A FIGHTER FOR HER COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

A lifelong resident of the 5th Congressional District, State Representative Sara Feigenholtz is a product of both her community and the person who had the greatest influence on her life – her mother. 

Sara was raised in Hollywood Park on Chicago’s Northwest side by her mother, Dr. Florence Buky, a community doctor who was widowed when Sara and her brother were young children.

Dr. Buky came to this country from Eastern Europe and put herself through medical school during a time when few hospitals accepted women doctors on staff, but she worked hard and got a job at a local hospital serving women and children.

Sara’s mother never left her work behind at the hospital.  She often welcomed parents from the neighborhood into her home to provide care for their children when they had nowhere else to turn – Sara’s mom even examined sick children right on the kitchen table.

Sara learned from her mother that health care is a right, not a privilege. That’s why Sara has spent her life fighting on behalf of those who often don’t have a voice. She has always put the community before the special interests in Springfield and has led the fight to put the needs of women, families and children first.

After spending several years working to elect progressive candidates, Sara was elected to her first term as state representative of Illinois’ 12th District in 1994, unseating an 18-year incumbent. She quickly became one of the state’s leading voices on health care expansion and reform.  Working with then-State Senator Barack Obama, she was a lead sponsor of theFamilyCare bill, which provides health care to uninsured working parents and their kids.  Sara later championed passage of the All Kids bill, which provides every child in Illinois with comprehensive, affordable health care.

Sara has never backed down from taking on the special interests. She fought to get the insurance companies to cover birth control and annual mammograms. She also has a reputation for rising above the politics of Springfield and bringing people together to get things done. She did exactly that when she brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass funding for critical stem cell research.

Sara’s advocacy on behalf of women and children has gained her widespread acclaim from several organizations including the American Cancer Society, the Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition, the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, the Families and Children’s AIDS Network andSusan G. Komen for the Cure.

Sara is Chair of the House Human Services Appropriations Committee in the Illinois General Assembly.  Since entering the race to fill the congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, she has received the endorsement of several progressive organizations, including EMILY’s List,NOW and Americans for Democratic Action.

NEWS:  The Feminist Majority PAC announced its support of Sara Feigenholtz for Illinois’s 5th congressional district. 

2.18.09 – Sara was just endorsed by Women’s Campaign Forum