BLOOD DRIVE
Reminder! Please consider donating blood at my upcoming Blood Drive this Friday in St. Charles. To make an appointment, scan the QR code on the graphic, click the link below, or call the number listed. Thank you, and I hope to see you there!
AFFORDABILITY
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON AFFORDABILITY IN ILLINOIS
Last week on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, Governor JB Pritzker once again claimed he is fighting to lower taxes for working and middle-class families. Illinois families know that claim simply does not match reality.
Just last year, Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly passed the largest budget in state history, totaling more than $55 billion and including roughly $700 million in new taxes.
According to the Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois is now taking $1,434 more in taxes from each resident than before Governor Pritzker took office. Compared to his first year in 2019, the state is collecting $18 billion more from taxpayers, an increase that far outpaces inflation.
And if that were not enough, Governor Pritzker and the supermajority have doubled down on unreliable energy policies that are driving utility costs even higher. Earlier this year, he signed a new energy bill projected to saddle Illinois families with an estimated $8 billion rate hike.
So how can the Governor claim he is lowering costs for the middle class when Illinois ranks:
- #1 for highest property taxes
- #1 for highest combined state and local taxes
- #1 for highest cell phone taxes
Last year, WalletHub even ranked Illinois as the worst state in the nation for taxpayers because of its excessive tax burden.
So, despite the repeated claims from Governor Pritzker, the math just does not add up.
But while the Governor and Democrats continue to raise taxes on hardworking families, House Republicans are offering real solutions. For example, I filed HB 0009, which would have lowered property taxes in Illinois by over $3 billion dollars this past year alone.
CRIME
House Republicans Offer Solutions to Fix the SAFE-T Act
Since debate on the bill began in 2021, Illinois House Republicans have consistently sounded the alarm about the dangers the SAFE-T Act poses to Illinois residents. Since its implementation, the law has allowed dangerous repeat offenders to remain on the streets, where many continue to commit crimes with little accountability.
House Republicans have introduced nearly 40 bills aimed at fixing this deeply flawed law, strengthening public safety, and restoring confidence in our justice system. Their message has been clear: Illinois families deserve a system that prioritizes their safety, not one that puts them at greater risk.
This is the real-world result of the SAFE-T Act. Repeat offenders are released with little accountability, police and prosecutors are handcuffed, and communities are left to deal with the consequences. This is not theory. This is what happens when bad policy meets reality.
Click on the stories below to learn about the real-life consequences of the SAFE-T Act.
Man with dozens of arrests charged with attempted murder in CTA Blue Line attack
Milford man injures deputies while resisting arrest, released from custody under SAFE-T act
Plainfield man charged with criminal sexual assault allowed pretrial jail release
Suspect on pretrial release arrested in Fulton County after chase, threat against sheriff’s deputy
Proposed Legislation to Fix The SAFE-T Act
Illinois House Republicans have repeatedly proposed legislation to address the problems created by the SAFE-T Act, offering bipartisan solutions to restore public safety and common-sense criminal justice reforms. However, Democrats in the Legislature have refused to work together, blocking these efforts and leaving many communities without the fixes they’ve been calling for.
HB 4275 (Coffey) – Expands judges’ authority to deny pretrial release for felony and DUI cases when a defendant poses a safety risk or flight risk.
HB 1482 (Windhorst) – Expands the list of offenses for which a defendant can be detained pretrial rather than released.
HB 1483 (Windhorst) – Restores judges’ ability to issue a warrant (rather than a summons) if a defendant fails to comply with pretrial release conditions or fails to appear in court.
HB 1036 (Cabello) – Protects officers who report misconduct, restores certification rights, preserves certain misconduct records, and eliminates anonymous complaints.
HB 1028 (Cabello) – Proposes full repeal of the SAFE-T Act.
HB 1208 (Friess) – Requires automatic revocation of pretrial release if a defendant is charged with any new offense while released, regardless of the offense’s classification.
HB 1404 (Ugaste) – Restores Cash Bail and makes other changes to the pretrial system.
HB 4002 (Ugaste) – Limits when police may issue citations instead of making arrests for misdemeanor offenses while keeping discretion to arrest when safety, continued criminal activity, or health risks are concerns.
HB 1477 (Windhorst) – Reduces and restricts detainees’ phone-call rights, bars contact with victims, allows statements to be reviewed for voluntariness, and permits arrest for minor offenses to verify identity.
GAMBLING
State suspends license of Hawthorne Race Course
The Illinois Racing Board (IRB), the State’s regulatory and licensing authority over Illinois horse racing, took action this week to suspend the operating license of Hawthorne Race Course, the thoroughbred/standardbred horse racetrack in west suburban Cook County. The move removes the track as the last remaining live race course in the Chicago area. Other tracks in Greater Chicago, including Arlington, Balmoral, and Maywood, have permanently ceased operations.
Hawthorne was also the only remaining Illinois entity licensed to host a seasonal schedule of standardbred harness racing. In this variety of horse racing, purpose-bred harnessed trotting horses and pacing horses pull extremely light carts and drivers around the track. Hawthorne had been licensed to offer harness racing to spectators and bettors in the winter and early spring of 2026.
In addition to suspending harness racing action, the Racing Board’s notice of suspension casts serious doubt upon Hawthorne’s ability to start up live thoroughbred racing. The saddle-horse-and-jockey racing had been set to start on March 29, 2026. In its suspension letter, the Racing Board raised questions about the long-term financial viability of the Hawthorne racetrack. Harness horsemen and owners who had committed to show and race their horses at Hawthorne, say they have stopped getting paid. Starting on January 3 and 4, 2026, Hawthorne races have been canceled.
The Racing Board’s suspension action came amidst what appears to be a significant movement in betting activity from horse racing to other forms of gambling, including sports betting and casino betting. The racetrack at Fairmount Park, in the Metro-East area near Collinsville, Illinois, continues to plan to host Illinois thoroughbred race from mid-April 2026 through October. At Fairmount, seasonal horse racing is now commingled with the 12-month operation of a casino gaming floor, inside the racetrack grandstand, to create a horse-themed gaming experience.
The Illinois Racing Board states that they could rescind this letter of suspension upon presentation, by Hawthorne’s owners, of evidence that the club can meet its financial obligations and contracts. The letter of Hawthorne suspension was issued on Monday, January 26.
JOBS
Illinois’ unemployment rate jumped in December
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IES) has revealed that Illinois’ jobless rate rose sharply in December. The BLS/IDES numbers showed a significant 0.2% increase in Illinois’ unemployment rate. In 2025’s final month, the Illinois unemployment rate rose from 4.4% to 4.6%. While this 4.6% rate does not yet signal a recession, it reveals hard numbers that back up the experience of Illinois residents who are currently looking for a job.
Furthermore, the December 2025 unemployment cross-tabs showed continued movement of the Illinois job picture away from manufacturing and construction, and away from bricks-and-mortar retail sales, towards public-sector-oriented services sectors headed by health care and government. The Illinois sector that includes health care added 4,000 jobs in December 2025, and government added 2,800 jobs. The same month, the Illinois sector that includes retail sales lost 3,400 jobs, manufacturing lost 2,800 jobs, and construction lost 700 jobs.
Alton Steel announces abrupt shutdown of operations, lays off all 253 workers
Alton Steel, one of the Metro-East’s largest remaining manufacturing operations, announced the complete shutdown of its electric-arc mill operations this week. The mill specialized in steel recycling, taking in scrap steel from motor vehicles, building demotions, and other sources. Alton Steel’s 253 workers unloaded shipments of scrap steel, loaded steel into their furnace, and fabricated the remelted metal into useful shapes. 220 of the 253 laid-off workers were members of United Steelworkers Local #3643. The Alton mill was a surviving fragment of once-mighty Laclede Steel, a major St. Louis-area metals firm in the 1970s.
Chris Ervin, CEO of Alton Steel, stated that the mill’s equipment had become obsolete and the firm had not been able to finance the retooling of its key factory. This report fits into a fact pattern in which global lenders are said to be increasingly reluctant to finance manufacturing operations in Illinois. The state’s overall job climate and economic outlook are described as being indifferent, or even hostile, to job creation. This atmosphere is said to be especially salient with respect to factories and the creation of jobs that handle material goods.
A repossession crew entered the mill complex on Saturday, January 24, and removed most of the scrap steel that was being prepared for re-melting. The shutdown announcement, which was made abruptly and under conditions apparently not in compliance with the State’s WARN Act, was made on Monday, January 26. The WARN Act mandates that employers give their workers at least 60 days’ paid notice before completion of a major layoff action.