ETHICS REFORM
House Republicans Call for Anti-Corruption Package. Last week, 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.
In response to the recent press conference, I released the following statement:
“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 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.
FAIR MAPS
McCombie Column: Fair Maps, Fair Representation – The Fight for Illinois Families
Illinois faces well-known challenges: high taxes, population loss, a lack of jobs in once-thriving industries, and—perhaps most glaring of all—state-level elected officials so unaccountable that the needs of families in northwest Illinois and beyond are ignored. But real change is within reach, thanks to a legal battle I am leading to restore fairness to our elections.
Here’s the background: In 2021, Illinois Democrats redrew district maps to favor their party—violating state law in the process. As the party in power, they manipulated the maps to cement their control, making it harder for voters outside their party to elect their candidates. The result? In enough districts, election outcomes are essentially predetermined, guaranteeing Democrats a supermajority in the state legislature.
A federal court has acknowledged this reality, and even the Democrats’ own mapmaker admitted it. The district shapes themselves expose the extreme partisan gerrymandering at play.
In response, I filed a lawsuit with the Illinois Supreme Court in January, demonstrating how Democrats rigged our elections through gerrymandering. The results since the 2021 maps were adopted only reinforce the case: Illinois Democrats have used these unfair maps to entrench their power at the expense of the voters.
Rather than defend these illegal maps, Attorney General Kwame Raoul—a Democrat—has stepped aside, leaving Democrat leaders to hire Michael Kasper, the so-called “Prince of Darkness” and a longtime top lawyer for convicted ex-Speaker Mike Madigan. Their decision to enlist a key figure from Illinois’ most infamous corruption scandal speaks volumes.
It’s time to end the corrupt practice of politicians picking their own voters. Every Illinois citizen deserves a fair and competitive election. Partisan gerrymandering silences voters, allowing politicians to manipulate district lines for their own gain.
While we await the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision on whether to hear our case, I’m encouraged by the growing support from voters across the state and from the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, which recognizes the urgent need to end business-as-usual in Illinois. If we succeed, we can break the one-party stranglehold that blocks common-sense solutions—solutions that could lower taxes, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for every Illinoisan, no matter their zip code.
Illinois can once again be a place where people can afford to live, raise a family, start a business, and retire with dignity. But that starts with fair elections. Breaking the cycle of partisan maps is the first step toward real change.
Learn more at RedoRemap.com.
BUDGET
CGFA March Revenue Report. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) reported positive individual State income tax numbers for March 2025.
After falling $152 million in February, General Funds receipts bounced back nicely in March with growth of $209 million for an increase of +4.5%. This now places year-to-date receipts, with three months remaining in the fiscal year, slightly ahead of last year’s pace. The growth in March was mostly due to a strong month for the Personal Income Tax, though other gains were scattered throughout the State’s revenue streams.
The vast majority of the revenue growth came from the Personal Income Tax, which grew $445 million on a gross basis, an increase of +14.6%. This resulted in a net gain of $379 million when subtracting out non-General Funds distributions. The magnitude of the growth, while impressive, was mostly as anticipated as the gains included the third of five “true-up” installments in which certain business-related income tax payments are being reallocated to the Personal Income Tax revenue line. As initially discussed in the September Revenue Briefing, each of the five “true-up” installments results in a positive monthly adjustment of approximately $258 million to the Personal Income Tax at the expense of the Corporate Income Tax (negative adjustment of -$54 million) and the Personal Property Replacement Tax (non-General Fund negative adjustment of -$204 million). Another adjustment will occur next month in April with the final adjustment occurring in June. These adjustments should help boost Personal Income Tax revenues during the final quarter of the fiscal year.
Even when removing the gains from the true-up adjustments, Personal Income Taxes still rose approximately $187 million in March. While some of this increase is likely due to continued growth in withholding tax payments (as recent job data indicate an uptick in wages), much of the gains likely stem from the initial influx of final tax payments. (The specifics of these gains will be dissected as more tax data is released later this month.) As always, the performance of next month’s receipts will be watched closely as the glut of final tax receipts in April will heavily influence the overall revenue picture for General Funds revenues in FY 2025.
Throughout the fiscal year, Corporate Income tax receipts have mostly underperformed initial revenue expectations. While receipts did rise slightly in March (up $3 million on a gross basis and $2 million on a net basis for a gain of +0.8%), this month’s results did little to change the overall subpar trend this fiscal year. With that being said, this month’s total is slightly better than what appears on the surface because it contains the -$54 million true-up adjustment. Still, more improvement in Corporate Income Tax payments will be needed to even reach the recently revised-down forecasts.
It was a positive month for Sales Tax receipts as gross receipts were $9 million higher than last March’s levels. However, when accounting for non-General Funds distributions to the Road Fund and certain transportation funds, Sales Tax net revenues were $5 million below last year’s figures. Similar to the Corporate Income Tax, more growth in the final quarter is needed to reach recently adjusted forecasts. However, this progression is challenged by the fact that it must occur amid weakening consumer confidence. […]
Counterbalancing a portion of the growth seen from State sources was a decline in the amount of Federal Sources deposited into the State’s General Funds. This month’s total was $213 million below last March’s revenue total. After two consecutive months of declines, this revenue source will, too, have to finish the fiscal year strong to reach projected revenue totals for FY 2025.
INSURANCE
Study finds skyrocketing home insurance premiums in Illinois. The statewide survey showed Illinois home property/casualty insurance rates going up 50% between 2021 and 2024. This three-year trend of 14.5%/year, compounded over three years, led to Illinois posting the second-worst price trend for real property insurance among the 50 states. This consolidated data followed rate hikes posted by large insurance companies such as Allstate.
Increases in property/casualty insurance rates affecting homes and residential real property are especially damaging to the hopes of young families and first-time home buyers, because property/casualty insurance is embedded into each mortgage and no lender will complete a home financing deal unless the house is fully insured up to, and above, the lender’s equity.
JOBS
IDES report shows unemployment increasing in metro Chicago. Over-the-year, the unemployment rate decreased in eleven metro areas and increased in one for the year ending February 2025, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in seven metropolitan areas and decreased in five.
In the metropolitan Chicago area in February 2025, the unemployment rate was 5.3%, up from 5.2% in February 2024. This twelve-month trendline indicates a stagnating job economy in greater Chicago. Metro Chicago is by far the largest in population of the twelve Illinois geographical areas looked at by IDES. Other sections of Illinois showed a drop in unemployment during the same twelve-month period, albeit from a higher base of joblessness in February 2024. For example, in metro Rockford joblessness dropped from 6.8%, the figure posted in February 2024, to 5.6% in February 2025.
Pockets of Illinois prosperity in February 2025 included Bloomington (3.8% unemployment) and Champaign-Urbana (3.9%). Both metro areas were helped by the presence of large state universities. A third metro area of low unemployment, the Metro-East or “Illinois section” of metropolitan St. Louis (3.9%), may have been pulled upward by prosperity in neighboring Missouri.
REAL ID
May 7 deadline for REAL ID. Many Illinoisans are aware of the new “REAL ID” requirements that federally trained security personnel, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security personnel at airports, will be required to look for. These security personnel are being retrained and instructed to scrutinize our drivers’ licenses and other travel documentation to ensure compliance with the heightened security requirements of flying in 2025.
One of the elements of this enhancement is the REAL ID drivers’ license or identification card issued by all 50 states. The REAL ID is identified by carrying a white star inside a gold circle. Those who apply at an Illinois DMV office for a REAL ID are required to present specific forms of identification to confirm their legal status within the U.S. A REAL ID will be one of the forms of identification that will convey standing to enter a federally secured area, such as a federal building, a U.S. armed forces base, or the departure gate at an airport. Other forms of identification, such as a passport, may also be adequate for this purpose.
The Secretary of State’s office will continue to issue REAL IDs to eligible Illinois applicants after the May 7 deadline. The SOS has developed a REAL ID checklist for applicants to familiarize themselves with the documents they will need to submit during the application process.
TAXES
Tax filing deadline approaches. With April 15 getting closer, time is running out to file individual income tax returns to the Illinois Department of Revenue and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Many Illinoisans have already filed their returns; fortunately for those who have not, many options exist for most Illinois taxpayers. The IRS Direct File Program includes an option for many Illinois taxpayers to file their returns electronically for free. In addition, the Illinois Department of Revenue has online programs to help taxpayers through the electronic filing process.
Additional pathways of help exist for many Illinois taxpayers, including discussions of U.S. income tax law as it applies to seniors. The House Republicans’ Caucus Blog contains an overall summary of resources available to help Illinois income taxpayers during the first two weeks of April.
