Amy Elik on Early Voting and Her 111th District Campaign
ALTON - Amy Elik hopes to secure a fourth term as the State Representative for the 111th District in Illinois.
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Elik first won the state representative seat in 2020. She has an office in Alton and often travels to Springfield for legislative sessions. As Election Day approaches, she encourages people to get out and vote. She noted that she is interested in helping people live their best lives.
“That has been my goal all along, just to help people solve problems,” Elik said. “What I would want people to know about me is that I’m working for you every day to make your lives as best as they can possibly be. When it comes to state policy in Illinois, it is not always favorable to small businesses. It is not always favorable to people in the middle class. I’m trying to find solutions to those problems and help you with things like property taxes, other taxes, business taxes. I’m just trying to make sure that our area has quality jobs for people so that you can stay here and live here and retire here comfortably in a home that you love and with your family that you love.”
Elik has lived in the Godfrey/Alton area her entire life, other than four years when she attended the University of Illinois. She returned to the region and began working as a certified public accountant before becoming interested in politics.
She served as a township trustee in Fosterburg for seven years and “loved every minute of it,” but quickly realized that there were state policies shaping her work in the township. This prompted Elik to run for the state representative role in 2020. She has served three two-year terms since then.
As she has spent the past few months campaigning, Elik noted that it’s exciting to knock on constituents’ doors and get a sense of what people need from their legislators. She has enjoyed talking to residents in the 111th District. If her office can’t help solve a problem, she will connect residents with the resources they need.
Elik acknowledged that politics can be polarizing, but she emphasized that her role as state representative is to help everyone in her district. She believes this mindset is an important part of her job.
“Being in Springfield for six years, I have seen people on both sides of the aisle that work very, very hard and are in it for the right reasons,” she said. “I think people make assumptions about a politician when you talk to them, and maybe it’s based on the letter behind their name. So it’s nice to get to know people, and I think when you do, it’s not so scary and I have good things to offer and I try to help solve problems. The best part of being elected as a state representative is, when you call my office in Alton or you stop by and you need help with a problem, you will never be asked, are you a Republican or a Democrat? That is not what you do. You help everybody who comes in with a problem.”
With that in mind, Elik explained that her colleagues come from a variety of backgrounds, and she enjoys working with legislators in Springfield to solve issues for constituents. She believes public service is the most important part of her job.
“We are citizen legislators,” she said. “We have people from all different backgrounds that serve in the Illinois House and the Illinois Senate. It is our job to go learn everything we can and serve your community the best way we can.”
Elik added that she “really, truly love[s] the job” and wants to return to Springfield to represent the 111th District for another term. She encourages people to visit her official candidate site to learn more about her platform or her official state representative site to learn more about her work.
