32 Comments » - downstate matters - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 10:22 am: I think two of our best House district directors come out of the 36th Senate District. Elle Peoples from Rep Gregg Johnson’s Office and Shanie Sanders-Brown from Rep Daniel Swanson’s office. These two office do a fantastic job of truly doing the work of the people and putting political lines to the side when it comes to helping constituents. I have worked with both of these fantastic women many times and they are always more than professional, respectful, and friendly. Constituents of Western IL are well taken care of with these two in district. - TheUpperRoom - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 10:53 am: For HD LA, I would say Liz Moody hands-down. Friendly, organized, professional - and in a world where emails often hang in the ether, she gets back to you ASAP. Dealing with an LA who stays with the same member for years also makes things easy for everyone involved, and Liz has things locked down. - Jerry - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:08 am: I would like to nominate Liz Moody. Liz is a true staple around the Capitol and serves as the legislative assistant for the two leaders who negotiate every major issue under the dome. She manages everything—and everyone—with efficiency, kindness, and thoroughness, all while maintaining a genuine smile on her face. Simply put, the Capitol could not run without her, and the leaders’ offices certainly couldn’t either. Liz’s dedication, professionalism, and loyalty make her indispensable. - Nominator - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:09 am: HGOP - Helen Stannard hands down. Always has a friendly smile no matter the time of day and what is going on. Very helpful with getting access to her members on busy session days. HDEMS - Liz Moody. Always a quick, helpful, and friendly response when working with her and trying to connect with her members. - Nick Y - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:11 am: Liz Moody, the busiest LA for the busiest legislator! - Libby’s Mom - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:17 am: I nominate Liz Moody. There is not a thing she can’t do. She always knows what’s going on. If I need something, she helps me every single time. She’s always friendly and very responsive. I definitely could not do my job without her. - Jake Miller - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:18 am: Liz Moody. She’s always ready to answer a call and be as helpful as possible with anything from scheduling to what priorities are are out there and an all around great person. She’s always invited to my personal family and friends Christmas party. - Steve Reick - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:21 am: For my entire tenure in the House, Carrie Andre has been my rock. Her attention to detail, her willingness to take and return phone calls and emails from within or outside the 63rd District and go the extra mile to find solutions to constituent problems is second to none. She’s always kind, considerate and concerned and makes every constituent feel as if he or she is her top prioroty. Needless to say, she makes me look much better than I am, and not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for having such a wonderful person working as the face in my District office. - Lauren CG - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:24 am: I nominate Liz Moody. Liz is never in a bad mood and is ALWAYS willing to lend a helping hand whenever she can. She is always extremely efficient and extremely helpful. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:29 am: People, please try to nominate in both categories. I do not officially discourage organized efforts. However, don’t make it so obvious and try to be respectful of the other category nominees. - Slingshot - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:33 am: House Republican Legislative Assistant - Erica Conrad. She always has a smile on her face and happy to help. Very responsive with issues and tracking down her members. Best House Democratic Legislative Assistant – Liz Moody. She always has a lot of balls in the air and the ability to manage them well. Friendly, accommodating, and quick to respond, even on the busiest of days. The absolute best. - Former COS - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:39 am: HDems - Liz Moody. She is always on top of everything, so quick to respond and offer help to anyone who asks. She always keeps her members organized, and handles all the daily chaos with kindness and a smile. HGOP - Courtney Ausmus. Likewise - always 100% on the ball and super friendly every time I see her! - Steve Reick - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:52 am: If I didn’t mention any Dem LA’s, it wasn’t out of any intention to disrespect them or the work they do. I just don’t know any Democratic District LA’s well enough to make an informed choice. - Jerry - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:55 am: Sorry Rich! I would like to nominate Amanda Daley for HGOP. Amanda is always helpful, kind, and fun, and she plays a vital role in keeping up with Leader McCombie’s demanding schedule—as well as everyone else’s. She’s an essential part of their team. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 12:02 pm: Rep. Reick, that’s perfectly fine. If you can’t nominate in both categories, you can’t. I just want people to try if they can and let us know if they can’t. Thanks! - Sell Now Reinsdorf - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 12:22 pm: For House Dem District Staff, Liam Harding has always been very reliable, organized and easy to work with - AnonyMau5 - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 1:55 pm: HDems - I concur with Liz Moody’s nomination. Anybody who can put up with “Speaker” Hoffman for that many years surely deserves a Golden Horseshoe. Jokes aside, Jay Hoffman does a lot of the heavy lifting with major legislation across the board and Liz is always on top of it. She’s loyal, hardworking, friendly and helpful to everyone who comes by her desk. HGOP - Twin nomination for Amanda Daley and Brandy Loftus in Leader McCombie’s office. They do an excellent job managing the Leader’s schedule and assisting the staff and the many personalities that make up an average day in 316. They do it with smiles on their faces and can always get a laugh out of anybody, no matter how bad or long a session day it may be. Amanda and Brandy are well-deserving of the coveted GH. - AnonPls - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 2:27 pm: HDems: Not to be a broken record, but Liz Moody. Liz is the main reason that Leader Hoffman is able to get so much done. She has a deep understanding of the process, the caucus, the staff, and all of the key players. She also cares a lot about the people she works with and her work. We all love Liz! HGOP: Sasha Backstein - Tipsword’s LA. I don’t know her well, but her peers love her and she is friendly, helpful and overall great at her job! - Reindeer - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 3:57 pm: House Dem: Plenty of people help the building run, but Liz is one of the few who makes it look effortless. When you’re supporting the folks negotiating the biggest issues under the dome, you’re basically living in organized chaos and somehow Liz keeps it moving with calm, competence, and a genuinely good attitude. She is well deserving of the GH. House GOP: And on the Republican side, the twin nomination for Amanda and Brandy is spot on. Managing a Leader’s schedule is a constant exercise in priorities, protocol, and last-minute changes, and they handle it with professionalism and consistency. They keep the office running smoothly, support the staff, and maintain the kind of composure that makes a real difference over the course of a long session. Well-deserving of the GH. - House - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 4:24 pm: Liz Moody is such a great choice. She puts up with all of us so well and her knowledge of the building is incredible. Amanda Daley does a great job helping McCombie. She’s always friendly, smiling and on top of it. - Kelly Cassidy - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 4:39 pm: Mike Wasielewski for HDEM. Until Veto, he managed 4 wildly different legislators (Walsh, Moeller, DeLuca, Cassidy), none of whom could easily be described as low maintenance (myself included). His corner of the South Wing is always hopping, and he manages to juggle it all while maintaining his sense of humor and focus on getting everyone’s planes on the ground. As one of the more senior members of the staff, he’s always willing to lend a hand to help newer staff get acclimated or help untangle a problem. For HGOP, Amanda Daley. She manages huge traffic in and out of Leader McCombie’s office with grace and humor, making everyone feel welcome. - AlabamaShake - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 4:53 pm: Best House Republican Legislative Assistant/District Office Manager: Another vote for Amanda Daley in the GOP Leader’s office. One of the most friendly folks in the capitol, and always easy to work with. - Just A Regular Guy - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:03 pm: Waz is my choice. He runs around balancing 4 very different members and keeps it straight. Liz does does wonders, but after this last session little way had his hands full. - (Sigh) - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:08 pm: Hrep: Bridget Moffitt with Leader Meier. She has been around for a few and this year found myself needing to talk to Leader Meier on several social service bills. Bridget is extremely nice, very professional and never made me feel unwelcome or feel like I was a stalker. She keeps Charlie organized and is a great asset to the HGOP organization. HDEM: Liz Moody. Not many people could manage Leader Hoffman, but Liz does it calmly and honestly makes it look easy. She keeps him organized, does her best to keep him on time and can always tell him the status of his bills. The best part about Liz- she doesn’t care who you are. She treats everyone the same and is very professional. Leaders Hoffman and Buckner are lucky to have her as a LA bc she is knows the importance of constituent service- will stay on the agencies until she gets an answer and she goes above and beyond to make her members look good. Liz is simply the best. Honestly Rich - Bridget and Liz are two people under the dome that don’t cause me to (sigh). They both are always reachable and professional. The HDems need to rethink the legislative coordinators in the Stratton Bldg bc that structure is messed up and caused me to (sigh) often bc they do not set near the members they are assigned to. I often found myself leaving notes or stalking the member. If the set up was different maybe there would be more people nominated. - Another Anon - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:17 pm: Couldn’t agree more with the nomination for Waz! He is truly deserving, he’s always there, always helpful, and stays under the radar and doesn’t get enough recognition. Kudos to Waz and a job well done! I have to agree with everyone, Amanda Daley is very pleasant to work with and helps everyone out. - Anna Moeller - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:31 pm: I second Kelly Cassidy’s nomination of Mike “Wasz” Wasielewski for best House Dem LA. He goes above and beyond in assisting his reps and the various groups needing our attention. He anticipates needs, mentors newbies and will even help replace and change a Rep’s dead car battery on a Saturday at the end of a long session week. He could have moved on long ago to do other things but has a true affection for the House and the work that we do. For HGOP, I’ve heard great things about Rep. Spain’s LA Bree Steinacher. She’s prompt, willing to do more than necessary and has great follow through. - Steve Andersson - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:33 pm: HGOP Helen Stannard - Was always kind and helpful when I was in the House and continues to be exactly the same now. A consistently thorough and thoughtful person. HDEM - Wasz- Hands down, always there to help, always follows through, always on top of everything and he’s a fun person to hang with! - Anna Moeller - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 5:34 pm: Sorry- Rich on the nomination of Bree- just read back on her ineligibility due to winning last year. Will try to think of another HGOP LA. - FKL - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 7:40 pm: Waz- keeps the trains on schedule with his busy members Amanda Daley - YearEnd - Wednesday, Dec 3, 25 @ 11:23 pm: HDEM: Wasz has stuck around through some big staff changes and is always willing to lend a hand in and outside of the dome. - Slooper - Thursday, Dec 4, 25 @ 8:26 am: Trish is the best! Congrats! - DownState_Dog - Thursday, Dec 4, 25 @ 9:42 am: DELAYED ENTRY- LIZ MOODY FOR HOUSE DEM: has been a wealth of knowledge for all within the Illinois House of Representatives. Also, I know Leader Hoffman was named one of the most effective legislators recently and it would be wrong to not acknowledge all she has done to ensure leader Hoffman is the best of the best in getting things done! TrackBack URI Anonymous commenters, uncivil comments, rumor-mongering, disinformation and profanity of any kind will be deleted. Name/Nickname - Required (required) E-mail - Not required (not required) URL - Not required