Cynthia Soto was a Democratic former member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, who represented the 4th District from 2001 to 2019.

Early life

Soto attended James Otis Elementary School in West Town, St. Procopius High School and Harper College. She began her career working as a clerk in the

Cook County State's Attorney The Cook County State's Attorney is the District attorney, chief prosecutor for Cook County, Illinois. The State's Attorney oversees the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States, with over 600 attorneys and 1,200 employees. The off ...

's Office.

State representative

Soto was the chief sponsor of the Living Wage Act, which proposes that employees working for companies that receive state contracts receive a fair wage of at least $8.20 per hour. Soto guided this bill through the House of Representatives, but the measure is stalled in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

. Soto sponsored FamilyCare, which would provide health insurance to the working parents of children eligible for the KidCare program. The measure would benefit up to 200,000 working parents who cannot afford private insurance. Soto continued to work to expand health care by sponsoring a law that extends Medicaid coverage to low-income women for the treatment of breast or cervical cancer. In an effort to alleviate teacher shortages, Soto sponsored a bill that would award 1,000 scholarships for students to become teachers. She believes these scholarships would provide students with educational opportunities and equip school with more qualified teachers. In her district, Soto has worked with State Senator

Miguel del Valle Miguel del Valle (born July 24, 1951) is an Americans, American politician who has served in various roles in municipal and state government in Chicago. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1987, becoming the first Hispanic member of the body, ...

; they have sponsored citizenship and immigration workshops to offer bilingual educational, social and professional assistance to the community's new residents. They have hosted senior citizen health fairs and distributed valuable health and social service information and referrals. Soto and del Valle believe that there is a need for economic and business development in their district; the two hosted a Construction Opportunities Conference in which members of the community were invited to learn about job opportunities with the

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

Renovation. Soto also voted for the 7% "cap"; which raised property taxes for recently purchased homes and commercial properties.

Petition challenge

In 2006, Soto challenged the nominating petitions of Green Party candidate Kathy Cummings. Volunteers for Cummings collected 3,494 signatures, exceeding the minimum of 1,531 that the Illinois Board of Elections required. The Illinois Democratic Party and the incumbent's objector challenged two thirds of Kathy's signatures. Kathy and her supporters were able to bring in enough additional proof to boost the number of accepted signatures to 1,518 before the Chicago Board of Elections stopped allowing any additional evidence. The objection was upheld and further appeals were unsuccessful, allowing Soto to remain unopposed in the election.

Personal life

Soto and her husband David have three daughters. Their daughter Jessica Soto and Jessica's boyfriend Bradley Fisher were arrested and charged with aggravated battery for attacking her mother's opponent Robert Zwolinski on March 6, 2016.

References

External links

Representative Cynthia Soto (D) 4th District
at the Illinois General Assembly ** By session
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Biography
at

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Financial information (state office)
at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
Rep. Cynthia Soto
at Illinois State Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Cynthia Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American women politicians Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Illinois Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly