In this issue:
- Gerrymandering amendment does not advance
- Unemployment rises to 5.1% in March
- Emmaline Hildenbrand served as a House Page for a Day
- Read All About It: America 250
Gerrymandering amendment does not advance
A proposed Constitutional amendment which would have permanently enshrined partisan gerrymandering in the state Constitution did not advance in the Senate last week, meaning it will not appear on the Illinois ballot this fall.
The proposed amendment would have supercharged Illinois’ already one-sided legislative district drawing process to make it even easier to draw districts in such a way as to protect and even expand the Democrat supermajority which currently runs Springfield. It passed the House a couple of weeks ago on a nearly party-line vote, but the Senate declined to even take up the measure for consideration.
Illinois Republicans have proposed a reform amendment which would take district-drawing out of the hands of partisan politicians and instead create a 16-member bipartisan commission to draw fair legislative district maps. Rather than operating under a system through which majority party politicians draw districts to pick the voters most likely to keep them in office, this commission would draw districts based on equal population, compactness and contiguity – which would let voters choose their representatives instead of the other way around.
Like many other proposed reforms in this General Assembly, this amendment has been ignored.
Unemployment rises to 5.1% in March
The unemployment rate in Illinois continues to edge slightly higher, reaching 5.1% in March according to figures released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Compared to one year ago, unemployment is up by 0.5%.
Non-farm payroll jobs in Illinois fell by 4300 jobs in the month. The hardest hit sectors of the economy were Trade, Transportation and Utilities which lost 18,900 jobs, and Professional and Business Services, which lost 6700. There was a gain of 21,700 jobs in Private Education and Health Services.
There are 334,700 unemployed Illinoisans according to the latest report, which is an increase of 1.9% from the month before, and an increase of 9.5% compared to a year ago. The total number of people in the labor force was unchanged from the previous month and down by 0.8% compared to a year ago.
Emmaline Hildenbrand served as a House Page for a Day
On Thursday I had the privilege of introducing Emmaline Hildenbrand of Onarga to the members of the Illinois House. Emmaline served as a House Page for the Day and got to see the workings of the House of Representative up close.
Emmaline is an 8th grader at St. Paul’s Lutheran School and she will be starting at Cissna Park this fall. Her parents are Andy and Brenna Hildenbrand. She is the valedictorian of her 8th grade class and serves as President of the Woodworth Kountry Klovers 4-H Club, where she is active in shooting sports. She also plays volleyball, basketball and runs track. She plays the piano and the flute and was even a member of the Lutheran Schools State Honor Band.
It was great to have Emmaline join us for the day in Springfield!
Read All About It: America 250
Summer vacation is almost upon us, and that means that my 2026 Summer Reading Program is now open!
Pick up an entry form by stopping by your local library anywhere in the 106th District or visiting my website. Students from Kindergarten to fifth grade can enter by reading eight books this summer. Finish your reading and return your entry form to win some free ice cream at the end of the summer.
This year’s theme is Read All About It: America 250. We are celebrating the 250th birthday of our great nation all throughout this year. In keeping with the spirit of America 250, any student who reads a book about American history as part of their summer reading will earn an extra prize.
Let’s get reading!
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 $1,937,190,977. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $2.2 billion 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
GOP lawmakers renew push for SAFE-T Act reform after deadly Chicago police shooting
Pritzker says mega projects bill, aimed at keeping Chicago Bears in Illinois, needs more work
Illinois municipal leaders unveil ‘REAL’ counter to Pritzker’s ‘BUILD’ housing plan