Mary E. Flowers

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Mary E. Flowers (born July 31, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Representative Flowers was the longest serving African-American legislator in Illinois history.^[1] She represented the 31st district from January 9, 1985 to January 13, 1993,^[2] represented the 21st district from January 13, 1993 to January 8, 2003, and represented the 31st district again from January 8, 2003 to January 2025.^[3]

Early life and education

Flowers was born on July 31, 1951, in Inverness, Mississippi. Her family moved to Chicago when she was a child. She attended local schools in Chicago, Kennedy King Community College and the University of Illinois at Chicago.^[4]

Political career

Mary Flowers was first elected to the 84th General Assembly as a Democrat from the 31st district in 1985. She served 20 terms as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and served as a House Deputy Majority Leader for the 103rd General Assembly.^[5]^[3]

In May 2023, Flowers was removed from her leadership position in the General Assembly by Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, allegedly for using a slur and saying that a House staffer resembled Adolf Hitler.^[6] Flowers replied that the Speaker had taken her remarks out of context.^[7] In 2024, Welch directed more than $1.6 million in campaign contributions to Flowers' challenger in the 2024 Democratic primary.^[8] Crawford ultimately defeated Flowers in the primary.^[9]

At the conclusion of the legislative session in January 2025, Flowers had served forty years in the Illinois House of Representatives—the longest tenure of any woman in the history of the Illinois General Assembly.^[10]

Illinois State Representative

Committees

During her tenure in the Illinois House of Representatives, Flowers served on several different committees covering a range of topics and issues in the House of Representatives. Below is a list of her historical committee assignments.^[11]^[12]

As of 2024, Flowers had no committee assignments.^[13]

Representative Flowers' Previous Committee Assignments

Committee Name

General Assembly

Health Care Availability & Accessibility (Chair)

101st, 100th, 99th, 98th, and 97th

Health Care Availability & Access (Chair)

90th through 96th

Health & Healthcare Disparities

99th, 98th, 97th and 96th

Health Care & Human Services

89th

Healthy Illinois Plan

93rd

Prescription Drug Affordability

101st

Youth & Young Adults

99th

Economic Justice & Equity

100th

Economic Opportunity

100th

Medicaid Reform

96th

Medicaid Reform, Family & Children

96th

Human Services

90th through 101st, and 84th

The Disabled Community

92nd

Restorative Justice

100th, 99th, and 98th

Economic Development & Housing

99th

Higher Education

100th, 99th, 98th, 97th, 96th, 95th, and 84th

Juvenile Justice & System-Involved Youth

99th

Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development

99th and 97th

Accountability & Administrative Review

98th

Environmental Health

97th

Special Investigative Committee

96th and 95th

Agriculture & Conservation

97th and 96th

Smart Growth & Regional Planning (Vice Chair)

95th

Department of Children & Family Services Oversight

95th

Drivers Education & Safety

95th

International Trade & Commerce

94th

Fee For Services Initiatives

94th and 93rd

Special Committee and Tobacco Settlement Proceeds

92nd

Special Committee on Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Distribution

91st

Children & Youth

92nd and 91st

Labor and Commerce

87th, 86th, 85th, and 84th

Commerce & Business Development (Vice Chair)

93rd and 92nd

Financial Institutions

89th, 86th and 85th

Consumer Protection

89th

Insurance (Minority Spokesperson)

89th

Executive

88th, 87th and 86th

Public Utilities (Vice Chair)

88th, 87th, 86th, and 85th

Real Estate Law (Chair)

87th

Registration & Regulation

87th, 86th, and 85th

Museums, Arts& Cultural Enhancement

100th and 98th

Implementation of Chicago School Reform

86th

Appropriations – Elementary & Secondary Education (Vice Chair)

94th and 93rd

Appropriations – Human Services

90th and 87th

Appropriations Higher Education

97th and 96th

Appropriations II

86th, 85th, and 84th

Appropriations – General Services

88th

Public Utilities

Minority Spokesperson for 88th, Vice Chair for 87th, 86th, and 85th

Small Business

85th and 84th

Housing

85th

World's Fair 1992

84th

Legislation

Flowers' primary legislative focus was on health and child welfare matters. She was the principal sponsor of legislation related to medical patients rights, medical managed care reform, health insurance reforms, hospital and nursing home staffing standards, licensure of direct-entry midwives, adverse health event reporting, health facility regulatory reform, medical and dental practice reforms, and public health/communicable disease control.

Flowers was the primary sponsor of several laws, including:^[11]^[14]^[15]

Representative Flowers' Passed Legislation

Bill Number; Public Act Number

Description

HB 68; PA 102-0256

Requires each hospital to report the number of female patients who died during a given reporting period on a quarterly basis under the Hospital Report Card Act.

HB 88; PA 102-0178

Requires that an otherwise eligible person shall be eligible to receive TANF cash assistance regardless of whether they have been convicted of a drug-related offenses.

HB 728; PA 102-0414

Increases the number of birth center facilities that may be licensed under the Alternative Health Care Delivery Act

HB 1779; PA 102-0203

Requires Medicaid and private health insurance companies to provide coverage for medically-indicated biomarker testing.

HB 2914; PA 102-0451

Requires DCFS to submit an annual report to the General Assembly detailing racial disparities in DCFS involvement during the previous fiscal year.

HB 3267; PA 102-0470

Creates the Advisory Commission on Reducing the Disproportionate Representation of African-American Children in Foster Care

HB 3914; PA 102-0617

Requires each State agency to establish the goal of increasing diversity on interview panels in order to increase State employment opportunities provided to women, minority persons, and specified other persons.

HB 5013; PA 102-0964

A law to increase access to choices during pregnancy, birth, and the 12 months postpartum; requires Medicaid health plans to reimburse out-of-network providers for any pregnancy-related health care service covered by the Illinois Medicaid program. Permits licensed Certified Professional Midwives to provide services at any facility licensed under Illinois’ Birth Center Licensing Act.

HB 1; PA 101-38

A task force to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates for African Americans

HB 2433; PA 101-0091

A law requiring every hospital to maintain on-site the proper instruments for taking a pregnant patient's blood pressure.

HB 3129; PA 101-0103

A law that narrows criteria under which Illinois Department of Human Services may discontinue a family's TANF benefits; excludes 75% of TANF grants from becoming subject to penalty reductions.

HB 347; PA 101-182

A law to make it more difficult for individuals convicted of elder abuse to recover from their victims’ estates

HB 2438; PA 101-386

A law requiring health insurance companies to cover mental health services for postpartum depression

HB 2895; PA 101-390

A law requiring all birthing facilities to comply with mandatory continuing education about the management of severe maternal hypertension and obstetric hemorrhage. Mandates IDPH to develop an initiative to reduce peripartum racial and ethnic disparities, in collaboration with the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative.

HB 2; PA 101-445

A law affirming that all pregnant women have certain health care rights during labor and delivery

HB 3; PA 101-0446

A law requiring each hospital to report to IDPH facility-level racial disparities in maternal child health outcomes, including: preterm birth, infant mortality, and maternal mortality.

HB 5; PA 101-447

A law to ensure access to substance use services for pregnant and postpartum women

HB 3511; PA 101-512

Maternal Mental Health Conditions Education, Early Diagnosis, and Treatment Act

HB 2896; PA 101-273

Diversity in Health Care Professions Task Force

HB 2800; PA 100-265

The Perinatal HIV Prevention Act

HB 736; PA 100-347

Establishment of a small business grant program for low-income individuals who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs

SB 1696; PA 100-459

Illinois Muslim American Advisory Council Act

HB 163; PA 99-84

A law prohibiting the Illinois State Board of Education from having separate performance standards for students based on race or ethnicity

SB 1775; PA 99-351

Safeguard Our Children Act

HB 3284; PA 99-416

Opportunities for At Risk Women Act

HB 105; PA 97-280

Patients' Right to Know Act

HB286; PA 97-245

Administration of Psychotropic Medications to Children Act

SB 1157; PA 94-242

Public Health Program Beneficiary Employer Disclosure Law

SB 1157; PA 94-242

Illinois Adverse Health Care Events Reporting Law of 2005

SB251; PA 91-617

Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act

HB4999; PA 94-885

Fair Patient Billing Act

SB 59; PA 93-563

Hospital Report Card Act

HB612; PA 94-407

Illinois Family Case Management Act

HB 8; PA 98-1050

A law assuring pregnant women job security through "reasonable accommodation"

HB 81; PA 93-540

Re-branding free-standing "Emergent" Care Centers

HB 486; PA 93-981

A law that prohibits hospitals from promulgating policies or implementing practices that determine differing standards of obstetrical care based on patient's source of payment or ability to pay

HB 192; PA 95-0282

A law requiring the Illinois Department of Public Health to effect policies and procedures to monitor and control infections from MDRO's (Multi-drug resistant organisms), MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Clostridium, especially as these impact health care facilities

HB 890; PA 84-462

A law requiring the Illinois Department of Public Health to develop hospital standards of perinatal care which assure that families are provided information to assist in obtaining special education for children with disabilities

HB 3999; PA 96-411

A law that rebranded existing programs into the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois

HB 2942; PA 85-1313

A law that established March 4 as a commemorative holiday for Chicago School District 299 to be known as Mayors' Day, when past chief executive officers of Chicago are honored, particularly Richard J. Daley and Harold Washington

Representative Flowers supported universal health care, and 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 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.^[16]^[17]

Flowers received several awards during her tenure, including 1993 "Legislator of the Year" award from Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association, which became the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health Care.^[18]

Personal life

Flowers was married to Daniel Coutee; the couple have one daughter, Makeda. Coutee died in September 2019.^[19] Flowers also has two grandchildren.^[20]