Theresa Mah

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.

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 in San Francisco, California. 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.

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. In the Democratic primary election, she defeated Alex Acevedo, the incumbent's son, with 51.25% of the vote. 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.

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.

She supported the mayoral bids of Miguel del Valle in 2011 and Jesús "Chuy" García in 2015. 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.

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.

Electoral history 2016

2018

2020

2022