Heather Steans
| Heather Steans | ||
 | ||
| Illinois State Senate District 7 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| February 2008 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 11, 2017 | ||
| Years in position | 5 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $67,836/year | |
| Per diem | $111/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 4, 2008 | |
| Next election | November 8, 2016 | |
| Appointed | February 2008 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Princeton University | |
| Master's | Harvard University | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | May 8, 1963 | |
| Place of birth | Lake Forest, Illinois | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Steans graduated with her Bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Steans is a full-time Senator. Before becoming a Senator, Steans was the Strategic Planning Director for Chicago Public Schools and the former Budget Director for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Steans served on the following committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations I, Chairperson | ||||
| • Appropriations II | ||||
| • Committee of the Whole | ||||
| • Environment, Vice-Chairperson | ||||
| • Executive | ||||
| • Public Health | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Steans served on these committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations I, Chairperson | ||||
| • Appropriations II | ||||
| • Committee of the Whole | ||||
| • Environment, Vice Chair | ||||
| • Human Services | ||||
| • Public Health | ||||
- Subcommittee on Special Issues (Human Services), Vice Chair
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Steans served on these committees:[2]
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Executive | ||||
| • Deficit Reduction | ||||
| • Education | ||||
| • Environment | ||||
| • Human Services | ||||
| • Public Health | ||||
Issues
Medicaid
The Illinois Senate approved a Medicaid measure projected to save $800 million during the next five years.
House Bill 5420 would move half of the state’s 2.8 million Medicaid participants into “coordinated” or managed care between 2011 and 2015. This is a far stretch from the 195,000 participants who now are assigned to a primary “medical home.”
Lawmakers had to tighten the $14 billion state-federal health care system in December and were still hashing out the details in early January 2011.
“This is probably not a bill that any one of us on this committee would write. But that’s the nature of compromise,” said Steans. “I think where we are and what we’re going to see, though, is something that really does put the state and our Medicaid system in a much better place down the line.”
In 2014, low-income single adults will be eligible to enroll for the federal option, so all states are slated with the task of working out their end of the details. State Sen. Dale Righter said the proposal will return the “struggling” program to a safety net for the poor, instead of a catch-all for the potentially ineligible.
“It’s struggling for the people who need it the worst,” he said. “We’re talking about the people who are on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, the people for whom access is a truly critical issue. The people who aren’t mobile. People who can’t drive two hours and take a day off because it’s not a big deal to make sure that their child can get to a medical provider.”[3]
Elections
2012
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
Steans won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 7. She was unopposed in the Democratic Primary on March 20[4][5] and was unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.[6]
| Illinois State Senate, District 7, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Heather Steans Incumbent |
100% | 67,690 | |
| Total Votes | 67,690 | |||
2010
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2010
Steans won re-election to the 7th District Seat in the Illinois State Senate against Democrat Adam Robinson. The election took place on November 2, 2010.[7]
| Illinois State Senate, District 7 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Heather Steans (D)
|
41,214 | 83.69% | ||
| Adam Robinson (R) | 8,030 | 16.31% | ||
Steans was challenged by Jim Madigan in the Democratic primary election on February 2nd.[8]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Heather Steans won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 7 receiving 55,457 votes, ahead of Tom Durkin (13,190 votes).[9]
| Illinois State Senate, District 7 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Heather Steans (D)
|
55,457 | |||
| Tom Durkin (G) | 13,190 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
In 2010, Steans received $412,161 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[10]
| Illinois State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Heather Steans's campaign in 2010 | |
| Steans, Heather | $65,809 |
| Illinois Fairness Fund | $13,598 |
| Smith, Leo A | $12,000 |
| Illinois Education Association | $8,000 |
| Gail, Leonard | $7,200 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $412,161 |
2008
In 2008, Steans collected $322,596 in donations.[11]
Listed below are those that contributed most to her campaign.
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Heather A. Steans | $41,750 |
| Leonard Gail | $4,600 |
| Robin Steans | $4,600 |
| Thomas Hunter III | $4,600 |
| Jennifer W. Steans | $4,600 |
| Lois Steans | $4,600 |
| Harrison Steans | $4,600 |
| Morris Kaplan | $4,600 |
| Richard Giesen | $4,000 |
| Illinois Trial Lawyers Association | $4,000 |
| Norman R. Bobins | $3,300 |
| Harrington Bischof | $3,300 |
| Donald G. Lubin | $3,300 |
| James W. Mabie | $3,300 |
| Joseph Ernsteen | $3,300 |
| John Willis | $3,300 |
| Ed Kaplan | $3,000 |
| Bruce Simon | $3,000 |
| Illinois Education Association | $2,500 |
| Mark S. Hersh | $2,500 |
Scorecards
Illinois Opportunity Project
The Illinois Opportunity Project, "an independent research and public policy enterprise that promotes legislative solutions in advance of free markets and free minds," annually releases its Legislative Vote Card, grading all members in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on the basis of their support of "pro-growth economic policies that increase personal freedom and reign in expansive government."[12][13]
2012
Steans received a score of 28.57 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of F according to the IOP’s grading scale. Her score was tied for the 45th highest among all 59 members of the Illinois State Senate included in the Vote Card.[13]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Heather + Steans + Illinois + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Heather Steans News Feed
- Gay Marriage Robocalls: Former Bears Player, Civil Rights Leader Call For ... - Huffington Post
- Illinois Senate Democrats want more school money, not cuts - WPSD Local 6 - WPSD Local 6
- Cullerton, Madigan square off with competing pension reform plans - Chicago Tribune
- Illinois Senate May Vote On Comprehensive Sex Ed Bill This Week - Progress Illinois
- Illinois looking at revamp of sex education - Chicago Tribune
- IL lawmakers figure state could lose $1 billion under Obamacare - Kansas Watchdog
- Senate passes union-backed pension bill despite GOP opposition - Chicago Sun-Times
- Ill. Senate calls on Congress to overturn Citizens United ruling - Legal News Line
- On pensions, Bivins and GOP far apart - Saukvalley
- Illinois House approves bill on comprehensive sex education - WBEZ (blog)
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
District 7
Steans represents Illinois Senate District 7. District 7 includes in the Chicago North Shore area in the City of Chicago and in the suburbs[14].
Personal
Heather is married to Leo Smith. They have three children and reside in Lake Forest, Illinois.
External links
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
- Profile at Facebook
- Profile at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly "Senator Heather Steans"
- ↑ "Illinois General Assembly" List of Illinois Senate Committees, July 28, 2009
- ↑ "Senate passes ‘bold’ Medicaid reform; measure heads to House," Illinois Statehouse News, January 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections "Candidate List," December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results"
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
- ↑ 2010 Illinois General Election Results
- ↑ 2010 Illinois Primary Election Results
- ↑ Illinois Senate election results for 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 contributions
- ↑ Steans Campaign Donors
- ↑ Illinois Opportunity Project, "The Project," accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Illinois Opportunity Project, Legislative Vote Card home page, accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ "Illinois Chamber of * Commerce Committee, Illinois State Senate, Northeast Illinois Legislative District Maps, July 29, 2009
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