WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE
I am excited to be partnering with the Kewanee High School FFA for a Winter Clothing Drive! Please consider donating high school-appropriate new or gently used items, including hoodies, sweatshirts, coats, hats, gloves, sweatpants, leggings, and boots. Items can be dropped off at my Kewanee Office, which is located inside the train station on West 3rd Street, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28.
Thank you to the KHS FFA for their help with this clothing drive, and please consider donating items that will be distributed to students in need!
STARK COUNTY TOWN HALL
Hello to everyone in Stark County! I am excited to be part of an upcoming Town Hall on January 27 at the Paramount Theatre in Wyoming. The doors open at 6 p.m.
Thank you to Mayor Jim Mercer of Wyoming, who helped to organize this event. I will be joined by State Representative Ryan Spain, State Senators Neil Anderson and Li Arellano, and other local community and business leaders.
We will be providing legislative updates, talking about issues important to our constituents in Stark County, and taking your questions and comments. I hope you can join us!
NEW LAWS IN 2026
As of January 1, nearly 300 new laws took effect in Illinois. Below are links to three stories that will help explain them:
New Illinois laws 2026: Full list and what you should know – NBC Chicago
New laws: Illinois’ grocery tax to end, aquifer protections begin – Chicago Sun-Times
FISCAL REFORMS NEEDED
Fiscal mismanagement and out-of-control spending by the Pritzker administration has led to higher taxes and exploding cost of living concerns for Illinois families. More tax hikes are being considered for future state budgets, including a graduated income tax or progressive income tax. These types of proposals are ridiculous and being considered because of egregious spending habits. The last state budget of $55.2 billion represented a 38 percent increase from just six years ago!
The Pritzker administration continues to push forth new taxes, tax hikes, and gimmicks to cover ‘budget holes.’ We need to rein in wasteful spending, and get back to working toward fiscal sanity in our state. With multi-billion budget shortfalls projected in the coming years, here are some of the latest ideas being pushed by Pritzker and Democrats to raise taxes on Illinois families: Despite mounting budget pressure, graduated income tax remains political longshot | Capitol News Illinois
RAINY DAY FUND
Illinois has the lowest ‘rainy day fund,’ or Budget Stabilization Fund, in the nation, which is one key driver of Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation credit rating. And yet in this year’s state budget, Governor Pritzker decided to redirect nearly $45 million earmarked for the rainy day fund and instead moved that money into the general fund.
The message from this administration is clear – their pork projects are a higher priority than our children’s fiscal future. And it’s just another example of poor fiscal policies that the Governor continues to implement. Learn more here: Rep. Weaver: Pausing Rainy Day Fund Transfer Another Example of Bad Fiscal Policy
ENERGY BILL
This week, Governor Pritzker signed Democrats’ Green New Giveaway into law. This energy package does not deliver for Illinois families. In addition to saddling ratepayers with even higher power bills, Democrats are forcing an unreliable energy supply that is expensive and cannot keep up with increasing load demands.
We should be focusing on preserving our energy from sources like natural gas, coal, and fossil fuels that actually work when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. We also need to remove artificial caps on natural gas and stop shutting down clean coal plants.