Sam Yingling (born July 4, 1980) is an American politician from

Lake County, Illinois Lake County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it has a population of 714,342, making it th ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he is a 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 ...

from the 62nd district. A resident of Grayslake, he served as the Avon Township Supervisor prior to his election to the legislature. During his time in office, the 62nd district included all or parts of Gages Lake, Grayslake, Hainesville, Long Lake, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park, Third Lake and Wauconda.

Early life, education and career

Yingling is a third generation resident of Lake County. After graduating from Carmel Catholic High School, he attended

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

, where he studied

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and metropolitan land use. He then started a small business with his father. He later served as the President of the Round Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Round Lake Beach Cultural/Civic Center Foundation and an immigrant help organization, the Mano A Mano Family Resource Center. Unhappy with the services that were being provided, Yingling ran for and was elected Avon Township Supervisor in 2009. As township supervisor he was the chief executive officer, chairman of the board of trustees and treasurer of all funds including all bridge and road funds. He handled the daily operations of the administration building. During his time as supervisor he was an advocate for effective spending and efficient government. He led the township officials in cutting their own salaries by returning a raise implemented under his predecessor, reduced the budget without cutting services, and lobbied Springfield legislators to make it easier for voters to eliminate his job.

Illinois State Representative (2013–present)

He was the first openly gay person elected to the legislature from outside of

Chicago 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 ...

and was one of four then serving in the

general assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. The other three were Deb Mell, Greg Harris and

Kelly Cassidy Kelly Cassidy (born 1967/1968) is an American politician from Chicago. She is a Democrat and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. She was appointed to represent the 14th district, on Chicago's North Side, in April 2011 following i ...

. He is the fifth LGBT representative ever elected. His associated

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Melinda Bush Melinda Bush (born March 18, 1956) is a member of the Illinois Senate for the 31st district. The 31st district spans northern Lake County, Illinois, Lake County and includes all or parts of Zion, Illinois, Zion, Round Lake, Illinois, Round Lake, R ...

. During the push for passage of the Illinois marriage equality bill in 2013, he played an important role building support within his freshman class and among legislators from outside Chicago. The marriage equality bill passed the Illinois House on November 5, 2013 and was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn on November 20, 2013. Immediately following the passage of the Illinois marriage equality bill on Nov. 5, 2013, Yingling proposed to his partner, Chicago businessman Lowell Jaffe, at an afterparty held by Gov. Pat Quinn at the executive mansion. They married in November 2015. As of July 3, 2022, Representative Yingling is a member of the following Illinois House committees: * (Chairman of) Counties & Townships Committee (HCOT) * Energy & Environment Committee (HENG) * Ethics & Elections Committee (SHEE) * Housing Committee (SHOU) * International Trade & Commerce Committee (HITC) * (Chairman of) Property Tax Subcommittee (HREF-PRTX) * Revenue & Finance Committee (HREF)

Electoral history

2020

Sam Yingling was re-elected to a fifth term in the

in November 2020.

2018

Sam Yingling was re-elected to a fourth term in the

in November 2018.

2016

Sam Yingling was re-elected to a third term in the

in November 2016.

2014

Yingling was re-elected for a second term in the

2012

Sam Yingling was endorsed by the Illinois AFL–CIO, Equality Illinois and the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. In an upset, Yingling defeated Cole with 55.3% of the vote

References

External links

Representative Sam Yingling (D) 62nd District
at the Illinois General Assembly
Sam Yingling for State Senate
!-- Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Financial information (state office)
at the National Institute for Money in State Politics * -->

at Illinois House Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Yingling, Sam Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives LGBTQ state legislators in Illinois LGBTQ Roman Catholics Living people American gay politicians 1980 births People from Grayslake, Illinois DePaul University alumni 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly