Julie Hamos

Who is Julie Hamos?

Julie Hamos was a past Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 18th District since 1999. Her district included the Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park and the suburbs of Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka and Glencoe.

In July 2009, Hamos declared her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois’ 10th congressional district, but lost to Dan Seals in the Democratic primary in February 2010. In April 2010 she was appointed by Governor Pat Quinn to be the new director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the agency that oversees the Illinois Medicaid program.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, the seven-year-old Julie, her brother and parents escaped at the height of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. After receiving her law degree in 1975 from George Washington University, Hamos became the first staff attorney for a newly formed subcommittee of the powerful U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. Later she became legislative and political action director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, working on policy issues affecting working men and women. From 1981 to 1984, Hamos served as legislative counsel and policy advisor to then-State's Attorney Richard M. Daley, advocating for the first-ever laws and policies on domestic violence and sexual assault. She was appointed in 1984 as director of the child support division, with oversight of 300,000 child support cases. In 1988, Hamos founded Julie E. Hamos & Associates, a public policy and community relations consulting firm. In June 2004, Hamos was selected as a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.