Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) wonders how long Illinois can survive with policies like the new $85 billion state budget just signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker setting the tone for the way the state operates.

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) was not the least bit surprised to learn that Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) is reporting that $45 billion from the new state budget set aside for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital spending plan includes up to as much as $1.25 billion in pork-barrel projects requiring localized spending that could be construed as political payback or special treatment for an elite few.

A group of at least four Republican state lawmakers are calling for the repeal of House Bill 3850, which creates the Illinois Abortion Law of 2019 and makes abortion “a fundamental right” in the state.

As taxpayers' complaints grow louder about the $2.1 billion in added levies and fees that took effect across the state on July 1, Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) warns that the worse may still be yet to come.

With billions of dollars in new taxes and added fees taking hold in Illinois this month as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s overall new state budget, Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) can only think of the average Illinoisans whose lives just became more difficult.

Veteran state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) is among a group of GOP lawmakers introducing House Bill 3850 that would repeal the Reproductive Health Act recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Illinois state lawmakers have a dubious history of subjecting residents to gas tax hikes, but the recent doubling of the state gas tax to 38 cents per gallon seems to have taken things to an entirely new level.

Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Executive Director Richard A. Pearson recently shared a bulletin with members alerting them to be on the lookout for anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment groups funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that will be misrepresenting themselves as organizations promoting community safety.

Illinois state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) wants to see Independence Day become a time when locals are allowed to take full advantage of more of their liberties.

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) argues that a new Smart Asset survey that found successful millennials are fleeing Illinois at the second-fastest rate in the U.S. tells us nothing a savvy observer shouldn't already have known.

Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) insists that the state’s young millennials are speaking for Illinois taxpayers of all ages by packing up and moving to other states where they'll get more for their money.

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) views the Democratic support in Springfield for Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax system as an indictment of the entire party.

Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) argues that it is not difficult to deduce what is behind the aggressive pro-choice legislation now simmering in Springfield.

Vermillion County conservative activist Rich Berner argues that all the middle- and working-class voters who helped put Gov. J.B. Pritzker in office have yet to get anything back on their investment.

None of the reports about the new state budget again being woefully unbalanced come as any great surprise to Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur).

Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) admits that he can easily see how taxpayers might be less than thrilled by the small fortune Gov. J. B. Pritzker has dedicated to the state's arts from the recently enacted $45 billion capital spending plan.

Rich Berner, a conservative activist in Vermillion County, considers the pay raise that legislators in Springfield are set to receive from the passage of the new $40 billion state budget as a payout many of them are due for their brokered alliance with Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins (Decatur) has had enough of the “magical thinking” he believes is responsible for Springfield’s dysfunction, the latest case in point being the automatic pay raises lawmakers just received as part of the new state budget.

Republican state Rep. Brad Halbrook (Shelbyville) admits he can easily see how taxpayers might take a quick look at the state’s recently enacted $45 billion capital spending plan and walk away confused by the small fortune dedicated to arts-related expenditures.

Republican state Rep. Brad Halbrook (Shelbyville) wonders how much more Illinois taxpayers – most of them frustrated and overburdened, especially if they don't already have plans to leave the state – are willing to take.