Illinois Transatlantic Slave Trade Commission 
First elected in 2001, State Representative Karen Yarbrough is in her third term as Illinois State Representative for the 7th District. The 7th Representative District of Illinois includes the suburban communities of Maywood, Bellwood, Broadview, Forest Park, Hillside, and parts of Oak Park; River Forest, Melrose Park, Westchester, and the Austin community of Chicago.
Representative Yarbrough currently sits on the following legislative committees: Committee of the Whole; Housing & Urban Development (Chairperson); Insurance (Vice-Chairperson); Appropriations-Public Safety; Computer Technology; Environmental Health; Ex-Offender and Reentry Subcommitte (Sub-Chairperson); Pension Fund Management Procurement. She also serves as Treasurer of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and a member of the Governor’s Statewide Community Safety and Reentry Working Group.
Representative Yarbrough is a Licensed real estate broker, and both founder and president of Hathaway Insurance Agency. She has a B.A. in business administration from Chicago State University and an M.A. in inner city studies form Northeastern Illinois University.
She served as president of the Maywood Chamber of Commerce for 8 years, and has been a board member of the United Way of Suburban Chicago, the Oak Park YMCA, the Way Back inn and the Fred Hampton Scholarship Fund. She is also a founder of Maywood's live theater, a member of the Maywood Youth Mentoring program, and a supporter of scholarship programs.
As a member of the Board of Directors for the Proviso Area United Way, she helped support local human service agencies, which provide child-care, home care for the elderly, substance abuse treatment, and aid to victims of domestic violence.
Representative Karen Yarbrough has received many awards, including:
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