family Commission.
Abstract
The Importance of Advocacy in Setting Policy
Elected and appointed United States officials at the local, state and federal level play a significant role in our society. The laws that we create play a significant role in the lives of each individual. As an American, it is your right to build relationships with your elected officials and to advocate for positive change.
In my role as a State Senator, the main and most critical portion of our job is to listen to advocacy groups and our constituency to gauge interest in new and improve existing policy. Without constituency input and groups advocating for different purposes, we as elected officials cannot make good policy. It is through the presence and voices of advocacy groups, lobbying interests, and constituents that legislators and other officials learn how current, pending and future laws and regulations impact Americans.