We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 83
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle made history as one of the first committee witnesses to testify before the General Assembly via video stream during the lame-duck session in opposition to House Bill 3653, a purported police reform omnibus bill which instead threatens public safety in all of our communities. VanVickle opposed the unfunded mandates included in the bill as well as the process which forced this legislation through the lame-duck session and insufficiently solicited public input....
Without a doubt, 2020 has been a doozy! No one could be blamed for being tired and woozy. Just in case you’ve run out of holiday spirit and need to be reminded of what’s good that is near us, pick up your local paper and revel in these three stories from here which bring holiday cheer: Fully aware of 2020’s effect on all things, the annual Festival of Giving Toy Drive for Salvation Army in Freeport rolled with the changes it brings. Last year they collected over 1,300 toys to help area kids-...
The holiday season reminds us of all the blessings for which we are thankful and filled with gratitude. If there is one group of people that stand tallest in deserving our gratitude in 2020, it is frontline healthcare workers. The first responders, nurses, doctors, mental health professionals, public health administrators and many others deserve our sincere thanks and praise. They report to work every day, understanding the risks to themselves and their families, to help us and our families. We...
Voters’ rejection of the Tax Hike Amendment on November 3rd has brought into full focus the terribly unbalanced budget passed by the Democrat majority during the height of the pandemic in May of this year. You see, Governor JB Pritzker and democrat leaders were counting on at least $3.4 billion in new revenue generated by passage of the “Tax Hike” Amendment, about half of which they anticipated being available for this fiscal year. Their strategy failed and they now find themselves deali...
While Election results from Tuesday’s General Election will not be certified for several weeks, it certainly appears that voters have summarily rejected an effort backed by Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats to change our State Constitution to allow for a progressive income tax increase, which they believed would annually raise $3.7 billion in new taxes. It is not surprising that voters are sick and tired of the games played by Springfield politicians with continual and broken p...
The way the citizens of Illinois have been inundated these days with paid advertising, you would almost be led to believe that Illinois Democrats have not had unfettered power over our State Government for the past fifty years. Many progressives would have you thinking the top of every agenda at every unit of government should be expanding abortion, socializing healthcare, or all about “fairness”. All of this distracts from the truly unfair reality that the largest group of disenfranchised Ill...
We are now well into Governor Pritzker’s latest shutdown of the Northwest Illinois economy, purportedly because of “science and data”, regardless of whether that science and data contradicts the mitigation measures he has placed on Region 1 residents. First, the regions are arbitrarily designated, as I have pointed out in the past. Their boundaries were not built from hospital catchment areas, but rather regions drawn for other emergency protocols and ill-suited to fit the modern threat of co...
This past week, I enjoyed hosting my third TeleTownHall Meeting since the COVID pandemic set into Illinois this Spring. Many of you may have received a call from my office asking you to hold on the line on Tuesday (8/25) to go live with me via phone for this event. Much like my “Pizza and Politics” events hosted throughout 2019, these TeleTownHall Meetings allowed me an opportunity to provide a 20 minute legislative update and then allowed for at least 20 more minutes of direct questions and...
It seems the “thought police” are at it again, this time attacking the “power of positive thinking”. No doubt, it is exceptionally easy to get stuck in the mire of negativity that is part and parcel with political rhetoric in 2020. The empty calories of negativity have us all letting out our belts and feeling sluggish from the weight of it all. Some mainstream media commentators are attacking even the notion of positivity during times of adversity. How unfortunate for them. We are all product...
Northern District US Attorney, John Lausch, recently announced a US District Court filing which disclosed a deferred prosecution agreement for corporate bribery involving a “high-level official” he named as Public Official A. This is a continuation of their ongoing investigation into public corruption in the State of Illinois. Lausch went on to announce a high level, largest-ever settlement for the largest Utility provider operating in the State of Illinois, while making it clear that there was...
State Representative Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) called on Speaker Michael Madigan to “resign from the General Assembly or be removed.” In the wake of ongoing federal investigations surrounding state and municipal governments that ultimately saw the resignation of several legislators, Rep. Andrew Chesney led the charge in sponsoring a package of bills aimed at ensuring Illinois has among the most stringent ethics laws in the nation this Spring. Chesney proposed fining members of the Ill...
Illinois hospitals serve a critically important role in Northwest Illinois communities. Not only is healthcare delivery one of the largest industries representing thousands of jobs in our region, they are also our frontline healthcare heroes in the fight against COVID and other communicable diseases. On July 7, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law a bipartisan piece of legislation which I was proud to support for our hospitals and the communities they serve. Senate Bill 2541 renewed the...
As the State of Illinois, as one unit and not regionally, moved into Phase 4 of Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan, businesses across Illinois are working towards reopening but still under restrictions for many. As with each phase of the Governor’s Restore Illinois Plan, employers fueling our economy are finding inconsistencies and needs for improvement to allow them to operate their business without losing money by doing so. I recently sent a letter to Governor Pritzker regarding sig...
With news this past week of the Illinois State Fairs being cancelled this year due to coronavirus, along with many other county fairs, livestock shows and 4-H fairs, it is important we recognize the contributions young people have put in during these trying times. Call me biased, but young people in agriculture are some of the most well-rounded and hardest working amongst their peers. Don’t let their thick-skinned, yet respectful, exteriors fool you — these kids pour their heart and soul into t...
“The continued victimization is not just an insult to my family, but to all victims of crimes in Illinois,” said Bob Peters, Jr., who bears the namesake of his father, Bob Peters, Sr., a murder victim who was brutally murdered during a robbery Nov. 12, 1992 at his gun shop. The continued victimization Bob Peters, Jr. refers to and advocates against, along with his sister, Becky, is now dealt to their family by the State of Illinois’ correctional authorities and elected officials who continually...
When the Governor unveiled his Restore Illinois Plan on May 5th, I was, at first, optimistic. From a 30,000-foot view, the plan was regional with phases of re-opening the state for business so we can begin the critical economic recovery in Illinois. However, as they say, the devil is in the details. As I read and reviewed the plan intently over the coming hours, I quickly saw that there are many unworkable elements of the Governor’s plan. Let me start by dispelling a common notion— “Do your jo...
Over the past month, I have put Northwest Illinois Values on the forefront as we discuss our regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have helped share stories of neighbors helping neighbors, businesses retooling their production lines to produce life-saving Personal Protective Equipment, encouraged opportunities to get involved and updated my COVID-19 website constantly with the latest information and resources for constituents, many of whom are suffering greatly because of the economic...
I’ve been known to attract some online criticism from time to time. However, one of the more perplexing reasons I have caught grief while serving in elected office is the reaction I often receive when mentioning a term I talk about a lot - “Northwest Illinois Values”. We don’t talk about values enough as a society, in my humble opinion. We talk about it so little, in fact, that my use of the term has often brought forth a fear that my values may not match your values and that is a reason...
You may have seen that we recently alerted the public to a very serious concern with funding law enforcement training in the State of Illinois. Without intervention by the Illinois legislature, the responsibility for paying for law enforcement training will be shifted from minor traffic offenses and criminals convicted of more serious crimes paying for this training to, instead, Illinois taxpayers picking up the tab as part of a bigger progressive push to hold criminals less accountable for...
Months before Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton cut to the front of line to be one of the first in Illinois to purchase legal marijuana on January 1st, plans were already in the works by the Pritzker Administration to extend their progressive criminal justice reform policies much further than many Illinoisans who voted for candidate Pritzker even realized. Clearly on Pritzker’s legislative agenda this spring, as highlighted in his State of the State Speech in late January, cash bail reform is a t...
Expect the drum beat on ethics reform to continue at the State Capitol as more legislators become embroiled in what is now apparently a web of corruption being unwoven by President Trump's Federal Department of Justice. While Governor Pritzker attempted to lay out his annual priorities to legislators in his State of the State speech at the end of January, the cloud of corruption and indictments dogged the Democrat Governor in delivering his second annual address the same week as it was...
Joining a chorus of fed-up legislators recognizing overburdened taxpayers deserve real property tax reform in Illinois, we must blow the whistle on the actions, and inactions, of the Illinois Property Tax Reform Task Force. Unfortunately, this Task Force, was created with 88 members, a design flaw baked into the bill to collapse the task force under its own weight. The Task Force blew past the October 31 interim report filing deadline and the December 31 deadline for sending the final report to...
It’s no secret that much of rural Illinois, the vast region of Illinois outside of Chicago and the collar counties, feels forgotten by Chicago democrats running Illinois when it comes to things like state spending priorities. We see these arguments play out every day at gas stations, coffee shops, and at nearly any gathering of rural residents throughout our state. If you live in rural Illinois, you probably even talked about it more than you’d care to admit this holiday season. However, the...
Illinois Democrats had a moment during the final week of legislative session in 2019. Some might say a rare moment; others may say a moment they can choose to take at any time. Federal investigations are swirling about multiple Democrat leaders in Chicago City Hall, the Illinois House, and the Illinois Senate. Democrats had a moment to step back, fix the immediate problems, work on the long-range problems, and attempt to persuade the public they are worthy of their continued trust running all...
Illinois Democrats had a moment during the final week of legislative session in 2019. Some might say a rare moment; others may say a moment they can choose to take at any time. Federal investigations are swirling about multiple Democrat leaders in Chicago City Hall, the Illinois House, and the Illinois Senate. Democrats had a moment to step back, fix the immediate problems, work on the long-range problems, and attempt to persuade the public they are worthy of their continued trust running all...
