Toi Hutchinson (born May 20, 1973) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

from 2009 to 2019, representing the 40th District. The 40th district includes all or parts of

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

Chicago Heights Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed ...

Flossmoor Flossmoor () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,704 at the 2020 census. Flossmoor is approximately 25 miles south of the Chicago Loop. Geography Flossmoor is located at (41.541684, -87.684970). Accordi ...

, Homewood, Hopkins Park, Kankakee,

Olympia Fields Olympia Fields is a village and a south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,718 as of the 2020 census. The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Country Club, originally establishe ...

, Peotone and University Park. Prior to her service in the Illinois Senate, Hutchinson was

City Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

for the Village of Olympia Fields, Illinois.

Early life and education

At nine years old, Hutchinson moved to

Country Club Hills, Illinois Country Club Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb and south of Chicago. The population was 16,775 at the 2020 census. History 10,000 years ago, during a glacial period, this area was a shoreline, with a comple ...

, where she was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents. She attended Infant Jesus of Prague elementary school in

, and Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields. At the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, she earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree, majoring in English and minoring in psychology. Hutchinson returned to her old high school as an English teacher. She graduated from Northern Illinois University's College of Law in 2014.

Career

Hutchinson has worked on behalf of the State Alliance of

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

s and for the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Council. In 2004, she became an Executive Management Fellow in the Women and Leadership program created by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. That same year, Hutchinson ran unsuccessfully for Supervisor of Bloom Township. The day after that election, she accepted a position on the staff of

Debbie Halvorson Deborah L. Halvorson (born March 1, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. Previously, she served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 through 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In ...

. Hutchinson eventually became Halvorson's Chief of Staff. Hutchinson was appointed in January 2009 to complete the rest of Debbie Halvorson's term following Halvorson's 2008 election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. During her tenure, Hutchinson served on the Agriculture and Conservation, Labor, Local Government, Veteran Affairs, and Transportation committee. Hutchinson left the

in 2019, and Patrick Joyce was appointed by local party leaders in the 40th district to succeed her. Hutchinson was appointed president and CEO of the

Marijuana Policy Project The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-pu ...

in December 2021.

2013 congressional special election

After

Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential cand ...

resigned from the

after being investigated for the misuse campaign funds, Hutchinson announced her intent to run in the 2013 special election succeed him. She was endorsed by Cook County Board President

Toni Preckwinkle Toni Lynn Preckwinkle (née Reed; born March 17, 1947) is an American politician and the current County Board President in Cook County, Illinois, United States. She was first elected as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the ...

, and Illinois State Representatives Anthony DeLuca, Lisa Dugan, Al Riley, and Thaddeus Jones. She was also endorsed by the mayors of

and

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as a ...

. In the Democratic primary, Hutchinson came in fifth place out of 16 candidates.

Robin Kelly Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2013. A Democrat, Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She then served as ...

was eventually elected.

Cannabis czar

On September 26, 2019, it was announced that Governor

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

appointed Hutchinson Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer, a role created by the

Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (Illinois House Bill 1438) is an act legalizing and regulating the production, consumption, and sale of cannabis in Illinois. It was approved by both houses by May 31, 2019 and came into effect January 1, 2020. I ...

, to oversee the roll out of the statewide legalization of recreational cannabis. Hutchinson will oversee relevant activities of multiple agencies including the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

, the Department of Public Health, Department of Revenue, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She will also have input over the policies of the

Illinois State Police Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...

Personal life

She is married to Paul Hutchinson, a Senior Systems Engineer. They reside in Olympia Fields with their three children.

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 98th Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96th95thIllinois State Senator Toi Hutchinson
legislative website
Senator Toi W. Hutchinson
at Illinois Senate Democrats *
Collected news and commentary
at the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Toi Illinois state senators Living people African-American state legislators in Illinois African-American women in politics Women state legislators in Illinois University of Illinois alumni Northern Illinois University alumni 1973 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Olympia Fields, Illinois 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women