Criminal Justice Reforms
Since the initiation of the Safe-T-Act, crime has been out of control in our state. The police feel helpless to do their jobs, too many prosecutors have forgotten that their primary purpose is public safety and too many policies within the Act just don’t work. Once criminals believe there are no repercussions for their actions, they become unrestrained in their criminal behavior threatening our families, property and businesses.
I appreciate the efforts of police officers, most prosecutors and the Judges who work to keep us safe while following due process. I firmly support policies that allow them to do their job to protect us. While police officers have very difficult jobs to perform in difficult, and often hostile, circumstances, we cannot allow the degree of difficulty of their job to place them above the very laws they are sworn to uphold (just like any other public official or employee). These are the reasons I have joined others in my caucus, and taken a lead role in doing so, in presenting common sense reforms to the Safe-T-Act, as well as the criminal justice system. By enacting these laws, we can keep our the public safe, protect victims’ rights, keep in mind the rights of the accused, again get the best applicants for the job and provide them with better training, all while demanding accountability from those involved in law enforcement.
Secured Borders & Immigrations Reform
If you left your front door open one night and found four strangers in your living room in the morning, would you invite them to stay forever and support them with food, clothes, education and health care? Of course not. It makes no sense. However, that is the current official policy of the State of Illinois for everyone finding their way to Illinois from our southern border. While we need the Federal Government to step up and protect our border, we in Illinois need to prioritize the needs of Illinois citizens first, before we look to help non-residents and non-citizens.
Immigration reform should include securing all borders and ports, reviewing our current immigration policies and creating a rational and efficient system for processing illegal immigrants. The current administration’s policies have allowed too many people to enter illegally, resulting in increases in homelessness, crime and drugs problems, including deaths caused by overdoses in our nation. Hopefully, the current humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border will serve as the basis for Democrats and Republicans to work together so that no such crisis never occurs again.
As Illinoisans we must repeal all laws and end all policies encouraging illegal immigration into our state and country. No state or local unit of government has the right to declare itself a “Sanctuary” to any federal law. We are a nation of laws and must abide by the rule-of-law. If people of a state do not like a particular federal law, they may challenge it in court where appropriate or work to have it changed; we cannot simply ignore it and refuse to work with federal authorities.
Economic Development
While Illinois still has many things going for it, we are not the economic engine we should be. To cite a report by Moody’s, while Illinois is still in position to be an economic leader in the nation, Illinois currently lags the rest of the nation in growth and must make changes to its taxes and other business-related policies to grow at a better rate again. IN FACT, the Committee on Government Forecasting and Accountability just reported that in the first quarter of 2024, the Illinois economy contracted.
The key to our state attracting businesses to Illinois is for government to levy just enough taxes and impose just enough regulatory oversight to protect the interests of the people – and then leave businesses alone. Entrepreneurs and established industries are eager to accept the challenge to sink or swim on their own, but not if the government is actively working against them. Under 25 years of Democrat, one-party control, Illinois has developed many “Opportunity Deserts” because taxes are too high, regulations are too extreme and litigation costs all take too much money that could otherwise be invested in their businesses and employees. If you ask any business owner whether he/she would rather have the government help them or be left alone, the answer is invariably “just leave me alone.”
If we want a brighter future for Illinois and provide our youth with opportunity, it will require more businesses to expand and new businesses to locate in Illinois and a bright future, not only must we change the above, but we must also provide safe communities and better educational opportunities for our children. When Illinois adopts these and other pro-growth policies, we will attract and retain businesses in Illinois, we will lead the nation in job creation and will provide a better and brighter opportunity for our children.
Property Tax Relief
Illinois has the second highest combined property tax burden in the nation, second only to New Jersey. Illinois taxes property at a 2% rate annually while the national average is 1%. I was named to the Illinois Property Tax Reform Task Force to identify ways to provide relief to homeowners. Unfortunately, the Democrats were not serious about working with us to bring about this reform. Therefore, I, like a number of other Republicans, filed a number of bills to help lower property taxes.
In terms of specific property tax relief, I submitted several bills which curb excessive government spending and taxation, but the Democrats never allow these bills to be heard in committee. The biggest is House Bill 4866 which would set aside 25% of our annual budget to first pay our pension obligations and then provide the remainder to be paid to school districts on a per-pupil basis throughout the entire state and require the school districts to lower their property tax levies on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all money received under this The combined effect of my property tax reduction proposals is currently estimated to save Illinois property owners $82.4 billion over the next 21 years.
Fiscal Responsibility
The words fiscal responsibility and Illinois government are rarely mentioned in the same sentence, and for good reason. Illinois has $65 billion in unpaid debt and an additional $150 billion in unfunded pension debt coming due. No serious effort has been made to solve these problems, so the liabilities keep growing. I and other Republicans continue to advocate for real solutions, but we are outvoted 2 to 1 by Democrats who continue to kick this can filled with dynamite down the road. We must begin to balance our budgets without any borrowing or tax increases and provide a transparent system for proceeding with preparing the budget for the people of Illinois to see, review and comment upon and NOT file them last minute with no time for anyone to review and pass them in the middle of the night while no one is watching.
Other Tax Policies
I oppose a graduated income tax system, as did the vast majority of Illinoisans, knowing it was just another tax hike in disguise. Illinois did not need this tax increase, nor does it need other tax increases. They need tax relief. The reasons are many, but the main ones are as follows.
First, the people of Illinois are already some of highest taxed in the nation. As a result, we are losing population and either not growing economically or lagging the rest of the nation when we do grow. Adding more taxes will not reverse these problems but add to them.
Second, the legislature over the last 50 years, and especially in the last 10, has not proven itself trustworthy when it comes to dealing with the issue of taxes and how the money will be spent. Twice in the last ten years income taxes have been raised on all the citizens of Illinois and the people were told the new money would be used to pay the backlog of bills the State had and lower the pension debt; the money collected did not go towards either of these.
Finally, the only way for us to truly solve our debt problems and significantly lower our tax burden is to grow our way out. Instead, the Democrats raised taxes for the new fiscal year by almost $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars). The ever-increasing tax and fee burden on Illinois residents and businesses is driving them out. The total tax burden (income tax, sales tax, excise tax, property tax, etc.,) in Illinois is one of the highest in the nation. This has created enormous hardship for businesses and individuals to cope with being in Illinois, as well as keeping our property from appreciating in value at the same rate as the rest of the nation. Every business that closes or leaves not only causes immediate job losses, but it creates a ripple effect when the revenue that had been collected by the state now has to be collected from whatever businesses and individuals that remain.
Ultimately, my plan is to grow and eventually repeal the latest 32% Democrat-led income tax rate increase.
Ethics
In recent years Illinois has seen too many announcements by the U.S. Attorney that another Illinois elected official has been indicted, charged, implicated or convicted in a major public corruption scheme. In a new record for Illinois, almost a dozen Senators, State Representatives, Chicago Aldermen, suburban Mayors, County Board members, Township Supervisors, and various government employees have resigned their offices in disgrace. The list of shame is entirely made up of Democrats (save one) — almost exclusively from Cook County.
The systemic corruption that has plagued Illinois for 50 years shows no sign of abating, and the most powerful Democrat in the state at the center may not go on trial before the November 2024 election. In an “only in Illinois” scenario, Mike Madigan still participates in the back-room dealings of the Illinois Democratic Party.
In order to make every person elected or working in government understand that their role is public service and not personal profit or political power, I co-sponsored a series of reforms that prevent and punish corruption. None have yet been voted on because they have been bottled up in legislative limbo by the new Speaker of the House Chris Welch, just as they were previously thwarted by the old Speaker of the House Mike Madigan.
Abortion: Let The People Decide
Abortion is one of the most divisive topics in the United States today. However, the polarization on this issue is exaggerated. When we discuss the policy details surrounding abortion, there is broader consensus. This is why being “A voice of reason during a time of extremism” is beneficial. While the extremes dominate the conversation on abortion, very few people are 100% pro-choice or 100% pro-life.
Being 100% pro-life means that abortion would not be allowed even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk. It also can imply a ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF). Fewer people, including elected officials, hold this absolute belief.
On the other hand, 100% pro-choice means that abortion would be legal at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. This would include aborting a full-term healthy baby at nine months via partial-birth abortion. It also means that minors can access abortion services without parental notification and that taxpayers would be required to fund abortions. While this is the law in Illinois, it is not the consensus position of the people of Illinois.
Poll after poll has shown that the majority of the public supports both access to abortion services and some level of restriction. Parental notification has broad support. When a minor is pregnant, it often indicates that a crime has been committed. With the rise in sex trafficking, predators are more likely to evade justice if adults are not notified. The same applies to child rapists, where a pregnancy can uncover the crime.
I support a statewide referendum on each separate abortion question because that is the only true way to get a comprehensive consensus on the this multilayered issue. Let the people decide, not the politicians. We are not having honest conversations right now. As a pro-life official, who believes in the three exceptions mentioned above, and a supporter of IVF, I believe the best way to foster reasonable discussion and policy on abortion is through direct voter involvement.
Equality For All
There is no better way to ensure equality for all than to provide everyone – first with the education/training to reach their goals and second with the opportunity to make them achievable. This is why I have filed and supported bills to help our underserved communities and provide our youth with more opportunity. Social unrest is the direct result of the lack of economic opportunity that provides the path for all people to the American Dream. When too many people see that path blocked by unconstitutional discrimination or irrational bias, they should justifiably peacefully protest until those impediments to their advancement are eliminated. And all Americans should join in that effort because that which helps one of us helps all of us.
