NW Illinois News

State Rep. Tony McCombie, R- Savanna, in a Nov. 8 Facebook post, thanked her constituents for her re-election to the state legislature in Springfield.

McCombie was first elected to represent the 71st District in 2016, according to her legislative biography, and previously served as mayor of Savanna and also served on Savanna City Council.

“During my time in the House, I have challenged leaders in both parties to ensure Illinois taxpayers are protected and hard-working families in Illinois have safe neighborhoods, strong schools, economic opportunities and more freedom,” she wrote in a news release, according to the Journal-Standard. “Still, there is more work to do to drive success for our region and achieve the ethics and state government reforms needed to promote growth and get Illinois back on track."

A lifelong Savanna resident, McCombie also is a Western Illinois University graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree, according to her legislative bio, and she also is the owner of Blue Appraisals and works as a real estate broker with Mel Foster Company.

While serving in Springfield, McCombie picked up on several hot-button issues as a legislator, including the misuse of public benefits. She pointed out in a July Facebook post a personal experience she had with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to Rock Island Today. 

“Many years ago, I was questioned by a new clerk (while) using my mother's SNAP card to buy her Ensure,” she wrote in the Facebook post cited by the publication. “She was only able to eat through a feeding tube at that point. Luckily I shopped local and the owner knew me and quickly remedied the situation but today there is little to question and grocery clerks around the district do talk to me about fraud.”

McCombie noted that many clerks tell her that they often harbor feelings of guilt about raising issues.

“They (clerks) feel guilty doing so because they want people to be helped but know this program has gotten too big to avoid the misuse,” she wrote in the post on social media, according to the publication. “Misuse that will hurt those that need it the most.”

The article also noted that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts that SNAP will cost about $531 billion between 2024 and fiscal year 2028, the period covered by the next farm bill.