Cardiss Hortense Collins (; September 24, 1931 – February 3, 2013) was an American politician from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the fourth

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman in Congress and the first to represent the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Collins was elected to Congress in the June 5, 1973 special election to replace her husband, George, who had died in the December 8, 1972 United Airlines Flight 553 plane crash a month after being elected to a second term. The seat had been renumbered and combined from the 6th district to the 7th, and had been redrawn to include the Loop. She had previously worked as an accountant in various state government positions.

Congressional career

Throughout her political career, she was a champion for women's health and welfare issues. In 1975, she was instrumental in prompting the Social Security Administration to revise Medicare regulations to cover the cost of post-mastectomy breast prosthesis, which before then had been considered cosmetic. In 1979, she was elected as chairwoman of the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...

, a position she used to become an occasional critic of President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. She later became the caucus vice chairman. In the 1980s, Collins warded off two primary challenges from Alderman Danny K. Davis, who would finally be elected to replace her after she chose not to seek reelection in 1996. In 1990, Collins, along with 15 other African-American women and men, formed the

African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. In 1991, Collins was named chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness. Her legislative interests were focused on establishing

universal health insurance Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

, providing for

gender equity Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

in college sports, and reforming federal

child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

facilities. Collins gained a brief national prominence in 1993 as the chairwoman of a congressional committee investigating college sports and as a critic of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. She also engaged in an intense debate with Rep. Henry Hyde over

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

funding of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

that year. During her last term (1995–1997), she served as ranking member of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee.

Retirement, death and honors

Collins did not seek re-election in 1996, citing her age. At the time of her retirement, she was the longest-serving Black female member of Congress. In 2004, she was selected by

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

to head a task force examining the representation of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s in TV rating samples. Collins lived in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

at the time of her death on February 3, 2013, at the age of 81. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

's Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center, located at 433 W. Harrison St. in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, is named in her honor and was completed in 1996 to replace the old Main Post Office across the street on Van Buren Street.Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center

References

Congressional Biography

University of Maryland. Women's Studies Database. Government and Politics. Women in Congress biography.

Dobson, Frank E.; Dobson, Jasmin (2023) A Leader with Courage: The Impact of Congresswoman Cardiss Collins: Maitland, FL: Mill City Press. 978-1662882869.

External links

* *
Cardiss Collins' oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project
FBI file on Cardiss Collins
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Cardiss 1931 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American people in Illinois politics 20th-century African-American women politicians Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Female members of the United States House of Representatives Spouses of Illinois politicians Women in Illinois politics 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Congressional career

Retirement, death and honors

See also

References

External links