From State Rep. Dan Ugaste:

Ugaste Notes Historic, Optimistic Start to 102 GA

GENEVA—Coming off a five day lame duck session and proceeding right into the inauguration of the 102nd General Assembly, recently sworn in State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has issued the following statement to his 65th District:

“We had about 15 minutes between the end of lame duck session for the 101st General Assembly and the start of the new term. [Emphasis added.]

“It was a whirlwind week in Springfield to say the least.

“While I was troubled with much of the process behind the legislation debated during the last minutes of lame duck session, I am hopeful that those politics are a thing of the past now that Mike Madigan is no longer Speaker.

“This is a historic time for Illinois: after 36 years of ruling the Illinois House, Mike Madigan is no longer Speaker.

“It is abundantly clear that Illinois needs and wants change: on Friday, we saw the election of the first Black Speaker of the House.

“This is a fresh start for Illinois.

“I take our new Speaker, Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch, at his word that we will work together in a bipartisan manner to accomplish necessary change for Illinois. I have already had talks with colleagues across the aisle about meeting to work on issues together this year.

“I am optimistic we will continue forward in this effort of bipartisanship, transparency, and fairness.

“Illinois has significant challenges.

“The work these require won’t be easy and solutions won’t happen overnight, but with the significant changes we have already seen in leadership in our House, I have renewed hope it is possible.”