Exit Interview: Rep. Lance Yednock "Right Decision to Step Away"
Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa), who did not seek re-election in November, is reflecting on his time in the legislature. (Photo: Shaw Media)
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Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) never really imagined politics was a part of his plan. A longtime heavy machine operator and Business Agent for powerful union Local 150, Yednock said he was “plucked” to run against a scandal-plagued Republican lawmaker and unpopular Governor in Republican Bruce Rauner.
“I came into this late, for a pretty narrow reason,” Yednock said. “I didn't want to be there forever. It really I felt like I needed to be a citizen legislator, and I wasn't going to just continue to run.”
Yednock stepped aside this year, not seeking re-election to his LaSalle-Peru to DeKalb based district.
The moderate, along with a handful of other centrist Democrats, including Rep. Larry Walsh (D-Elwood), Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield), and Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates) “ruffled some feathers” in the Democratic caucus this year, nearly holding up the Democratic budget package, including forcing multiple votes on a tax increase bill at 4:30 in the morning in May.
“I think that everybody's intention is the right thing that we want to,” Yednock said. “We want to make sure the process is good. We want to make sure we're spending money wisely, that we're we're trying to do the things that we can go back to our districts and say, ‘this is how we're running government.’ I think we were always tiptoeing with that line. The Moderate caucus really wants to be just a financially responsible caucus saying, ‘if you have a good idea, we're up for good ideas. But we also have to remember we got to pay for it.”
Yednock says Democrats, and House Speaker Chris Welch, have a tough job to manage a large, diverse caucus ranging from center-left moderates to far-left progressives.
“We are trying to figure out whether we're a pretty far left or left of center party,” Yednock said. “The speaker's job is to manage that and he's taken over from probably a pretty conservative to moderate speaker for the last 50 years. He's had some challenges, there's no doubt about it. And I wouldn't want his job for the world. Him navigating that is you know, one of is still going to be one of his biggest challenges, especially in light of the last election.”
Yednock admits moderates are starting to gain traction in Springfield, and he would have been more effective if he stayed another term or two.
“We stood up for some things this last year or two and had to become a caucus that people wanted to talk to and find out whether they had our support or not, mostly around financial issues, the budget, et cetera,” he said, “So that gives me pause to say I wish I would have been there another term or two to continue pushing on the things that we thought are important.”
He hasn’t flushed out future plans, but says he hopes to either return back to the Local 150 office or to begin operating heavy machinery again.
He’ll be replaced by Amy Murri-Briel, who goes by “Murri.” Briel, who previously worked in Yednock’s office, defeated Republican Liz Bishop by 595 votes, making her a likely target for the GOP in two years.