Illinois Legislative Black Caucus

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Illinois Legislative Black Caucus
Formation1968 [1]
TypePolitical organization
Purposerepresenting and addressing the interests of African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly [1]
Location
Region served
Illinois, United States of America
Membership31 members
Official language
English
Joint Chair
 Sonya Harper
Parent organization
 National Black Caucus of State Legislators
AffiliationsIllinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation
Staff2
Website Illinois Legislative Black Caucus

The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Illinois Legislature.

Contents

Priorities

The primary mission of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is "to assure that the interests of African American citizens are given equitable representation in the General Assembly and that legislative action is directed to address those interests." [1] The Caucus's efforts have focused in the areas of housing, health & welfare, education, employment and minority business enterprise. [1]

Specific priorities include:[ citation needed ]

Leadership

Current officers

Officers are elected from within the Caucus with equal representation from both the House and Senate members. [2]

The following legislators are officers of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus for the 104th General Assembly (2025-26). [3] A full list of members is available on the Caucus' website.

OfficerPositionDistrict
Lakesia Collins Joint Chair5 (Senate)
Rita Mayfield Joint Vice Chair60 (House)
Willie Preston Senate Chair16 (Senate)
Justin Slaughter House Chair27 (House)
Kimberly du Buclet Secretary30 (Senate)
Adriane Johnson Treasurer5 (House)
William Davis Sergeant at Arms30 (House)

Leadership history

The following legislators have served in the leadership team of the Caucus.

AssemblyJoint ChairJoint Vice ChairSenate ChairHouse ChairSecretaryTreasurerSergeant at Arms
104th (2025-26) [3] Lakesia Collins Rita Mayfield Willie Preston Justin Slaughter Kimberly du Buclet Adriane Johnson William Davis
103rd (2023-24) [4] [5] Carol Ammons — Robert Peters Carol Ammons Debbie Meyers-Martin Adriane Johnson William Davis
102nd (2021-22) [6] [7] Sonya Harper — Robert Peters Kam Buckner Emil Jones Lakesia Collins Curtis Tarver

History

African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly have had the longest uninterrupted presence in any state legislature in the United States, dating back to 1882. The first African American in the Illinois House of Representatives, John W. E. Thomas of Chicago, was elected in 1876, and after not being re-nominated in 1878 and 1880, returned to the House in 1882. The number of African-Americans in the House increased to two in 1912. Adelbert H. Roberts became the first African American in the Illinois Senate in 1924. Roberts, in 1927, became the first to chair a legislative committee, the Senate Committee on Criminal Procedure. Until 1934, all of the African-Americans elected to the General Assembly were Republicans, after which the African-American presence in the legislature gradually shifted to the Democratic caucus. Floy Clements (1958) and Earlene Collins (1977) became the first African-American women to be elected to the House and Senate, respectively. Cecil A. Partee rose to become the first Minority Leader (1973) and President of the Senate (1975).

The Caucus originated in a study group formed by Harold Washington, Louis A.H. Caldwell, Otis Collins, and Calvin Smith (Illinois politician) in 1966. [8] The Caucus was formally established in 1967, and purchased a permanent headquarters in Springfield in 2004. [8]

Works cited

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. "About" . Retrieved 2020-01-26. Formally established in 1968, the primary mission of the ILBC is to assure that the interests of African American citizens are given equitable representation in the General Assembly and that legislative action is directed to address those interests.
  2. ↑ "Leadership". Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  3. 1 2 "ILBC Members - ILBCF". ILBCF. Archived from the original on 2025-02-19. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  4. ↑ "Ammons Becomes Joint Chair of Legislative Black Caucus". Illinois House Democrats. Jan 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Illinois Black Caucus calls for real investments following governor's proposal". www.illinoissenatedemocrats.com. 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  6. ↑ Kapos, Shia (2020-12-11). "BLACK CAUCUS' NEW LEADERSHIP — LaHOOD, BOST SPIN IN A TEXAS TORNADO — CALLING THE NATIONAL GUARD". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  7. ↑ Kapos, Shia; Carrasco, Maria (16 December 2020). "BLACK CAUCUS BACKS BUCKNER — 'PAINFUL' BUDGET CUTS — NEXT COVID CHALLENGE: APATHY". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  8. 1 2 Williams 2008, p. 87.

39°49′01″N89°41′10″W / 39.817°N 89.686°W / 39.817; -89.686

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