Republican Liz Bishop is calling for a fresh review of allegations involving her opponent in the race for the state House seat in Illinois' 76th District. It comes as an interim ethics watchdog takes over in Springfield next month. State Rep. Amy "Murri" Briel continues to deny accusations filed by a former staffer alleging sexual harassment and drug use in her office.
That staffer, Laura Jackson, released a nearly 45-minute video outlining the allegations. Bishop confirms her campaign organized and paid for the video.
"Laura Jackson came to me months ago with the story," Bishop said. "Of course, I listened. I think we do that, especially human to human, woman to woman. It very quickly for me, had nothing to do with politics. It was all about someone who had a very traumatic experience."
Former Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey announced his resignation after House Republicans questioned how his office handled harassment complaints.
"In the case of Laura Jackson's complaints, the system failed Laura," Bishop told WNIJ. "She did all the right things. She went to all the right people. She had all the right information. Nobody listened."
In an interview with WNIJ earlier this month, Briel said Jackson filed the accusations after being passed over for a promotion.
Bishop says the office of the Legislative Inspector General should be independent, have subpoena power and publish its findings.
"And I think once you have better ethical parameters," Bishop said, "voters start to have greater confidence in what's being done in Springfield."
Born and raised in Illinois, Bishop's background is in banking. She touts her experience as an auditor.
"The auditor experience is very foundational for me," Bishop said. "I tend to approach problems like I would an audit: How do things work, who does what, when, where, why? Is it effective? Is it productive? Where can we fix it?"
Top issues for her in this campaign are affordability, public safety and retaining local control. She also wants to see the SAFE-T Act repealed.
"I think as a matter of just being pragmatic, that won't happen," Bishop said. "So, we have what we have, and we need to work with it. But I think the big thing is the no-cash bail."
As such, she believes judges should be given more discretion.
"The same with our state's attorneys, our sheriffs, our police chiefs," Bishop said. "These are people who have tremendous experience, and I think we need to trust them."
Bishop also points to changes she would like to see related to property taxes in Illinois, and she says state lawmakers could play a role by reducing unfunded mandates.
"What we really need to do," Bishop said, "is look for things in the system that are perhaps redundant or outdated or no longer necessary. I think there's a lot of waste that could be done away with, and that would help pull those property taxes down, and I think a lot of other things would fall into line if we did that."
The Republican says, overall, there is a need for better balance in Springfield.
"We are a two-party system," she said, "and I think government works better when there are different perspectives at the table."
Briel narrowly defeated Bishop in the northern Illinois district in 2024.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
