Illicit fentanyl is being distributed across the country including here in Illinois. Sold on the illegal drug market, Fentanyl is often mixed with other illicit drugs to increase its potency. It is sold as powders and nasal sprays, and increasingly pressed into pills made to look like legitimate prescription opioids or rainbow colored tablets that look like candy. The tragic reality:  A very small dose of Fentanyl can be lethal. Just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.  According to the US Centers for Disease Cont ..read more

State Representative Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont) and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) are one step closer to improving traffic safety around O’Hare Airport. In response to reports of dangerous conditions around the airport, Harmon and Stephens passed legislation prohibiting drivers from stopping their vehicles on the shoulder of the road anywhere within a half-mile radius of O’Hare. “O’Hare is one of the busiest airports in the country,” Harmon said. “With thousands of cars coming through daily, obstructions on the roadway present a threat to drivers, passengers and pedestrians.” Th ..read more

Deputy Republican Leader Norine Hammond was a guest on the Season 39 premiere of “Illinois Lawmakers.” The long-running series is now being produced by Capitol News Illinois. Representative Hammond and host Jak Tichenor discussed concerns with the pending Illinois State Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Hammond indicated that House Republicans have not yet been included in budget negotiations. She expressed the Caucus’ opposition to Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed tax increases on Illinois businesses, as well as the Governor’s proposal to transfer $175 million from the Road Fund for Chicago-area ..read more

With the State of Illinois facing an estimated $775 million budget deficit and Governor JB Pritzker calling for more than $1 billion in tax hikes on Illinois families and businesses, State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) has filed legislation to end Illinois’ healthcare benefits program for undocumented immigrants. Last week, Rep. Davidsmeyer introduced House Bill 5846 which would repeal the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Seniors (HBIA/HBIS) Programs. The State of Illinois currently provides free healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrant adults at an annual est ..read more

CRIMINAL LAW Illinois Republicans Urge Action on Bipartisan Bill to Protect Students. At a press conference this week in Springfield, Rep. Amy Elik and Sen. Terri Bryant urged the Senate to act on House Bill 4241, which unanimously passed the House last month. The bill, which protects high school students age 18 and older from sexual abuse by an educator, currently sits in Assignments in the Senate. Rep. Jackie Haas and Sen. Erica Harriss also attended the press conference and are co-sponsors of the bill. “We carefully crafted this legislation to anticipate any possible concerns by both the ..read more

On April 15, dozens of pro-Palestine protesters blocked Interstate 190, an expressway that leads toward O’Hare International Airport. With no regard for commuters or emergency services that may have needed to use the road, the protest completely halted all traffic on the road for more than an hour. As a result, travelers were forced to leave their vehicles and trek along the road towards the airport, many of whom missed their flights. The disruption that took place on I-190 in April is just one of many examples of the far-left using protest tactics in Chicago to coerce appeasement in Springf ..read more

Earlier this spring, Illinois Governor Pritzker announced his plan to demolish and reconstruct the Logan Correctional Center. The prison is currently situated in the center of Logan County in the City of Lincoln, but it may not be rebuilt there. On May 10, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) testified in a legislative hearing that it is considering relocating the correctional center closer to the Chicago suburbs. That move would affect the livelihood of hundreds of families and would be a blow to the economically struggling community of Lincoln. “Logan Correctional is an instrumen ..read more

In this recent op-ed, State Representative Charlie Meier implores the Illinois General Assembly to defeat legislation that would put workshops that employ the developmentally disabled out of business. Meier has long been a champion for the rights of the developmentally disabled. Throughout my time in Springfield serving southern Illinois and portions of the Metro-East, I have worked hard to represent the best interests of the citizens in our state that live in the care of the state, live in Community Integrated Living Arrangements, and for those developmentally disabled individuals that perf ..read more

BUDGET House Republicans call for enactment of a $52.1 billion balanced State of Illinois budget for FY 2025. Under subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Illinois Constitution, appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year. Under subsection (a) of Section 4 of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act, the House and Senate are directed, by joint resolution, to adopt or modify the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability's State revenue estimates for the fiscal year a ..read more

House Bill 4662, sponsored by State Representative Amy Elik, unanimously passed the House on April 18. The bill extends the sunset of an existing program that allows retired educators to return to teaching in subject shortage areas without negatively impacting their pension or benefits. It was one of several efforts put in place to combat a growing teacher shortage in Illinois. The current program is slated to end on June 30, 2024. If the program is permitted to sunset, retired educators who had returned to the classroom to help with the shortage will have to leave their positions ..read more