House Republicans Working to Restore Public Safety. House Republican lawmakers held a press conference in the Capitol on March 12, 2025, to discuss the dire state of public safety in Illinois and present their pathway forward, aiming to deliver a state where families can succeed.
As the Democratic majority continues to prioritize criminal justice reforms at the expense of public safety, House Republican Floor Leader Patrick Windhorst, Assistant Minority Leader John Cabello, and State Representative Dennis Tipsword spoke about the reality Illinois families face across the state.
Reps. Windhorst, Cabello, and Tipsword all have law enforcement backgrounds and have been integral in creating the legislative package that will restore public safety.
“As an active law enforcement officer, I see the challenges we face in protecting our communities daily. Bad legislation in the form of the SAFE T Act and the TRUST Act have made our local communities less safe. Why are we continuing to enact legislation that always sides with criminals rather than the people who are trying to protect us? There is no bigger priority in my job than public safety and holding people who commit crimes accountable. Simply put, the SAFE T Act and TRUST Act tie the hands of law enforcement and hinder our ability to do our jobs,” said Rep. Tipsword, who serves as Chief Deputy in the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office.
“Time and time again, we see Democrats claim they support law enforcement, while their policies tell a different story,” said Rep. Cabello. “Instead of giving police the tools they need to fight crime, they push laws that make their jobs harder and put criminals first.”
After citing multiple ideas making law enforcement’s job more dangerous and burdensome, Cabello continued to say: “This is what happens when Illinois politicians who have no law enforcement experience care more about protecting criminals than supporting police. If Democrats truly supported law enforcement like they claim, they’d work with us to crack down on crime, enhance penalties, and hold criminals accountable - not make excuses for it,” concluded Cabello.
House Republican Floor Leader Patrick Windhorst began his professional career as a prosecutor and served as State’s Attorney for 14 years in Massac County. “Since taking office as State Representative, I have seen legislators from the other side of the aisle make a constant push to pass legislation that has seriously degraded our police officers’ ability to do their jobs effectively, elevated rights for criminals, and eroded the rights of victims,” Windhorst stated from the Capitol Blue Room on Wednesday morning.
“House Republicans fought the SAFE-T Act, warning our fellow citizens that the law would harm our law enforcement officers and harm our court system while increasing risks to public safety. In response to the Democrats' progressive lurch to the left on public safety issues, the House Republican working group is announcing a legislative agenda aimed at fixing the very real crime problem we have in Illinois.”
While public safety issues continue to rise, House Republicans have put thoughtful, viable solutions forward that aim to keep families safe, back law enforcement, and ensure criminals are held accountable.
Included in the legislative package rolled out on Wednesday:
- HB 1028 - Cabello - SAFE-T Act repeal
- HB 2804 - McCombie - Fentanyl - adds penalties to those who traffic and market fentanyl to children
- HB 1478 - Windhorst - Creates the offense of fentanyl child endangerment
- HB 77 - Haas - Schedules xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance
- HB 3206 - Sheehan - Enhances penalties for fleeing and eluding
- HB 3406 - Sheehan - Allows forfeiture for any vehicle used for fleeing and eluding
- HB 1743 - Tipsword - requiring DHS to move a person who has been committed for mental health treatment out of the county jail within 20 days.
- HB 1479 - Windhorst - revocation of pretrial release
- HB 1482 - Windhorst - expends the detention net for pre-trial release
- HB 1483 - Windhorst - pre-trial release - warrants for failure to comply with the pretrial release conditions
“This bill will help victims of sexual assault, giving assurance that they do not have to carry an added burden. They should not be victimized on any level,” said Leader McCombie.
House Bill 2805 has gained bipartisan support, including the backing of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, and will now move forward in the Illinois House for further confirmation.
DEMOCRATS’ MISPLACED PRIORITIES
House Republicans slam Democrats’ bad bills & misplaced priorities. At a Capitol news conference Tuesday, House Republicans slammed the bad bills and misplaced priorities of the Democratic supermajority. Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer, along with State Representatives Bill Hauter and Jennifer Sanalitro took aim at recent Democrat-backed bills that fail to address Illinois’ biggest challenges.
“Illinois is facing significant problems with our budget, with public safety, with high taxes and the high cost of living,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “With the State of Illinois facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, Democrats are pushing bad bills that will make Illinois’ budget problems even worse.”
Last week, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), which Davidsmeyer co-chairs, released its FY 2026 Economic Forecast and Revenue Estimate and FY 2025 Revenue Update. CGFA projected a $737 million State budget shortfall for FY26 and an additional $500 million shortfall for the current fiscal year.
The Auditor General recently released an audit of the taxpayer-funded healthcare program for illegal immigrants. That audit showed that the actual cost of the program was up to 286% higher than the Pritzker Administration’s estimates.
“The State has spent more than $2.2 billion in taxpayer funds on free healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants,” Davidsmeyer said. “I am sponsoring legislation to end this massively expensive program.”
“What is the Democratic supermajority doing to address these very serious problems? Zero, zip, zilch, nothing,” Davidsmeyer added.
Representative Davidsmeyer blasted Democrats for their failed immigration policies.
“Due to the failed Biden open border policy, we have more than 530,000 illegal immigrants residing in our state. The Democrats’ sanctuary state policy and giveaways to illegal immigrants are incentives for them to come to Illinois. I have again filed legislation to repeal the TRUST Act and end Illinois’ sanctuary state policy.
Davidsmeyer accused Democrats of doubling down on their failed immigration policies. House Bill 2706 would further restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities and close so-called “loopholes” in the TRUST Act. House Bill 3780 would provide universal health care for all individuals residing in Illinois, regardless of immigration status.
Rather than working with Republicans to provide relief to hardworking taxpayers and bring down the cost of living, Democrats are once again looking to raise taxes.
“SJRCA 4 is another progressive income tax increase,” Davidsmeyer said. “Illinois voters already defeated this tax hike in 2020. On Governor Pritzker’s watch, the State has spent an additional $15 billion since voters resoundingly rejected Pritzker’s tax hike.”
Representative Davidsmeyer listed some of the other bad bills that Democrats have introduced:
- HB 3518 would legalize prostitution and provide sex workers rights
- HB 1594 would make obesity a protected class
- No Voter ID to protect election integrity; instead…Vote-from-Prison (HB 2)
- Environmental justice communities (HB 1608), grocery bag and plastic ware bans (HB 1146, HB 1600), and more Green New Deal scams
“Instead of focusing on state finances, or any number of the serious challenges our state faces, we see the true priorities of the Democrats in Illinois,” Rep. Hauter added.
Republicans have introduced real solutions to provide tax relief, including two Sanalitro sponsored bills eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, which would reduce the financial burden on working Illinoisans.
“Despite all the political grandstanding about high taxes, the majority party has blocked both of these bills from even being discussed in committee,” said Rep. Sanalitro. “Illinoisans deserve a government that prioritizes them, not more wasteful spending and unnecessary regulations.”
JOBS
Illinois’ unemployment rate was 4.9% in January. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced Wednesday that nonfarm payrolls were almost unchanged, down -1,100 (0.0%), while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent in January, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The December monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +8,800 to +12,200 while the revised unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, -0.3 percent lower than the preliminary December unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.
Illinois’ 4.9% January 2025 unemployment rate continued to be significantly higher than the nationwide jobless rate, which was 4.0% for the same month. This continued to signal that Illinois’ economy is underperforming the outlook of the 50 states. In addition, the January 2025 figures showed that Illinois continues to lose jobs in key economic sectors. During 2024, Illinois lost significant numbers of jobs within the following three sectors:
- Professional and Business Services 17,800 jobs lost in calendar year 2024
- Manufacturing 5,900 jobs lost
- Construction 3,400 jobs lost
PROPERTY TAXES
House Republicans Unveil Legislative Package to Deliver Property Tax Relief. Illinois House Republican lawmakers unveiled their legislative bill package to deliver property tax relief to residents across the state. Assistant Minority Leader Dan Ugaste and State Representatives Joe Sosnowski and Tom Weber discussed the impact that high property taxes have had on Illinois, and the Democratic majority’s inaction and refusal to provide relief.
Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the country and has seen residents fleeing to states with friendlier tax environments. House Republican lawmakers are fighting to stop the reckless neglect of taxpayers and bring down property taxes, including the following measures:
HB 0009 – Ugaste- Property Tax Relief
HB 1321 – Ugaste- Tax District Surplus
HB 1746 – Sosnowski- Homestead Exemption
HB 2543 – Sosnowski- Taxpayer Empowerment
HB 3723 – Sosnowski- Senior Exemption
HB 3724 – Sosnowski- General Homestead
HB 4010 – Weber- Property Tax Extensions
HB 4011 – Weber- Assessment Limit
Representative Dan Ugaste has been a vocal advocate for property tax relief, especially as a means to deliver organic growth in local communities.
“High property taxes are crushing Illinois families,” stated Rep. Ugaste. “The situation is not getting any better, and the latest studies show we pay the second-highest property taxes in the nation. House Republicans have introduced a number of bills and have solutions that can provide property tax relief, and it’s time for those proposals to be considered.”
A few weeks ago, Governor JB Pritzker released his annual budget proposal, which spends $2 billion more than the previous fiscal year and lacks any meaningful reform to help seniors, families, and business from the crushing weight of property taxes.
Representative Weber noted that the current budget proposal shows just how out-of-touch the Democratic majority is with the everyday Illinoisan and pointed to the totally ineffective 2019 Property Tax Relief Tax Force as proof.
“Years of reckless spending and unbalanced budgets have led the majority party to endlessly drive up property taxes with no end in sight, and many Illinoisans simply cannot afford them,” said Rep. Weber. “Our caucus is committed to alleviating this strain by improving existing exemptions, capping year-over-year tax increases, and returning surplus revenue back to taxpayers in our state. By reducing the property tax burden placed on folks here in Illinois, we will create an environment where working families can not only get by, but thrive.”
Representative Joe Sosnowski’s legislation intends to help hard-pressed Illinois homeowners and families, particularly seniors on fixed incomes.
“Working families and homeowners need property tax relief, particularly seniors on fixed incomes,” said Rep. Sosnowski. “We have filed legislation to deliver relief and help reverse the outmigration of people leaving Illinois because of the increasing tax burden. If we compare ourselves to other states in the Midwest, if Illinois grew at the same rate as Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri we would have over a million more residents living in our state just over the last 10 years. When we lose people, it erodes the local tax base that supports schools and other vital services that families rely on. Property tax relief would have a direct positive impact on bringing people, jobs, and opportunity back to Illinois.”