The Illinois House Republican caucus today launched a new comprehensive platform called Reimagine Illinois. The plan outlines House Republicans’ priorities for the 102nd General Assembly and asks Illinoisans to ‘Reimagine’ their State government if certain public policy goals are met.
· Imagine an Illinois where corruption isn’t making headlines and lawmakers are held accountable. Imagine an Illinois with a clean, honest, transparent State government.
· Imagine an 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 an Illinois where every community has good paying jobs, access to healthcare and educational opportunities that work for all students.
· Imagine an Illinois where all neighborhoods are free of senseless violence and our streets are safe places for our kids to grow up
Reimagine Illinois consists of four components, each of which includes a list of introduced bills to reflect those initiatives:
· Ending the culture of corruption
· Responsible fiscal leadership
· Growing jobs and opportunities for our families
· Ensuring public safety
A multi-faceted website – ReimagineIllinois.com – includes various tools for the public to learn about the platform by downloading PDFS, watching member video summaries and signing a petition to get engaged.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin says he is proud to lead a caucus with a bold vision and solid legislative agenda to achieve policy goals to improve Illinois.
“After the November election, I tasked a select group of members to collaborate and develop a path towards a better Illinois,” Durkin said. “Illinoisans made a strong, if not deafening, statement in November that they want real change, and the House Republicans listened. It’s time to reimagine Illinois, and make it a better place for all of us.”
State Rep. Mike Murphy says Reimagine Illinois reflects the values and concerns of working families across Illinois.
“The Reimagine Illinois platform will resonate across Illinois by addressing long standing problems that plague our state, including public safety concerns, access to critical health care needs, long-term debt and deficit issues, the highest combined taxes in the nation, and tackling public corruption,” Murphy said. “We can turn that around and restore faith in government, integrity, and strong financial leadership if we pass the ambitious legislative plan established in the Reimagine Illinois plan that will make our state the powerhouse of the Midwest it should be.”
Last November, Illinois voters from all political spectrums sent a message to Springfield that they were done paying for the mistakes and corruption of politicians. A group of House Republican lawmakers from across the state, including Mike Murphy, Avery Bourne, Tom Bennett, Blaine Wilhour and Jeff Keicher, worked tirelessly to create a platform that reflected the House Republican principles.
State Rep. Avery Bourne says she is proud to stand with her colleagues to present a bold, detailed plan that will make Illinois a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
“The proposals we’re putting forward are realistic and common sense policies that reimagine Illinois as the best it can be for our families and businesses to grow and thrive here,” said Bourne. “Illinois can be successful if we adequately and honestly address our state’s biggest roadblocks to success. The House Republican caucus is putting forward viable solutions, and we are calling on our democratic counterparts to work with us to soundly address the systemic issues that got our state into the dire position we now face.”