Elga Lee Jefferies (born July 10, 1946) is an American politician who served as a Democratic Party 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 ...

, representing the 26th District during the 95th Illinois General Assembly. Jeffries' appointment came following the death of the former Representative, Lovana "Lou" Jones; she then proceeded to be elected to her position in November 2006, but was later defeated in the 2008 primary election, finishing third out of five candidates. Margaret Smith resigned from 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 ...

on December 12, 2002. Jefferies was appointed to succeed her from December 19, 2002, until the winner of the November 2002 general election,

Mattie Hunter Mattie Hunter (born June 1, 1954) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 3rd district since 2003. She is the Senate secretary for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and the Senate major ...

, was sworn in on January 8, 2003. On June 3, 2006, Jefferies was appointed to succeed the late

Lovana Jones Lovana S. "Lou" Jones (March 28, 1938 – May 8, 2006) served as an Illinois State Representative from 1987 until her death in 2006. She was known for speaking up for abused and neglected children. Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Jones went to Ohio State ...

. Her agenda during her tenure in the House focused on physical and mental healthcare, affordable housing, and providing access to education for adults who did not complete high school. Jefferies has been involved in community activities since her young adult years, working with organizations such as the Palmer House for Boys, the Near North Organization, Operation P.U.S.H., the Task Force for Black Empowerment, the National Democratic Organization, and the Bronzeville Merchants Association, serving as Deputy Mayor of Bronzeville. She is a member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. Jefferies voted "present" in the

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

on January 9, 2009.

References

* Steponenaite, Gabija, "Jefferies ready for full term", ''

The Gazette (Chicago) Gazette Chicago (formerly the ''Near West Gazette'' and then ''Near West/ South Gazette'') is a monthly newspaper covering the Near West/Tri-Taylor, University Village, West Loop, South Loop, West Haven, Bridgeport/Armour Square, Chinatown, Br ...

,'' Nov. 3, 2006.

External links

Illinois General Assembly - Representative Elga L. Jefferies (D) 26th District
official IL House website
BillsCommitteesProject Vote Smart - Senator Elga L. Jefferies (IL)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Elga L Jefferies
2006
campaign contributions

profile Members of the Illinois House of Representatives 1946 births Living people African-American state legislators in Illinois 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians Politicians from Chicago Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub