Illinois Valley Times

Illinois State Rep. Travis Weaver (R-Edwards) joined House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) and Deputy Leader Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) to push for tax budget reforms in the Prairie State. 

Newly sworn in, Weaver worked in the private sector before he was elected to the state legislature. He worked in strategy and finance at Caterpillar and invested in and lead start-ups.

"Disciplined spending is the first building block to a successful Illinois because competitive taxes and smart spending spur more growth, which spreads out the burden on all of us," Weaver said during a January 31 press conference. "Illinois House Republicans under the leadership of Leader Tony McCombie will work to bring about real reform to high taxes and the anti-job growth policies that we see coming out of the supermajority."

McComby recently appointed Hammond as Chief Budgeteer and Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) as Deputy Budgeteer to serve as the House Republican's budget team. Elik was a part of the budget team before and has also served on other financial committees including the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a press release stated.

Hammond has worked to increase funding for colleges and universities in the state and passed legislation to address the teacher shortage in her time on the Higher Education Committee. According to the release, she's also pushed for "procurement reform and other cost-cutting measures which keep dollars focused on strategic goals instead of overhead and administrative costs."

Weaver was elected to the 93rd District after defeating Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin) in the primary election, WCBU reported.