Position Sought
Illinois House of Representatives, District 76
Party Affiliation
Democrat
Location
Ottawa, Illinois
Date of General Election
November 5, 2024
General Election Donation Limit
$5,200
Race/Ethnicity
Multiracial
Gender Identity
Cisgender Woman
Sexual Orientation
Bisexual
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Connect with Amy Murri Briel
Murri will bring important representation to the Illinois House of Representatives!
Biography
“I was born and raised in the Illinois Valley, to a hard working, open minded, caring family. My Dad is a Korean War veteran, retired IBEW electrician who worked at Libbey Owens Ford for 40 years. His championing of labor went back to his father’s close involvement in the merger of the AFL-CIO. He would often boast I was his only child that wanted to walk a picket line before I was 6. He is currently in the LaSalle County Veterans Home with Alzheimer’s. My mom is a farm girl who is the youngest of 4 raised by a single mom. Her family immigrated from Ireland to the Valley almost 200 years ago to become farmers. They still farm that same land today. She went to school in a one room schoolhouse, which I also attended years later. Her family didn’t have running water until she was a sophomore in high school. Despite those hardships, she was a dedicated volunteer in the community whether it was delivering meals on wheels, working for the Farm Bureau, or fighting for environmental protection.
I start my history here because my family made me understand tireless work, community involvement and passion for helping those in need. Not everyone is as fortunate to have grown up with such amazing role models — and I’ve never taken that for granted.
I attended Wallace Grade School and Ottawa High School where I was involved in the Arts, Music, Speech and Athletics. After Graduation I moved to Normal Il to attend Illinois State University. There I competed on the Forensics team, and studied Philosophy and Psychology with minors in Women’s Studies and Political Science.
After ISU, I moved to Lisle IL for a career and met my Husband of 22 years. From the moment we knew that we would spend our lives together, we wanted to move back to the Valley and buy my family home. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any economic opportunity for our fields so we built careers away from here. Over the next 8 years, I worked in human resources, recruiting, and human management software. I made a move into social service and non-profits, we had our three sons, and have been in that arena ever since. When our boys were born, we wanted to move back to the Valley but our sons are autistic and have severe asthma. There were no programs in the area that supported their development needs nor was there specialized medical care and we couldn’t move back.
I always knew we would move back to the Valley one day so I ran for Congress, in the 2018 primary for Illinois 16th Congressional district. Instead of disappearing after an unsuccessful run, I stayed active in the party by becoming a PC, Illinois Democratic Women of Will, and continued working on issues that matter. I was also Public Strategy consultant for Plainfield Public Library Referendum, Plainfield District 202 Teachers, Citizens for Responsible Transportation, and IFSWS – Islamic Foundation of Southwest Suburbs. I also worked on political campaigns in management positions for the Will County Coordinated Campaign, Micheal Crowner – State Senate, and Lance Yednock for State Representative.
I have wanted to serve this area, this community, for many years. When my family and I moved back to the Valley, I went to work for Representative Lance Yednock as his Chief of Staff serving the 76th district. I’ve seen the challenges and opportunities our district faces and believe that my knowledge, skills, personality and compassion will elevate the issues the district faces so that Springfield will take action.
By running for this seat, I aim to contribute my passion to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the people I seek to represent.”