In this issue:
- Back to school!
- Tollway rate hike approved
- Governor says he supports Family Farms Preservation Act
- Friend of Agriculture Award
Back to school!
Students have returned to most of our area schools to begin the new school year. It’s an exciting time of new possibilities and opportunities, but also one that calls for reminders about caution.
Remember that school buses are back out on the roads, both in town and in the rural areas. Watch out for students waiting for buses or boarding and unloading. And never pass a stopped school bus. Also, be mindful of reduced speed limits around school buildings.
This year Illinois has also changed the law regarding use of cell phones in schools. Illinois has joined the list of states which ban the use of cell phones in classrooms. A few exceptions are included in the law, such as students who must have their phone with them at all times for health reasons.
School boards throughout Illinois have been asked to adopt policies which ban the use of phones during instructional time this school year. The new law applies at different levels of intensity depending on whether it is an elementary school or a high school. Quite a few boards around Illinois were already moving in this direction, implementing their own local policies before the legislation was signed this summer.
Best wishes to all our local students for a successful school year!
Tollway rate hike approved
Drivers in northeastern Illinois will be contending with higher tolls next year to help support a $26.5 billion spending program over the next 15 years. The toll hike itself will collect an additional $1 billion per year, with additional increases expected in the coming years to keep up with inflation. The additional money will go into a fund to pay interest on bonds which will be sold for the construction program.
The toll increase will cost a driver who passes through two tolls a day about $225 more over the course of the year. Tolls for commercial vehicles will go up by 30%. That means that even if you do not use the Illinois Tollway, goods which are transported via the Tollway to stores in our area could see their prices increase because of the extra costs of shipping.
These toll hikes came about due to legislation which I opposed last fall. The toll increase was authorized by the Chicago mass transit bailout package which passed the General Assembly in the 2025 fall session of the legislature. It is the largest single increase in Illinois Toll Highway Authority history.
Governor says he supports Family Farms Preservation Act
I was very pleased to hear Governor Pritzker say recently that he supports a bill which has become known as the Family Farm Preservation Act. After years of inaction on estate tax reform in Illinois, we might finally be seeing some much-needed progress.
House Bill 4736 is the latest bipartisan attempt to reform Illinois’ badly broken estate tax system as it relates to farms. The bill would raise the exclusion amount on the value of a piece of farm property so that fewer family-owned farms would be hit with the estate tax when a family member passes away. Far too many Illinois families have to sell their farms in order to come up with the money to pay this tax.
We have been filing this bill in various forms for years, and for years it has been denied the chance to be voted upon. I wish Governor Pritzker had spoken out strongly in favor of the bill back during the legislative session when it could have been moved forward, but this creates the possibility of some momentum for the fall veto session or for next spring.
The lead sponsor of the bill is a Democrat, and the list of co-sponsors has members from both parties – so this is not a partisan issue. It is a way to help families hold onto their farms for the next generation. I hope we can finally see some movement on this legislation soon.
Friend of Agriculture Award
I was honored to receive a Friend of Agriculture Award from the Illinois Farm Bureau. It was an especially great night getting together with Senator Balkema and Representative Haas to accept our awards and celebrate the important work happening across our communities.
What a great night celebrating agriculture and the incredible people who make Illinois agriculture so strong!
I’m grateful for the opportunity to advocate for our farmers, rural communities, and the agriculture industry in Springfield.
Thank you to the Illinois Farm Bureau for this recognition and, more importantly, for all you do for Illinois agriculture!
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 $1,337,451,399. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.8 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
Suburban man found with Molotov cocktails released on electronic monitoring by judge
Trials for Aaron and Carol Ammons delayed to November