* Press release…

Speaker Welch Announces Committee Chairs for New Session
Bipartisan Slate Includes Republican Veteran to Lead VA Committee

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch announced a bipartisan slate of veteran policy experts and new leaders to chair House committees in the coming legislative session, including selecting the first Republican to chair a committee in more than a decade.

“Enacting policies that help families make ends meet, protect and expand the rights of working people, and create opportunity for a bright future takes careful review, deliberation, and thoughtful discussion—and that’s the work that needs to be happening every day in our committees,” Welch said. “The chairs I have selected bring invaluable legislative knowledge, firsthand experience at the critical junctures where policy is implemented on the community level, an abiding sense of compassion, and a deep appreciation for the importance of the work we’re doing on behalf of Illinois families.”

In addition to selecting subject matter experts with years of experience from his own caucus, Welch tapped Republican Representative and 27-year United States Army veteran Dan Swanson to lead the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

“As a veteran, Representative Swanson has served our country with honor and distinction, and I know he will bring the same solemn sense of duty to leading a bipartisan Veterans Affairs Committee,” Welch said. “Every committee unites people of different backgrounds and perspectives in order to achieve a common goal. Whether that goal is serving our veterans, supporting our students and educators, improving our workplaces, or protecting the dignity of everyone who calls Illinois home, the work before us is clear and we all must be ready to talk, to compromise, and to do that work together.” […]

The Appropriations: Personnel & Pensions Committee was created this year in the House Rules. In consultation with members, Speaker Welch has agreed to create a new Gun Violence Prevention Committee; an International Relations, Tourism, & Trade Committee; and a Museums, Arts, & Culture Committee.
 
In order to better reflect their purviews, the Elementary & Secondary Education: Curriculum & Policy Committee will be renamed as the Education Policy Committee, and the Restorative Justice Committee will be renamed as the Restorative Justice & Public Safety Committee.

The full list of new chairs is here. The previous committee chairs are here.