Rep. Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg) | Photo Courtesy of Amy Elik
Rep. Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg) | Photo Courtesy of Amy Elik
State Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) is on a mission to see Republicans turn Springfield into the place she argues it was always meant to be.
“The goal of the minority party is to always advocate for the people of Illinois,” Elik said in a video posted to YouTube about the Reimagine Illinois plan now being pushed by Republicans as the level of change desperately needed in state government.
Like Elik, many of those members have already publicly come out in support of Reimagine Illinois, which touts its mission as fostering a Springfield free of corruption and a system of government wholly dedicated to greater fiscal responsibility.
“It’s something that the state of Illinois has been lacking for many years,” she said during a recent news conference. “Imagine a state of Illinois where leaders take their fiscal responsibility seriously, watching every penny instead of raising taxes, increasing spending and piling up debt, year after year. Imagine if Illinois actually adopted responsible fiscal leadership that requires all budgets to be balanced.”
With Mike Madigan now finally out of power after nearly four decades of being in power as House Speaker, Elik is among those convinced the time is now for such sweeping change.
“Imagine Illinois mandated transparency in budgeting,” she added. “We could put a stop to reckless spending by providing the public with at least a three-day notice before the legislature approves the state budget. All spending bills should have a process in place to allow the public more time to review and provide input,” she said. “The current process is broken.”
For the kind of change that’s truly needed in Springfield, Elik said lawmakers also desperately need to tackle the issue of pensions in a real and meaningful way.
“Imagine an Illinois that saves our pension system by actually paying down the pension debt created by decades of underfunding,” she said. “Adopting responsible fiscal leadership would allow Illinois to climb out of debt, and “stop asking the taxpayers to do more with less.”
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