Mary E. Flowers
Mary E. Flowers (born July 31, 1951) is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives.Representative Flowers is the longest serving African-American legislator in Illinois history.[7] In 2024, Welch directed more than $1.6 million in campaign contributions to Flowers' challenger in the 2024 Democratic primary.Flowers has been the primary sponsor of several bills that became law, including the following list:[11][14][15] Representative Flowers supports universal health care, and has repeatedly filed related legislation and conducted public hearings to promote such reforms throughout her legislative career – House Bill 311, The Illinois Universal Health Care Act – of the 97th General Assembly is the primary model.Flowers has emphasized the safety of children in substitute care within the child welfare system regulated and administered by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, an agency and system that has experienced repeated tragedies and the subject of continuous judicial oversight.