Martin Sandoval
Encyclopedia
Martin A. Sandoval is a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Illinois Senate
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...

, representing the 12th District since 2003.

Early life

Sandoval was born in The Back of the Yards, a neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. He graduated from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood...

 South High School and went on to Loyola University, Chicago where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Public service

Sandoval’s career has included appointments to the U.S. Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

, and ten years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

. He was also a leader in various federal labor unions.

In 1999, Sandoval was appointed as Commissioner to the Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. He was reelected to that position in 2000. Sandoval served as chairman on the District’s Committee of Engineering as well as the Committee on Public Health and Welfare. These committees provide policy and budgetary direction in the planning and design of the District’s construction projects as well as security of all plant facilities.

Sandoval continues to sponsor science fairs and provides resources to local schools. He serves on the board of Catholic Charities of Chicago, Advocate Bethany Hospital and the Save-A-Life Foundation.

Senate career

Sandoval was elected in 2003 as state senator.

As senator, he has sponsored a bill to reduce harmful mercury emissions by requiring automobile manufacturers to establish a program to collect mercury switches out of used vehicles to be scrapped or recycled.

Sandoval supported increased funding for early detection of breast cancer. The increased funding would be used to help low-income and uninsured women get tested early for breast cancer.

One of Sandoval’s biggest priorities is education, so he has worked to secure more education funding for the students in his district who need new facilities to replace the overcrowded schools of the Southwest Side.

Sandoval has questioned the work ethic of Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...

 during the 2007 budget crisis, as Blagojevich returned to Chicago rather than staying in Springfield for the remainder of the session.

Sandoval is the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and a member of Energy, Gaming, Agriculture and Licensed Activites Committeees.

Personal life

Senator Sandoval lives in the Gage Park neighborhood with his wife Marina, their twins Martin Jr. and Angie, and their daughter Jenny.

External links


The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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