Iris Martinez (Chicago)

Senator Iris Martinez has represented the 20th District since 2003 and has spent her time in the Senate promoting low-cost housing and education reform. She has worked to improve housing conditions by giving school districts incentives to provide cheap and safe housing near schools and by putting measures into place to protect renters from unknown foreclosures. She has been a tireless promoter of the Grow Your Own Teachers program, which places qualified teachers into hard-to-staff schools by offering loan forgiveness to new teachers.

Martinez holds the distinction of being the first Hispanic woman elected to the Illinois Senate. Martinez and her daughter reside in Chicago.