Weekly News from Leader McCombie

AFFORDABILITY

How Much Longer Will Governor Pritzker Lie About His Record On Affordability?

This week on the I've Had It podcast, Governor JB Pritzker once again claimed he is fighting to lower taxes for working and middle-class families. Illinois families know that claim simply does not match reality.

Just last year, Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly passed the largest budget in state history, totaling more than $55 billion and including roughly $700 million in new taxes.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois is now taking $1,434 more in taxes from each resident than before Governor Pritzker took office. Compared to his first year in 2019, the state is collecting $18 billion more from taxpayers, an increase of 51 percent that far outpaces inflation.

And if that were not enough, Governor Pritzker has doubled down on unreliable green energy policies that are driving utility costs even higher. Earlier this year, he signed a green energy giveaway projected to saddle Illinois families with an estimated $8 billion rate hike.

So how can the Governor claim he is lowering costs for the middle class when Illinois ranks:

• #1 for highest property taxes
• #1 for highest combined state and local taxes
• #1 for highest cell phone taxes

Last year, WalletHub even ranked Illinois as the worst state in the nation for taxpayers because of its excessive tax burden.

So, despite the repeated claims from Governor Pritzker, the math just does not add up.

But while the Governor and Democrats continue to raise taxes on hardworking families, House Republicans are offering real solutions. For example, Representative Ryan Spain has filed House Bill 1383 to allow Illinois taxpayers to deduct tip income from their state taxable income, reducing the state tax on tips.

Soaring natural gas bills have gotten through Gov. Pritzker's ICC

Under State law, the prices gas utilities are allowed to charge for natural gas must go through the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), a panel whose members are appointed by the Governor of Illinois. The ICC has regulatory control over the gas bills charged by Ameren, Consumers Gas Co., Illinois Gas Co., Liberty Utilities, MidAmerican Energy Co., Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas, and Peoples Gas, which provide the vast majority of the piped natural gas delivered to Illinois customers.

Based on current healthy supplies of natural gas produced in America, many had hoped for relief in their Illinois gas bills from the high cost of living. However, during the cold winter of 2025-2026, Illinois families are seeing monthly household-heat natural gas bills that run well into three figures. These gas bills reflect price increases accepted by Pritzker-appointed ICC.

To some extent, soaring prices for natural gas in Illinois reflect a new return-on-investment model adopted, with the ICC's approval, by many natural gas utilities. Seeing a long-term push for non-carbon "green energy" that will discourage future natural gas hookups, but with the continued need to safely maintain their pipes and other infrastructure, the gas companies are now trying to squeeze out a higher year-to-year return on their existing assets. If these companies cannot assure themselves there will be a demand for natural gas 30 years from now, they will not backload their expenses onto a 30-year financing cycle. More of their infrastructure expenses will have to be paid for up front, generating soaring natural gas bills for all Illinoisans.

CHICAGO BEARS

$895 million price tag for infrastructure improvements around proposed Arlington Heights stadium site

The Chicago Bears are readying an ask for up to $895 million in State and local tax money to keep the team in Illinois. The money would be spent in and around Arington Heights, the proposed stadium location. The Chicago Bears already own the land where the stadium would be built, having purchased the parcel from former owners who operated a horse racetrack on the site.

The proposed deal would create a financial wall between the proposed new stadium and the land and infrastructure surrounding the stadium. Under the proposal, the Bears would build 100% of the new stadium itself; but much of the infrastructure around the stadium would be built with the help of the public sector. Required work would include rebuilt and expanded roads and expressway interchanges, other transportation infrastructure, water and sewer lines, and public-safety installations for police officers, firefighters, and other first responders. The significant additional costs imposed upon planning and construction work in the greater Chicago area would generate the proposed $895 million cost figure for these and other required site-specific infrastructural improvements.

At the same time, work continued in Indianapolis this week to lure the iconic Chicago-area football team to the state of Indiana. The Indiana state senate approved a measure to create a tax-supported Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority. The proposed Gary-area Authority would be governmentally similar to the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority, the developer and owner of the NFL Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium.

CRIME

House Republicans Offer Solutions to Fix the SAFE-T Act

Since debate on the bill began in 2021, Illinois House Republicans have consistently sounded the alarm about the dangers the SAFE-T Act poses to Illinois residents. Since its implementation, the law has allowed dangerous repeat offenders to remain on the streets, where many continue to commit crimes with little accountability.

Our caucus has introduced nearly 40 bills aimed at fixing this deeply flawed law, strengthening public safety, and restoring confidence in our justice system. Our message has been clear: Illinois families deserve a system that prioritizes their safety, not one that puts them at greater risk.

This is the real-world result of the SAFE-T Act. Repeat offenders are released with little accountability, police and prosecutors are handcuffed, and communities are left to deal with the consequences. This is not theory. This is what happens when bad policy meets reality.

Click on the stories below to learn about the real-life consequences of the SAFE-T Act.

• Man with dozens of arrests charged with attempted murder in CTA Blue Line attack
• Man out on pretrial release arrested after home shot up in Jacksonville
• Milford man injures deputies while resisting arrest, released from custody under SAFE-T act
• Plainfield man charged with criminal sexual assault allowed pretrial jail release
• Suspect on pretrial release arrested in Fulton County after chase, threat against sheriff's deputy

Proposed Legislation to Fix The SAFE-T Act

Illinois House Republicans have repeatedly proposed legislation to address the problems created by the SAFE-T Act, offering bipartisan solutions to restore public safety and common-sense criminal justice reforms. However, Democrats in the Legislature have refused to work together, blocking these efforts and leaving many communities without the fixes they've been calling for.

• HB 4275 (Coffey) - Expands judges' authority to deny pretrial release for felony and DUI cases when a defendant poses a safety risk or flight risk.
• HB 1482 (Windhorst) - Expands the list of offenses for which a defendant can be detained pretrial rather than released.
• HB 1483 (Windhorst) - Restores judges' ability to issue a warrant (rather than a summons) if a defendant fails to comply with pretrial release conditions or fails to appear in court.
• HB 1036 (Cabello) - Protects officers who report misconduct, restores certification rights, preserves certain misconduct records, and eliminates anonymous complaints.
• HB 1028 (Cabello) - Proposes full repeal of the SAFE-T Act.
• HB 1208 (Friess) - Requires automatic revocation of pretrial release if a defendant is charged with any new offense while released, regardless of the offense's classification.
• HB 4006 (Friess) - Restores prior consecutive-sentencing rules and removes custodial credit for time spent in home confinement or electronic/GPS monitoring.
• HB 1477 (Windhorst) - Reduces and restricts detainees' phone-call rights, bars contact with victims, allows statements to be reviewed for voluntariness, and permits arrest for minor offenses to verify identity.
• HB 4002 (Ugaste) - Expands when police may issue citations instead of making arrests for low-level offenses while keeping discretion to arrest when safety, continued criminal activity, or health risks are concerns.

IMMIGRATION

State Rep. Norine Hammond: Here's what Democrats in the General Assembly can do to reduce ICE operations

My colleague and Deputy Leader Norine Hammond published a compelling OpEd in the Chicago Tribune last week. Here's what she had to say:

"The way to fewer Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in neighborhoods is not through chaos, protests or citizen intervention into law enforcement actions. It is through policy change to decrease the need for immigration enforcement in neighborhoods.

"I've voted for policies to make that happen.

"If my Democratic colleagues in the Illinois House also want fewer ICE agents on the sidewalks of our communities, there is an immediate step they can take: Repeal the Illinois TRUST Act and the Illinois Way Forward Act.

"According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2025 alone, Illinois released 1,768 criminal illegal immigrants with active detainers. Those allowed to go free included individuals accused of committing homicide, assault, burglaries and sexual crimes. What these Illinois laws have done is create legal barriers that push enforcement into street operations, where federal agents are left to track individuals without local support.

"Sanctuary policies are directly responsible for the headline-making public interactions with ICE."

Read the rest of Rep. Hammond's op-ed here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Valentine's Day Card Drive, Office Hours, Women to Watch

The deadline for the Valentine's Day Card drive is coming up on February 7th! I encourage you to join me in helping make the day of a senior citizen in our community. Read more on how to deliver your card below.

My next office hours event is February 10th: come by with questions about policies or concerns about state agencies. Can't make it? Don't worry, there will be more events coming soon!

The annual House Republican Women to Watch event brings impressive female leaders from across the state to Springfield for a day of recognition, celebration, and networking. If you know someone in our community who is making an impact locally - nominate them!

Email [email protected] with "Women to Watch Nomination" in the subject line and include the following information in the email body: the name of the nominee, their contact information including phone number and email address, your relation to the nominee, nominee background, and reason why they should be chosen to attend. Nominations will be accepted until February 11th.