UPDATE ON BILLS THAT PASSED 10/31/2025
Illinois Sets a New Low for Transparency –

While you were sleeping, with no public vetting of the bill and at around 4 am, $1.5 billion in tax dollars was directed to bailout bankrupt transit, taxes and tolls were increased, and a Chicago-centric board was created to oversee our transit agencies.

We are all but serfs to Illinois’ inept and emboldened political ruling class. A Third World dictatorship would blush at the way our State operates. Dramatic political change is needed and now.

Link: chicagotribune.com/2025/10/30/ill…

In my 30 years in government, I thought I had seen it all — but last night, or rather early this morning, Illinois set a new low bar for lack of transparency from the Governor and his ruling party.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened at the Capitol overnight:
After midnight — when the public and the media had gone home — Democrats unleashed a series of devastating bills that directly impact our job creators, our families, and our communities. The final vote didn’t take place until 4:00 A.M.

I’ll share more details on each of these bills in future posts. But here’s the CliffsNotes version of what passed without a single Republican vote:

1️⃣ HB25 – Massive New Energy Rate Hike
With ComEd rates already up 54% over the past four years, Democrats passed another bill that could increase rates by another $8 billion to fund their continued “green energy experiment.”
Business leaders across Illinois opposed this bill. In fact, Stellantis representatives warned it could add up to $1 million in annual energy costs at their Belvidere facility — not exactly the welcome they deserve for reopening in our community.

2️⃣ SB1911 – Tax Hit on Manufacturers
This measure decouples Illinois from new federal tax incentives designed to boost manufacturing. The federal law allowed immediate depreciation on capital investments to encourage expansion — but this bill removes that benefit, returning Illinois businesses to a 39-year depreciation schedule.
The result? Illinois becomes less competitive than neighboring states for attracting new jobs and investment.

3️⃣ & 4️⃣ & 5️⃣ SB2111 – Toll, Road, and Sales Tax Increases
This single bill hits drivers and taxpayers hard:

🚗 $500 million in new toll increases, adding 45 cents to every on/off ramp toll — plus a 4% annual automatic hike.

🚧 $600 million raided from downstate road repair and construction funds — shifted to Chicago’s mass transit bailout.

🏙️ A new 25¢ sales tax increase for the collar counties, including McHenry and Kane, also to fund Chicago transit.
Translation: Fewer road repairs and higher costs for working families across Illinois — while Chicago gets another bailout.

6️⃣ HB1085 – Costly Mandate on Small Business Health Plans
This bill forces small employer health plans to pay mental health providers twice the rates paid by large employer, Medicare, or Medicaid plans.
Even the State of Illinois admitted this change would be too expensive for their own employee health plan — so they exempted themselves from the law.
Yet somehow, they decided small businesses can afford it.

This kind of midnight lawmaking erodes public trust and punishes the very people and employers who keep Illinois moving forward.
Our state deserves transparency, fairness, and fiscal responsibility — not backroom deals at 4:00 A.M

Illinois Senate Approves Physician-Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill Adults

On October 31, 2025, the Illinois State Senate passed Senate Bill 1950 by a 30-27 vote at 2:54 a.m., attaching it to a food sanitation measure and forwarding it to Governor J.B. Pritzker. The End-of-Life Options Act enables mentally competent adults with terminal illnesses and a prognosis of six months or less to request life-ending medication after two oral and one written request, verified by two physicians. Supporters emphasize patient autonomy and built-in safeguards, while opponents express concerns over potential risks to vulnerable groups and the absence of required psychiatric evaluations.

We should all be concerned that assisted suicide is the murder of mentally ill people and should be banned federally.

: Illinois Legislature Secretly Passes Bill Legalizing Assisted Suicide buff.ly/erX9lR5