Education
University of Illinois system. University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
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Earlean Collins
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Earlean Collins is a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing the 1st district which includes the Humboldt Park, West Garfield Park, Austin and Montclare areas of the City of Chicago as well as the surrounding suburbs of Oak Park, Forest Park, Maywood, Broadview, Westchester, Bellwood and Hillside.
Career
Collins is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Before her election as a commissioner, Collins served as Assistant Minority Leader in the Illinois Senate and an Assistant Administrator of Children and Family Services. Collins was the first African-American woman elected to the Illinois Senate.
In 1994, she ran for Illinois Comptroller.
After narrowly prevailing in the Democratic primary against Kane County Coroner Mary Lou Kearns, she was defeated in the general election by Republican Loleta Didrickson. As a, Collins is Chairperson of the Business and Economic Development, Public Health, and Family Court and Juvenile Detention Center Committees.
Her top issues are improving conditions for the mentally ill in Cook County Jail and improving community-based mental health treatment. She also wants to increase affordable housing in the county and to train people to repair houses.
As Cook County Board Commissioner, Collins voted to uphold a historic 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, remaining the highest in the nation.
As a result the Chicago Tribune has encouraged voters to vote against her in the 2010 elections.
Membership
Additionally, Collins is a member of nine committees: Construction, Litigation, Tax Delinquency, Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations, Rules, Health and Hospitals, Finance, Zoning and Building, and Roads and Bridges.
