On September 3, State representative Sharon Chung visited IWU to connect with students, explaining her complex journey to becoming a political figure. A wide range of topics were discussed, spanning from Illinois property tax to Chung’s favorite horror movie, John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982).
Chung started off at IWU, where she earned her bachelor’s in music performance in 2000, going on to earn her master’s degree at Northwestern University. Chung credited her experiences at IWU for preparing her for her career in politics and her journey towards becoming an “accidental politician.”
The Liberal arts education offered at IWU largely shaped Chung’s background knowledge that she took with her into her later political career. Unlike at Northwestern, Chung was required to take many classes outside of her music major including history and philosophy courses.
“I also took a really great couple of history classes, science classes… I think that sort of well-rounded education prepared me to question things I see around me and fight for the things that I care for,” said Chung
Chung met students from diverse backgrounds at IWU. Chung was raised in the suburbs of Chicago, but when she got to IWU she met people from towns of 700-1000 people, who became some of her closest friends. Chung credited these experiences for giving her the extensive perspective that she has today.
Chung was not involved in politics until 2016 when she saw an alarming political climate that she did not want her young daughters to grow up in. “Looking at them and thinking about the future I wanted to see for them. I wanted to try and fight for them, and that’s why I started to get involved in politics,” said Chung.
Chung was first elected into the McLean county board in 2018, where she became the first Asian-American to be elected into a public McLean county office.
After serving a term on the county board, Chung ran to be a state representative in the November 2022 election, going on to become the first Korean-American to be elected in the general assembly and the first Democrat to represent Bloomington-Normal in the house since 1982.
Chung said that being a woman of color in the position she is in motivates her to stand up for marginalized groups who often feel like they do not have a voice. Even though Chung was not directly involved in politics until 2016, her experience of growing up in an immigrant household showed her the inequalities that are persistent in our society.
“I always tell people that… my parents weren’t really involved in politics because they were immigrants. For me, I now have that privilege to be able to speak up,’’ said Chung.
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October 4, 2026 at 07:20PM
