Theresa Mah


Theresa Mah is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 2nd district since January 2017. The 2nd district, located in Chicago, includes Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Chinatown, McKinley Park and Pilsen. Mah was the first Asian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly. Mah is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.

Early life, education, and career

Mah was born in Chinatown, San Francisco. She earned a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1999. She has stated that her father's experience of being a "paper son" motivated her interest in studying Asian American history. Her dissertation was entitled "Buying into the Middle Class: Residential Segregation and Racial Formation in the United States, 1920–1964." She worked as an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University for six years.
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. She also served as an advisor to Governor Pat Quinn. She supported the mayoral bids of Miguel del Valle in 2011 and Jesús "Chuy" García in 2015.

Illinois State Representative (2019-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 retiring. In the Democratic primary election, she defeated Alex Acevedo, the incumbent's son, with 51.25% of the vote. She ran unopposed in the general election, and won re-election in 2018.

Tenure

As 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. 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.
In 2019, she was one of the co-founders of a new progressive caucus within the Illinois House of Representatives.

Other roles in politics

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

Electoral history