Theresa Mah

Not to be confused with Theresa May.

Theresa Mah is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 24th district since 2023. She previously represented the 2nd district since January 2017 until being redistricted into the 24th district.^[1]

Theresa Mah
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 24th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2023
Preceded by	Elizabeth Hernandez (redistricted)
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 2nd district
In office January 10, 2017 – January 10, 2023
Preceded by	Edward Acevedo
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Hernandez (redistricted)
Personal details
Born	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) University of Chicago (MA, PhD)

Mah was the first Asian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly.^[2][3] Mah is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.

Early life, education, and career

Mah was born in Chinatown, San Francisco.^[3] She earned a B.A. in history from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1999.^[4][3][5] She has stated that her father's experience of being a "paper son" motivated her interest in studying Asian American history.^[6] Her dissertation was entitled "Buying into the Middle Class: Residential Segregation and Racial Formation in the United States, 1920–1964."^[7] She worked as an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University for six years.^[5][3]

She returned to Chicago in 2006 to work for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and later worked for the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community. During her time in the latter organization, she worked to ensure that the Chinese American population on Chicago's South Side was covered by one electoral district during the redistricting process.^[6] She also served as an advisor to Governor Pat Quinn.^[8][9]

Illinois State Representative (2017-present)

Elections

In 2016, Mah ran as a Democrat for the Illinois House of Representatives' 2nd district seat, which was open due to incumbent Edward Acevedo's retirement.^[10] In the Democratic primary election, she defeated Alex Acevedo, the incumbent's son, with 51.25% of the vote.^[10][1] She ran unopposed in the general election, and won re-election in both 2018 and 2020. In 2022, following redistricting, she was re-elected as the representative for the 24th district.^[1]

Tenure

As Illinois State Representative, Mah has been a vocal advocate for immigrant rights, sponsoring a number of bills on the subject and appearing frequently at pro-immigrant rallies.^[11][12] Bills on which she has been a lead sponsor include legislation to prohibit LGBTQ discrimination in assisted or shared living facilities and to protect immigrants from discrimination by landlords.^[13]

In 2019, she was one of the co-founders of a new progressive caucus within the Illinois House of Representatives.^[14][15][16]

Committees

As of July 2, 2022, Representative Mah is a member in the following Illinois House committees:

• Appropriations – Elementary & Secondary Education Committee (HAPE)
• Financial Impact Subcommittee (HMAC-IMPA)
• Health Car Licenses Committee (HHCL)
• Housing Committee (SHOU)
• Immigration & Human Right Committee (SIHR)
• International Trade & Commerce Committee (HITC)
• Museums, Arts, & Cultural Enhancement Committee (HMAC)
• Redistricting Committee (HRED)
• Tourism Committee (SHTO)

Other roles in politics

After winning the 2018 general election, J. B. Pritzker appointed Mah to his Transition Committee for Equality, Equity and Opportunity.^[17]

She supported the mayoral bids of Miguel del Valle in 2011 and Jesús "Chuy" García in 2015.^[3] In 2019, Mah supported Toni Preckwinkle's campaign for mayor.^[18] In the 2023 mayoral election, Mah criticized candidate Paul Vallas, describing him as “unfit” for office following a controversy surrounding "remarks on critical race theory". Mah endorsed García's 2023 candidacy for mayor.^[19]

In the 2024 Democratic primary, Mah defeated incumbent Committeeman George Cárdenas by an eight point margin in a three-way race to become Committeewoman of Chicago's 12th ward.^[20]

Electoral history

Illinois 2nd Representative District Democratic Primary, 2016^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah	10,732	51.23
	Democratic	Alexander "Alex" Acevedo	10,217	48.77
Total votes			20,949	100.0

Illinois 2nd Representative District General Election, 2016^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah	23,813	100.0
Total votes			23,813	100.0

Illinois 2nd Representative District General Election, 2018^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah (incumbent)	20,455	100.0
Total votes			20,455	100.0

Illinois 2nd Representative District Democratic Primary, 2020^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah (incumbent)	10,580	67.29
	Democratic	Bobby Martinez Olson	4,428	28.16
	Democratic	Kenneth M. Kozlar	715	4.55
Total votes			15,723	100.0

Illinois 2nd Representative District General Election, 2020^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah (incumbent)	25,771	100.0
Total votes			25,771	100.0

Illinois 24th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2022^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah	6,145	100.0
Total votes			6,145	100.0

Illinois 24th Representative District General Election, 2022^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Theresa Mah	14,532	100.0
Total votes			14,532	100.0

References

1. "Theresa Mah". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
2. Miller, Rich (April 29, 2016). "How the South Side elected the state's first Asian-American lawmaker". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
3. Mihalopoulos, Dan (January 3, 2017). "Mihalopoulos: First Asian-American state rep leads diverse area". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
4. CST Editorial Board (January 22, 2020). "Meet Theresa Mah, Illinois House 2nd District Democratic primary candidate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
5. "Theresa Mah's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
6. Chan, Marianne (April 19, 2016). "Theresa Mah's Campaign Makes History in Chicago". Hyphen Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
7. "Theresa Mah, PhD '99, Runs for Office | History | The University of Chicago". The Department of History at the University of Chicago. May 14, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
8. Chicago Tribune Editorial Board (February 19, 2020). "Editorial: For the Illinois House: Ortiz, Mah, Delgado, Cratic, Moorer, Croke". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
9. "About Theresa". State Rep. Theresa Mah. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
10. Sun-Times Editorial Board (February 18, 2016). "Editorial: Our endorsements for the Illinois House". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
11. "Mah Rallies for Immigrant Rights". Illinois House Democratic Caucus. March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
12. Ballesteros, Carlos (February 10, 2020). "Residents, politicians decry poor treatment of Latinos at Pilsen post office". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
13. CST Editorial Board (February 24, 2020). "ENDORSEMENT: Theresa Mah for Illinois House in 2nd District Democratic primary". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
14. Anzel, Rebecca (February 15, 2019). "New Progressive Caucus' aim: 'Stability and decency for all Illinoisans'". Capitol News Illinois. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
15. Cox, Ted (November 14, 2018). "Progressive Caucus gels in state House". 1IL. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
16. "Theresa Mah for Illinois State Representative (IL-2) | Reclaim Chicago". The People's Lobby. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
17. Miller, Rich (November 19, 2018). "New Pritzker transition committee: "Equality, Equity and Opportunity"". Capitol Fax. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
18. "List of Endorsements in the Race for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. March 18, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
19. Kapos, Shia (February 24, 2023). "Illinois Dems' new chief has a plan". POLITICO. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
20. Calabrese, Frank [@FrankCalabrese] (March 24, 2024). "State Representative Theresa Mah defeated incumbent 12th Ward Committeeperson George Cardenas" (Tweet). Retrieved April 1, 2024 – via Twitter.
21. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
22. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 8, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
23. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 8, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
24. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
25. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}
26. Illinois State Board of Elections. "Election Results: 2022 General Primary".
27. "Election Results 2022 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 4, 2023.

External links

• Representative Theresa Mah (D) at the Illinois General Assembly
  • By session: 100th