01/10/2018
Come out meet and your next 5th District Illinois State Representative.
About Felicia
Felicia is a lifelong resident of Illinois who has lived on the Southside of Chicago all of her life. She is a product of the Chicago Public School system for both elementary and high school. She attended Northern Illinois University (NIU) for her undergraduate education where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. While attending NIU Felicia was elected Senator of the NIU Student Association, where she served the student body for two terms. In 2008, Felicia joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a community service organization where she participated in numerous community service activities and events.
Graduating college during the recession meant looking for jobs that may not necessarily line up with her future goals in order to pay back student loans. Felicia landed a job in purchasing for a trucking company. Thriving in this environment, Felicia stayed in the procurement field for the next 7 seven years. She currently works for the University of Chicago as a Senior Buyer. Although she stayed in the private sector in order to pay the bills, Felicia always had a heart for politics and longed to be a public servant in the future. As life would have it, the seat for Illinois State Representative in her district became an open seat, and she has taken this opportunity to follow her dreams.
Issues
Education
As a product of Chicago Public Schools, the public school system is extremely important to me. The recent school closings adversely affected the community, and had a direct effect on the population loss of African-Americans in the city. I’m a firm believer that residents shouldn’t have to move to the suburbs for a quality education. Our residents should have great options to choose from, right here in the community.
As a legislator, I will fight for an elected school board. I believe this is paramount for the success of not just students, but parents as well. The community should have a say in who sits on the school board. The board makes incredibly important decisions that affect our children. We should be more involved in those decisions and the process of choosing those who make them.
Public Safety
While going door to door, I spoke with many people who were concerned about their safety and it truly broke my heart. I want to continue to engage with constituents about what exactly would make them feel safer. Some say that higher police presence would make them feel safe, but others say it would not because of the damaged relationship between the police and the community. I want to repair that relationship.
As State Representative, I would work hand in hand with the commanders of my police districts and the CAPS program. I will not only publicize programs that are in place, but I will create more community policing programs where residents, both young and old, will have a chance to interact with officers in an environment that is not inadvertently hostile to young men of color. I truly believe that unity between the community and the CPD can change the environment of our communities for the better. It would be my honor to serve as a catalyst for change in this area.
Healthcare
One evening shortly after graduating from college, I became ill and my mother took me to the emergency room. I hadn’t found a job yet, so I had no health insurance. The doctors ran a few tests, and sent me on my way. Not too much later I received a bill for nearly $4,000! This experience was eye opening for me. So often we are sold the narrative that people who can’t afford healthcare are those who just simply do not wish to contribute to society and that narrative is false. Any one of us is susceptible to falling on hard times. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Everyone in the state deserves access to quality and affordable healthcare. We need to get to the point where we view this issue as a simple human rights issue. As State Representative, I will fight to protect government related healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. I will fight for funding other vital programs such as the Community Care Program, which offers in home care to seniors. Governor Rauner made significant cuts to this program, replacing the funding with vouchers for Uber. Our seniors deserve better.
