House Minority Leader Tony McCombie recently visited the VOICES of Stephenson County recovery center in Freeport. Leader McCombie met with leadership staff, toured the facility and had meaningful conversations about the work the organization is doing to support residents recovering from domestic and sexual violence. VOICES works to ensure survivors have the tools they need to move forward with their lives and are able to live violence free. In 2025, they helped 761 people and facilitated 110 orders of protection.
As part of the tour, McCombie visited both the residential building and the youth development camp, both in the same campus. For the Leader, it was important to see hands on the work of the organization’s efforts to understand how the state can further contribute.
“VOICES is an indispensable resource for our community, providing life-saving support and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment. Every person deserves to live free from fear, abuse, and violence. Those who commit these horrific acts must be held fully accountable for the harm they cause, and there can be no tolerance for those who prey on or abuse others,” said McCombie.
The visit left a lasting impact on McCombie, and the lawmaker will be looking for additional ways to hold offenders accountable at the state level.
“VOICES commitment to putting survivors first is exactly the kind of leadership we should be supporting and prioritizing in state government. We have a responsibility to ensure survivors have the resources they need and to send a clear message that violence and abuse have no place in our communities.”
