Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2024 - Barbara Hernandez, Illinois House of Representatives District 50

At the beginning of this election cycle we featured an Illinois State Senator running for reelection. Today we are featuring an Illinois State Representative, Barbara Hernandez (she/her), a millennial who has spent most of her adult life in politics. As the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants, Barbara was the first in her family to go to college, and was inspired to go into politics to reform our country’s broken immigration system. At age 24 she was elected to serve on the Kane County Board, and in 2019 she was appointed to finish the term of her former boss in the Illinois State House (she has been reelected twice since then). Barbara is passionate about period poverty, higher education accessibility, immigration, and fighting for restorative justice.

Where are you based?
Aurora, Illinois.

What is your position?
My current position is state representative.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
To continue to create legislation on racial justice, gender equality, and economic sustainability, and keep pushing for equity for some of Illinois’ most disadvantaged groups.

What inspired you to run?
Seeing the obstacles my parents faced as undocumented individuals was the reason I decided to get involved in politics.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I hope to provide the resources to those who might need it the most and create laws that would help families in the state, but also empower other colleagues across the country to push similar legislation.

How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I have been in office for five years. I would say passing HB156 (menstrual products in schools 4-12 grade) and HB3882 (standard driver license for undocumented families) have been my biggest accomplishments.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
I believe housing, property taxes, health, and homelessness are crucial issues right now. I hope to continue to support legislation that would help families get into new jobs, find ways to make housing more affordable and provide more mental health resources.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
I keep educating my constituents by giving them an insight of the job by my daily updates, so they can see what are somethings we work on, how the process works, and understand that not all GOP members are unreasonable.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
As the youngest Latina as a state representative and assistant majority leader, I provide new ideas and more modern perspectives than the rest of my colleagues. My family was low income, undocumented, and I was the first to graduate college, therefore I provide a different background than most in the GA.

What is your motto in life?
See the bigger picture and always treat people with respect because you never know when you will meet them again.

Where can we find out more about you?
Through my social media: https://linktr.ee/Rep.BHernandez