Lakesia Collins is an American union organizer and politician serving as a Democratic member of 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 ...

for the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

, located on the West Side of Chicago. She previously served as a 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 ...

for the 9th district from 2020 to 2023. Collins won the Democratic primary election for the 5th district in the House in 2020, and was appointed to the seat shortly afterwards to replace retiring incumbent Art Turner. She won election to full terms in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and served as the Treasurer for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. On August 16, 2023, she was appointed to the 5th district seat in the Senate to replace retiring incumbent

Patricia Van Pelt Patricia Van Pelt Watkins (born November 20, 1957) is an American politician who served in the Illinois Senate, representing the 5th district, from 2013 to 2023. The 5th district is located on the West Side, Chicago, West Side of Chicago. Prior to ...

Early life and career

Collins attended

Proviso East High School Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is t ...

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 census. History There was limited European-Am ...

and received her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate from the Samland Institute in Chicago. She worked as a nurse in

nursing homes A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

, and later became an organizer in her union, SEIU Healthcare Illinois. During her tenure as a union organizer, she advocated for legislation on nursing home reform, the proposed Illinois Fair Tax, and a higher

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

Illinois House of Representatives (2019–23)

In October 2019, she began her campaign for the

' 9th district in the 2020 election. Incumbent State Rep. Art Turner had decided not to run for re-election after holding the seat since 2011 (Turner's father, Arthur Turner, had previously held the seat for more than 30 years). Collins faced six other candidates in the Democratic primary election, including Aaron Turner, brother of the incumbent representative. She was supported by several labor unions including SEIU Healthcare Illinois and the

Chicago Teachers Union The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is a labor union that represents teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in the Chicago public school system. The union has advocated for improved pay, benefits, and job security for its members, and it has ...

and progressive organizations such as

United Working Families United Working Families (UWF) is an independent political organization based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed in 2014 as a coalition between the Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, Grassroots Illinois Action, and Action N ...

, and received endorsements from the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

local elected officials such as

Byron Sigcho-Lopez Byron Sigcho-Lopez (born July 7, 1983) is a Chicago politician and community activist. He is the alderman of Chicago's 25th ward, having taken office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. He won an open race to succeed outgoing ...

Jeanette Taylor Jeanette Beatrice Taylor (born May 16, 1975) is an American politician and community organizer. Taylor is the alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th ward, taking office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. She won an open race to suc ...

, and

Brandon Johnson Brandon Johnson (born March 27, 1976) is an American politician and educator who is currently serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Johnson previously served on the C ...

. On March 17, 2020, she won the primary election with 45.9% of the vote. On July 24, 2020, after the resignation of Turner, she was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term. She ran unopposed in the general election on November 3, 2020, and won a full term that began in January 2021. She is the first woman to represent the 9th district. As of July 3, 2022, Representative Collins is a member of the following Illinois House committees: * Appropriations - Public Safety Committee (HAPP) * Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee (HCEC) * Housing Committee (SHOU) * Human Services Committee (HHSV) * Labor & Commerce Committee (HLBR) * Public Benefits Subcommittee (HHSV-PUBX) * Workforce Development Subcommittee (HLBR-WORK)

Personal life

Collins is a single mother of three children.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Lakesia 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Illinois 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians African-American women nurses African-American nurses Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Living people Politicians from Chicago Women state legislators in Illinois Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly