At a press conference held today, State Representatives Tom Weber, Nicole La Ha, and Steve Reick called for urgent reforms to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Findings from the Illinois Auditor General’s July 2025 compliance report revealed 34 violations at DCFS, 29 of which were repeat failures. Also, the death of 18-year-old Mackenzi Felmlee in a foster home in Fairview Heights has raised serious concerns about accountability within the Department of Children and Family Services.

Rep. Weber, who chairs the House Republican working group on Sustaining & Protecting At-Risk Kids, said, “This isn’t about funding. It’s about a culture of mismanagement that continues to put children at risk.”

Every year on February 2nd, Americans turn their attention to a small, burrowing mammal to predict the weather. Groundhog Day is a fun and playful tradition that has fascinating ties to Illinois!

In 1993, the film "Groundhog Day," starring Bill Murray, was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. Since then, the town has embraced its connection to the film, turning it into an annual celebration that draws visitors from near and far. 

Every child deserves the love, stability, and support of a permanent family. National Adoption Day, held annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, is a reminder of the need to help children in foster care find loving homes. This year, on November 23rd, communities across Illinois and the nation will unite to raise awareness about adoption and celebrate the thousands of families formed through it each year.

After recent news stories surfaced about alleged sexual abuse of foster children in the care of Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center in Chicago, State Representative Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) issued the following statement:

In January of 2023, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was faced with a lawsuit accusing the agency of mistreating children in their care by having them sent to juvenile detention facilities. Sadly, these allegations are not the first leveled against the agency tasked with protecting foster children.

House Republicans have been leading the fight to reform this agency and to offer the necessary support to foster children and families for years. With the beginning of the 103rd General Assembly, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie rededicated caucus efforts to the work that needed to be done to protect children.

~ by Rep. Steven Reick

Joseph Wallace, Gizzell “Gizzy” Ford, Ja’hir Gibbons, Semaj Crosby, A.J. Freund. What do they have in common? All of them were murdered and before their deaths all of them were the subjects of investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Now add to that list Kerrigan “Kerri” Rutherford, age 6 from Montgomery, Illinois. Her mother and stepfather have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with her July 2nd death, which Kendall County authorities allege was the result of the couple having given Kerri enough of a prescription drug, olanzapine, to kill her.

Reps. Steve Reick and Jeff Keicher discuss their legislative initiatives to prevent child abuse. Rep. Reick outlines AJ’s Law, a bill he has filed to protect children in the care of the state, while Rep. Keicher introduces us to the "Make S.A.F.E. Task Force" and its efforts to tackle sexual harassment and abuse in schools. 

Our guest today says its time for Illinois lawmakers to “put their money where their mouth is,” stop talking about rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” in Illinois government and actually do something about it.

We will hear about 63rd District State Representative Steve Reick’s legislation which creates the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Act. In addition to other matters related to Springfield, we will hear about his attempt at being a walk-on with the University of Illinois basketball team and how his passion for cooking led to cooking up some quail tacos for colleagues and staff in Springfield.

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.