Sue Rezin


Sue Schipper Rezin is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 38th district since her appointment in December 2010. The 38th district includes Bureau, Putnam, LaSalle, Grundy, and Kendall counties in north central Illinois.

About

Senator Sue Rezin was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in November 2010, and was then appointed to the Illinois State Senate. She was sworn in as State Senator on December 14, 2010, and has since been elected twice to represent the 38th Legislative District. In 2015, she was appointed Assistant Leader in the Senate Republican Caucus.
As a proponent of energy advancement and independence, obtaining equitable education funding reform, and improving statewide economic growth, Senator Rezin serves as the Minority Spokesperson on the Senate Energy Committee and is a member of the Senate Appropriations, Higher Education, Education, Executive, and Transportation Committees.
Additional committee and task force appointments have included the Education Funding Reform Commission, Education Funding Advisory Committee, the Young Adult Heroin Use Task Force, the Social Security Retirement Pay Task Force, the Illinois Veterans Advisory Council, the Joint Task force on Turkish and Illinois Relations, the Task Force on Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation, the Illinois Electric Vehicle Advisory Council the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, and the Unemployment Insurance Task Force. In 2015, Sen. Rezin was appointed to the Commission to End Hunger and reappointed to the Veterans Advisory Council.
Senator Rezin helped establish the Grundy County summer internship program. Teaming up with the Grundy Area Vocational Center, the Grundy Economic Development Council, and several local employers, Senator Rezin has helped dozens of students obtain high quality internships. The goal is to not only provide students with a real world, hands on experience at great companies, but to entice students to stay in the area by working here.
Senator Rezin also established the Illinois Valley Flood Resiliency Alliance. The IVFRA brings communities, local governments, and emergency personnel together to help them prepare for extreme weather events, especially floods, through education, communication, education, and the purchasing of flood prevention materials. The IVFRA originally included LaSalle, Grundy, Bureau, and Putnam counties. It has since added several more. The IVFRA will soon develop a resiliency plan for the region. The IVFRA is also helping secure grant funding for communities to help prevent flood losses.
In 2015, Senator Rezin and several local employers teamed up with Joliet Junior College to establish the Operations Engineering and Technician technical program at JJC. It's part of Senator Rezin's goal to bridge the gap between high school and industry in the 38th Senate District. This program will help provide that pipeline for students. With anticipated industry growth and an increasing number of retirees in the coming years, many openings for well-paying, stable jobs are expected at energy and manufacturing companies, especially in Senator Rezin's district.
In 2016, Sen. Rezin established in Youth Advisory Council. This Council gives dozens of high school students from across the 38th Senate District, who are selected by their principals and teachers, a unique, hands-on experience in state government. The group receives a tour of the Capitol Building, visits the floor level of the Senate Chamber, sees how the General Assembly operates first-hand and up-close, and hears from other State Senators and political leaders once a year in Springfield. Students also discuss and debate issues important to them, and then put forward proposals they feel could help make Illinois better. During another time of the year, the group meets in the district. There, students hear from a wide range of speakers such as business professionals, coaches, and political leaders. This is also where they continue the discussion of issues important to them, with Sen. Rezin facilitating the discussion.
Community service has always been extremely important to Senator Rezin. For the past twenty-five years, she has been an active volunteer and supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois. For seven years, she served as a Board Member and past Vice President for the Community Foundation of Greater Grundy County to help improve the lives of people in need, childcare, workforce development and land use and preservation. She has also volunteered her time with the Edgar Fellows Program, where students participate in an intense four-day executive leadership-training program. Senator Rezin also served on a local school board, as well as the Board of Directors for We Care of Grundy County, whose purpose is to provide temporary housing and food assistance to the community. For fourteen years, she was a Board Member on the Morris Hospital Foundation, served as Vice President while chairing the Annual Support Committee, and presided over the Executive Committee during her service.
In recognition of Senator Rezin's philanthropic work and dedication to bettering her community, she was inducted into the 2009 Illinois Lincoln Series. The Illinois Lincoln Series of Excellence in Public Service empowers, educates and amplifies the voices of women of leadership in government, business, and civic organizations.
Senator Rezin is a graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. She is also the recipient of the Partnership of the Year Award from the Grundy County Economic Development, the Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR Friend of Agriculture Award, and the Highest Voting Record Supporting the Agricultural County Award from the Will County Farm Bureau. In 2015, Sen. Rezin received the Illinois Valley Women of Distinction Award. In 2016, Sen. Rezin received the Women in Politics Making a Difference Award by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
As a graduate of Augustana College, Senator Rezin earned a degree in International Business and Political Science with a minor in Hispanic Studies. For the past sixteen years, she has been the co-owner and manager of her family's real estate company. Senator Rezin and her husband, Keith, reside in Morris and have four children.
Rezin is a member of the Tourism Coordinating Committee and the Trade Policy Task Force. On March 19, 2015, Rezin was appointed a member of the is a member of the Tourism Coordinating Committee which is tasked with the promotion and development of tourism activities throughout state government. On October 23, 2017 Rezin was appointed a member of the Trade Policy Task Force for a term ending December 31, 2018. The Trade Policy Task Force's function is to analyze important issues relative to the growth of international trade and make recommendations to Congress, the United States Trade Representative, and the White House National Trade Council regarding policies that best serve Illinois. The Task Force also promotes exporting out of and importing into Illinois.

Illinois Senate

Rezin was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in November 2010, and was then appointed to the Illinois State Senate. She was selected by the Illinois Republican Party county chairman to fill the seat of Gary G. Dahl, who resigned on December 2, 2010. She was sworn in as State Senator on December 14, 2010, and elected to serve a four-year term in November 2012. She represents the 38th Legislative District. In 2015, she was appointed Assistant Leader in the Senate GOP Caucus.

Illinois Valley Flood Resiliency Alliance (IVFRA)

In 2013, Senator Rezin helped establish the Illinois Valley Flood Resiliency Alliance. The IVFRA brings communities, local governments, and emergency personnel together to help them prepare for extreme weather events, especially floods, through education, communication, and the purchasing of flood protection materials. The IVFRA includes LaSalle, Grundy, Bureau, and Putnam counties. The IVFRA has also developed a resiliency plan for the region. The IVFRA has also helped secure grant funding for communities to help decrease flood losses.
As a direct result of Senator Rezin's involvement in forming the IVFRA, there are now 24 new Certified Floodplain Managers in her district.

2020 Congressional campaign

On July 9, 2019, Rezin announced that she would be a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in the 14th congressional district in 2020 — even though she was a resident of the 16th — and planned on unseating first-term incumbent Democrat Lauren Underwood. She was narrowly defeated in the March 2020 Republican primary by fellow state Senator Jim Oberweis.

Personal life

Rezin and her husband, Keith, have four children. They reside in Morris, Illinois.
She has been a board member and former vice president of the Community Foundation of Greater Grundy County. She also serves on the Board of Directors for We Care of Grundy County. She was inducted into the 2009 Illinois Lincoln Series, where she was honored for her philanthropic work and dedication to bettering her community. The Illinois Lincoln Series of Excellence in Public Service empowers, educates and amplifies the voices of Republican women in leadership positions within government, business and civic organizations.