Senator Syverson has an excellent staff working for 35th Senate District residents in local offices and in Springfield!
Cheryl Larson, District Director
Cheryl has had the honor and privilege of working in Senator Syverson’s district office since 2008.
She oversees district operations, constituent casework, correspondence, and scheduling. She collaborates with Springfield staff in communications and coordinating activities.
She is proud of the commitment of Senator Syverson’s district and Springfield teams to provide the best service to the constituents in the 35th Senate District.
Cindy Rechner, Legislative Aide
Cindy has worked 28 years as a Legislative Aide for 17 different Senators in the State of Illinois.
Cindy started working for Senator Syverson in 1997. As a Legislative Aide, her duties include taking care of the Senator’s schedule while he is in Springfield along with tracking legislation and obtaining information to prepare the Senator for committee and bill presentation.
She fields phone calls and handles visitors that come to the Capitol to visit the Senator.
Rachel Hernandez, Legislative Assistant
Rachel was introduced to the Senator’s office by Representative Keicher with whom she also works. She is fortunate and grateful to support both of their legislative offices.
Her role with Senator Syverson’s office is Legislative Assistant, and she has been supporting him and his great team since February 2022. She enjoys doing constituent casework and takes great pride in helping people find answers to their questions and resolutions to their problems.
She works from the Hampshire office and has enjoyed getting to know this community.
Melissa Leuzinger, Outreach and Legislative Assistant
Melissa serves as an Outreach and Legislative Assistant in the Hampshire office and working remotely. She organizes events for Senator Syverson, including many Senior Citizens events and Coffee & Conversation events. She enjoys working with constituents, and serving the community is very important to her. She has known the Senator for more than 20 years, first meeting him as her neighbor. She says “He is still one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.”
Melissa has an MBA from Rockford College, a B.S. in Economics and a minor in Finance and Business from Rockford College; and an Associate degree in Advertising and Marketing from Rock Valley Community College. She has an American Bar Association Approved Paralegal Certificate, with dual certification in Corporate/Litigation categories. She graduated from Loyola Chicago’s School of Continuing Education and plans to complete a law degree.
She was a 2008 “40 Under 40” leader in Rockford, and a past volunteer for Children’s Home and Aid. She is currently a volunteer board member at the North Suburban Library.
Jermarrion (Jerry) Simmons, Legislative Assistant
Jerry started in Senator Syverson’s district office as an intern in February 2021, and was recently hired as staff in February 2022.
Jerry assists with constituent casework as well as attends outreach events.
He enjoys learning the legislative process and helping assist constituents in the 35th Senate District.