Freshman lawmaker talks federal budget cuts to rural schools, food pantries in 76th District

At her first town hall in DeKalb this month, freshman lawmaker and state Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, D-Ottawa, spoke about the effects that federal funding cuts could have on rural schools and food banks.

Much of her 76th District, which includes portions of DeKalb and La Salle counties, is considered rural.

Briel recently visited Northern Illinois University’s Holmes Student Center in DeKalb to kick off the first in a series of three meetings set to take place this summer.

In the middle of serving out her first term as state representative of Illinois’ 76th District, Briel touted what she and her team have been able to accomplish.

“We’ve met with over 200 individuals, organizations [and] businesses in this district so far,” Briel said. “Municipalities, the village meetings, townships – you name it, we have met with folks. We wanted to know what was important to them, and then touched base on what we could do to support them.”

A Q&A ensued a short time after Briel gave a rundown highlighting some bills that she is working on in Springfield.

One topic addressed during the town hall was the effect of federal library funding cuts on rural schools.

In response, Briel said the state’s hands are tied.

As someone who grew up attending a small rural school, however, she said she sees the benefit of consolidating schools.

“I actually think the school districts that have consolidated, there have been a few successful ones over the last 10 years,” Briel said. “Those smaller rural districts have done phenomenally. They have been able to expand services, improve conditions. Their grades go up. They have pooled resources in a way that made their school districts so much better. But each school district has to make that decision for themselves. There’s nothing we can do as a state to encourage that.”

DeKalb resident Dan Kenney, of Rooted For Good, asked if there’s any talk at the state level about restoring funding that had been cut federally to improve access for food pantries and food banks.

Briel said she and other state lawmakers are working hard to address it.

When asked why state lawmakers can’t do away with the 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment, Briel said it’s been written into law, and no one on both sides of the aisle is willing to part with it.

“One of the things back when we signed that law was that we raised lawmaker salaries,” Briel said. “Lawmakers have [been] paid $59,000 for 20 years. This was only five years ago. ... We increased the salary to make it at least commiserate with other industries.”

Briel, who works as a full-time state representative, said she takes issue with state lawmakers who argue that working a second job is necessary to help support their family.

“I don’t have a side hustle,” Briel said. “Some of our reps around here have a side hustle. ... I talk about health care. I talk about insurance. We’ve all heard those are issues. There are legislators that I work with on both sides of the aisle that have vested interests in specific industries that they work in. So, tell me a part-time legislator is going to be more honest than a full-time one who has no other ulterior motives.”

More town halls are expected to take place across the 76th District this summer in both Oglesby and Utica.

• 6 p.m. Aug. 11 – Illinois Valley Community College, 815 N. Orlando Smith St., Oglesby
• 6 p.m. Sept. 9 – International Union of Operating Engineers Hall, 740 E. Route 6, Utica

RSVP online or contact Briel’s district office at 815-587-7912 or contact@staterepbriel.com.