Already having served as student body president at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, as a village board member in Downers Grove, and on the Board of Trustees at the College of DuPage, he is one of the youngest members of the General Assembly and part of a new generation of state representatives in Springfield. Our guest is 81st District State Representative David Olsen.

STATE GOVERNMENT
New law brings hundreds of state jobs back to Sangamon County. Gov. Bruce Rauner followed through with his promise to bring state jobs back to the capital city with the signing of House Bill  4295 Thursday. The legislation moves hundreds of state jobs to Springfield.

“It is a matter of state pride,” Rauner said. “This bill preserves the heritage of Springfield as Illinois’ capital city while boosting our local economy. It promotes Lincoln’s hometown and his vision as one of the original lawmakers who advocated for making Springfield the capital of Illinois.”

Sign the Petition to Support Independent Maps

By Rep. David S. Olsen (R-Illlinois) and Sen. Frank LaRose (R-Ohio)

"By designing districts for partisan advantage, we send the message that winning elections is more important than upholding democracy."

On Monday, the Supreme Court kicked back to Wisconsin and Maryland state courts two gerrymandering cases that attempted to establish that legislatures that use gerrymandering to ensure partisan outcomes were acting with unconstitutional bias. In doing so, they have essentially ensured that any constitutional remedies to overly partisan gerrymandering will be years away, if they ever come.

We believe, then, that’s it’s up to us — state legislators — to act on behalf of the constituents that elected us and end partisan gerrymandering on our own.

Partisan gerrymandering has plagued our democracy since the days of the Founding Fathers: The jagged edges of many districts don’t reflect real-life boundaries, like rivers or mountain ranges, but rather exist because someone drew lines with the pernicious purpose of manipulating electoral constituency boundaries to favor one party. Read the entire opinion piece by Rep. Olsen & Sen. LaRose. 

If you agree sign the petition to end gerrymandering support independent maps.

Chicago Tribune Editorial:
The people of Illinois want fair legislative maps.

They want maps that are drawn by an independent body working on behalf of voters, not by politicians looking after themselves. They want maps that promote competitive elections instead of protecting incumbents.

They’ve said so, over and over again, in polls going back decades. They’ve collected hundreds of thousands of signatures — three times — and raised millions of dollars, trying to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

State lawmakers know this. That’s why they always tell us they want fair maps too. It’s why there are always several fair map proposals on file in Springfield, with many sponsors eager to point to their names at election time... But this year is different. This year, voters want lawmakers to put up or shut up. Read the rest of the Chicago Tribune editorial.

Here's what our members are saying about independent redistricting:

• Rep. David Olsen calls for an independent process to draw maps
• Rep. Spain urges independent redistricting

Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, along with 49 other members of the House Republican Caucus, filed House Resolution 975 today to state their opposition to a proposed progressive income tax.

Below is video from the press conference where Leader Durkin along with Reps, Wehrli, Jesiel and Reick introduced the resolution.

Last night the House passed a historic compromise education funding plan that ensures all children in Illinois will have access to a high quality education. Read more about SB 1947.

Here is what some of our members are saying about it.

Rep. Christine Winger
“Today’s agreement is a historic step forward for education funding, one that will help our students have the opportunities they deserve to succeed while also ensuring all school districts are treated fairly.”

As more and more Illinoisans are fleeing the state due to the crushing tax burden, today State Representative David S. Olsen  joined Governor Bruce Rauner, Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in DuPage County as he signed into law a bill that makes it easier for units of government to consolidate or dissolve.

“What we are doing today will allow us to more effectively serve the people we represent,” said Olsen. “It is a great first step, and I look forward to continuing this bipartisan effort to make government more responsive and cost-effective for the citizens we represent.” Read more.

State Representative David S. Olsen joined Governor Bruce Rauner on the campus of the University of Illinois today for the signing of legislation that will streamline and reform regulations that govern how Illinois buys billions of dollars in goods and services each year.

SB 08, now known as P.A. 100-0043, addresses the state’s procurement system and includes multiple provisions that will quicken the process and reduce costs. “These reforms to the state’s purchasing system will ease burdensome regulations and save our public institutions money,” said Olsen, at the bill signing on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s engineering campus. “I am proud to have co-sponsored this pivotal piece of legislation and am pleased that I could join the Governor for the bill signing at my alma mater. The University of Illinois and our other colleges and universities will benefit greatly from the cost-saving measures included in this bill.” Read more here.

Reps Olsen, Winger, Bellock & McDermed joined the
Governor and Simon Wiesenthal Center to announce
the expansion of anti-hate education in Illinois.

Governor Bruce Rauner announced today the State of Illinois will work with the Simon Wiesenthal Center to expand anti-hate education to Illinois students. This is part of Governor Rauner’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism and other hate crimes in Illinois.

“As Simon Wiesenthal and others frequently said, ‘For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.’ We’re here because we’re doing something. Illinois will not stay silent in the face of hate, bigotry and persecution,” Governor Rauner said. “Illinois is a leader in anti-hate education, and we will work with organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center to continue to lead by example.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center today presented Governor Bruce Rauner with its 2017 Digital Terrorism and Hate Report at the State Capitol. He is the first Midwestern governor to be presented with the report.

"The Simon Wiesenthal Center is grateful for Governor Rauner taking a leadership position today, in supporting our ongoing efforts to combat racism, anti-Semitism and extremism, especially on social media." said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, and founder of the Digital Hate and Terrorism Project, twenty two years ago.  "The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Midwest Director, Alison Pure-Slovin, has already begun to train facilitators for our new Students Tools for Tolerance program that will empower young people to deal with the tsunami of online hate. We look forward to working with Governor Rauner and Secretary of Education Beth Purvis to educate our children on the perils of social media.”

Earlier this month, Governor Rauner unveiled a four-part initiative to combat the rise in anti-Semitism and hate crimes both in Illinois and around the country. His directives include:

• Strengthening Illinois’ hate crime law to prevent and prosecute hate crimes targeting specific religions
• Improving law enforcement training to properly identify, investigate and prosecute hate crimes
• Expanding K-12 education to combat hate
• Prohibiting state contracts with companies that boycott Israel

AFSCME – Possible labor action
AFSCME announces results of strike authorization vote. AFSCME, the labor union that represents 38,000 Illinois employees, states that 81% of the workers who participated in a recent advisory ballot voted to authorize a possible strike.

A key advisor to Governor Bruce Rauner, General Counsel Dennis Murashko, called the vote to authorize a strike “an attack on our state’s hardworking taxpayers and all those who rely on crucial services provided every day.”

Budget – FY17
Leaders meetings do not generate budget agreement. With the “stopgap” six-month budget for the first half of FY17 scheduled to expire on December 31, pressure is being placed on key Illinois officials to develop a budget agreement. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, Governor Bruce Rauner, and other leaders were meeting almost daily in Chicago. Key issues include cash flow for State spending areas covered in the “stopgap” budget. Renewed appropriations are required if these areas are to get funding in January 2017 and following months. However, no agreement has yet been reached.

Standing in front of his former high school before family, friends and colleagues, David Olsen of Downers Grove was sworn into office Wednesday as the new State Representative for Illinois’ 81st Legislative House District. Olsen, 27, was selected to fulfill the unexpired term of Ron Sandack, who resigned from the seat last week.

Downers Grove South High School Principal Edward H. Schwartz welcomed guests to the ceremony and Associate Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh of the 18th Judicial Circuit administered the oath of office. In his personal remarks, Olsen said he is excited to begin this new chapter as the voice of the people of District 81. “I am honored to serve the people of the 81st District in Springfield as your State Representative,” said Olsen. He also noted, “It’s particularly appropriate that I am sworn in at my own former high school- which provided the foundation for my successes and public service. Education is the foundation of opportunity for all Illinoisans, and I intend to fight for local control and full funding for our vitally-important schools.”