Senator Sara Feigenholtz

Sara Feigenholtz was born on December 11, 1956, in Chicago. She is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, where she has represented the 6th district since January 2020. The district includes the lakefront Chicago neighborhoods of Lake View, Lincoln Park, and the Near North Side, as well as North Center, Roscoe Village, Ravenswood Manor, Bucktown, and Albany Park.

An adoptee herself, Feigenholtz's personal background has deeply influenced her legislative priorities. She established the first committee on Adoption & Child Welfare in the Illinois General Assembly, which has become a catalyst for reform and the passage of numerous laws to better protect Illinois children.

Education

Feigenholtz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Speech and Performing Arts from Northeastern Illinois University.

Political Experience

Feigenholtz served as a full-time legislator in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 2020, representing the 12th district. She was first elected in 1994, defeating long-standing incumbent Ellis B. Levin.

Her legislative work has focused on health care and human services reform. Notable achievements include:

• Lead sponsorship of the Family Health Care Bill
• Sponsorship of the All Kids program
• Authorship of the contraceptive equity act, which required insurance coverage of contraception and expanded access to mammograms and cervical cancer screenings
• Sponsorship of the Original Birth Certificate Access Bill , allowing adopted persons over age 21 to access their original birth certificates
• Sponsorship of the 2013 Medicaid expansion in Illinois as part of Affordable Care Act implementation, extending coverage to thousands of formerly uninsured Illinoisans
• Lead sponsorship of House Bill 40 , which kept abortion legal in Illinois and extended insurance coverage of abortion to state employees and women insured through Medicaid

Feigenholtz served as Assistant Majority Leader from 2013 through 2019. She currently chairs the Adoption & Child Welfare Committee and previously served on the Appropriations-Human Services, Tourism, Hospitality and Craft, Mental Health, Environment, and Energy Committees.

Beyond elected office, Feigenholtz is a founding member and Vice President of the Kennedy Forum, a national organization dedicated to combating stigma around mental illness and achieving mental health parity.