About Maggie

I have deep roots in this district. I was born and raised in Rolling Meadows. My parents were among the city’s original residents, having moved there from the northwest side of Chicago. I was educated in the area’s excellent public schools and attended the University of Chicago, earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science.

I spent the next 30 years pursuing a career as an academic and a business researcher that that took me all over the country and gave me deep experience in education, government and the workings of the health care marketplace. After a research fellowship at the Government Data Center at Harvard University, I taught political science at the University of Iowa. I left academia in 1999 and moved to California to work as a market researcher, primarily in the health care field. I worked with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals in Oakland, and with Blue Shield of California, conducting research that was used to better understand customers and patients. In 2011 I joined YouGov America, a public opinion firm in Silicon Valley, as an operations executive and as vice president of YouGov Healthcare. In late 2014 I made the decision to return to Rolling Meadows to start my own research firm.

Once back home, I volunteered for the city’s Environmental Committee, working with my fellow residents to restore Rolling Meadows' natural areas and to advise the city on environmental policy. From that experience and drawing on my 25 years as a bicycle commuter I also became the bicycle and pedestrian liaison to the city’s Traffic Committee, providing the perspectives of cyclists and pedestrians on road projects and traffic issues.

In 2022, I brought this range of experience to the Cook County Board and have used it to be an effective commissioner for the 9th District.

Effective lawmakers put the needs of their constituents ahead of divisive and petty partisan politics. By the very nature of the work I do, I’ve learned to craft compromise through honest communication and respectful persuasion with people who represent a range of interests. I acquired those skills through long experience in the business world, and as your representative to the county board I have used them to pass important legislation by working with my fellow commissioners and vital stakeholders to find productive solutions to difficult problems.

I am running for re-election because I know there is more work to do for the 9th District and for Cook County, and I can bring my years of experience to bear on the tough problems that face us in the coming years. Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will put an enormous strain on county health services at a time when we need better access to preventative health care and behavioral health services. Changes to federal funding for public transit and transportation infrastructure will threaten critical services and projects. Changes at the EPA and other federal agencies mean that local protections for our environment and the forest preserves become critical for the quality of life here. We must continue to pursue fiscal responsibility and fair taxation and work for better coordination of critical services across the county at a time when responsive, vibrant local government is more necessary than ever. We must continue to meet our obligations and ensure that our communities are safer and healthier places to live.