After graduating from Carmel Catholic High School, he attended DePaul University, where he studied public administration and metropolitan land use.
[7] He was the first openly gay person elected to the legislature from outside of Chicago and as of 2013[update] was one of four then serving in the general assembly.
During the push for passage of the Illinois marriage equality bill in 2013, he played an important role building support within his freshman class and among legislators from outside Chicago.
[10] Immediately following the passage of the Illinois marriage equality bill on Nov. 5, 2013, Yingling proposed to his partner, Chicago businessman Lowell Jaffe, at an afterparty held by Gov.
Sam Yingling was re-elected to a fourth term in the Illinois House of Representatives in November 2018.