Multiple people in Illinois’ 13th Legislative District recently contacted NBC Chicago wondering where their state representative was.
Democrat Hoan Huynh has no district office, he has missed several votes in Springfield, and constituents say they can’t get in touch with him — despite the fact he’s still collecting his $98,0000 taxpayer salary.
So, we tracked him down.
A staffer answered the number listed for his district office after several attempts, but they said the state representative does not have a district office anymore. It was closed down for public safety reasons, the person on the other end of the line said.
The staffer says constituents can reach Huynh via email and someone will respond within 48 hours. If needed, Hyunh would set up office hours at a coworking space in that same building, the staffer said.
Paul Rosenfeld is the Democratic committeeman for Chicago’s 47th Ward, which sits in the 13th State Legislative district. He says he believes Huynh stopped doing his job after a failed run for Congress last spring.
“People who have serious needs can’t get a hold of him,” Rosenfeld said. “He stopped doing his current job as state representative. Stopped going to Springfield, closed his office.”
We also spoke with David Zoltan, a disability rights advocate. He says Huynh was the sponsor of a bill he was pushing to protect the right of people with certain medical conditions to wear masks in public, dubbed “Kiki’s Law.” But Huynh wasn’t around to advance his own bill.
“We worked so hard on this bill, we got it out of the Senate and when it came to the House, Representative Huynh was nowhere to be found,” Zoltan said.
Huynh gained a level of notoriety last fall when a video went viral showing a tense interaction between himself and federal immigration agents during the height of Operation Midway Blitz.
After several text message exchanges, Rep. Huynh agreed on Friday afternoon to meet with NBC Chicago reporter Paris Schutz to answer questions on the record. He said he responds to all his constituent emails and phone calls.
“I’m very focused on constituent services, we’ve been doing it all year, so it’s my job to make sure we’re focusing on constituent services for my residents,” Huynh said.
Huynh did not run for another term in the Illinois General Assembly but insists he won’t mail it in in the four months he has left.
“It’s the honor of my life, the privilege of a lifetime to serve as the State Rep. I don’t take that for granted, so I’m going to finish my term until January 2027 and do it to the best of my ability,” Huynh said.
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September 11, 2026 at 11:24PM
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