André Thapedi was a

Democratic 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 ...

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 ...

, representing the 32nd District from 2009 to 2021. During his tenure, the 32nd district included all or portions of

Auburn Gresham Auburn Gresham, most commonly referred to simply as Gresham, is one of the 77 official community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the far south side of the city and was the original location of the South Side Irish Parad ...

Chicago Lawn Chicago Lawn is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors include Gage Park, West Englewood, Ashburn, and West Lawn. It is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east ...

, Ashburn, Chatham and West Englewood as well as portions of suburban

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and Hickory Hills.

Early life and career

Thapedi is the son of Chicago neurosurgeon Isaac Martin Thapedi and retired Cook County judge Llwellyn Thapedi. He attended LeMans Academy and

St. Ignatius College Prep Saint Ignatius College Prep is a selective private, coeducational Jesuit college-preparatory school located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school was founded in Chicago in 1869 by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J., a Dutc ...

where he was a student athlete, leader, and selected as a "Chicagoland Outstanding Student". After graduating from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliation ...

he earned a law degree, with honors, from John Marshall Law School, where he was a president of the

Black Law Students Association The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), founded in 1968, is a nationwide organization formed to articulate and promote the needs and goals of black law students and effectuates change in the legal community. As the largest law stude ...

, national

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consistin ...

competition winner, national

moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase ...

competition winner, and published in their ''Journal of Computer and Information Law''. Thapedi worked as an intern with the office of 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 and the law department of the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

. He spent eight years as a trial, corporate, and transaction attorney before becoming a partner in the law firm of Thapedi & Thapedi where he represents both injured persons and businesses in

civil litigation Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law rel ...

. He is also the managing broker for Shore Realty, LLC.

Illinois House of Representatives

Thapedi was elected in 2008 to succeed

Milton Patterson Milton "Milt" Patterson is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 32nd District on the southwest side of Chicago from 2005 until 2009. Patterson earned a Bachelor of Science with honors in fire scie ...

. On July 31, 2017, Thapedi was appointed a member of the Trade Policy Task Force for a term ending December 31, 2018. The Trade Policy Task Force's function is to analyze important issues relative to the growth of international trade and make recommendations to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, the

United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by the ...

, and the

White House National Trade Council The National Trade Council (NTC) of the United States was the principal forum used by the President of the United States to advise on strategies in trade negotiations, coordinate with other agencies to assess U.S. manufacturing capabilities and the ...

regarding trade policy. The Task Force also promotes Illinois as a market for exporting and importing. On January 31, 2021, it was reported by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

that Thapedi would resign his seat during the 102nd General Assembly. Thapedi submitted his resignation March 17, 2021. On April 8, 2021, Cyril Nichols was appointed by Democratic leaders in the district to succeed him.

Electoral history

References

External links

Representative André Thapedi (D) 32nd District
at Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96thState Representative André Thapedi
constituency site *
André Thapedi
at Illinois House Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Thapedi, Andre Living people Illinois Democrats Morehouse College alumni John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians