She Runs Illinois 2024! — Amy “Murri” Briel, candidate for IL House of Representatives, District 76
She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Amy “Murri” Briel running for IL House of Representatives, District 76. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2024!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election, November 5, 2024.
Tell us about yourself
I was born and raised in the Illinois Valley, to a hard-working, open-minded, caring family. My Dad is a Korean War veteran, a retired IBEW electrician who worked at Libbey Owens Ford for 40 years. His championing of labor went back to his father’s close involvement in the merger of the AFL-CIO. He would often boast I was his only child who wanted to walk a picket line before I was 6. He is currently in the LaSalle County Veterans Home with Alzheimer’s. My mom is a farm girl who is the youngest of 4 raised by a single mom. Her family immigrated from Ireland to the Valley almost 200 years ago to become farmers. They still farm that same land today. She went to school in a one-room schoolhouse, which I also attended years later. Her family didn’t have running water until she was a sophomore in high school. Despite those hardships, she was a dedicated volunteer in the community whether it was delivering meals on wheels, working for the Farm Bureau, or fighting for environmental protection.
I start my history here because my family made me understand tireless work, community involvement, and passion for helping those in need. Not everyone is as fortunate to have grown up with such amazing role models — and I’ve never taken that for granted.
From the moment we knew that we would spend our lives together, we wanted to move back to the Valley and buy my family home. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any economic opportunity for our fields so we built careers away from here. When our boys were born, we wanted to move back to the Valley but our sons are autistic and have severe asthma. There were no programs in the area that supported their development needs nor was there specialized medical care and we couldn’t move back.
I have wanted to serve this area, this community, for many years. When my family and I moved back to the Valley, I used my years of experience in organizing, policy, and politics to work for Representative Lance Yednock as his Chief of Staff serving the 76th District. I’ve seen the challenges and opportunities our district faces and believe that my knowledge, skills, personality, and compassion will elevate the issues the district faces so that Springfield will take action.
What are your top three legislative priorities you intend to focus on in office?
- Reproductive Freedom must be protected for all people. I will advocate for an Illinois Constitutional Amendment protecting those rights and the full funding of Planned Parenthood.
- Infrastructure, both capital and human, is desperately needed in our district. We are folks who know how to make do with what we have but we shouldn’t have to just exist, we should have the opportunity to thrive. Thriving involves healthy water, broadband access, reliable and affordable utilities, and social service support that meets the needs of the community.
- Access to every aspect of healthcare. The nation has been facing a healthcare crisis for years and rural communities are hit particularly hard. In the upper part of the district, where there are multiple hospitals and healthcare systems, a child had to be flown to Rockford for an emergency appendectomy. There were no pediatric surgeons on staff at the hospitals to save his life. In the southern part of the district, we have had 3 hospital closures in the last 6 years. People wait for hours to be seen in emergency situations and months to be seen by specialists.
What motivated you to run for office?
People are my motivator. I’ve knocked on thousands and thousands of doors in my life and one thing rings true every day. When I meet people where they are and make a personal connection, I learn about the challenges folks face and the successes they have accomplished with the resources they had. These moments reinforce my belief that policy made from the top down is rarely as successful as building policy from the stakeholders upward.
How do you propose Illinois can enhance access to affordable childcare and support services for working mothers, and what legislative measures will you champion to advance this goal?
Funding is a key component to affordable childcare but we cannot forget each community has its own challenges involving childcare. The organization Birth to Five has worked closely with parents, providers, and educators to find what individual communities need and how to best connect and create resources that meet those needs. The Birth to 5 initiative has made amazing strides in bridging the childcare gaps and I would support its full funding and expansion. I also support making the childcare tax credit permanent.
How can the Illinois General Assembly improve protections for trans women against violence and ensure that unsolved murders of trans individuals are prioritized for investigation?
Bills such as HR 582 start the dialog for legal professionals to understand the issues facing the trans community but this understanding and training needs to be expanded to all aspects of the justice system.
How will you ensure that Illinois continues to lead in promoting women’s health and reproductive rights, especially in the face of potentially restrictive federal policies on abortion and birth control?
From the moment Roe V Wade was decided in 1974, reproductive rights have been targeted by special interest groups. The judicial makeup of courts across the land has also changed. In order to protect our bodily autonomy, we must pass an amendment to the Illinois Constitution protecting the rights of all involved in reproductive healthcare.
Closing comments
Illinois 76th District is unique, diverse, and filled with amazing people who value their community and will move mountains to protect it. I am honored to be a part of that and I will amplify the voices of our community.
If you would like to learn more about Amy “Murri” Briel and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at murribriel.com. Don’t forget to follow her on social media at @MurriFor76. Reach out today and help make a difference in the upcoming 2024 election.
(The information contained in this post is provided only as general information and does not imply an endorsement by She Votes Illinois.)
