Kelly Cassidy (born 1967/1968) is an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...
from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. She is a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and a member of the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
. She was appointed to represent the 14th district, on Chicago's
North Side, in April 2011 following incumbent
Harry Osterman
Harry Osterman (born April 14, 1967) is an American politician serving as a member of the Chicago City Council from the 48th ward. He previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives for the 14th District from 2000 to 2011.
Early life ...
's election to the
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...
. She took office on May 16, 2011. Most notably Kelly Cassidy was the chief sponsor of House Bill 1438, making Illinois the first state to legalize the Adult-Use of Cannabis through legislature as opposed to a ballot measure.
Early life and career
Cassidy went to
Manatee High School
Manatee High School is the oldest public high school in Bradenton, Florida, operated by the Manatee County School District.
History
Bradentown High School would open in 1897 located on what is now 15th Street West and Ballard Park Drive operating ...
in
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
. From 1991 to 1993, she worked as the legislative director for the Chicago chapter of the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
. From 1993 to 1997, she worked for
state senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
president
John Cullerton
John J. Cullerton (born October 28, 1948) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from ...
, running his district office. In 1997, Cassidy joined the
Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
state's attorney's office, initially as a legislative liaison. In 2001, she became the director of programs and development for the state's attorney's office, a post she held until her appointment to the legislature in 2011. Cassidy served as a
delegate
Delegate or delegates may refer to:
* Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia
* Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique
* Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations
* Delegate (Unit ...
to the
2012 Democratic National Convention
The 2012 Democratic National Convention was a gathering, held from September 3–6, 2012, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which delegates of the Democratic Party nominated President Barack Obama and Vice Presid ...
.
Illinois State Representative (2011-present)
Following state representative Harry Osterman's election as 48th ward alderman in February 2011, Cassidy was one of 23 candidates to seek appointment as his successor in the state house. The 14th district, which Osterman was vacating and Cassidy now represents, includes the neighborhoods of Edgewater, Andersonville, and Rogers Park. Per Illinois law, the vacancy was filled by Democratic committeemen from the wards making up the district, their votes weighted to reflect the share of the district falling in each ward. Because more than half of the 14th district's voters live in Chicago's 48th ward, that ward's committeeman – former state senator
Carol Ronen – cast more than half of the votes. On April 17, the committeemen unanimously selected Cassidy to fill the vacancy.
In the 2012 Democratic primary, Cassidy was challenged by Paula Basta, a lesbian and longtime North Side activist. On March 20, 2012, Cassidy won the Democratic primary with 6,040 votes (62.4% of the vote) to Basta's 3,636 votes (37.6%).
In 2018,
J.B. Pritzker
Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the List of governors of Illinois, 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker fami ...
appointed Cassidy to the gubernatorial transition's Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee.
In 2019, Cassidy was an advocate for the Reproductive Health Act, which repealed many restrictions on abortion.
As of July 3, 2022, Representative Cassidy is a member of the following Illinois House committees:
* Criminal Administration and Enforcement Subcommittee (HJUC-CAES)
* Firearms and Firearm Safety Subcommittee (HJUC-FIRE)
* Housing Committee (SHOU)
* Human Services Committee (HHSV)
* Judiciary - Criminal Committee (HJUC)
* Juvenile Justice and System-Involved Youth Subcommittee (HJUC-JJSI)
* Natural Gas Subcommittee (HPUB-NGAS)
* Prescription Drug Affordability Committee (HPDA)
* (Chairwoman of) Restorative Justice Committee (SHRJ)
* Sentencing, Penalties and Criminal Procedure Subcommittee (HJUC-SPCP)
* Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Subcommittee (HJUC-SOSO)
* (Chairwoman of) Special Issues (HS) Subcommittee (HHSV-SPIS)
Personal
Cassidy is
openly lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
. Her spouse is
Candace Gingrich
Candace Gingrich (; born June 2, 1966) is an American LGBT rights activist at the Human Rights Campaign. Candace is the half-sibling of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.Seelye, KatharineSpeaker's Sister Now Speaking Out ''The New Yor ...
, who works as a lobbyist for an Illinois-based cannabis company following Cassidy's work to legalize cannabis.
She lives with her three sons on the North Side of Chicago. She is one of four openly
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
members of the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
, alongside Rep.
Greg Harris and
Lamont Robinson
Lamont J. Robinson Jr. is an American insurance agent, educator, and politician who is a Democratic State representative of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 5th district. The Chicago-based district includes all or parts of the Near ...
, both Chicago Democrats, and
Sam Yingling, a Democrat from
Round Lake Beach, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago.
Other
In 2014, Cassidy was inducted into the
Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...
.
In 2019, Cassidy was selected by the 49th ward Democratic Party to fill the role of 49th ward
party commiteeperson. The position became vacant after incumbent
Joe Moore stepped down, following his defeat in the election for 49th ward alderman to
Maria Hadden
Maria Elaine Hadden is an American politician and community activist from Chicago. She is a member of the Chicago city council, serving as alderman for the city's 49th ward. She won election to that office after defeating 28-year incumbent Joe M ...
. Both Moore and Hadden supported Cassidy's selection as committeeperson.
In February 2021, State Sen.
Heather Steans, who was re-elected just two months prior to represent a district covering Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Andersonville, resigned, having suddenly decided that “it’s time for new faces and fresh energy.” A replacement in such a situation is picked by the district’s committeepeople: an unpaid County-level position elected during presidential or gubernatorial primaries. Despite being the presumed front runner and endorsed by the outgoing State Senator, Cassidy lost the vote of committeemen to
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
's former policy director
Mike Simmons. Community groups protested what was seen as an attempt by the State Representative Cassidy and Senator Steans to circumvent the normal election process as had been done several times previously in that district.
Electoral history
References
External links
Representative Kelly M. Cassidy (D) 14th Districtat the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
**By session
100th99th98th97thKelly Cassidy for State Representative
*
Rep. Kelly Cassidy at Illinois House Democrats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Kelly
Politicians from Chicago
Lesbian politicians
LGBT state legislators in Illinois
Women state legislators in Illinois
Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Living people
Jewish American state legislators in Illinois
LGBT Jews
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Jewish women politicians
People from Bradenton, Florida
21st-century American Jews