Theresa Mah

Theresa Mah is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 2nd district since January 2017. The 2nd district, located in Chicago, includes Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Chinatown, McKinley Park and Pilsen.[1] Mah was the first Asian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly.[2][3] Mah is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.

Not to be confused with Theresa May.
Theresa Mah
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 2nd district
Assumed office
January 10, 2017 (2017-Jan-10)
Preceded byEdward Acevedo
Personal details
BornSan Francisco, California
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceChicago, Illinois
Alma materUniversity of California
University of Chicago (Ph.D.)
ProfessionProfessor

Early life, education, and career

Mah was born in Chinatown, San Francisco.[3] She earned a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1999.[4][3][5] She has stated that her father's experience of being a "paper son" motivated her interest in studying Asian American history.[6] Her dissertation was entitled "Buying into the Middle Class: Residential Segregation and Racial Formation in the United States, 1920–1964."[7] She worked as an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University for six years.[5][3]

She returned to Chicago in 2006 to work for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and later worked for the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community. During her time in the latter organization, she worked to ensure that the Chinese American population on Chicago's South Side was covered by one electoral district during the redistricting process.[6] She also served as an advisor to Governor Pat Quinn.[8][9] She supported the mayoral bids of Miguel del Valle in 2011 and Jesús "Chuy" García in 2015.[3]

Illinois State Representative (2019-present)

Elections

In 2016, Mah ran as a Democrat for the Illinois House of Representatives' 2nd district seat, which was open due to incumbent Edward Acevedo retiring.[10] In the Democratic primary election, she defeated Alex Acevedo, the incumbent's son, with 51.25% of the vote.[10][11] She ran unopposed in the general election, and won re-election in both 2018 and 2020.[11]

Tenure

As State Representative, Mah has been a vocal advocate for immigrant rights, sponsoring a number of bills on the subject and appearing frequently at pro-immigrant rallies.[12][13] Bills on which she has been a lead sponsor include legislation to prohibit LGBTQ discrimination in assisted or shared living facilities and to protect immigrants from discrimination by landlords.[14]

In 2019, she was one of the co-founders of a new progressive caucus within the Illinois House of Representatives.[15][16][17]

Other roles in politics

After winning the 2018 general election, J.B. Pritzker appointed Mah to his Transition Committee for Equality, Equity and Opportunity.[18]

Electoral history
Illinois 2nd State House District Democratic Primary, 2016[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Theresa Mah 10,732 51.23
Democratic Alexander "Alex" Acevedo 10,217 48.77
Total votes 20,949 100.0
Illinois 2nd State House District General Election, 2016[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Theresa Mah 23,813 100.0
Total votes 23,813 100.0
Illinois 2nd State House District General Election, 2018[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Theresa Mah (incumbent) 20,455 100.0
Total votes 20,455 100.0
Illinois 2nd State House District Democratic Primary, 2020[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Theresa Mah (incumbent) 10,580 67.29
Democratic Bobby Martinez Olson 4,428 28.16
Democratic Kenneth M. Kozlar 715 4.55
Total votes 15,723 100.0

References
  1. "Theresa Mah, PhD '99, Runs for Political Office". University of Chicago. May 14, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. Miller, Rich (April 29, 2016). "How the South Side elected the state's first Asian-American lawmaker". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  3. Mihalopoulos, Dan (Jan 3, 2017). "Mihalopoulos: First Asian-American state rep leads diverse area". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  4. CST Editorial Board (2020-01-22). "Meet Theresa Mah, Illinois House 2nd District Democratic primary candidate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. "Theresa Mah's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  6. Chan, Marianne (2016-04-19). "Theresa Mah's Campaign Makes History in Chicago". Hyphen Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  7. "Theresa Mah, PhD '99, Runs for Office | History | The University of Chicago". The Department of History at the University of Chicago. May 14, 2016. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  8. Chicago Tribune Editorial Board (February 19, 2020). "Editorial: For the Illinois House: Ortiz, Mah, Delgado, Cratic, Moorer, Croke". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  9. "About Theresa". State Rep. Theresa Mah. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  10. Sun-Times Editorial Board (2016-02-18). "Editorial: Our endorsements for the Illinois House". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  11. "Theresa Mah". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  12. "Mah Rallies for Immigrant Rights". Illinois House Democratic Caucus. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  13. Ballesteros, Carlos (2020-02-10). "Residents, politicians decry poor treatment of Latinos at Pilsen post office". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  14. CST Editorial Board (2020-02-24). "ENDORSEMENT: Theresa Mah for Illinois House in 2nd District Democratic primary". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  15. Anzel, Rebecca (February 15, 2019). "New Progressive Caucus' aim: 'Stability and decency for all Illinoisans'". Capitol News Illinois. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  16. Cox, Ted (November 14, 2018). "Progressive Caucus gels in state House". 1IL. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  17. "Theresa Mah for Illinois State Representative (IL-2) | Reclaim Chicago". The People's Lobby. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  18. Miller, Rich (November 19, 2018). "New Pritzker transition committee: "Equality, Equity and Opportunity"". Capitol Fax. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  19. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  20. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  21. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  22. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
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