Following the November presidential election, Governor JB Pritzker announced that he and his allies would “Trump-Proof” Illinois before Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration as our 47th President.
They wasted no time calling legislators back to the Capitol for a “lame-duck” session. While in Springfield for this special session did we discuss tax relief for struggling Illinoisans? No. Did we address pension debt, the projected $3 billion budget hole, or out-of-control crime in our communities? No. Democrats convened a lame-duck session to push through a series of measures that make it easier for illegal immigrants to hide from law enforcement, remove the term “prostitute” from state laws, seal the records of those who are now referred to as “persons engaged in the sex trade,” and trample on Second and Fourth Amendment rights.
In years when they occur, lame-duck sessions are held after the November election and the fall veto session and before newly elected lawmakers are sworn into office. These special sessions are widely seen as a time when outgoing legislators may be more likely to take bad votes without fear of political repercussions.
We see some terrible legislation during lame-duck sessions. In 2023, Democrats passed the unconstitutional assault-style weapons ban, redrew judicial maps to protect their control of the courts, and passed legislation that provides for the release of violent offenders from prison after serving 40 years if they were under the age of 21 at the time of their crime.
In 2021, Democrats passed the un-SAFE-T Act, which ended cash bail and created a revolving door of criminal justice for many offenders. In 2019 they gave themselves a 15% pay increase. Back in 2013, Democrats created a driver’s license program for illegal immigrants, and in 2011 they pushed through a 67% tax hike on working families and a 46% tax hike on employers/businesses.
On Saturday, January 4, while most people were at home enjoying the end of the Christmas holiday season, the Senate, House, and most General Assembly staff were in Springfield for the first day of our lame-duck session. The Senate was in session for about 20 minutes before adjourning for the day. It was a complete waste of time and resources, as every session day costs Illinois taxpayers over $50,000.
The following day, during a severe snowstorm and while little to no media was present, Democrats pushed through HB 5164. This ill-conceived legislation makes it easier for illegal immigrants to change their names, whitewash their criminal backgrounds, and evade law enforcement at the local, state, national, and international levels.
On day three of the lame-duck session, Democrats passed HB 4410, which removes the term “prostitute” from state laws and replaces it with the term “person engaged in the sex trade”. The bill also seals those individuals’ criminal records.
Later that same day Democrats pushed through HB 4144, which requires law enforcement to seize firearms from the homes of individuals who have domestic violence-related orders of protection filed against them. While well-intentioned, the bill was written in a way that denies the accused of due process and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Ensuring the safety of domestic violence victims is important to me and I have sponsored several bills that seek to protect them, including a bill that makes it easier to deny pretrial release to domestic abusers (SB 3947), a measure that elevates the charges that can be used in cases of domestic assault against an older individual (SB 1974), legislation that increases minimum penalties for violations of “No Contact” orders (SB 3392), and an initiative that elevates violations of orders of protection from a misdemeanor to a felony (SB 964). While majority party Democrats are quick to confiscate guns from accused people who have not yet had their day in court, they blocked the consideration of every one of the above bills.
Lame-duck sessions are unnecessary and are dangerous for my constituents. If legislation is beneficial, it should be heard by sitting lawmakers who are held accountable for their votes by their electorate.
