Iris Martinez
In 2003 Martinez sponsored legislation, introduced by then-Representative Sara Feigenholtz and later signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich, that requires health insurance companies to provide women with contraceptive coverage.[citation needed] Martinez targeted Illinois drivers with out of state reckless homicide and DUI convictions with the passage of a new law.In March 2022, WBEZ reported that Martinez's office hired a former City of Evanston human resources director who was facing disciplinary review for "mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints from teenage girls and young women who worked at the city's beaches" and was found to be "primarily at fault for Evanston's yearlong delay in looking into the "pervasive" harassment and abuse suffered by lifeguards and other beach workers.[12] Later that year, she endorsed Erin Jones, a Northwest Side GOP Club committeeman and supporter of Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, in a Democratic party primary for State Senate as part of a slate of candidates backed by both Martinez and the FOP.[13][14][15] Martinez's support from and for MAGA Republican figures running in Democratic primaries drew sharp criticism from local progressive organizations.[18] In May 2023, WBEZ reported that the Clerk's office under Martinez had been erroneously putting felonies on the records of people who had successfully completed diversion programs for a period of at least 3 years, resulting in losses of housing, employment, and education opportunities for victims of the mistakes.In response to the breach, Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell characterized Martinez's tenure as Clerk as "an out-and-out, complete failure to operate the system."[20] While the Clerk's office itself "did not dispute that the data exposure violated the state’s juvenile court laws," Martinez characterized the report as "lies and misinformation.