View source for Cardiss Collins

{{Short description|American politician (1931–2013)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Cardiss Collins
| image = Cardiss Collins - Restoration.jpg
| state = [[Illinois]]
| district = {{ushr|IL|7|7th}}
| term_start = June 5, 1973
| term_end = January 3, 1997
| predecessor = [[Frank Annunzio]]
| successor = [[Danny K. Davis|Danny Davis]]
| birth_name = Cardiss Hortense Robertson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|9|24}}
| birth_place = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|2|3|1931|9|24}}
| death_place = [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]], [[Virginia]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| restingplace = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[George W. Collins|George Collins]]|1958|1972|end=died}}
| education = [[Northwestern University]]
}}

'''Cardiss Hortense Collins''' ({{nee|'''Robertson'''}}; September 24, 1931 – February 3, 2013) was an American politician from [[Illinois]] who served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1973 to 1997. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], she was the fourth [[African-American]] woman in Congress and the first to represent the [[Midwest]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2013-02-06-ct-met-cardiss-collins-obit-20130206-story.html|title=Cardiss Collins, 1931-2013|last=Svitek|first=Patrick|date=February 6, 2013|website=Chicago Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=February 14, 2019}}</ref> Collins was elected to Congress in the June 5, 1973 special election to replace her husband, [[George W. Collins|George]], who had died in the December 8, 1972 [[United Airlines Flight 553]] plane crash a month after being elected to a second term.<ref name="House">{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/11246 |title=Collins, Cardiss |work=United States House of Representatives}}</ref> The seat had been renumbered and combined from the 6th district to the 7th, and had been redrawn to include [[Chicago Loop|the Loop]]. She had previously worked as an accountant in various state government positions.<ref name="House"/>

== Congressional career ==
Throughout her political career, she was a champion for women's health and welfare issues. In 1975, she was instrumental in prompting the Social Security Administration to revise Medicare regulations to cover the cost of post-mastectomy breast prosthesis, which before then had been considered cosmetic.<ref name=SlimPast>{{cite journal|title=Women in Government: A Slim Past, But a Strong Future|journal=Ebony|date=August 1977|pages=89–92, 96–98}}</ref> In 1979, she was elected as chairwoman of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], a position she used to become an occasional critic of President [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/09/21/the-coming-out-of-cardiss-collins/112ac037-8e31-4a63-8604-b9edaed24658/|title=The Coming Out Of Cardiss Collins|last=Trescott|first=Jacqueline|date=September 21, 1979|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 23, 2019|page=C1}}</ref> She later became the caucus vice chairman. In the 1980s, Collins warded off two primary challenges from Alderman [[Danny K. Davis]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28759232/chicago_tribune/|title=Washington letting ally Davis go it alone in race with Collins|last=Arndt|first=Michael|date=March 17, 1986|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=February 23, 2019|at=Section 2, p. 3|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> who would finally be elected to replace her after she chose not to seek reelection in 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=February 6, 2013 |title=Cardiss Collins, lawmaker who championed women and minorities, dies at 81 |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cardiss-collins-lawmaker-who-championed-women-and-minorities-dies-at-81/2013/02/06/ac68f6a6-7076-11e2-a050-b83a7b35c4b5_story.html |access-date=}}</ref> In 1990, Collins, along with 15 other African-American women and men, formed the [[African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom]].<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000">{{cite book|author=Kathryn Cullen-DuPont|title=Encyclopedia of women's history in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oIro7MtiFuYC|access-date=February 4, 2012|date=August 1, 2000|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-4100-8|page=6}}</ref>

In 1991, Collins was named chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness.  Her legislative interests were focused on establishing [[universal health insurance]], providing for [[gender equity]] in college sports, and reforming federal [[child care]] facilities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wgntv.com/2013/02/05/u-s-rep-cardiss-collins-1931-2013/comment-page-1/|title=First African American woman to represent IL in Congress dies|last1=Purl|first1=Rachael|last2=Materre|first2=Micah|date=February 5, 2013|website=WGN9|access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref> Collins gained a brief national prominence in 1993 as the chairwoman of a congressional committee investigating college sports and as a critic of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28759624/chicago_tribune/|title=Collins grabs baton as Congress' NCAA nemesis|last=Sherman|first=Ed|date=January 15, 1993|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=February 23, 2019|at=Section 4, p. 2}}</ref> She also engaged in an intense debate with Rep. [[Henry Hyde]] over [[Medicaid]] funding of [[abortion]] that year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/07/01/hyde-abortion-curb-survives-bitter-debate/9d0d2e6a-52d6-435d-9a67-1806debaaa67/|title=Hyde Abortion Curb Survives Bitter Debate|last=Merida|first=Kevin|date=July 1, 1993|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref>

During her last term (1995–1997), she served as ranking member of the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|Government Reform and Oversight Committee]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=12-TERM ILLINOIS DEMOCRAT, COLLINS, TO RETIRE FROM HOUSE |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/11/09/12-term-illinois-democrat-collins-to-retire-from-house/545f4b8a-467d-47c7-9e57-dd3ad8df3e9a/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

== Retirement, death and honors ==
Collins did not seek re-election in 1996, citing her age. At the time of her retirement, she was the longest-serving Black female member of Congress.<ref name=":0" /> In 2004, she was selected by [[Nielsen Media Research]] to head a task force examining the representation of [[African American]]s in TV rating samples. Collins lived in [[Alexandria, Virginia]] at the time of her death on February 3, 2013, at the age of 81.<ref name="test">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/cardiss_collins_first_african_american_woman_to_represent_illinois_dies_at-222164-1.html|title=Cardiss Collins, First African-American Woman to Represent Illinois, Dies at 81|last=Cahn|first=Emily|date=February 5, 2013|work=Roll Call|access-date=February 23, 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/us/politics/cardiss-collins-illinois-congresswoman-dies-at-81.html?ref=politics|title=Cardiss Collins, Fighter in Congress for Equality and the Poor, Dies at 81|last=Yardley|first=William|date=February 7, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 9, 2013}}</ref> The [[United States Postal Service]]'s Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center, located at 433 W. Harrison St. in [[Chicago, Illinois]], is named in her honor and was completed in 1996 to replace the old Main Post Office across the street on Van Buren Street.<ref>[http://www.npmhu306.org/cardiss-collins-processing-and-distribution-center Cardiss Collins Processing and Distribution Center] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727131953/http://www.npmhu306.org/cardiss-collins-processing-and-distribution-center |date=July 27, 2011 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of African-American United States representatives]] 
* [[Women in the United States House of Representatives]]

== References ==
<references/>
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000634 Congressional Biography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060411081613/http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/GovernmentPolitics/WomeninCongress/Biographies/House/collins-cardiss University of Maryland. Women's Studies Database. Government and Politics. Women in Congress biography.]
* [http://www.nielsenmedia.com/newsreleases/2004/TaskForce.htm "Nielsen Appoints Prominent Community and Industry Leaders to Independent Task Force on TV Measurement." Nielsen Media Research. 06/08/04.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200421/http://www.nielsenmedia.com/newsreleases/2004/TaskForce.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }}
Dobson, Frank E.; Dobson, Jasmin (2023)  A Leader with Courage:  The Impact of Congresswoman Cardiss Collins: Maitland, FL: Mill City Press. 978-1662882869.

== External links ==
* {{CongLinks | congbio=c000634 | votesmart= | fec=H6IL07024 | congress= }}<!-- Links formerly displayed via the {{CongLinks}} template:
* [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/402763 Congressional profile] at [[GovTrack]]
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/IL/Cardiss_Collins.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/person/1965 Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]] programs
* -->
* {{C-SPAN|1965}}
* [http://www.visionaryproject.com/collinscardiss Cardiss Collins' oral history video excerpts] at The National Visionary Leadership Project
* [https://archive.org/details/CardissCollins FBI file on Cardiss Collins] at the [[Internet Archive]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George W. Collins|George Collins]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Illinois|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Illinois's 7th congressional district]]|years=1973–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Danny K. Davis|Danny Davis]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Parren Mitchell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]]|years=1979–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Walter E. Fauntroy|Walter Fauntroy]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Clinger]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|House Oversight Committee]]|years=1995–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Henry Waxman]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{CBC Chairs}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Cardiss}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:African-American members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:African-American people in Illinois politics]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women politicians]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois]]
[[Category:Female members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Spouses of Illinois politicians]]
[[Category:Women in Illinois politics]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]