Metro East Sun

Newly-elected state Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) admits her strong support for the Grooming of a Child bill now being debated in the House stems from personal heartache.

“This bill came about – we actually have a family member in my husband’s family that was abused as a teenager by her track coach,” Elik said in a video posted to YouTube of her support for the bill. “Her story has been made public by the family in an Oxygen network documentary called 'The Case Died With Her.' So this bill is in honor of my husband’s cousin, Emily Morris, who finally found the strength after many many years to confront and go to the police about her abuse.”

Elik said Morris unexpectedly passed away before her case could be heard, adding that only fuels her mission to get House Bill 1887 passed all the more.

“After the Oxygen network story aired, I had just been newly elected and I started looking at ways where the Illinois statute is lacking and came across – there was a Make Safe task force that made some specific recommendations on how to stop abuse of children in schools,” she said. “One of their recommendations was to change the statute related to grooming of a child to again make it also illegal to groom a child by in-person means, not just electronic means.”

Elik said she wants to see the language in 1887 remain the same no matter how the measure moves forward.

“The bill itself has actually been included in another bill language that has just recently passed the House, so whether it’s my bill or whether it’s included in this other bill, that language should go forward and has been passed by the House," she said.

Since being officially installed in Springfield, Elik is among the Republican lawmakers now pushing the Reimagine Illinois campaign for the House.

“I think that changing the balance of power will benefit all the citizens of Illinois,” she said in a video posted to YouTube. 

In a video posted to the IL House GOP website, the group added “We invite you to take a tour of our Reimagined Illinois and if you agree it’s time for a change, sign our petition. It’s time to Imagine an Illinois where corruption isn’t making headlines and lawmakers are held accountable, where leaders take their fiscal responsibility seriously, watching every penny instead of trying to raise taxes year after year.”