Hoan Huynh
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Hoan Huynh | |
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| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 13th district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Greg Harris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1990 (age 34–35) Vietnam |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Yale University (BA) King's College, Cambridge Harvard University (MPP) University of Chicago |
Hoan Huynh (born 1990) is an American politician and Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Huynh has represented the 13th district since January 11, 2023. He is the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.
Early life and education
[edit]Huynh was born in Vietnam to Vietnamese Chinese parents.[1] His family, members of which fought for South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, were granted asylum in the United States in the early 1990s and lived in southern California.[2] He then attended Yale University and earned a bachelor's degree. He also has a master’s degree from Harvard University, and has completed coursework at the University of Cambridge and University of Chicago.[3] He worked in social innovation, social entrepreneurship, technology startups, and eventually, community and social impact investments for a decade.[vague] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was deeply concerned with the anti-Asian hate sentiments and how communities of color were left behind and heavily disinvested. As a result, he was inspired to run for office to build a more equitable city and state for his neighbors and community members.[citation needed]
Grassroots organizing
[edit]Huynh began his grassroots organizing in Chicago while working in community investments and social innovation. He spent time working in neighborhoods all around the city of Chicago, in particular, the Southside and Westside of the city. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, he led mutual aid efforts to get emergency supplies out to communities in need all around the Chicago area, working with community-oriented organizations to support COVID-19 prevention efforts on the ground. He was also a founding member of Celebrate Argyle, a community initiative to support local small businesses and promote storytelling in the Asia on Argyle neighborhood in Uptown.
Political campaign
[edit]As a grassroots candidate and political newcomer, Huynh announced his candidacy for State Representative of the 13th District in 2021, after the incumbent, Illinois House Majority Leader Greg Harris, announced his retirement that year. Huynh ran for the Illinois State House to fight for legislation to support working and middle-class families, invest in small businesses and teachers, expand healthcare access, create more affordable housing and new pathways to home ownership, build a green economy with good-paying jobs, fight to end gun violence to protect our communities, and protect fundamental human rights - LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive healthcare rights, and immigrant and refugee rights. As a political underdog in the race, Huynh was heavily outspent 3:1 by other candidates in the race.
In one of the closest-watched and crowded General Assembly races in Illinois state history, Huynh emerged victorious in the June 28, 2022 Democratic Party Primary with 45.43% of the vote, winning six Chicago city wards, and defeated the Democratic political establishment.
Huynh is considered a rising political star in Illinois and has worked to build a pipeline for younger Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander candidates to enter public service.
He sits on seven legislative committees in Springfield: Appropriations - General Service; Appropriations - Health & Human Services; Health Care Availability & Access; Housing; Immigration & Human Rights; Transportation: Regulations, Roads & Bridges; First Responder Subcommittee; and Restorative Justice. He has also passed a variety of impactful statewide legislation as a first term legislator.
Personal life
[edit]Huynh lives in Uptown, Chicago in the 13th District. He is actively engaged in his community and regularly attends nonprofit events, religious gatherings, and neighborhood events. Huynh is an avid Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, and Chicago Blackhawks fan.
Electoral history
[edit]In the 2022 general election, Huynh defeated Republican candidate Alper Turan with 36,347 votes to Turan's 3,821 votes.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Shin, Ines (January 11, 2023). "Hoan Huynh, first Vietnamese American elected to state office in Illinois history, is sworn in". NextShark. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Yahoo News.
- ^ De Pacina, Michelle (May 31, 2023). "How being 'left behind' led Hoan Huynh to become the first refugee, Vietnamese American elected to state office in Illinois". NextShark. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Yahoo News.
- ^ Barlow, Sarah E., ed. (November 2022). "Biographies of New House Members" (PDF). First Reading. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 4. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ Matthews, Bernadette M., ed. (December 5, 2022). Official Canvass General Election November 8, 2022. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 5, 2022.