Illinois Valley Times

Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) says she would have liked for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to have dedicated more time in his State of the State address last week in Springfield to an issue she believes has a tremendous trickle-down effect on all other issues.

“I wanted to hear more about the importance of fair maps,” Rezin told the Will County Gazette. “In order to start rooting out corruption, that’s where you have to start. He talked a little about corruption, but that all goes back to fair maps and being able to have someone that’s truly reflective of the community.”

Rezin says her focus of the new legislative session will be on pushing bills that usher in more transparency and greater accountability.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

“We need standards that demand that, along with financial disclosure rules that are comprehensive and robust enough to cover the lawmaker and their spouse," she said. "I believe spouses should also be included in the disclosure forms.”

Rezin also favors legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from having outside income, or at the very least have a cap placed on it.

“It’s a way of dealing with all the outside influence that finds a way to Springfield,” she said. “The time for these reforms is now. We need serious change, not just something that bites around the edges.”

Even as Pritzker rattled off what he considers great accomplishments during his address, a recent report by the Illinois Department of Employment Security in conjunction with the Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that Illinois' job creation lagged far behind the national average in 2019. The Illinois Policy Institute notes that last year marked the state's slowest job growth in the first year of any governor's elected term since the start of Rod Blagojevich's second term in 2007.