From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Iris Martinez |
|
|
Incumbent |
Assumed office
January 8, 2003 |
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| Born |
February 25, 1956 (1956-02-25) (age 53)
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| Political party |
Democratic |
Iris Y. Martinez is a Democratic member of
the Illinois
Senate, representing the 20th district since 2003. She is also
the Assistant Majority Leader in the State Senate.
Early
life
Martinez is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois
University and the University of Illinois at
Chicago.
Senate
career
Senator Martinez is the first Latino woman to be elected to the
Illinois State Senate. In her first year in Springfield, Martinez
ensured that community agencies like the Children’s Place, an
agency that works with children and families affected by HIV and
AIDS, and Concordia Avondale Community Center, which provides
daycare, after-school programs and a center for seniors, received
state funding to continue their programming. Martinez was
particularly concerned with issues surrounding women’s health. She
passed legislation that obligates health insurance companies to
provide women with contraceptive coverage. In recognition of this
legislation, Martinez received the Profile in Courage Award from Planned
Parenthood. Martinez targeted Illinois drivers with out of
state reckless homicide and DUI convictions with the passage of a
new law. This law ensures that convictions received in other states
are included in Illinois driving records and subject to state laws
regarding further prosecution of these offences. To help protect
consumers from becoming victims of identity theft, Martinez helped
pass a law that requires all insurance cards be issued without a
Social Security number.
In 2004, Martinez was awarded the Hillary Rodham Clinton
Leadership Award presented to an elected official by the Illinois
Democratic Women’s organization. Martinez is the Chairperson of the
Pensions Committee and Vice Chairperson of the Housing and
Community Affairs Committee. She serves as a member of three
additional committees: Commerce, Health and Human Services, and
Insurance.
2008
re-election campaign
In 2008, Martinez faced a primary challenge from state representative
Richard T. Bradley, who represented half of
her district in the House. Bradley had originally announced his
intention to seek re-election to the House but decided instead to
challenge Martinez when Deb
Mell announced her candidacy for his House seat. Martinez was
re-elected, defeating Bradley and another candidate.
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