Sara Feigenholtz (born December 11, 1956) is 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 ...
who has represented the 6th District since 2020.
[Representative Sara Feigenholtz page, Illinois General Assembly website](_blank)
accessed 12 April 2011 The District includes the lakefront neighborhoods of
Lake View,
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...
,
Buena Park
Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm. It is ...
and the
Near North Side in the city 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 ...
.
Previously, she served thirteen terms in 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 ...
.
Background
Sara Feigenholtz's political interests and activity, notably in the areas of adoption, women's issues and health care, reflect her personal experience and family background. Her adoptive mother, Florence Buky, an immigrant from
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Biał ...
, Poland, worked her way through medical school to become an obstetrician. Many of Dr. Buky's patients were unable to care for their children and this was how she came to adopt Sara and her brother.
[Sara Feigenholtz website, Biography page](_blank)
accessed 12 April 2011 Feigenholz attributes the origin of her political commitment to health care as a basic right to the childhood experience of patients calling to see Dr. Buky at the family home in Lake View, Chicago, and her mother never turning anyone away, even those unable to pay.
Feigenholtz earned her bachelor's degree in political science and speech and performing arts from
Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. NEIU serves approximately 5,000 students in the region and is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and Asian American and Nat ...
.
and went on to earn a fellowship degree from the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
School Of Public Health. In 2011, she completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at
Harvard Kennedy School
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
.
She worked as Chief of Staff to State Representative
John Cullerton
John J. Cullerton (born October 28, 1948) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from ...
before becoming a fund-raiser for progressive causes.
Illinois House of Representatives
Feigenholtz was elected to her first term as state representative of Illinois’ 12th District in 1994, defeating long-standing incumbent
Ellis B. Levin. She chose to focus her attention on health care and human services reform. She was a lead sponsor of the Family Health Care Bill. She also campaigned for the introduction of the All Kids program.
In 2010, she sponsored the Original Birth Certificate Access Bill. This law provides for the release of the original birth certificate to an adopted person upon written request, provided he or she is over the age of 21.
As part of the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
implementation, Feigenholtz sponsored the 2013 expansion of
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 ...
in Illinois. This legislation extended coverage to thousands of Illinoisans who were shut out of the health care system.
In 2017, Feigenholtz sponsored House Bill 40 in the 100th General Assembly, which will keep abortion legal in Illinois if
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
is overturned by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. It also extends insurance coverage of abortion to state employees and women insured through Medicaid.
Sara Feigenholtz served as Assistant Majority Leader from 2013 through 2019. She currently chairs the Adoption & Child Welfare Committee, and most recently served on the Appropriations-Human Services, Tourism, Hospitality and Craft, Mental Health, Environment, and Energy Committees.
In 2018, Democrat
J. B. Pritzker
Jay Robert Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain, Pritzker has started several vent ...
appointed Feigenholtz a member of the gubernatorial transition's Healthy Children and Families Committee.
Special congressional election
Feigenholtz came in third place to
Mike Quigley
Michael Bruce Quigley ( ; born October 17, 1958) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since the April 7, 2009 special election. The district includes most of Chicago's North Side and several of its western suburbs. ...
in the
Illinois's 5th congressional district special election, 2009 to fill the district seat vacated by
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician, advisor, diplomat, and former investment banker who most recently served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 ...
, who resigned to serve as President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's Chief of Staff.
Illinois Senate
Feigenholtz assumed the office of State Senator for Illinois' 6th District on January 21, 2020.
Feigenholtz was a guest of U.S. Representative Mike Quigley at
Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address.
Committees
In the 102nd General Assembly, Feigenholtz was the Chair of the Appropriations - Human Services Committee; the Tourism and Hospitality Committee; and the Redistricting - Chicago North Committee. She also served on the Senate Appropriations - Business Regulations and Labor Committee; Behavioral and Mental Health Committee; Health Committee; Insurance Committee; Licensed Activities Committee; Pensions Committee; Subcommittee on Children & Family; and the Subcommittee on Medicaid.
In the 103rd General Assembly, she is the Chair of the Financial Institutions Committee. She also serves on the Appropriations Committee; Appropriations - Health and Human Services Committee; Behavioral and Mental Health Committee; Licensed Activities Committee; and Revenue Committee.
Other
In 2001 Feigenholtz was inducted into the
Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Ch ...
as a Friend of the Community.
Controversy
In 2024, local Muslim leaders called for the resignation of state Sen. Feigenholtz over anti-Arab social media posts.
Electoral history
References
External links
Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D) 12th Districtat the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...
**By session
100th99th98th97th96th95th94th93rdRepresentative Sara Feigenholtzconstituency website
Sara Feigenholtz for House Representative*
at Illinois House Democrats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigenholtz, Sara
1956 births
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women politicians
American adoptees
Democratic Party Illinois state senators
Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Jewish state legislators in Illinois
Jewish American women in politics
Living people
Northeastern Illinois University alumni
Politicians from Chicago
University of Illinois alumni
Women state legislators in Illinois
21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly