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Suzanne Elder I’ve been a small business owner, a student, and an academic; I am currently an analyst, an advocate and now a candidate. My many and sometimes simultaneous roles have resulted in a portfolio of experience that includes concept and communications skills, an easy facility with quantitative and qualitative analyses and a voracious interest in the power of ideas to influence public policy and improve people’s lives. However useful these skills are, though, nothing beats the utility of hard work, humor, and collegiality. I’m a regular person, a wife and a mother, someone who cares deeply about her community, her city and her state. Caring is a good starting point for change, but what does it take to make it happen? It takes diligence, tenacity and hard work. That’s what I’ve been doing in Springfield. I wrote a bill that passed the House this spring and is currently in the Senate. The Care of Students with Diabetes Act began simply as a petition by a citizen to redress a wrong against children with diabetes and their families. This work began after my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I learned then what too many other families already knew: access to school, education rights, disability rights, services and accommodations guaranteed by federal law are not a given. Not in Illinois. Not for kids with diabetes or other disabilities. Children are denied access to school and activities, parents are forced to quit work and stay at school all day to provide basic care, children suffer injuries and humiliation, families are driven into poverty and some move to find a school that complies with federal law and accommodates their child’s manageable needs. My work on this one bill has grown into something much larger and now includes the support of thousands of people across Illinois, Chicago-Kent Law School, and several partner firms committed to diabetes advocacy issues in Illinois. I possess two other qualities that seem to be in short supply: I am comfortable with “no,” even when it’s not easy or popular, and “I don’t know,” because I’m not a candidate with a box of answers. Rather, I am someone who is deeply interested in the questions and in developing a larger conversation with others to build trust and collaborative solutions. My 25 years' experience living and working with the residents of the district has given me a strong compass that will keep me grounded in the real world effects that government decisions have on individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. When Art Berman, my former state senator resigned, he began to collect one of the most notoriously large pensions in the state. He took advantage of loopholes in state pension law to generate an annual retirement package nearly three times more than his annual salary as a state legislator. When I read about this, I felt betrayed, burdened by my Senator’s arrogance and sense of entitlement. He chose to rationalize his choice, he even challenged the district and asked if it was really bad enough that people would have preferred he not serve. I have an unequivocal answer to that question: Yes, it is bad enough. I would have preferred he not serve. If one is incapable of rejecting such a windfall, incapable of recognizing how grossly unfair such a pension is, then I don’t think it’s too far a stretch to surmise that the Senator, at other decision points in his career, focused on his needs and interests to the exclusion of those who placed him in office. I am running for this seat because I believe in public service and the power of individuals and good governance to make a difference in people’s lives and in the health of our communities. I am running because I believe it is possible to end a career in public service with the same dignity and dedication that I am starting mine. |
Served more than 50 corporate and non-profit clients including Ameritech, Arthur Andersen, Brunswick, Burson-Marsteller, Family Focus, Lifelink, O.N.E, Regional Transportation Authority and Steppenwolf Theater Co. Health policy analyst for Institute of Policy Research at The University of Chicago and consultant for adolescent reproductive health initiatives. Authored bill and led statewide initiative to protect students with diabetes at school and ensure equal access to educational opportunities. Suzanne's legislative work >>>
Education: Master of Public Policy, The University of Chicago. The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and Bachelor of Arts, DePaul University, The School for New Learning Endorsed by:
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