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 101st General Assembly. State Representative Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), who has been a voice for fiscal responsibility and balanced spending in the Illinois House, has been chosen to serve on the House’s powerful Revenue & Finance Committee.
“The most important decisions we make in Springfield deal with how taxpayer funds are distributed and spent,” said Reick. “I look forward to having a voice in fiscal policy discussions as revenue bills are brought forward for consideration.”
While service on the Revenue & Finance Committee is a new assignment for Reick, the second-term lawmaker will continue as a member of the Appropriations- Elementary & Secondary Education and Labor & Commerce Committees. “There’s talk of increasing the minimum wage in Illinois, and those bills will be vetted by the Labor & Commerce Committee,” Reick said. “Just as I did when minimum wage bills came before this committee in the 100th General Assembly, I have concerns about unemployment numbers and how an increase in the minimum wage may negatively affect a great number of Illinoisans. If our goal is to put more people onto a ladder toward economic prosperity, moving that initial rung of the ladder further out of reach might cause more harm than people realize. It’s an important conversation we will need to have as these bills move through the committee process.”
Other committee assignments for Reick in the 101st General Assembly include the Consumer Protection, Elementary & Secondary Education: Curriculum & Policies, and Personnel & Pensions Committees.