Happy 2025! I wanted to update you on some of the happenings from the end of the 103rd General Assembly and the beginning of the 104th General Assembly.
INAUGURATION
January 8th was an exciting day for Illinois as the state’s 104th General Assembly was sworn in. It was a celebration of public service and the beginning of new chapters in the lives of Illinoisans and their leaders. I am so grateful to the people of the 111th district for putting their trust in me to serve them for two more years. I am honored to serve as your voice in Springfield and am committed to fighting for the issues that matter most to the people of the 111th district.
HOUSE RULES
Madigan’s House Rules renewed for two more years. The little-known Rules that control the legislative process in Illinois were voted on Thursday in the Illinois House of Representatives. Adopting a set of procedural rules to govern the House for the next two years is one of the most important votes a legislator will cast.
The Rules for the 104th General Assembly were drafted by the Democrat supermajority with no input from the Republican minority. These Rules will govern the House of Representatives for the next two years. House Republicans did propose reasonable changes that would increase accountability and transparency; however, the proposal was rejected by the supermajority.
More egregiously, the Rules are designed to give ultimate authority to the Speaker of the House instead of the legislative body. The new Rules, as in the past, give the Speaker powers to define the number of committees and their legislative makeup. Because committee chairpersons receive an increase in pay, often large numbers of committees are created to ensure the greater number of chairpersons can owe their allegiance to the Speaker who makes the appointments.
The Rules also dictate which bills see the light of day, specifically, whether the legislation will receive a public hearing in a standing committee or die in the Rules Committee without one. We’ve seen it with legislation dealing with gerrymandering and terms limits, among other initiatives.
We’ve also witnessed the Democrat majority breaking the Rules. Last year, in the final hours of the legislative session, the Speaker allowed lawmakers to vote three times on one piece of legislation to raise nearly one billion dollars in taxes. The bill passed on the third vote after failing twice before. The Rules only allowed for two votes.
What’s more, the Rule-making process is designed to prevent the minority from holding the supermajority accountable. At the same time, the Rules stop the supermajority caucus from being able to hold the Speaker accountable.
Yet this week, all members of the Democrat supermajority voted to implement the Rules that will cede their power to one man. After former Speaker Michael Madigan’s long reign of power was ended, Emanuel “Chris” Welch took over as Speaker. During his first inaugural address after taking the Speaker’s gavel, he said it was a “New Day” in Illinois.
Unfortunately, Speaker Welch went back on his promise to turn the page to a “New Day”, and the House Rules that Madigan put in place are the same Rules that the Illinois House is operating under today. It’s a classic case of, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
LAME DUCK
Lame duck session ends for the 103rd General Assembly. The 103rd General Assembly adjourned “sine die,” which means “without a day” to return, on Tuesday, January 7.
The 103rd General Assembly failed to take many actions sought by Illinois families in 2023 and 2024. Challenges not taken up by the former General Assembly include the soaring State budget deficit, the stagnating Illinois economy and high cost of living, rising crime rates, and a culture of corruption in government. The lame duck session continued this record of inaction, and House Minority Leader Tony McCombie criticized Illinois’ Democratic leaders for making the taxpayers spend money on a January session that turned to be largely empty of content. With a fiscal year 2026 budget deficit now estimated at $3.2 billion, urgent action will be needed to bring the State’s spending under control. Failure to do so created a significant missed opportunity in Springfield.
MADIGAN TRIAL
Madigan takes the stand in his own corruption trial. In a rare and rather unprecedented move, former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan took the stand this week to defend himself against the 23-count federal indictment for bribery, racketeering, and corruption.
Courthouse News Service:
Ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan took the stand in his own federal corruption trial on Tuesday. The surprise move came in the middle of Madigan’s defense case, and upturned estimates of when jurors might begin deliberations. […]
It can be risky for criminal defendants to testify in their own defense, as, among other concerns, it opens them up to cross-examination under oath. Madigan nevertheless told the court he understood his right to testify and his duty to testify honestly. He took the stand despite the risks involved with waiving one’s Fifth Amendment rights.
Chicago Tribune:
Former House Speaker Michael Madigan testified in his corruption trial Wednesday that he was taken aback when then-Ald. Daniel Solis told him over the phone that the developers of a West Loop condo tower understood “the quid pro quo” of hiring Madigan’s law firm.
“A great deal of surprise and concern,” Madigan said of the reaction in his head when Solis, who turned out to be working undercover for the FBI, uttered the phrase.
Solis seemed like a stand-up guy and straight arrow, and the comment continued to eat at him, the former speaker said under direct examination by his attorney, Daniel Collins.
“I decided that I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Solis to give me an opportunity to tell him that I would not be involved in a quid pro quo,” Madigan told the jury.
Capitol News Illinois:
A few weeks later, Solis brought the developer to Madigan’s downtown Chicago law office to meet with the speaker and his law partner, Vincent “Bud” Getzendanner. In the meeting, which lasted a little over half an hour, Madigan was mostly silent, letting Getzendanner explain how the firm usually handled property tax appeals for large developments.
But prosecutors were most interested in what happened before the meeting, when Madigan pulled Solis into his office and closed the door, admonishing the alderman in a near-whisper.
“Over the phone, you made a comment that there, that there was a quid pro quo,” Madigan said in the video, to which Solis replied: “Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah.”
“You shouldn’t be talking like that,” Madigan continued. “You’re just recommending our law firm because if they don’t get a good result on the real estate taxes, the whole project would be in trouble. Which is not good for your ward. So you want high-quality representation.”
CANNABIS
Speaker Welch blocks action on intoxicating hemp ban. House Democrats refused to take action this week on a bill to strictly regulate, or ban, intoxicating hemp products. These products, which are packaged and sold as goods that are separate from strictly regulated cannabis, can be ‘salted’ or infused with chemicals that are said to produce psychoactive responses akin to cannabis. Licensed members of the legal Illinois cannabis industry, who are given through criminal background checks and who pay heavy taxes, are deeply concerned about what they see as unfair competition.
Hemp products such as these are sometimes called “cannabinoid hemp.” Sold under names such as “Delta-8,” they claim that they offer the same outcomes as doses of cannabis, without the necessity to go to a dispensary and show proof of age. Proponents of a crackdown on intoxicating hemp products continue to call for action to protect children and young adults from these products.
A bill was drafted in Springfield for the 103rd General Assembly to crack down on intoxicating hemp products. However, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch refused to call the bill for a vote during the final hours of the 2025 lame duck session, after a raucous House Democratic Caucus meeting during which Pritzker Administration staff were called liars and humiliated by some caucus members, leading to one agency staffer leaving in tears and a demand by Governor Pritzker that the members apologize to his staff. The House Democrats’ failure to act on a ban means that proponents of the Delta-8 crackdown must now start over. The issue of intoxicating hemp product regulation will be part of the workload of the new 104th General Assembly.
FLAG OF ILLINOIS
Voting begins on ten potential new State of Illinois flag designs. The ten designs are the finalists from nearly 5,000 designs submitted by the public. From these submissions, the Illinois Flag Commission selected ten finalists. This week, the ten winning designs were posted for advisory public vote. Illinoisans can also look at, and vote for, three existing flag designs: the current flag of Illinois, the 1918 Centennial flag of Illinois, and the 1968 Sesquicentennial flag of Illinois.
The public vote for a new Illinois flag is purely advisory. Participants in this voting procedure can cast multiple votes on the website of the Flag Commission, but they must sign in and can cast only one vote per day. The public vote will continue until February 14, 2025.
After compiling and scrutinizing the vote, the Illinois Flag Commission will, on a date not later than April 1, 2025, submit a report to the General Assembly. The report will include the finalist flag designs and will include a recommendation (which will be advisory and will not have force of law) as to which design ought to be selected. The General Assembly will make the final decision on whether Illinois should enact a new flag design or should keep our existing flag design.
The existing Illinois flag is a white banner with a complex, patriotic motif that includes an eagle, a motto on a scroll, the Star-Spangled shield of the United States, a rising sun, and the state’s name, “Illinois.” The ten Illinois State Flag finalists were announced on Tuesday, December 10.
DANE THULL
The transition to a new General Assembly often means changes around the Capitol. This week we said goodbye to our floor manager Dane, who has become a dear friend and advisor to me over the last 5 years. I first met Dane when he came to the district before I took office. He’s a big reason I’m here in this role. Once I took office I realized he’s an outstanding policy advisor and bill analyzer. I will miss him but know we will see him soon. Thank you for everything Dane!
I hope you are all staying safe and warm as more winter weather is looming. Thank you for taking the time to read my Capitol Update. As always, if you’re having an issue with a state agency please contact my office at 618-433-8046.