Mattie Hunter's Bio
STATE SENATOR MATTIE HUNTER (D-Chicago – 3rd District) has served in the Illinois State Legislature since 2003. Senator Hunter holds the leadership position of Majority Caucus Chair and is currently Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee. Senator Hunter is also a member of the Human Services, Public Health, Executive and Appropriations I Committees. Senator Hunter is the Co-Chair of The National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Human Services Committee-International Task Force and a member of the Executive Board. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and is an Executive Board Member of the Conference of State Legislators (CSL). Her appointments include Racial Ethnic Impact Task Force (Co-Chair), Council on Aging, Ticket for the Cure Advisory Board, Diabetes Commission, Illinois Advisory Council on Alcoholism and other Drug Dependency, and Human Services Commission. She sits on the Executive Committee of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women), and Women in Government (WIG). Additionally Ms. Hunter is a member of the Conference of Women Legislators (COWL), Illinois Black Caucus (ILBC), Bridge Afrika, and National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL). Ms. Hunter also sits on numerous health care agencies including the Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Advisory Council.
A native Chicagoan, Senator Mattie Hunter attended Monmouth College, Illinois (BA – Government) and Jackson State University, Mississippi (MA – Sociology). She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and Prevention Specialist in the State of Illinois and Indiana. In 2008, Senator Hunter was the commencement speaker at Monmouth College and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
Senator Hunter has been recognized for her many accomplishments by several organizations across the country. In 2006, she was appointed a Lifetime Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and named Legislator of the Year by numerous organizations in the field of health care, youth, child welfare, and education.
Mattie Hunter is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Theta Omega Chapter), Eta Phi Beta Sorority (Alpha Lambda Chapter), Central Credit Union of Illinois Board of Directors, the Health Policy Institute’s National Advisory Committee of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies of Washington, D.C., Women In Government, NOBEL/Women, Conference of Women Legislators, Illinois Legislative Black Caucus as well as numerous other prestigious organizations and councils.
Senator Mattie Hunter is well-versed in global economic and cultural affairs and served as Managing Director for the Center for Health and Human Services in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ms. Hunter participates in numerous global tours each year, including recent tours in Switzerland, Jamaica, Taiwan and Puerto Rico and was and was recently received a Certificate for completing the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute Energy Policy Planning Program.
Senator Hunter has passed hundreds of bills in the areas of social services, health care, social justice, education and minority contractor financing to address the needs of her community and the State of Illinois.