Illinois Rep. Steven Andersson Deposed as House GOP Floor Leader


Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has requested state Rep. Steven Andersson, R-Geneva, resign from his post as GOP floor leader in the House.

“Following the conclusion of the spring and early summer legislative session, I decided that it would be in the best interest of the Republican Caucus to go in a new direction with the position of our Floor Leader,” Durkin wrote in a memo sent out Monday.

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The ousting of Andersson comes six months after his floor leader appointment and four days after he broke from Republican ranks to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes of a state budget package, which led to Illinois’ first budget in more than two years.

On July 6, Andersson and nine other Republican representatives, along with 61 Democrats, voted “yes” to override Rauner’s veto of a bill that raises Illinois’ individual income tax rate from 3.75 to 4.95 percent and the corporate income tax rate from 5.25 to 7 percent.

“We are going into free fall if we don’t do this,” Andersson said on the House floor. “So for those of you who say there’s a better option: great, do you have the votes? You do not have the votes! Our options are this or financial meltdown.”

In the memo, Durkin indicated the announcement of a new GOP floor leader would follow “in the coming weeks.”

The floor leader serves as the party’s point person to lead House floor debates and discussions.

Andersson has represented the 65th District, which covers northwestern Kane and southern McHenry Counties, since January 2015.


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