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

The Illinois House of Representatives passed legislation in April sponsored by State Representative Joe Sosnowski that would allow the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and the Service Boards (Metra, CTA, and Pace) to donate rolling stock, including locomotives and equipment, to museums in Illinois that are not-for-profit organizations.  Under current law the RTA is not permitted to donate items before putting them up for private sale or auction. The need to update the current law was brought to Sosnowski's attention by the Illinois Railway Museum in his district. The RTA wa ..read more

State Representative Jackie Haas' legislation making it easier for retired law enforcement professionals to work as school safety officers cleared the House last month.  “This bill will incentivize retired law enforcement officers to return to work as school safety officers by ensuring their pension benefits are not suspended," said Haas.  Currently, retired law enforcement officers who work more than 599 hours per year are considered full-time employees under their pension regulations. If they work in excess of 599 hours their pension benefits would be suspended. A typical 40-ho ..read more