State Representative Tony McCombie (IL-71st) was sworn into a second term and nominated Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) to be speaker Wed
Wednesday at a ceremony held at the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Sangamon Auditorium.
The House of Representatives of the new 101st General Assembly includes 36 freshman members, and McCombie will represent approximately 110,000 residents from northwestern Illinois’ Carroll, Henry, Rock Island and Whiteside counties. During the inauguration ceremony, McCombie nominated Representative Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) to be speaker. Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago) was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives by a party-line vote of 72-44-1, for his nineteenth term.
“I want to thank the people of the 71st District and express just how proud I am to continue serving them,” said McCombie. “Their endorsement is one that I truly take to heart. I have already begun drafting a legislative package to solve problems affecting our region – which includes a bill, in honor of slain DCFS worker Pam Knight, to close a loophole that fails to provide legal protections to DCFS and adult protective service workers when they are attacked.”
McCombie took the stage to nominate Jim Durkin to be speaker. In her speech, she pointed to his leadership and ability to compromise without compromising member’s values.
“Jim is a kind, yet a fierce leader, who advocates for our families, for our most vulnerable, for our businesses and for the overall success of Illinois,” stated Rep. McCombie during the inaugural ceremony. “As a downstate member, the population of my district has been dwindling, because the rural economy has been declining. Children are not returning to their hometowns to work and raise their families. Families are being socially, financially, and geographically torn apart because of the state of our state. It is all so unnecessary. We have a responsibility to do better. We need growth – and in order to grow we need to change how we have been conducting our business for the last 4 decades.”
Residents of the 71st can learn more about legislation sponsored by McCombie during the spring legislative session on her website or by signing up for her email list at www.repmccombie.com.
During the 101st General Assembly McCombie will be visiting every town to do traveling office hours to hear the needs of constituents in every community in the 71st.
