Photos from Last Week in Springfield
Here are few photos from this week, including Illinois FFA students who visited the Capitol.
Committee Work Continues in Springfield
Screenshot of House Bills Out of Committee on 3/14/2024
This week we continued to meet in committees to evaluate legislation and vote on whether or not those bills should move to the full House for a vote. Thousands of bills have been filed and are in committee, only a small number have been considered and voted on so far.
Take a look at the list above and below, do you think these bills substantially help you, your business, your family? The answer is no.
On Tuesday, 32 bills passed out of committee, none of them were Republican-sponsored bills. Here’s a screenshot of those bills.
On Wednesday, 44 bills passed out of House committees, 2 were Republican bills. View the list here: https://www.ilga.gov/reports/Preview.asp?t=dir&k=37&ga=17&d=3/13/2024&d2=&h=Bills%20Out%20of%20House%20Committees%20on%203/13/2024
On Thursday 19 bills passed out of committee, 3 were Republican bills.
None of these bills substantially change the business climate, improve student outcomes, lower property taxes, or reform pensions. If you want to read more about these bills by click on the link to the bill on the chart. Here is a link to the chart.
WE CALLED IT
NON-CITIZEN HEALTHCARE COSTS EXPLODE
In 2020, now Illinois Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, who was a first-term state representative, passed legislation to give free healthcare to non-citizens. The annual cost estimate was $2 million for the program that initially served those non-citizens 55 and older. The program exceeded the $2 million cost in its first month.
Each year afterwards, the program ballooned as the eligible age was lowered to include those 42 and older. Also, important to note is that this program was Illinois Medicaid fee-for-service which is much better and much more costly than Medicaid managed care which CITIZENS on Medicaid are put on in Illinois.
Last year, the cost for FY 2024 was estimated as $1.1 billion and the Black Caucus in the Illinois House balked at the expense. As part of the budget negotiations last Spring, Pritzker and the Democrats said they would cap the number of enrollees and put in a co-pay requirement for services. The budgeted amount was then estimated at $550 million.
Just months later, however, the cost for the program based on usage was expected to exceed $831 million, as noted in this article from October.
Now, cost overruns are causing the Governor to make changes as there has been ZERO ability to control costs. From this article,
“In a statement last week, the state announced changes would be coming to the eligibility requirements for the Healthcare Benefits for Immigrant Adults and Seniors program, as the cost to run the initiative ballooned to more than $1 billion over the last year.
Illegal immigrants and non-citizen green card holders who have been in the U.S. for fewer than five years will no longer be covered by a pair of the state’s health insurance programs beginning April 1, according to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS).”
This program is just one of many that we will demand more information on as the Pritzker administration continues to prioritize spending on illegal aliens over Illinois citizens.
Illinois Tops The Loser List (Again)
Illinois’ population decline continued for its 10th consecutive year in 2023.
EVERY METROPOLITAN AREA IN THE STATE LOST RESIDENTS!
The Illinois Policy Institute explains why our state is the 3rd worst in the country:
Slow Learners
It may have taken too long, and many American citizens have paid a heavy price, but Democrat-run cities like San Francisco, Washington and New York are finally embracing conservative anti-crime policies. This marks a stark reversal from 2020 when the growing influence of the ‘progressive’ Left fueled a national effort to undermine police and strip law enforcement budgets.
When will Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson decide to join them?https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/07/liberal-cities-crime-policies-00145532?nname=illinois-playbook&nid=00000150-1596-d4ac-a1d4-179e288b0000&nrid=0b677fec-7488-4624-8812-47f54c5d446f&nlid=639163
More Mandates = More $$
Illinois Democrats want to mandate the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Pollution Control Board to establish a “clean transportation standard” and reduce the use of carbon-based fuels by Illinois drivers on the state’s roads.
Illinois doubled the gas tax in 2019 and has raised it every year since. In addition, the state assesses its 6.25% sales tax on top of every dollar spent on gasoline.
Illinoisans simply can’t afford yet another tax burden.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_cea22f78-e246-11ee-af98-bbe6ab7a752a.html
Spring Equinox 2024
We are greeting the first day of the new season with the ‘spring equinox’,
but what is it exactly?
The Farmers Almanac explains:
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/spring-equinox-first-day-spring
Here is a map of the new 101st House District. Use this link for a clearer picture and to enter your address to see if you live in the district: https://repcmiller.com/district/
As your state representative, my office is available to assist you with any issues you may have when interacting with a state agency.
Please call our office at 217.508.4108 to get help or schedule an appointment to see me.
The office is located at 1113 Lincoln Ave, Charleston and is open Mon-Fri from 9am- 4 pm.