Monday, April 8th
Southern Illinois is a prime location to see the solar eclipse today!
From the Illinois Department of Transportation:
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon travels between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow on the Earth’s surface. The 2024 solar eclipse will be visible over approximately 128 miles of Illinois on April 8th.
Totality enters Illinois as it crosses the Missouri state line southwest in Carbondale at 1:58 p.m.
The eclipse will follow a diagonal line crossing over Fairfield and exit Illinois at Mount Carmel at 2:06 p.m.
It is not safe to look at the eclipse with the naked eye. Use eclipse glasses or make a pinhole viewer.
Read more from IDOT at this link:
https://idot.illinois.gov/about-idot/stay-connected/events/solar-eclipse-2024.html
Rep. Miller Wants Full Transparency from Democrats Over Budget
We Deserve Transparency
On Thursday, April 4th, Rep. Miller took to the House floor his demand for transparency from sneaky Democrats. Governor Pritzker proposed a $51 billion dollar budget, and like usual, the Republicans and the general public will know nothing about the budget until hours before it’s passed. Democrats like to play the game of hiding behind doors until it’s time to vote. Rep. Miller is fed up with the lack of transparency and demands that Speaker Welch negotiates with Republicans and provides the public with truth rather than lies.
Watch the Video
My Thoughts on Progressive Pritzker and Democrat’s Spending Spree
Illinois has critical issues that need addressed, but Democrats are setting priorities in all the wrong areas. They stand on the House floor and say “no one is illegal on stolen land” while cheering for an open border and handouts.
https://repcmiller.com/2024/02/23/my-thoughts-on-progressive-pritzker-and-democrats-spending-spree
Last week was deadline week for House bills to be out of committees. Originally scheduled to be out of office on Friday, the Democrats ended the week on Thursday and pushed through a number of bills that were not fully debated and reviewed. Many of these bills are opposed for one reason or several reasons, but promises were made by the bill sponsors to work on them and bring back amendments to the committee before having them voted on for final passage.
This process is broken. Promises made are not often kept in that an amendment may come back to committee, but it will still be flawed. Much work remains to be done.
Bills technically go through three readings before a final vote is taken. Right now there are an estimated 474 bills sitting on second reading in the House. By our count only about 42, or less than 10%, of the bills are Republican bills.
Meanwhile, budget committees had hearings on complex state agency budgets, spending only about an hour hearing from agencies that spend billions each year. To say that there is legislative oversight is a farce.
We are back this week and the following week for eight days total. In that timeframe, we will vote on nearly 500 bills that affect Illinoisans. Do we really need 500 new laws? And by the way, none of them universally lower property taxes.
Illinois Bill Would Hurt Restaurant Workers
HB 5345 would end tipped wages for restaurant workers and others.
Current law allows employers to pay workers who receive tips only $8.40 per hour as tips usually make up enough to reach the Illinois required minimum wage of $14 per hour. The restaurant association, servers, and others who work hard to earn tips are opposed to the legislation.
“It will have a detrimental impact on the industry and this legislation aims to protect. This is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Under the current law, every tipped employee must earn at least the state minimum wage,” said Illinois Restaurant Association President and CEO Sam Toia.
Read the article HERE
This bill is one of those bills passed out of committee despite many concerns.
To be clear, I oppose this job-killing legislation.
California and six other states ended tipped wages already. Except for California no one has as high a minimum wage as Illinois. And California just increased their minimum wage to $20/hour just this week. Now, businesses are closing down unable to raise prices high enough to cover expenses.
This story from California should be a cautionary example for Illinois.
Read More HERE.
Scholarship Program has Best Year Before Democrats Shut It Down
The Chicago Tribune reported that in the last year, the Invest in Kids scholarship program supported more than 15,000 students, a record number and a 56% increase from the previous year.
Donations also increased to $90 million from $75 million.
This successful program that helped poor kids get out of failing schools was shut down by the Democrats at the request of the teacher unions. Efforts to revive it have been unsuccessful so far. This new information should change the hearts and minds of Springfield legislators. But for many students even if the program were reversed, neighborhood private schools have already closed and moving to a private school with a longer commute may be difficult for many families.
Read more HERE
I Want to Hear from My Constituents
There are critical challenges facing the state and several tough decisions to be made by legislators. Your voice makes a difference. It’s important to me that I hear from you on the issues we currently have in Illinois. Your response to the survey questions is valuable and will be my guide to be your voice at the Capitol. My constituents are my priority and I want to hear from you.
https://repcmiller.com/2024/03/08/i-want-to-hear-from-my-constituents
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.