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Heather Steans
Heather Adeline Steans (born May 8, 1963) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 7th district. She was appointed after winning a special primary election that followed the mid-term resignation of her predecessor, Senator Carol Ronen. She resigned from office on January 19, 2021 after 12 years in office.
Steans was born on May 8, 1963, in Lake Forest, Illinois. Her father, Harrison I. Steans, was a wealthy banker who founded a bank holding company he later sold to JPMorgan Chase. Eventually becoming a billionaire, in 1994 he founded Financial Investments Corporation, which invests the Steans family wealth.
Financial Investments Corporation is now run by Steans's sister Jennifer, and has recently invested in Asia-focused private equity firms. Financial Investments Corporation also is actively invested in the banking and energy (oil and gas) industries, and had an investment in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services company Liberty Oilfield Services prior to its initial public offering in 2018, though Steans is not invested herself.
Steans graduated with an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University in 1985 after completing a senior thesis titled "Public vs. Private: Low and Moderate Income Housing in Trenton, New Jersey." She earned an M.P.P. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.[citation needed]
Steans is the former budget director of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations. She also worked as a strategic planner for the Chicago Public Schools and as a consultant at Ernst & Young.
In 2009, Steans introduced a gay marriage bill (SB 2468) which introduces civil marriages in Illinois and allows religious institutions the right to decline marrying same sex couples. SB 2468 states, "nothing in the Act should be construed to interfere or regulate any religious practice concerning marriage and no religion is required to solemnize a marriage to which it objects". In 2013, Steans sponsored the gay marriage bill that was signed into law. Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov called Steans "one of the General Assembly's most vocal and passionate supporters of full equality for LGBT people, including being the chief Senate sponsor of the marriage bill."
Steans was the Chief Sponsor of IL Senate Bill 655 (SB685), which created new rules designed to improve care at nursing homes and prevent patient neglect and abuse. According to a press release by the Office of Governor Pat Quinn, "The new law remakes the system of admission to nursing homes, ensuring that only those in need of 24-hour skilled care are admitted. .. The law sets higher nursing home quality and staffing requirements, raises penalties for violations, and increases inspections and monitoring."
Steans also partnered with a formal political rival, Suzanne Elder, to pass anti-discrimination legislation. Working together, she and Elder faced formidable opposition from the state's teachers' unions and overrode an amendatory veto from Governor Quinn to enact legislation that protects the health and civil rights of students with diabetes and other disabilities (The Care of Students with Diabetes Act, P.A. 96–1485).
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Heather Steans
Heather Adeline Steans (born May 8, 1963) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 7th district. She was appointed after winning a special primary election that followed the mid-term resignation of her predecessor, Senator Carol Ronen. She resigned from office on January 19, 2021 after 12 years in office.
Steans was born on May 8, 1963, in Lake Forest, Illinois. Her father, Harrison I. Steans, was a wealthy banker who founded a bank holding company he later sold to JPMorgan Chase. Eventually becoming a billionaire, in 1994 he founded Financial Investments Corporation, which invests the Steans family wealth.
Financial Investments Corporation is now run by Steans's sister Jennifer, and has recently invested in Asia-focused private equity firms. Financial Investments Corporation also is actively invested in the banking and energy (oil and gas) industries, and had an investment in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services company Liberty Oilfield Services prior to its initial public offering in 2018, though Steans is not invested herself.
Steans graduated with an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University in 1985 after completing a senior thesis titled "Public vs. Private: Low and Moderate Income Housing in Trenton, New Jersey." She earned an M.P.P. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.[citation needed]
Steans is the former budget director of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations. She also worked as a strategic planner for the Chicago Public Schools and as a consultant at Ernst & Young.
In 2009, Steans introduced a gay marriage bill (SB 2468) which introduces civil marriages in Illinois and allows religious institutions the right to decline marrying same sex couples. SB 2468 states, "nothing in the Act should be construed to interfere or regulate any religious practice concerning marriage and no religion is required to solemnize a marriage to which it objects". In 2013, Steans sponsored the gay marriage bill that was signed into law. Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov called Steans "one of the General Assembly's most vocal and passionate supporters of full equality for LGBT people, including being the chief Senate sponsor of the marriage bill."
Steans was the Chief Sponsor of IL Senate Bill 655 (SB685), which created new rules designed to improve care at nursing homes and prevent patient neglect and abuse. According to a press release by the Office of Governor Pat Quinn, "The new law remakes the system of admission to nursing homes, ensuring that only those in need of 24-hour skilled care are admitted. .. The law sets higher nursing home quality and staffing requirements, raises penalties for violations, and increases inspections and monitoring."
Steans also partnered with a formal political rival, Suzanne Elder, to pass anti-discrimination legislation. Working together, she and Elder faced formidable opposition from the state's teachers' unions and overrode an amendatory veto from Governor Quinn to enact legislation that protects the health and civil rights of students with diabetes and other disabilities (The Care of Students with Diabetes Act, P.A. 96–1485).
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