GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Democrats Follow the Leader, Continue to Undermine Illinois. For weeks, the Democratic supermajority has wasted time on the House floor throwing tantrums against President Donald Trump’s actions to “Make America Great Again.” Democrats have decried Republican efforts to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, to secure our borders, and to cut wasteful government spending. After only 10% of the bills passed out of committee by last week’s deadline were Republican bills, and after two session days were canceled this week, I issued the following statement:
“I took to the House floor last week to call out the poor decorum that has been allowed to permeate our chamber. We have had enough! It is time to focus on our state’s many challenges and put forward public policy that will help Illinoisans who are struggling with the high cost of living.
“Over the last few weeks Republicans have unveiled legislative bill packages on curbing human trafficking, supporting working families, stopping illegal immigration, ethics reform, and improving public safety. Instead, the Democratic supermajority has chosen to push their radical priorities, to include a few Green New Deal scams, legalizing magic mushrooms, voting from prison, and banning plastic grocery bags and straws. We can and must do better for Illinois.”
EDUCATION
The Wall Street Journal slams IL Democrats’ ‘Assault on Home-Schoolers.’ House Republicans continue to fight to protect the rights of parents to choose the best educational experience for their children.
House Bill 2827, the “Homeschool Act,” was heard in committee and passed over the objection of tens of thousands of families choosing home or private school for their children. This bill mandates that non-public elementary and secondary schools register annually with the Illinois State Board of Education and requires homeschools to fill out a Homeschool Declaration Form or risk truancy, which could lead to fines and even imprisonment. It further requires homeschool administrators to submit personal information about themselves and their students to state and local authorities.
In response, I issued the following statement:
“Today, the Democrat majority silenced over 35,000 advocates who oppose this misguided legislation—a blatant disservice to Illinois families that must not be ignored.”
“With the serious challenges facing our state, lawmakers should be addressing real problems, not creating solutions for issues that don’t exist. HB2827 is nothing more than a strategic push for more government control, doing nothing to tackle the true root issues plaguing public education.”
State Representative Amy Elik, who is House Republican spokesperson for the Education Policy Committee also issued a response: “Illinois should empower parents to place their children in education environments that help them learn and succeed,” said Rep. Elik. “Bureaucrats in Springfield have bigger problems to solve than tracking parents’ schooling decisions. This bill attempts to solve a problem that does not exist.”
The public has been vocal about their opposition to this state overreach. Nearly 51,000 motivated residents filed witness slips in opposition to HB 2827. Thousands of Illinoisans went to the State Capitol last week to express their opposition and speak to lawmakers about their positive experience with homeschooling.
Despite all Republicans voting in opposition, it passed committee and was advanced to the House Floor for further action. Residents who agree HB 2827 should be stopped should sign the House Republicans’ petition to Protect Homeschool Freedom.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed ‘The Illinois Assault on Home-Schoolers’ in a scathing editorial published on Friday, March 21. The WSJ editorial stated that “Democrats want to impose new rules and bureaucracy on parents.”
Fewer than one in three students in Chicago Public Schools can read at grade level. That should be a five-alarm fire for the Democrats who run Illinois, but they have other priorities—to wit, regulating those dastardly parents who educate their children at home.
Democrats passed the Homeschool Act out of a House committee on an 8-4 vote. Current state law imposes minimal regulations on home-schoolers, requiring only that they teach certain core subjects. Democrats introduced the Homeschool Act after a 2024 report by Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica claimed Illinois’s limited oversight leaves home-schooled children vulnerable to abuse. […]
Under the bill, home-school families would have to submit annual forms to their local public school that include students’ names, birth dates, grade levels and home addresses. Families who fail to submit the forms would be subject to criminal truancy penalties.
Families must also allow the state to compile annual reports on home-schooled students, and state authorities may demand at any time that a home-school administrator submit for review a log of curricular materials and an assessment of academic progress. The bill also requires private schools to register with the state and submit to requests for personal information on all enrolled students and guardians. […]
The good news is that the home-school putsch has aroused the public. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, nearly 50,000 voters had filed witness slips against the Homeschool Act, compared with fewer than 1,000 in favor. Perhaps Democrats will listen to the public for a change.
Republicans Demand Response from IHSA on Protecting Female Athletes. On March 18th, 2025, the House Republican caucus sent a letter to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) asking the organization to detail how their policies and protocols for administering high school sports will be amended in line with President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order which prohibits biological men from competing against biological women in sports.
The IHSA’s failure to respond prompted my statement:
“House Republicans stand united on this issue and demand a response from the IHSA on behalf of concerned parents and students across Illinois. Fairness and safety in sports is not a political issue and should not be up for debate. Policies protecting same-sex sports and locker rooms must align with federal policy to ensure the integrity of competition and the well-being of all student-athletes.”
ETHICS REFORM
House Republicans Call for Anti-Corruption Package. House Republican lawmakers presented their legislative proposals to once again bring forward an opportunity for ethics reform in the Illinois statehouse. The proposals are an attempt to restore public faith in government and root out commonplace corruption under the dome. State Representatives Patrick Windhorst, Dave Severin, and David Friess discussed the unfortunate record of public corruption guilty verdicts impacting the Illinois General Assembly, including the former Speaker of the Illinois House Michael Madigan.
State Representative Patrick Windhorst, a former prosecutor, and a current member of the House Judiciary Criminal Law, Restorative Justice, and Ethics and Elections Committees is sponsoring several ethics reform bills including HB 2413, which would prohibit legislators and Constitutional officers from lobbying at the local level. For Rep. Windhorst, it is a common sense first step forward.
“While Democrat politicians were arrested, indicted, charged, convicted, and incarcerated, we waited for action,” said Windhorst. “We have been disappointed time after time. While House Republicans continue to wait for Illinois Democrats to take the issue of public corruption seriously, we’ve been busy filing and sponsoring comprehensive legislative ethics reforms to stamp out corruption. Our legislative efforts aim to turn our state from a corrupt embarrassment into something our citizens can be proud of.”
I also added that “Illinoisans are sick and tired of corruption running rampant in their state government. While Democrats protect the status quo, House Republicans are fighting to restore public trust and accountability. Ethics reform isn’t optional, it’s essential. The people of Illinois deserve leaders who serve them, not self-serving politicians who manipulate the system for personal gain. We will not stop pushing for real reforms to clean up this broken system!”
The House Republican members further noted just how long the people of Illinois have been subjected to public corruption laying out their objective when it comes to reform: No more legislators as lobbyists, close the revolving door, and end the use of campaign money to pay for public corruption defense.
The ethics reform legislation House Republicans are backing includes the following:
- HB 1382 – Puts ‘teeth’ into the Legislative Inspector General’s office to issue subpoenas without first seeking approval from the people they may be investigating.
- HB 1384 – Addresses local government lobbying reform.
- HB 1385 – Closes the loophole in the current revolving door policy that allows a legislator to be a member one day and the next day be a lobbyist.
- HB 3115 – 3-year revolving door lobbying ban for members of the General Assembly.
- HB 3121 – Implements representation case and recusal reform.
- HB 1554 – Bans public officials from using campaign funds for their own legal defense.
- HB 2813 – Requires a 72-Hour budget review before a vote on the budget.
UPCOMING EVENTS
While I am in Springfield, my office is hosting a new round of traveling office hours in April. I encourage anyone who has a question about state related issues to stop by:
Get your cameras ready…my annual Spring Photo Contest is now open! Check out the details below:
