When lawmakers return to Springfield this week, Representatives will begin the process of vetting the hundreds of bills that have already been filed in the 100th General Assembly. State Representative Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), who has been outspoken about the need to fundamentally change how we fund education in Illinois, has been chosen to serve on the influential Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education Committee.
“This committee has a direct impact on critical areas of state spending and I look forward to having a role in shaping the area of the budget that deals exclusively with funds that will be allocated for K-12 Education,” said Reick. “With education having such a huge impact on local property taxes, it’s obvious that we have to do something to bend the cost curve of education downward by completely revising the way we pay for it.”
In addition to the Appropriations Committee for K-12 Education, Reick will also serve for the next two years on the Elementary & Secondary Education: Curriculum and Policies Committee. “This will be an interesting assignment, as the Republicans and Democrats who serve on this committee will vet bills that seek to make changes to the educational curriculum delivered to students,” Reick said. “Unfunded mandates and the toll they take on taxpayers is an issue that is very important to the district I represent, so I am pleased to have an opportunity to weigh in on these issues as bills make their way through the committee hearing process.”
Reick will also serve on the Labor Committee, the Economic Justice Committee, and on a Special Committee on Restorative Justice.