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Deputy Illinois House Minority Leader and State Representative Patti Bellock, R-Hinsdale, has been named a budget negotiator to help craft a bipartisan balanced state budget this spring for Fiscal Year 2019, announced House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs. The General Assembly is required to pass a state budget by May 31 for the new fiscal year that begins on July 1. Joining Representative Bellock on this year’s budget negotiating team for the House Republicans is Representative David Harris, R-Arlington Heights. They will work closely in the coming weeks with the House Democrats team led by Representative Greg Harris, D-Chicago, and their counterparts in the State Senate, as well as staff from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. “It is vitally important that Democrats and Republicans work cooperatively in Springfield to pass a full-year balanced state budget this spring,” Rep. Bellock said. “Our priorities must be to preserve the safety net for the state’s most vulnerable children and families, meet the state’s commitment to K-12 education and public safety, and respect taxpayers by passing a budget that does not include any new tax increases. We can and must achieve each of these goals.” Representative Bellock has served as a budget negotiator for the House Republican Caucus each year since she was appointed Deputy Minority Leader in October 2013. Bellock is serving her final year in the Illinois General Assembly, retiring at the end of her term in January 2019. In addition to serving as a budget negotiator, Bellock is also the Minority Spokesperson on the Human Services – Appropriations Committee, one of five House committees responsible for setting spending priorities within the state budget. For questions or more information, please call Representative Bellock’s office at (630) 852-8633. |
