Welcoming New Members on Inauguration Day for the 104th General Assembly. January 8th was an exciting day for Illinois as the state’s 104th General Assembly was sworn in. It was a celebration of public service and the beginning of new chapters in the lives of Illinoisans and their leaders. This year, two new Republican representatives, Regan Deering and Kyle Moore, join the ranks of lawmakers working to shape the future of the state. They will serve under the leadership of House Minority Leader Tony McCombie. As they step into their new roles, they bring fresh energy, unique experiences, and a commitment to serve their communities.
Welcoming Representative Regan Deering
Before serving as a state legislator, Rep. Regan Deering worked as an educator, teaching science to elementary school students in Chicago. Seeking to continue to promote student achievement, Regan owned & operated a tutoring and test prep location of the educational franchise Huntington Learning Center, in her hometown of Decatur. Having been a small business owner and job creator in her community, Regan will continue to advocate for policy that supports economic development in Illinois.
Having a passion for education and being a community advocate, she is serving on the Mt. Zion Community Unit School District’s school board and has volunteered as the Chair of the Decatur Public Schools Foundation. Deering also serves as the Board President for Northeast Community Fund, a social service organization in Decatur focusing on uplifting families by compassionately connecting them with resources and services. Regan has been a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program since 2017.
Rep. Deering holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Duke University in North Carolina and a Master of Education (MEd) from DePaul University.
Rep. Deering resides in Decatur with her husband, Brian and their three children.
Welcoming Representative Kyle Moore
New member Kyle Moore was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in November 2024 to represent the 99th House District which serves parts of Adams, Brown, Cass, Morgan, and Schuyler counties, including the municipalities of Quincy, Jacksonville/South Jacksonville, Beardstown, Mt. Sterling and Ashland.
For over two decades, Kyle Moore has devoted his life to improving the lives of residents in Quincy and Adams County. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Quincy University, then began his career working for his family business, eventually becoming an owner and Vice President. Kyle was also active in local service organizations including Big Brother/Big Sisters and the United Way of Adams County.
In 2009, Kyle sought to serve his community in an elected capacity and was elected to the Quincy City Council. He was elected Mayor of the City of Quincy in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017.
During his tenure as Mayor Kyle developed many programs that enhanced the economic climate of the region, including Quincy Promise, a privately funded college scholarship program. He worked with the District on the Downtown Rental Rehab Program, which formed public/private partnerships to renovate upper story buildings downtown into residential units. In 2018, he formed a bi-partisan group of elected officials and community groups to save the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy, which resulted in the State of Illinois providing $230 million for a new campus. A year later, Kyle offered the “45×30 Plan,” a comprehensive approach to grow Quincy’s population by investing in talent attraction and retention programs, increasing tourism and modernizing the city’s retail incentives.
Kyle was named President of the Great River Economic Development Foundation in 2021. In that role, he has worked with numerous companies on their expansion projects, including the Tri-Mark Corporation, United Alloy, and Amazon.
In the 104th General Assembly, Kyle will continue working to expand job opportunities in our communities, improve infrastructure, and protect families’ and taxpayers’ rights.
Kyle is currently engaged to be married. In his spare time, you can find him rooting on his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers.
Madigan's House Rules renewed for two more years
The little-known Rules that control the legislative process in Illinois were voted on Thursday in the Illinois House of Representatives. Adopting a set of procedural rules to govern the House for the next two years is one of the most important votes a legislator will cast.
The Rules for the 104th General Assembly were drafted by the Democrat supermajority with no input from the Republican minority. These Rules will govern the House of Representatives for the next two years. House Republicans did propose reasonable changes that would increase accountability and transparency; however, the proposal was rejected by the supermajority.
Watch Deputy Leader Ryan Spain debate the House Rules and push for greater transparency.
More egregiously, the Rules are designed to give ultimate authority to the Speaker of the House instead of the legislative body. The new Rules, as in the past, give the Speaker powers to define the number of committees and their legislative makeup. Because committee chairpersons receive an increase in pay, often large numbers of committees are created to ensure the greater number of chairpersons can owe their allegiance to the Speaker who makes the appointments.
The Rules also dictate which bills see the light of day, specifically, whether the legislation will receive a public hearing in a standing committee or die in the Rules Committee without one. We’ve seen it with legislation dealing with gerrymandering and terms limits, among other initiatives.
We’ve also witnessed the Democrat majority breaking the Rules. Last year, in the final hours of the legislative session, the Speaker allowed lawmakers to vote three times on one piece of legislation to raise nearly one billion dollars in taxes. The bill passed on the third vote after failing twice before. The Rules only allowed for two votes.
What's more, the Rule-making process is designed to prevent the minority from holding the supermajority accountable. At the same time, the Rules stop the supermajority caucus from being able to hold the Speaker accountable.
Yet this week, all members of the Democrat supermajority voted to implement the Rules that will cede their power to one man. After former Speaker Michael Madigan’s long reign of power was ended, Emanuel “Chris” Welch took over as Speaker. During his first inaugural address after taking the Speaker’s gavel, he said it was a “New Day” in Illinois.
Unfortunately, Speaker Welch went back on his promise to turn the page to a “New Day”, and the House Rules that Madigan put in place are the same Rules that the Illinois House is operating under today. It’s a classic case of, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement following the adoption of the ‘new’ set of House Rules:
“In less than 24 hours the Speaker of the House reignited division in our chamber, choosing to operate our chamber under the very same rules that his mentor and predecessor, Mike Madigan–who is currently sitting trial in federal court–created. This is not a new day. As the Speaker’s manufactured chaos continues, House Republicans remain steadfast in rooting out corruption, pushing for transparency, and calling for accountability.
“Yesterday during inauguration I said: House Republicans can imagine a government that truly works for the people…where we know a political agenda does not. It is time to stop playing politics with Illinois families and businesses. We will expose harmful policies, state mismanagement, and oppose lunacy in all its forms.”
The Rules for the 104th General Assembly were drafted by the Democrat supermajority with no input from the Republican minority. These Rules will govern the House of Representatives for the next two years. House Republicans did propose reasonable changes that would increase accountability and transparency; however, the proposal was rejected by the supermajority.
Watch Deputy Leader Ryan Spain debate the House Rules and push for greater transparency.
More egregiously, the Rules are designed to give ultimate authority to the Speaker of the House instead of the legislative body. The new Rules, as in the past, give the Speaker powers to define the number of committees and their legislative makeup. Because committee chairpersons receive an increase in pay, often large numbers of committees are created to ensure the greater number of chairpersons can owe their allegiance to the Speaker who makes the appointments.
The Rules also dictate which bills see the light of day, specifically, whether the legislation will receive a public hearing in a standing committee or die in the Rules Committee without one. We’ve seen it with legislation dealing with gerrymandering and terms limits, among other initiatives.
We’ve also witnessed the Democrat majority breaking the Rules. Last year, in the final hours of the legislative session, the Speaker allowed lawmakers to vote three times on one piece of legislation to raise nearly one billion dollars in taxes. The bill passed on the third vote after failing twice before. The Rules only allowed for two votes.
What's more, the Rule-making process is designed to prevent the minority from holding the supermajority accountable. At the same time, the Rules stop the supermajority caucus from being able to hold the Speaker accountable.
Yet this week, all members of the Democrat supermajority voted to implement the Rules that will cede their power to one man. After former Speaker Michael Madigan’s long reign of power was ended, Emanuel “Chris” Welch took over as Speaker. During his first inaugural address after taking the Speaker’s gavel, he said it was a “New Day” in Illinois.
Unfortunately, Speaker Welch went back on his promise to turn the page to a “New Day”, and the House Rules that Madigan put in place are the same Rules that the Illinois House is operating under today. It’s a classic case of, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement following the adoption of the ‘new’ set of House Rules:
“In less than 24 hours the Speaker of the House reignited division in our chamber, choosing to operate our chamber under the very same rules that his mentor and predecessor, Mike Madigan–who is currently sitting trial in federal court–created. This is not a new day. As the Speaker’s manufactured chaos continues, House Republicans remain steadfast in rooting out corruption, pushing for transparency, and calling for accountability.
“Yesterday during inauguration I said: House Republicans can imagine a government that truly works for the people…where we know a political agenda does not. It is time to stop playing politics with Illinois families and businesses. We will expose harmful policies, state mismanagement, and oppose lunacy in all its forms.”
Lame duck session ends for the 103rd General Assembly. The 103rd General Assembly adjourned “sine die,” which means “without a day” to return, on Tuesday, January 7.
The 103rd General Assembly failed to take many actions sought by Illinois families in 2023 and 2024. Challenges not taken up by the former General Assembly include the soaring State budget deficit, the stagnating Illinois economy and high cost of living, rising crime rates, and a culture of corruption in government. The lame duck session continued this record of inaction, and House Minority Leader Tony McCombie criticized Illinois’ Democratic leaders for making the taxpayers spend money on a January session that turned to be largely empty of content. With a fiscal year 2026 budget deficit now estimated at $3.2 billion, urgent action will be needed to bring the State’s spending under control. Failure to do so created a significant missed opportunity in Springfield.
MADIGAN TRIAL
Madigan takes the stand in his own corruption trial. In a rare and rather unprecedented move, former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan took the stand this week to defend himself against the 23-count federal indictment for bribery, racketeering, and corruption.
Courthouse News Service: Ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan took the stand in his own federal corruption trial on Tuesday. The surprise move came in the middle of Madigan’s defense case, and upturned estimates of when jurors might begin deliberations. […]
It can be risky for criminal defendants to testify in their own defense, as, among other concerns, it opens them up to cross-examination under oath. Madigan nevertheless told the court he understood his right to testify and his duty to testify honestly. He took the stand despite the risks involved with waiving one’s Fifth Amendment rights.
Chicago Tribune: Former House Speaker Michael Madigan testified in his corruption trial Wednesday that he was taken aback when then-Ald. Daniel Solis told him over the phone that the developers of a West Loop condo tower understood “the quid pro quo” of hiring Madigan’s law firm.
“A great deal of surprise and concern,” Madigan said of the reaction in his head when Solis, who turned out to be working undercover for the FBI, uttered the phrase.
Solis seemed like a stand-up guy and straight arrow, and the comment continued to eat at him, the former speaker said under direct examination by his attorney, Daniel Collins.
“I decided that I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Solis to give me an opportunity to tell him that I would not be involved in a quid pro quo,” Madigan told the jury.
Capitol News Illinois: A few weeks later, Solis brought the developer to Madigan’s downtown Chicago law office to meet with the speaker and his law partner, Vincent “Bud” Getzendanner. In the meeting, which lasted a little over half an hour, Madigan was mostly silent, letting Getzendanner explain how the firm usually handled property tax appeals for large developments.
But prosecutors were most interested in what happened before the meeting, when Madigan pulled Solis into his office and closed the door, admonishing the alderman in a near-whisper.
“Over the phone, you made a comment that there, that there was a quid pro quo,” Madigan said in the video, to which Solis replied: “Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t be talking like that,” Madigan continued. “You’re just recommending our law firm because if they don’t get a good result on the real estate taxes, the whole project would be in trouble. Which is not good for your ward. So you want high-quality representation.”
CANNABIS
Speaker Welch blocks action on intoxicating hemp ban. House Democrats refused to take action this week on a bill to strictly regulate, or ban, intoxicating hemp products. These products, which are packaged and sold as goods that are separate from strictly regulated cannabis, can be ‘salted’ or infused with chemicals that are said to produce psychoactive responses akin to cannabis. Licensed members of the legal Illinois cannabis industry, who are given through criminal background checks and who pay heavy taxes, are deeply concerned about what they see as unfair competition.
Hemp products such as these are sometimes called “cannabinoid hemp.” Sold under names such as “Delta-8,” they claim that they offer the same outcomes as doses of cannabis, without the necessity to go to a dispensary and show proof of age. Proponents of a crackdown on intoxicating hemp products continue to call for action to protect children and young adults from these products.
A bill was drafted in Springfield for the 103rd General Assembly to crack down on intoxicating hemp products. However, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch refused to call the bill for a vote during the final hours of the 2025 lame duck session, after a raucous House Democratic Caucus meeting during which Pritzker Administration staff were called liars and humiliated by some caucus members, leading to one agency staffer leaving in tears and a demand by Governor Pritzker that the members apologize to his staff. The House Democrats’ failure to act on a ban means that proponents of the Delta-8 crackdown must now start over. The issue of intoxicating hemp product regulation will be part of the workload of the new 104th General Assembly.
JOBS
Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) report points out stagnant economy. The CGFA report covers overall economic trends within the State of Illinois, including tax payments to the State in December 2024. Operating with data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CGFA has looked at five-year changes in the gross domestic products (GDP) generated within Illinois’ major metro areas. Using the five-year period starting in 2019 created a data set that straddles the 2020-22 COVID-19 pandemic and enables a look at long-term trends without fluctuations created by widespread lockdowns.
The data reported on by CGFA creates additional evidence that, in CGFA’s words, “Illinois metro areas have lagged behind most of the nation in GDP growth since 2019.” The lag is closely associated with a perceived loss of Illinois-based market share in key U.S. industries. CGFA points with particularity to a perceived loss of market share within metro Bloomington-Normal in the fields of finance and insurance. This matches many other indications that U.S. finance jobs and headquarters, formerly based in Illinois, are moving to other cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Miami.
CGFA also charted a significant increase in personal income payments from Illinois workers to Springfield in December 2024. Reported personal income tax payments increased during this 31-day period by $524 million from the year-earlier period in December 2023. CGFA reported, however, that the perceived income spike displayed by these numbers was affected by an accounting quirk called the “true-up.” The “true-up” is a periodic procedure that takes place to realign how moneys should be credited to standard income taxes as opposed to net credits to the Personal Property Replacement Tax, a state income tax surcharge imposed on corporations and pass-through entities. The December 2024 “spike” in reported personal income tax revenues cannot be expected to continue into 2025.
FLAG OF ILLINOIS
Voting begins on ten potential new State of Illinois flag designs. The ten designs are the finalists from nearly 5,000 designs submitted by the public. From these submissions, the Illinois Flag Commission selected ten finalists. This week, the ten winning designs were posted for advisory public vote. Illinoisans can also look at, and vote for, three existing flag designs: the current flag of Illinois, the 1918 Centennial flag of Illinois, and the 1968 Sesquicentennial flag of Illinois.
The public vote for a new Illinois flag is purely advisory. Participants in this voting procedure can cast multiple votes on the website of the Flag Commission, but they must sign in and can cast only one vote per day. The public vote will continue until February 14, 2025.
After compiling and scrutinizing the vote, the Illinois Flag Commission will, on a date not later than April 1, 2025, submit a report to the General Assembly. The report will include the finalist flag designs and will include a recommendation (which will be advisory and will not have force of law) as to which design ought to be selected. The General Assembly will make the final decision on whether Illinois should enact a new flag design or should keep our existing flag design.
The existing Illinois flag is a white banner with a complex, patriotic motif that includes an eagle, a motto on a scroll, the Star-Spangled shield of the United States, a rising sun, and the state’s name, “Illinois.” The ten Illinois State Flag finalists were announced on Tuesday, December 10.
The 103rd General Assembly failed to take many actions sought by Illinois families in 2023 and 2024. Challenges not taken up by the former General Assembly include the soaring State budget deficit, the stagnating Illinois economy and high cost of living, rising crime rates, and a culture of corruption in government. The lame duck session continued this record of inaction, and House Minority Leader Tony McCombie criticized Illinois’ Democratic leaders for making the taxpayers spend money on a January session that turned to be largely empty of content. With a fiscal year 2026 budget deficit now estimated at $3.2 billion, urgent action will be needed to bring the State’s spending under control. Failure to do so created a significant missed opportunity in Springfield.
MADIGAN TRIAL
Madigan takes the stand in his own corruption trial. In a rare and rather unprecedented move, former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan took the stand this week to defend himself against the 23-count federal indictment for bribery, racketeering, and corruption.
Courthouse News Service: Ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan took the stand in his own federal corruption trial on Tuesday. The surprise move came in the middle of Madigan’s defense case, and upturned estimates of when jurors might begin deliberations. […]
It can be risky for criminal defendants to testify in their own defense, as, among other concerns, it opens them up to cross-examination under oath. Madigan nevertheless told the court he understood his right to testify and his duty to testify honestly. He took the stand despite the risks involved with waiving one’s Fifth Amendment rights.
Chicago Tribune: Former House Speaker Michael Madigan testified in his corruption trial Wednesday that he was taken aback when then-Ald. Daniel Solis told him over the phone that the developers of a West Loop condo tower understood “the quid pro quo” of hiring Madigan’s law firm.
“A great deal of surprise and concern,” Madigan said of the reaction in his head when Solis, who turned out to be working undercover for the FBI, uttered the phrase.
Solis seemed like a stand-up guy and straight arrow, and the comment continued to eat at him, the former speaker said under direct examination by his attorney, Daniel Collins.
“I decided that I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Solis to give me an opportunity to tell him that I would not be involved in a quid pro quo,” Madigan told the jury.
Capitol News Illinois: A few weeks later, Solis brought the developer to Madigan’s downtown Chicago law office to meet with the speaker and his law partner, Vincent “Bud” Getzendanner. In the meeting, which lasted a little over half an hour, Madigan was mostly silent, letting Getzendanner explain how the firm usually handled property tax appeals for large developments.
But prosecutors were most interested in what happened before the meeting, when Madigan pulled Solis into his office and closed the door, admonishing the alderman in a near-whisper.
“Over the phone, you made a comment that there, that there was a quid pro quo,” Madigan said in the video, to which Solis replied: “Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t be talking like that,” Madigan continued. “You’re just recommending our law firm because if they don’t get a good result on the real estate taxes, the whole project would be in trouble. Which is not good for your ward. So you want high-quality representation.”
CANNABIS
Speaker Welch blocks action on intoxicating hemp ban. House Democrats refused to take action this week on a bill to strictly regulate, or ban, intoxicating hemp products. These products, which are packaged and sold as goods that are separate from strictly regulated cannabis, can be ‘salted’ or infused with chemicals that are said to produce psychoactive responses akin to cannabis. Licensed members of the legal Illinois cannabis industry, who are given through criminal background checks and who pay heavy taxes, are deeply concerned about what they see as unfair competition.
Hemp products such as these are sometimes called “cannabinoid hemp.” Sold under names such as “Delta-8,” they claim that they offer the same outcomes as doses of cannabis, without the necessity to go to a dispensary and show proof of age. Proponents of a crackdown on intoxicating hemp products continue to call for action to protect children and young adults from these products.
A bill was drafted in Springfield for the 103rd General Assembly to crack down on intoxicating hemp products. However, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch refused to call the bill for a vote during the final hours of the 2025 lame duck session, after a raucous House Democratic Caucus meeting during which Pritzker Administration staff were called liars and humiliated by some caucus members, leading to one agency staffer leaving in tears and a demand by Governor Pritzker that the members apologize to his staff. The House Democrats’ failure to act on a ban means that proponents of the Delta-8 crackdown must now start over. The issue of intoxicating hemp product regulation will be part of the workload of the new 104th General Assembly.
JOBS
Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) report points out stagnant economy. The CGFA report covers overall economic trends within the State of Illinois, including tax payments to the State in December 2024. Operating with data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CGFA has looked at five-year changes in the gross domestic products (GDP) generated within Illinois’ major metro areas. Using the five-year period starting in 2019 created a data set that straddles the 2020-22 COVID-19 pandemic and enables a look at long-term trends without fluctuations created by widespread lockdowns.
The data reported on by CGFA creates additional evidence that, in CGFA’s words, “Illinois metro areas have lagged behind most of the nation in GDP growth since 2019.” The lag is closely associated with a perceived loss of Illinois-based market share in key U.S. industries. CGFA points with particularity to a perceived loss of market share within metro Bloomington-Normal in the fields of finance and insurance. This matches many other indications that U.S. finance jobs and headquarters, formerly based in Illinois, are moving to other cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Miami.
CGFA also charted a significant increase in personal income payments from Illinois workers to Springfield in December 2024. Reported personal income tax payments increased during this 31-day period by $524 million from the year-earlier period in December 2023. CGFA reported, however, that the perceived income spike displayed by these numbers was affected by an accounting quirk called the “true-up.” The “true-up” is a periodic procedure that takes place to realign how moneys should be credited to standard income taxes as opposed to net credits to the Personal Property Replacement Tax, a state income tax surcharge imposed on corporations and pass-through entities. The December 2024 “spike” in reported personal income tax revenues cannot be expected to continue into 2025.
FLAG OF ILLINOIS
Voting begins on ten potential new State of Illinois flag designs. The ten designs are the finalists from nearly 5,000 designs submitted by the public. From these submissions, the Illinois Flag Commission selected ten finalists. This week, the ten winning designs were posted for advisory public vote. Illinoisans can also look at, and vote for, three existing flag designs: the current flag of Illinois, the 1918 Centennial flag of Illinois, and the 1968 Sesquicentennial flag of Illinois.
The public vote for a new Illinois flag is purely advisory. Participants in this voting procedure can cast multiple votes on the website of the Flag Commission, but they must sign in and can cast only one vote per day. The public vote will continue until February 14, 2025.
After compiling and scrutinizing the vote, the Illinois Flag Commission will, on a date not later than April 1, 2025, submit a report to the General Assembly. The report will include the finalist flag designs and will include a recommendation (which will be advisory and will not have force of law) as to which design ought to be selected. The General Assembly will make the final decision on whether Illinois should enact a new flag design or should keep our existing flag design.
The existing Illinois flag is a white banner with a complex, patriotic motif that includes an eagle, a motto on a scroll, the Star-Spangled shield of the United States, a rising sun, and the state’s name, “Illinois.” The ten Illinois State Flag finalists were announced on Tuesday, December 10.