Illinois has been sliding to the Far-Left for some time now. Its heritage as the Land of Lincoln was lost decades ago as politicians on both sides of the aisle colluded to grow government, taxes, and regulations.
They’ve turned the goal of equality into the lie of equity, and instead of ridding society of discrimination, openly passed laws supporting such.
It’s getting worse.
Beginning in the 2000s and accelerating in the last decade, the Democrat majorities in the state legislature have moved into supporting radical ideas that defy commonsense, science, and the fundamental principles that our country and civil society were built on.
Politicians and bureaucrats have lost their ability to deliver public services at a reasonable cost, with proven results, and without fraud. Nearly every agency is bloated, inefficient, and corrupt. The state isn’t the third most corrupt state in America, and Chicago the most corrupt city for no reason.
The most powerful politician, Mike Madigan, awaits trial on bribery and corruption charges.
Madigan’s right-hand man, his aloof lieutenant, Tim Mapes, is set to be sentenced tomorrow for lying to the grand jury in the Madigan investigation.
The longest-serving Chicago Alderman, Ed Burke, was convicted of 13 counts, including bribery. His wife, a now-retired Supreme Court justice, pretends not to have known what her husband was doing all those years.
The public schools don’t educate even half of the students; it’s less than a quarter for minority children.
Unemployment fraud in the state reached over $5 billion because of inept bureaucrats during COVID.
The pension systems are bankrupting our cities and the state.
Just when you think you have seen it all, though, another weird and evil bill is filed by a politician of privilege.
Last week was the official deadline for legislators to file bills and it is alarming the depravity of this crop of legislators. The following bills make it obvious that Illinois voters elected the most despicable people ever. No sane person would propose these bills. In fact, the legislation is evil.
State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, 81st District is in her third term. The bulk of her district is in Downers Grove and they elected her three times. There’s not a far-Left bill that she hasn’t supported – the SAFE-T Act, abortion at any time, 32% pay raises for politicians over four years, and decriminalizing possession of enough fentanyl to kill 1500 people is just a sampling of her radical policy positions.
She is an ardent believer that you can change your sex. Presumably, she had biology class at Benet and should know better, but facts don’t matter when you need to pander to the trans community. So last week, she proved that she isn’t just a political hack, she is instead dangerous and a threat to families. (But, we knew this when she decriminalized fentanyl possession, too – voters just ignored it or didn’t care)
Stava-Murray filed HB4876, which would charge parents with child abuse for preventing their minor child from getting an abortion or gender-affirming care. Read the story HERE.
The bill also says that a “health care professional rendering abortion services and gender-affirming services shall not incur civil or criminal liability for failure to obtain valid consent or professional discipline for failure to obtain valid consent if the health care professional relied in good faith on representations made by the minor.”
In Illinois, it is still illegal to give gender modification drugs or surgeries to minors without parental consent, but it appears that this bill would let doctors who do so off the hook. They would be out of the reach of a parent to sue them for harming their child.
Unfortunately, just such a situation is playing out in Montana. Montana Governor, Greg Gianforte defends his decision to remove a teen from his parents after they refused to go along with a sex change. Read about it in the Post Millennial.
So this bill is a real concern. If it is happening elsewhere, especially in places like Montana, then it can happen here.
Reasonable Democrats should shun Stava-Murray. If they don’t shut down this nonsense, they are part of the problem. Residents from around the state should flood her office with phone calls and emails. Voters in her district should vote her out of office in November.
These political races aren’t about tax rates and regulation anymore, they are about the fundamental rights of parents to raise their children.
Here’s a reminder to visit the Parents Matter Coalition and download our advisory question petition to help us get it on the ballot for 2024.
Another bill, HB 5152, filed by State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, 14th District, would give $500 tax credits to people fleeing to Illinois for an abortion-friendly environment. The bill also gives a $500 tax credit to teachers who have content restrictions in the state they are leaving.
Cassidy wants to make Illinois a haven for abortionists, pro-abort parents, and teachers who want to teach radical sex curriculum to children. This bill may be a first for Cassidy, however, as she isn’t known to run bills that cut taxes for anyone.
Continuing in the same line of bills is HB 4867, filed by State Rep. Anna Moeller, 43rd District who was also the chief sponsor of the repeal of parental notification of abortion. This new bill amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to add a new type of discrimination against someone’s reproductive health choices. There’s no telling how many lawsuits could be filed under such a provision. The IHRA already prevents discrimination for pregnancy. So, if you aren’t hired for a job because you had an abortion, I guess that would be discrimination under this law, but how would your employer even know? Do people just shout their abortion during a job interview?
Illinois has massive economic advantages based on its population and GDP. But, these radical bills that threaten the fundamental rights of parents will cause people to leave Illinois. There is no doubt about that. People fled over COVID restrictions. They are leaving public schools. No one should doubt that good people and businesses will flee to other states if these bills become law.
While we are highlighting bills, the Energy and Environment Committee had three interesting bills in committee.
HB 1634 would impose California emission standards on trucks in Illinois. This would lead to a mass exodus of trucking firms from the state.
HB2363 prohibits most compact fluorescent lights. The reason is that fluorescent lights contain mercury. But, LEDs have numerous harmful chemicals as well. Read HERE how you are more likely to get greater mercury exposure from eating fish than using a compact fluorescent bulb.
Let’s face it, the most environmentally safe bulb is the incandescent – so we need a bill to bring that back.
HB4135 is a very good bill. State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, 80th District, filed legislation to increase the setback on solar fields to 500 feet from structures or property lines of non-participating owners. Obviously, this bill is the result of a problem in his district. Someone must have complained when a solar field was going to be a mere 150ft from their building or 50ft from their property which is the current standard. Again, it takes a complaint before some legislators wake up to the ramifications of the bills they passed.