Majority Party leaders managed to ram through and pass new Illinois Supreme Court districts, despite never doing so for about 60 years, and despite the Illinois Constitution not requiring it. Their excuse for doing so is to address population disparity. However, these new districts still include a population disparity of more than 200,000 people. Senate Republicans argue that the remap
State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) released the following statement after Democrat lawmakers passed their partisan legislative maps along party-lines: “The recently passed map demonstrates that those in the majority care more about their seat than representing the people of this state. This is a map drawn by politicians to protect their own self-interest in government, not to represent the people
On May 20, the Illinois Senate passed Senate Bill 818, a controversial education bill that would rewrite existing state standards for sex education in grades K-12. Senator Syverson says he strongly opposed the legislation and voted against it. The legislation would significantly limit local control over sexual education by requiring school districts to either teach the new standards as written
Following the CDC’s latest guidance, the State of Illinois has updated its Executive Orders and repealed emergency orders regarding face coverings. Thanks to these changes, fully-vaccinated Illinoisans are able to once again gather in most indoor and outdoor settings without wearing a mask. Under the new guidelines, fully-vaccinated people can: Resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where
As the spring legislative session approaches its end, budget talks have begun to pick up steam at the Capitol. While negotiations are ongoing, Senator Syverson is calling for the removal of tax hikes on businesses that Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in his February Budget Address. Since the Budget Address, the state has added $3 billion in unexpected revenues between Fiscal
On May 17, the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus unveiled a comprehensive ethics reform package designed to hold politicians accountable and give law enforcement more tools to combat public corruption. The newly filed legislation (Senate Bill 1350) comes following weeks of delays on passing meaningful ethics reform measures. Senate Republicans noted that time is running out this legislative session and stressed
Between the costs of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s built-in structural fiscal issues, the influx of nearly $8 billion in federal money from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act was being eyed to plug a number of holes. Gov. Pritzker had hoped to use some of the federal money to pay back $3.6 billion that the state borrowed
Another round of road construction projects are about to get started across the state. This week, Illinois Department of Transportation officials announced $250 million in new grants from the Rebuild Illinois capital program. The funds are part of the fourth of six installments that are spread out over three years. So far, more than $1 billion in capital funds have
Thousands of new bills are filed every year by lawmakers in Springfield. Some of them feature popular, widely-accepted ideas to make the state better, while others seem a little more out of left field. Every week, the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus is highlighting legislation that is outlandish, not very well thought out, or just plain bad for the people of
State Sen. Syverson joins hisSenate Republican colleagues in renewing their calls for Gov. Pritzker to make good on his campaign promise to support an independent redistricting process. Public polls have shown more than 75 percent of Illinois voters support an independent process that puts citizens in control of drawing election districts instead of politicians. Pritzker has publicly stated his support
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