When will enough be enough?
Late last week my law enforcement family suffered another tragic loss with the reckless homicide death of DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy Christina Musil. And, due to the pretrial release provisions in the disastrous SAFE-T Act Democrats passed into law last year, the motorist charged in her death is already back on the streets.
An officer is dead. She will never return to her family. Their lives have ALL been shattered and others in the community have been endangered. When will enough be enough? When will the majority party members in the General Assembly and Governor Pritzker recognize the danger they have created for families across our state? When will they work with us to hold offenders accountable for their actions…to make crime illegal again in Illinois?”
This week I spoke to the Center Square about our urgent need to change course, and legislation my Republican colleagues and I are working to pass this spring to do just that. You can read the discussion here.
March revenue growth came from only two cash flow lines
State revenue numbers tracked and compiled by the Commission on Budget Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) show that the entirety of March 2024 year-over-year revenue growth came from: (i) federal funds from Washington, D.C., and (ii) money paid by Illinois residents in income taxes. The March 2024 revenue report shows other general-funds revenue sources combined yielded a net decline of $58 million below March 2023 numbers. These declines included drops in net revenues from corporate income taxes, from taxes on electricity, natural gas, and other supplies bought through public utilities, and from taxes imposed on cigarettes, liquor, wine, and beer.
New poll numbers show Illinois voters strongly support ethics reform
As a member of the House Ethics and Elections Committee, reforming Illinois’ unfortunate reputation for public corruption has also been a key focus. House Republicans have already lined up behind a bipartisan push to allow voter-led constitutional initiatives aimed at honesty in government, and to enact other urgently needed reforms against public corruption. A key component of this reform package will give Illinois voters the chance to circulate petitions, sign their names, and put honesty-in-government rules on the ballot for enactment as laws, in the same manner as voters can do in more than 25 other states. Now, polling numbers show strong public support for these measures, which have been stalled in both houses of the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly.
Other items in the popular ethics reform package include a ban on ex-legislators drawing a taxpayer-funded pension while awaiting trial, and a statutory ban on legislators casting votes on issues where they have a conflict of interest. Former Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, has added his support to the bipartisan moves.
Around the district…
Scholarship opportunity for residents in McLean and Livingston Counties:
Law Enforcement Camera Grants
Grants are now available for law enforcement vehicle cameras and officer body cameras and related costs:
The application deadline May 3, 2024
Grants to Illinois police agencies of municipalities, counties, park districts, public universities, and all units of Illinois local government for the reimbursement of purchases: in-car video cameras for use in law enforcement vehicles, officer-worn body cameras for law enforcement officers, data storage costs related to officer-worn cameras, and training for law enforcement officers in the operation of the cameras.
If your community is interested, call :
North Central Illinois Council of Governments
| 815-433-5830 | 815-433-5832
info@ncicg.org | www.ncicg.org