Representative Amy Elik Shares Goals and Concerns for 2026 as Midterms Approach

Our Daily Show Interview! State Representative Amy Elik: District 111 Update and Road to Novemeber

ALTON - State Representative Amy Elik reflected on her plans for the year as the midterm election approaches.

In a recent interview on “Our Daily Show!” with CJ Nasello, Elik pledged to focus on policies that will make life more affordable for District #111 residents. She emphasized her focus on affordability and helping people who are struggling, including those who recently lost their jobs through Alton Steel’s closure.

“I have always told people who I am and what I believe in,” Elik said. “I think I’ve kept the promises that I’ve made. I have used my experiences as a CPA to get deep into the weeds on the budget and the financial issues, the pension issues, that the state has and tried to improve those. I have, again, voted no on things that are making life more expensive for Illinoisians. Those are just a couple of examples of the things that I will continue to do for the people of the district.”

Elik shared that the announcement of Alton Steel’s closing was “an absolute shock” to her and many other elected officials. She expressed her condolences to the approximately 253 people who lost their jobs.

Going forward, Elik is focused on supporting these employees. She said the 400 job openings at U.S. Steel in Granite City are “just a blessing” as the plant restarts its blast furnace. Additionally, Elik helped organize a rapid response workshop for Alton Steel workers, as well as a job fair scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.

“We generally don’t like surprises like that. What’s worse is that the employees were just left completely in the lurch,” she said. “The first thing that we think of when we get those surprising announcements is supporting the employees, because that’s really the most important thing right now. The company had already made their decision. There was really nothing we could do to change that.”

Elik also noted that American Water recently announced a rate request. The company will undergo an 11-month process as it applies with the Illinois Commerce Commission to raise its rates.

While legislators can’t control whether these rates increase, Elik stressed that she has consistently voted against policies that lead to rate increases. She believes the state has implemented policies that necessitate rate increases, and she disagrees with these decisions.

“The important thing that a legislator can do is not vote for the things that cause those rates to have to be increased,” she said. “When you look at water rates, significant investment is having to go into replacing lead service lines by an arbitrary deadline date that the State of Illinois has put into place. When you talk about electric rates, the sudden and dramatic shift to renewable resources like wind and solar — again, arbitrary deadline dates that the state has put into place before we were ready to transition away from coal and natural gas.”

She urges policymakers to focus on affordability in Illinois. Elik argued that the Democratic Party has made decisions that increase expenses for Illinois residents.

“I definitely am concerned that the governor and the party in power will focus on things that are making life more expensive for people in Illinois versus making it more affordable,” she explained. “I think we’ve had a mismatch on what we think will make life more affordable and what the majority party has actually enacted.”

As the House of Representatives and Senate reach their bill-filing deadline on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, Elik anticipates “hundreds if not a thousand or more bills filed this week” by Illinois legislators. She noted that she has several bills she will be fighting for, but also pointed out that the bills from last year are still in effect.

“I have a whole basket of bills I’ll be filing here any minute now, actually. I’ve got a few ready to go,” she said. “But keep in mind, the bills from last year are still in effect because it’s a two-year legislative calendar. So even if I don’t file something now, if I had already filed something in the past, those are bills that are still available — my bills and everybody else’s bills. If something that you didn’t like died last year, it could certainly come back this year, too.”

Ultimately, Elik encourages residents to pay attention to the work happening in Springfield. She also urges people to complete their “civic responsibility” by voting in the midterm election in November.

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