Chambana Sun

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) joked about jumping on an “Abbott bus” during an Illinois Freedom Caucus virtual roundtable and townhall on Jan. 10.

Halbrook is a member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus along with Republican state Reps. Blaine Wilhour (Louisville), Adam Niemerg (Dieterich), Dan Caulkins (Decatur), and Chris Miller (Oakland). 

“Maybe we can get one of those returning Abbott busses from Chicago back down or maybe it's going back if we can,” Halbrook told the group. “The General Assembly is trying to appropriate $75 million this weekend to help with those seeking asylum in the state of Illinois. So, if those buses are going back empty, maybe we can load them up and head down there on the 19th of April. What do you think about that idea?” 

Halbrook's comments came as guest speaker Rick Green, a Texas radio host and former state representative, spoke to the group encouraging them to fight against the powerful Democratic machine. “This is going to take a lot of hard work. It's going to get more ugly before it gets better,” Green told the group. “You know, I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist and a student of history. And you cannot pour that cultural Marxism in for that many years and not have a really, really negative result. But as I said, the good news is we can shift that. We can turn that, but that's going to take a long time. And so for guys like me, like you that are in the legislature fighting this battle on a daily basis and most of the time outnumbered in your particular legislature, I just say thank you.” 

Chicago has been receiving busloads of immigrants since early 2022. According to Chicago City Wire, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot had earlier declared that she would welcome the busloads of immigrants arriving from Texas, which had also sent similar buses to New York and Washington, D.C., each of which had taken in about 8,000 people. In recent months, buses operated by the Chicago Regional Transit authority have also dropped off groups of immigrants in suburban municipalities where they are said to be staying “indefinitely.”

According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Chicago is the ideal place for people violating the law to enter the country since it is a sanctuary city and won't treat immigrants differently based on their status. 

Abbott emphasized the campaign to send immigrants elsewhere was a response to what he called President Joe Biden's "open borders” policy. "President Biden's inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans- and Americans - at risk and is overwhelming our communities," Abbott stated in a press release. “To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. Mayor Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them."

The Illinois Freedom Caucus is part of the broader State Freedom Caucus Network. “We need patriots who will serve in our state capitals to fight federal overreach and stand firm against those — in both parties — who prioritize seizing political power over representing constituents,” the group’s website reads.