Chambana Sun

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) said the Truth In Politics Act is aimed at limiting speech in opposition to those in control of the state apparatus. 

The move to limit free speech in regards to campaigns comes after a campaign season in which Gov. J.B. Pritzker exerted extreme influence on media organizations to shut down oppostion speech. 

“There are certainly many potential landmines with legislation like this,” Halbrook told Chambana Sun. “At a minimum it would give the people in charge a powerful tool to shut down any criticisms of their policy decisions. Ultimately it gives an unfair advantage to incumbents. We don’t need to provide career politicians with additional tools to silence their critics, but that is exactly what will happen if this were to become law.

“The intent behind this legislation is not to help campaigns become more truthful, but to shut down free speech and protect the powerful. In the recent campaign for governor, the SAFE-T Act was front and center in that race. Darren Bailey and J.B. Pritzker had profound disagreements on what the impact of the implementation of the SAFE-T would be. What if Pritzker had been able to stop Darren Bailey from running ads on the SAFE-T Act? Who is going to determine what is true and not true? Both sides had very strong opinions on the SAFE-T Act. It is not up to judges or bureaucrats to decide what is true and what is not true. We need to have these debates and the public needs to hear both sides. We need to err on the side of free speech.

“Legislation like this, whether intentionally or unintentionally, disrespects the ability of the electorate to make informed decisions. People understand when attacks are unfair or over the top. We should trust voters, not bureaucrats.”

Democrats control super majorities in the House, Senate and Illinois Supreme Court, as well as all statewide offices. 

HB5850 was introduced by State Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie) who is in her final days in the chamber after losing a primary battle earlier this year.  

The Edgar County Watchdogs noted the bill “would criminalize certain speech directed at political campaigns. The bill prescribes criminal and civil penalties for certain election speech and adds speech requirements for political campaigns. Let’s hope this bill goes nowhere.”

Those found guilty of a violation of the Truth In Politics Act could be charged with a class A criminal misdemeanor or be subject to civil litigation.

State Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) has bashed the legislation, calling it a “direct attack on the right to free speech.” 

“Make no mistake, HB5850 is a direct attack on the right to free speech,” Plummer said in a press release. “The voters have the ultimate authority to hold politicians accountable for what they say and do, exactly as it should be. Free and open elections are the foundation of our democracy. It is truly frightening that anyone would support the idea of empowering bureaucrats to decide to only allow speech they agree with. Worse yet, this bill wouldn’t just apply to candidates, it would also go after citizens for speaking their minds. Offending overly sensitive people is the lesser of two evils compared to violating the constitutional rights of Illinoisans. The freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our nation and I will always be vigilant in defending it.” 

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie and Senate Minority Leader John Curran have remained silent on a bill thus far.

During the 2022 campaign, Pritzker was able to effectively muzzle opponents by threatening outlets. 

LGIS's own publication run was briefly halted after the Pritzker campaign threatened the Daily Herald, which is the owner of the press that was printing the newspapers. Pritzker also intimidated NBC and WGN into pulling a Beverly Miles campaign advertisement accusing Pritzker of terminating her for political reasons.