Lake County Gazette

Steven Reick, House Rep. of Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois General Assembly, expressed his frustrations during a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules subject matter hearing on Oct 17th.

"This rule has gone through many reiterations, but what you're calling discussions have not been discussions as far as the people I've been talking to. You've run out the clock and I think you feel rather smug about that. I'll be honest with you, I think you think you've pulled one over on us. You've got a rule in place now that you think will solve this problem, which it will not. I can't speak to the frustrations that I've had communicated to me by stakeholders."

Reick criticized the lack of stakeholder involvement in the rulemaking process, stating, "Your idea of stakeholders is not the idea of stakeholders, of people who actually run daycare centers. The stakeholders you've talked to are just the echo chambers that actually put forth the kind of rules that we're now having to deal with. Because when I speak to stakeholders, I'm talking to people who actually run daycare centers and organizations that represent people who run daycare centers. They haven't been spoken to. They never have been called."

He further expressed his disappointment with the agency's handling of the rulemaking process, saying, "This agency deserves nothing but condemnation for how this rulemaking has been handled. The failure of this agency is unacceptable. I know that you are looking for a new director and I hope to God that this director comes in and understands the problem that exists in this agency. I can't understand why it is you think that just because you have the statutory authority to do certain things, you don't have the moral authority to protect the children in your charge. I am disgusted by every single solitary one of you. That's all I have to say."

Reick, a Republican, was first elected to the Illinois House in 2016 and serves on the Labor & Commerce and Revenue & Finance committees. He resides in Woodstock, according to the Illinois House.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been facing scrutiny recently. Marc Smith, the agency's director, announced his resignation amid multiple instances where children were not placed in state care on time, resulting in him being found in contempt of court. The agency has also faced audits that revealed issues with timely reporting of child abuse.

The Joint Committee on Administration Rules previously suspended the agency's emergency rules regarding daycares and aides in classrooms in July.