Meet Nikki
Nikki has spent her life fighting for workers and their families. And she’s taken this fight to Congress, where she’s laser focused on protecting and growing our nation’s middle class. For Nikki, this means combating rising costs, supporting Illinois agriculture and building a 21st century economy where everyone can get ahead.
A native of downstate Illinois, Nikki learned the importance of family and community service from her parents. She learned the importance of the labor movement and a good-paying job from her grandpa, a union painter. And she learned the value of education and opportunities for children from her grandma, a public school teacher.
After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s degree in history and political science, Nikki found her home in the labor movement where she spent a decade with the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Food and Commercial Workers Union, pushing to get firefighters, grocery workers and meatpackers better wages, training and workplace safety protections. This work inspired her to enter public service and fight for laws and policies that support our nation’s working families.
In Springfield, as the Governor’s senior advisor, Nikki successfully led the charge to raise Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 an hour. By bringing workers, small businesses and elected officials to the negotiating table, she helped to secure Illinois’ first minimum wage increase in nearly a decade. Nikki also served as the Chair of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council that made a historic investment to connect communities across the state to high-speed internet.
As Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget in President Biden’s administration, Nikki helped implement the American Rescue Plan, which helped communities and working families recover from the pandemic. During this time, Nikki also helped establish the administration’s Made in America Office, which ensures that American workers and manufacturers are the priority in federal investments.
After coming back home to Illinois and running a successful campaign to represent Central and Southern Illinois in Congress, Nikki has stayed focused on her life’s work — fighting for working families. And she’s continuing her track record of bringing people together to get the job done.
Nikki has introduced bipartisan legislation to support workforce development programs and pathways to good-paying jobs. She’s worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on efforts to bring down everyday costs and improve access to health care. And she joined the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs where she’s working across the aisle to support local family farmers and ensure that our nation’s heroes get the benefits they’ve earned and deserve.
Whether she’s at home in Springfield with her dog, Lulu, or out in Washington representing her constituents, Nikki is committed to keeping middle class families like her own at the forefront of her work. And she’s ready to demonstrate a strong record of results from her first term in Congress as she works to earn your support in 2024.
