Carol Ammons facts for kids

Carol Ammons is a progressive Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 103rd district since January 2015. The 103rd district includes all or parts of Champaign, Urbana, and Staley. She is the first African American woman to serve in the seat, and the first from Champaign County to be elected beyond the County Board level. Ammons is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.

Early career

Ammons worked as a small business owner, community organizer, and non-profit manager in the Urbana-Champaign, Illinois community. She served five years on the Champaign County Board and later the Urbana City Council. Following her election to the Illinois House of Representatives, the Urbana City Council appointed her recently pardoned husband Aaron Ammons to fill her vacated seat.

Electoral career

Ammons' victory in the Illinois 2014 Primary Election for the Illinois House of Representatives' 103rd District was widely considered an upset. Her opponent, Sam Rosenberg, received the endorsement of retiring State Representative Naomi Jakobsson and the financial support of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose political committees donated $60,422 to the Rosenberg campaign. Ammons' itemized campaign contributions amounted to $16,000 compared to Rosenberg's $185,000.

In April 2015, Ammons formally announced that she was considering a run for Congress in Illinois' 13th Congressional District, but ultimately decided not to.

Ammons, while unopposed for reelection, was one of eight candidates endorsed by Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Illinois House of Representatives

The 103rd district primarily encompasses the Champaign-Urbana community, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Ammons is also an active member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and in early 2023 was named Joint Chair of the caucus.

Committees

As of 2022, Ammons serves on the following committees and subcommittees:

• Appropriations - Higher Education Committee
• Counties & Townships Committee
• Economic Opportunity & Equity Committee
• Energy & Environment Committee
• Ethics & Elections Committee
• Higher Education Committee
• Small Business, Tech Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Committee(Chairperson)
• Campaign Finance Subcommittee

Legislation

Bills of which Ammons is listed as the Primary Sponsor and which have gone on to become law in Illinois include HB3783, which amends the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to certify that all workers who install coal combustion residual surface impoundments have completed specified trainings preparing them to do so, and HB1063, which repealed a statute that had created the criminal offense of transmitting HIV.

Personal life

Ammons currently resides in Urbana with her husband, Aaron Ammons. Aaron Ammons is currently serving as the County Clerk for Champaign County, Illinois. Carol and Aarons' daughter, Titianna, served on the Champaign County Board until her resignation in 2021. Titianna Ammons received death threats during her campaign for County Board.

In the 2016 United States presidential election, Ammons served as a presidential elector from Illinois.

Electoral history