GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Meet our newest legislators. This week the House Republican Caucus welcomed Nicole La Ha and Brandun Schweizer to its ranks. The two new legislators were appointed to fill vacancies created with the retirements of State Representatives Michael Marron and John Egofske.
On Wednesday, Nicole La Ha took the oath of office to become State Representative of the 82nd District, which includes the communities of Willowbrook, Burr Ridge, Willow Springs, Darien, Western Springs, Homer Glen, and Lemont.
La Ha was elected to the Village of Homer Glen Board of Trustees in 2020. During her tenure, she demonstrated a strong commitment to lower property taxes and financial responsibility. La Ha is also Mrs. America 2022 and has a history of impactful advocacy for community accessibility and inclusive parks for children with disabilities. Her personal experiences as the mother of a differently abled child have fueled her commitment to inspire a more inclusive world. Learn more about Rep. Nicole La Ha.
Brandun Schweizer was sworn into office as the State Representative of the 104th District on Thursday. His District includes parts of Vermilion and Champaign counties, in east central Illinois.
Schweizer is a retired United States Marine Corps Master Sergeant. He served as an Intelligence Chief, Equal Opportunity Advisor, and Recruiter during his 21-year career. After his retirement from the USMC earlier this year, Schweizer began working for the City of Danville as a Code Enforcement Inspector. He is also a member of IBEW labor union. Schweizer and his wife, Amy, reside in Danville with their three children. Learn more about Rep. Brandun Schweizer.
CORRUPTION
Former Chicago alderman Edward M. Burke found guilty on federal corruption charges. As a half-century member of Chicago’s City Council and ward committeeman, Alderman Burke was known as a power broker. Ed Burke became chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, with veto power over the spending, the taxes, and many of the contracts entered into or ordered by Illinois’ largest city. From the days of former Mayor Harold Washington onward, Burke was a much-feared symbol of Chicago power and authority.
Corruption allegations swirled around Alderman/Ward Committeeman Burke for decades. Perhaps because of partisan party loyalties, a string of Cook County State’s Attorneys turned a blind eye to these allegations. Finally in January 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stepped in. Burke’s indictment on numerous federal charges related to pervasive personal and office corruption was the start of a lengthy, four-year pretrial process. In late 2023, former Alderman Burke was finally put on trial. The jury found him guilty of racketeering, attempted extortion, and other public corruption charges on Thursday, December 21.
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement after former Alderman Ed Burke, the longest-serving Chicago City Council member, was convicted on numerous criminal charges, including racketeering and extortion:
“Illinois has weak ethics laws and House Republicans have been pushing for significant reforms for years. Democrats’ complacency with the status quo continues to cheat and take advantage of Illinois families by the very government who says it is there to protect them. House Republicans have filed common sense proposals and are more than willing to have bipartisan discussions to close loopholes and enhance penalties for those who violate the public’s trust.”
JOBS
Illinois unemployment rate up in November. The November 2023 unemployment rate increased to 4.7% in Illinois. This was up 0.1% from the 4.6% level notched in October 2023. The November figures showed Illinois unemployment that was 1.0% higher than the national average of 3.7%.
Total estimated Illinois nonfarm payroll employment in November 2023 was up by 6,800 jobs from the payroll numbers from the previous month, and up by 54,200 jobs from comparable figures achieved twelve months earlier in November 2022. The increase in unemployment for November 2023, which occurred despite a slight growth in overall Illinois jobs, reflected the continued movement of adult Illinoisans back into the labor force. When more people are coming into the labor force than net new hires, unemployment results.
Illinois created a net of 5,400 new manufacturing jobs in November 2023. While this was healthy growth, less than ten percent of Illinois’ overall labor force (568,600 of a total employed labor force of 6.15 million) is currently employed in factories and manufacturing. Other sectors that have shown strength in recent years, headed by educational and health services, other services, and government, continued to add jobs in Illinois. There was continued weakness in November 2023 in the Professional and Business Services sector, which shed 8,000 additional jobs in November 2023. This trend reflects overall changes in global sales and technology. In particular, the wholesaling and nationwide distribution of goods and services continues to be a key piece of Illinois’ economy, but a massive push towards automation is reducing jobs in this sector.
FIREARMS
Illinois State Police registration deadline nears. The registration process is mandated by the “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” enacted by a partisan, lame-duck Illinois General Assembly in January 2023.
Under this mandate, persons who owned so-called “assault weapons,” and possessed them in Illinois prior to January 10, 2023, are required to go to the State Police website and fill out a form that lists their name, address, and the weapons and firearm-related items being registered. The registration process must be completed by midnight, December 31, 2023. Unregistered items could, down the road, be subject to confiscation by law enforcement. Firearms owners are raising questions about the deadline date and the overall process, including scrutiny of the fact that even as the deadline approaches there continue to be unanswered questions as to precisely which firearms and items must be registered. Firearm owner groups assert that the State Police have not yet fully answered these questions.
Many Illinois firearm owners continue to oppose the act of mandatory registration of firearms with law enforcement, and statistical evidence indicates that many of these weapons have not yet been registered with the State Police as the December 31 deadline approaches. Furthermore, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” forbids Illinoisans from taking new possession of banned firearms and related items if they were acquired after January 10, 2023, the effective date of the new Act. The State Police are preparing new rules to govern their oversight of these weapons on and after New Year’s Day, 2024. These controversial new rules have not yet been filed with the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, an essential step in raising the text of the rules to the status of enforceable “administrative law.”
While the registration deadline approaches and the rules process moves forward, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” continues to face legal scrutiny. Many Illinois gun owners believe that the Act is an unconstitutional violation of their rights under the Second Amendment. Plaintiffs have filed several lawsuits at both the state and federal level against the new Act; ultimately one of the cases is likely to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the Illinois law in the federal lawsuits, and has declined to take up the state case. The refusal to issue a preliminary injunction in the federal cases does not touch the question of whether they will accept the appeal and issue a final decision on the constitutionality of the Illinois law. The appeals process continues.
CHICAGO
Google unveils conceptual illustrations of rehabbed former James R. Thompson Center. The structure was opened in 1985 as a consolidated home for State of Illinois business in Chicago. Architects acclaimed the postmodern building’s use of an all-glass skin to encapsulate the massive structure. During the following 35 years of use, however, serious problems appeared with the building’s heating system, cooling system, and roof. House Republicans led the way in asking questions about the continued use of taxpayer funds to maintain the building’s costly operations. Responding to pressures, the State sold the Thompson Center to corporate parent Alphabet and its search-engine subsidiary, Google, in July 2022. After the sale, many of the State’s Chicago office functions moved to a newly-purchased office complex at the nearby 555 W. Monroe Street.
New owner Google has declared an intent to perform a gut rehab of the Thompson Center for future use as a state-of-the-art workplace for its employees. This week, a Google spokesperson released a series of conceptual illustrations to show what the company expects the rehabbed building to look like. Stripped of its tinted steel detailing and surrounded by a new tree-lined plaza, the structure’s appearance is depicted as changing from steel-and-glass to crystalline. Since the building sale, almost all of the former Thompson Center has been closed to the public. This closure will intensify when the building is fenced off early in 2024 so work can begin on the gut rehab. Completion of the work is tentatively set for 2026.
SMALL BUSINESS
DCEO makes $25 million in B2B NewBiz grant money available. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will accept NewBiz applications from small businesses that launched themselves in Illinois in 2020 and 2021. This was a period of time during which the ongoing pandemic, and shutdown orders issued by Gov. Pritzker, made starting up an Illinois private-sector enterprise very difficult. The B2B NewBiz grant program is slated to generate the kind of economic foundation for a challenged new business that would have been generated, under better circumstances, by startup cash flow.
Small business owners who are interested in this opportunity are encouraged to reach out to DCEO through community navigators, which are private-sector social networking offices that have an affiliate relationship with DCEO. These community navigators are oriented to provide grant-application and other assistances to minority-owned, rural, veteran, and woman-owned businesses. With respect to Year 2020 startups, separate-premises small businesses, and persons operating small businesses from their homes, are both eligible to apply for and receive DCEO grants. With respect to Year 2021 startups, when the pandemic was seen as easing, only separate-premise small businesses are eligible. The application window for this grant cycle opened on November 30, and the window will close on January 11, 2024. This is likely to be one of the final rounds of post-COVID-19 spending in Illinois.
STATE GOVERNMENT
New laws taking effect in 2024. In 2024, Illinoisans will see more than 300 new laws take effect. Please visit The Caucus Blog to read about a few of the notable new laws passed by House Republicans this year, as well as the entire list of new laws taking effect in 2024.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Merry Christmas! I, and the House Republicans, hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Newsletter will return after the holidays.