The most important thing a citizen does other than taking up arms in defense of the country is to vote if eligible. The outcome of an election can change in very consequential ways the rules under which the people are governed.
While our founders did their best to diffuse power among the three branches of government and among federal and state control, we know the protection of our rights and the ultimate decision as to which laws are constitutional or not rests in the U.S. Supreme Court. The judges themselves are elected by the people or appointed by elected officials with approval of other elected officials.
It all comes down to who “We, The People” elect to office.
Citizens, therefore, need to well informed when they go to the ballot box.
So ahead of voting, here’s a review of some of the most controversial legislation over the last two years at the state level.
1. The Budget Bills – Both the FY 2026 and FY 2027 Budgets passed with only Democrat votes. Each year’s spending was higher than the year before and required hundreds of millions in new taxes. For FY 27, the budget included $800 million in new taxes and half of those taxes have lawsuits against them. Multiple bills have been filed to repeal some of those taxes. Read HERE.
2. SB 2111 – The Transit bill, 50% increase in tolls, increase in sales tax for collar counties, bailout of the CTA, robs the interest in the road fund and diminishes the amount of state dollars to downstate communities for public transit.
3. SB 1950 – Assisted Suicide. One of the most aggressive assisted suicide bills that forces all doctors to counsel patients determined to be within 6 months of death about the benefits of assisted suicide and refer them to a doctor for the medication. It also allows the patient to take the medication at any location they choose and not under medical supervision. No Republican voted for this bill.
4. SB 25 – Clean and Reliable Grid Act. The bill doubles down on Pritzker’s commitment to replacing all fossil fuels with wind, solar, and battery energy. The estimated cost is $8 billion. The people who voted for this are ignoring the lessons from Europe on relying on renewable energy. This will be a costly mistake if the Democrats aren’t stopped soon. This bill will raise electric bills. No Republican voted for it.
5. SB 1560 – Student Mental Health Exams in School. Illinois is the first in the nation to require schools to give mental health exams to students in public schools. The law allows parents to opt out of the exam when it should instead say parents must affirmatively opt-in to the exam instead.
6. HB 4571 – County Affordable Housing Act. The law allows Will and DuPage County officials to acquire property and turn it into government housing at taxpayer expense and then rent or sell it below market value to people making up to 150% of the median income. You pay your mortgage and taxes, and then you pay your new neighbors too. The vote on this included a handful of Republicans both in the Senate and the House. The bill is a precursor to the BUILD Act.
7. HB 2436 – Allows Cook County Public Defenders to represent illegal aliens even if located in another state.
8. On Abortion and Parental Rights – SB 3341 – Allows minors to get birth control without parental knowledge or approval. SB3709 – Requires abortion pill be dispensed on public college campuses. HB 3637 – Illinois drug approval will follow the World Health Organization and not the most current federal government-approved drug list. This is to protect the abortion pill, which is being re-evaluated for its safety after a comprehensive study showed 11% of women had adverse reactions.
9. Pending – The BUILD ACT – not passed… yet. This is JB Pritzker’s big idea to get more government housing built. It would negate local zoning laws and move those decisions to the state.
10. Pending – HB 1429 – Bill of Rights for the Homeless. The bill would allow homeless encampments on any public grounds with almost no legal way to remove them. The bill did not pass, but only because of backlash from the public. Voters should take note of who sponsored the bill, though, because it shows that these elected officials would like to turn Illinois streets and parks into the types of drug-infested homeless places seen in CA and Washington state. Here are the House Sponsors:
Rep. Kevin John Olickal – Emanuel “Chris” Welch – Dagmara Avelar – Lindsey LaPointe – Mary Beth Canty, Lilian Jiménez, Rita Mayfield, Suzanne M. Ness, Bob Morgan, Will Guzzardi, Kelly M. Cassidy, Barbara Hernandez, Michelle Mussman, Abdelnasser Rashid, Hoan Huynh, Anne Stava, Laura Faver Dias, Carol Ammons, Lisa Davis, Nicolle Grasse, Norma Hernandez, Theresa Mah, Edgar González, Jr., Michael Crawford, Nabeela Syed, Diane Blair-Sherlock, La Shawn K. Ford, Camille Y. Lilly, Justin Cochran, Yolonda Morris and Marcus C. Evans, Jr.
Candidate Focus – State Rep. (D), 54th District, Mary Beth Canty
Canty is a former trustee from Arlington Heights. She won election in 2022 and is now running for her third term. Arlington Heights is another one of those well-run suburbs that, for decades, were built by solid Republican leadership at the city level. For much of the time, that area has also had Republican representation in Springfield. All of that began to change in 2018, the same year Pritzker got elected. Now, not only do Democrats control the House and Senate seats in that area, but their representatives are radicals.
State Rep. Canty (D) 54th District, represents the north part of Arlington Heights along with parts of Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, and Palatine. State Rep Nicole Grasse represents the south part of Arlington Heights and parts of Rolling Meadows and Mount Prospect.
Both state reps signed onto the bill allowing public spaces to be occupied by the homeless. With reps like this, the Bears should be asking for more from state legislators than just infrastructure money. They should ask for assurances that government property near their development won’t be turned into a homeless encampment and zoning won’t be done at the state level.
Those slick ads you see online and on your tv are being paid for by the Democrat party and the unions. The Democrat party is paying for loyalty. The unions are paying for perks, contracts, increased funding, and power that protects their members. These ladies have not proven they will defend taxpayers instead.
Nicole Grasse first ran for election in 2024. So the above numbers are just for two years.