In this issue:
- Tribune: General Assembly “moving sluggishly” on ethics reform
- Hope for some action on competitiveness
- Youth Advisory Council in Springfield
- I-PASS On Demand event coming up
Tribune: General Assembly “moving sluggishly” on ethics reform
This week the Chicago Tribune ran a story pointing out that the General Assembly has moved sluggishly in reforming the state’s ethics laws.
The story mentioned that since Governor Pritzker took office in 2019, eleven state lawmakers have pled guilty, or been convicted of crimes. Just last week a mistrial was declared in the case of a state senator accused of bribery. Of course, the biggest corruption story this spring was the federal conviction of former Speaker of the House Mike Madigan.
The story goes on to remind readers that with one month left in session, the Democrats who run the statehouse have done little to press for ethics reforms, and that reforms proposed by members from both sides have gone nowhere. The Governor’s State of the State address had nothing to say about ethics reform. He dodged a question on the issue at a recent press conference.
This should be – it needs to be – a bipartisan issue. Corruption negatively affects us all. Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together to fix this problem on behalf of all the people of Illinois.
There is still time for the General Assembly to pass the commonsense ethics reform proposals that have been introduced this year, like banning the use of campaign funds for legal defense and enacting a longer waiting period before a legislator can become a lobbyist.
These issues need to be discussed in an open hearing, and a good bill or package of bills needs to be developed on a bipartisan basis. Simply dropping a “take it or leave it” proposal at the last minute is not likely to solve the problem.
We have to get serious about ethics reform. And we need to do it soon.
Hope for some action on competitiveness
Illinois has lagged behind most of the country in terms of unemployment and high taxes due to decades of bad fiscal policies, overregulation and excessive taxation. A few days ago the Republican members of the House Revenue and Finance Committee expressed their hope that the supermajority Democrats who rule Illinois are finally getting serious about making the state more competitive.
All through this spring session Democrats in the General Assembly have given speech after speech about federal policies and news out of Washington, rather than focusing on the state issues that are our responsibility as state legislators. In a recent hearing, Democrats on the state’s tax-writing committee, Revenue and Finance, sough to blame federal tariff policy as the primary driver of Illinois’ economic problems, when the reality is that Illinois’ economy has been lagging for decades due to failed policies enacted under Democratic rule. The Republicans on the committee responded that it is time for all Illinois lawmakers to take responsibility for state issues and control what they can control, not grandstand about federal issues.
“Illinois’ economic struggles pre-date current federal policy by decades, the result of burdensome regulations, tax hikes, and anti-business legislation championed by Democrats in Springfield,” the Republican members of the committee said in a joint statement. “By acting responsibly and enacting better policies, our state can be set up to enjoy beneficial economic impacts once the federal trade deals and tariffs are negotiated and ironed out. While there is a lot of uncertainty going on at the federal level, no amount of blaming changes what can be done in Illinois.”
There is still one month left in the spring legislative session to make some progress on reducing taxes and making Illinois more competitive for creating jobs.
Youth Advisory Council in Springfield
State Senator Chris Balkema hosted a Youth Advisory Council at the Capitol last week.
He invited students from schools from across the 53rd Senate District down to Springfield, many of which were from the 106th House District.
I was happy to meet with them and show them the House Floor!
I-PASS On Demand event coming up
On Monday May 12 I am joining with Senator Balkema, as well as Senator Sue Rezin and Rep. Jed Davis to host an I-PASS On Demand event in Morris.
Local drivers who use the Illinois Tollway will have the chance to exchange their transponder box for a new I-PASS sticker tag. The event will run from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Grundy County Board Room, located at 1320 Union Street in Morris.
Once activated, a sticker tag is ready to use on the Tollway and other E-ZPass roadways 24 hours after activation. There is no deposit required for a sticker tag from the Tollway, and the deposit you paid for your old transponder will transfer into your current account.
Be safe on the roads
Planting season is well underway in our area, and there is lots of farm equipment being moved along our roadways. Please remember to use extra caution when driving. Watch for slow-moving vehicles on the roads, and remember that if you can’t see the driver, the driver can’t see you.
Be safe, everyone!
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $2,840,502,221. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $900 million in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
‘Every time you tell that story they live on’ Gold Star Families Memorial dedicated in Watseka
Mistrial declared in bribery trial of Illinois Sen. Emil Jones III
Tollway texting you about unpaid fees? Don’t believe it
Illinois Gaming Board adopts new rule banning credit card use for sports betting
Audit findings reveal late payments, poor internal controls at Illinois higher ed board