Michelle Mussman

	Michelle Mussman
	Illinois House of Representatives District 56
	Incumbent
	In office
	January 12, 2011-Present
	Term ends
	January 14, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Democratic
	Compensation
Base salary	$67,836/year
Per diem	$111/day
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
	Education
Bachelor's	University of Cincinnati
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website

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Michelle Mussman is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 56 since 2011. Mussman's election drew attention by solidifying Democratic control of an historically Republican district following the switch of Mussman's predecessor, Paul Froelich, from the Republican to the Democratic in 2007.^[1]

Mussman is a former graphic designer who became a stay-at-home home following the birth of her three children.^[2] She has participated in her local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), including stints as president and treasurer, as well as the Schaumburg Township Council of PTAs.^[3] She claims her "involvement in school and sports activities led others to suggest she take her community commitment to a higher level."^[2] Mussman earned a B.S. in Design from the University of Cincinnati.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Mussman served on the following committees:

Illinois Committee Assignments, 2013
• Accountability & Administrative Review, Vice-chair
• Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education
• Appropriations-Human Services
• Bio-Technology
• Energy
• Human Services
• State Government Administration

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Mussman served on the following committees:

Illinois Committee Assignments, 2011
• Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Educ
• Appropriations-Human Services
• Environmental Health
• State Government Administration
• Tourism & Conventions

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Mussman's campaign website lists the following issues:^[4]

Preventing Unfair Property Tax Increases

Excerpt: "Skyrocketing property taxes are making it harder for our families and senior citizens to remain in their own homes. I passed legislation out of the House to stop property tax increases if property values decline."

Fighting the Income Tax Increase

Excerpt: "I have consistently opposed the income tax increase that was passed before I became a State Representative. I will vote to repeal this increase."

Fighting for Pension Reform

Excerpt: "To stop abuses in the state employee pension system that give some government employees overly generous benefits, I support reforms to cut gold-plated pension and save billions of dollars, preventing taxpayers from bailing out pension funds in the future."

Fighting Medicaid Abuse

Excerpt: "Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted every year through Medicaid fraud and abuse by scammers illegally taking benefits. I passed tough new verification standards so those who don’t qualify for benefits are kicked off the program."

Protecting Local Home Values

Excerpt: "I know it is unfair to base your home’s value on the sale of foreclosed properties, forcing you to sell at a loss. I am fighting for a law to protect home values from being based on foreclosed property and I support serious financial penalties for predatory lenders."

Elections

2012

See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2012

Mussman won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois House of Representatives District 56. Mussman was unopposed in the March 20 Democratic primary and defeated John R. Lawson (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Illinois House of Representatives, District 56, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michelle Mussman Incumbent	59.9%	24,138
	Republican	John R. Lawson	40.1%	16,164
Total Votes				40,302

2010

Mussman defeated Republican Ryan Higgins in the state's November 2, 2010 general election.^[8]

Illinois House of Representatives, District 56 (2010)
Candidates	Votes	Percent
Michelle Mussman (D)	14,425	51.17%
Ryan Higgins (R)	13,767	48.83%

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Mussman raised $763,114 in contributions. ^[9]

Her four largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
Illinois Democratic Party	$351,043
Illinois Education Association	$60,315
Friends Of Michael Madigan	$53,163
Illinois Health Care Association	$43,688

Personal

Mussman and her husband, George, have three children.

Scorecards

Illinois Opportunity Project

See also: Illinois Opportunity Project's Legislative Vote Card

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."^[10]^[11]

2012

Mussman received a score of 62.50 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of C- according to the IOP’s grading scale. Her score was tied for the 34th highest among all 120 members of the Illinois House of Representatives included in the Vote Card.^[11]

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