She Runs IL 2022! — Cynthia Cunningham, candidate for IL House of Representatives, District 104
She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Cynthia Cunningham, candidate, running for IL House of Representatives, District 104. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2022!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election, November 8, 2022.
Tell us about yourself
I have been interested in and involved in public service all of my life. Growing up as one of two daughters of a union plumber taught me the value of hard work and the need for people to work together to achieve my goals. My dad worked on some of Chicago’s most iconic buildings — the Hancock building, the First National Bank of America (now Chavee), and the new Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Stadium). My mother worked in a piano hammer factory and managed the family home.
While growing up, I learned the value of helping others by volunteering in the special education classroom in my school and reading to fellow students after my class work was done. This exposure to being able to help people with special needs early on eventually led me to a degree in recreation therapy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a lifelong home in Champaign County.
My professional career has been focused on service to others. I have worked with senior citizens, disabled veterans, and disabled kids. While a student at the U of I, I spent my summers at a residential camp for disabled kids, teaching swimming lessons, helping them with personal care needs, and helping them have a good time. My college internship was at the Danville VA, focusing on using recreation as a treatment intervention for veterans in the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Unit and the Psychiatric care unit. Since graduation, my focus has been on helping seniors. I have worked in nursing homes and in adult day services programs, and for the University of Illinois’s College of Nursing on a special project, and finally created my own company, Cobalt Creek Consulting, to assist others in the creation and running of businesses that provide home and community-based services to seniors.
Working for the University of Illinois, I participated in a literature review on ways to improve the functioning of persons with early-stage dementia, without the use of prescription drugs, a project contracted by the Alzheimer’s Association. I co-authored a paper with professors from around the country on the topic.
My passion for compassionate care for seniors led to my involvement in professional associations, statewide. I was the Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition on Aging, serving as the President of the Illinois Adult Day Services Association, and as the Legislative Chair for the Illinois Association of Community Care Program Home Care Providers. I am an appointed member of Illinois’s Older Adult Services Advisory Committee. I have spoken at numerous state, local, and national conferences on aging care, including for Leading Age Illinois, the National Adult Day Services Association, and the Governor’s Conference on Aging.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family — husband Keith, a farmer and retired Lieutenant with the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, daughters Katie and Andrea, and son Ben. But I also believe in contributing to the well-being of my community, and served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT-B with the Ogden-Royal Fire Department and have taught Sunday School at St. John Lutheran Church in Royal since 2008. I was a Girl Scout leader for several years and served on St. John’s church council.
The last two years of Illinois’s failure to enact a budget led me to the decision to run for state representative. During the course of the budget impasse, I advocated for emergency Medicaid payments for providers to enable them to continue serving seniors, I pushed for the inclusion of Community Care Providers in the Medicaid court orders for payment, appeared at numerous state hearings on the effect of the budget impasse, and have been a powerful advocate for the fair treatment of seniors and the people who care for them. I served on the steering committee for Pay Now Illinois, a group of human services providers who were not being paid for the services that the state contracted with them to provide, that sued the state of Illinois, seeking fair treatment.
What are the priorities that you intend to focus on in office?
I will be focused on violence against women, women’s ability to make their own decisions about their healthcare, improving our local economy, funding our schools fairly, and making our communities safer.
What led you into politics and to run for this office?
I went into politics because I want to do the job of state representative for the 104th district. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of success in my career and don’t need the office for self-validation. I started out wanting to do this job because I wanted to do my part to make sure that the government could not be weaponized against vulnerable people and the people who serve vulnerable people as was done during the Rauner administration. But then, when I canvassed the district and became friends with so many people in the district, I discovered a passion for the advancement of our local communities. Our district has landed on all of the wrong lists in the last few years — most endangered river in the country, one of the top ten worst cities to live in, and one of the ten poorest districts in the state. I want to help turn that around and make sure that our citizens have someone to advocate for their needs at the state level.
Racially motivated violence against Asian Americans is a longstanding issue in the U.S., but incidents have been on the rise. How will you plan to understand impacted communities’ fears and needs in order to work towards ensuring their safety?
I will meet with this community to better understand their specific needs while doing the things we need to do, such as making sure law enforcement has the appropriate tools to do their jobs.
Toxic masculinity, the cultural idea that manhood is defined by violence and aggression to maintain power or strength, combined with gun availability can result in gender-based gun violence and mass shootings. What can the ILGA do to address this deadly combination?
There are a lot of variables and issues that lead to gun violence. The ILGA can follow the research and best practices of areas around the state having success in the prevention and reduction of gun violence.
In a post-Roe world, what can be done to stop the harmful practices of crisis pregnancy centers (AKA “pregnancy resource centers”) in Illinois so that their tactics are not able to result in forced births for those seeking an abortion?
Women need to be aware of all resources and options available when making health care decisions, and this includes during pregnancy. The options presented at any clinic should actually exist and be accessible for any patient seeking care at any clinic. There should be repercussions for providers that suggest care options that don’t exist.
Closing comments
My goals for office include protecting the rights of women, developing a strategy for addressing the growing needs of seniors in Illinois, the fair treatment of labor unions by the state, reaffirming our commitment to education and higher education through equitable, stable funding of our schools, colleges, and universities, changing our income tax structure to be fairer, and pushing for the fair treatment of all Illinoisans, not just the elite.
I am looking forward to being an advocate for the people in the 104th district and for creating opportunities for economic development.
If you would like to learn more about Cynthia Cunningham and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at electcindycunningham.com. Don’t forget to follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Reach out today and help make a difference in the upcoming 2022 election.
(The information contained in this post is provided only as general information and does not imply an endorsement by She Votes Illinois.)
