Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States yesterday. We look forward to working together with his administration to make our state and nation stronger, more prosperous, and more united.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie Announces Leadership Team. Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie has announced her Leadership team for the 104th General Assembly.
“My leadership team is built to provide a strategic advantage on how to achieve our shared objectives of creating a stronger Illinois without adding to the burdens on Illinois families,” McCombie said. “I’ve selected colleagues from districts across Illinois to work alongside me in pushing our state forward.”
McCombie has been intentional in assembling a leadership team that reflects the diverse voices of Illinois. The team includes thoughtful leaders from southern, central, and northern Illinois, ensuring that the House Republican Caucus, which represents parts of all 102 counties, brings perspectives from every corner of the state to the table.
Leadership members include:
Deputy Minority Leaders
- Rep. Norine Hammond (94 – Macomb)
- Rep. Ryan Spain (73 – Peoria)
Assistant Minority Leaders
- Rep. CD Davidsmeyer (100 – Murrayville)
- Rep. John Cabello (90 – Machesney Park)
- Rep. Dan Ugaste (65 – Geneva)
- Rep. Patrick Windhorst (117 – Metropolis) (Floor Leader)
- Rep. Brad Stephens (20 – Rosemont)
- Rep. Jackie Haas (79 – Bourbonnais)
- Rep. Amy Elik (111 – Alton)
Conference Chair
- Rep. Jeff Keicher (70 – Sycamore)
Lawmakers will return to Springfield when the legislative session resumes on January 28th.
BUDGET
Concerns grow regarding the State of Illinois’ FY26 budget deficit. Gov. Pritzker’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) projects that, based on ‘locked-in’ State spending patterns and revenue estimates, funds coming in will fall $3.2 billion short of the money going out in Fiscal Year 2026.
For the current fiscal year, FY25, revenues are coming in at a pace that enables Illinois to maintain a budget that is in bare balance. However, FY25 is now more than half over. FY26 is now less than six months away, and the approaching fiscal year will see mandated increases in pension expenditures, Medicaid spending, and the cost of pay and benefits for people directly employed by the State or who are dependent upon State appropriations for their compensation. The GOMB forward-looking budget analysis reflects these locked-in spending trends. The analysis also reflects the fact that new job creation has slowed almost to a halt in Illinois, ending the period of job recovery that followed the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic. This is creating near-stagnant cash flows in Illinois income tax payments.
The ability of the State to proclaim that its FY25 spending plans were a “balanced budget” reflected the last-minute enactment, by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly in late May 2024, of a series of “midnight” tax increases that imposed higher burdens upon Illinoisans in various hidden ways. Fiscal experts are warning Illinoisans to be on the lookout for possible similar increases in May 2025 to support the FY26 budget. The Constitution of Illinois requires the State to enact and publish a nominally “balanced budget,” and this $3.2 billion budget deficit figure projected by GOMB indicates that meeting this constitutional mandate could be a challenge unless further tax increases or significant budget cuts are enacted in what is already one of America’s highest-taxed states.
ENERGY
Constellation Energy preparing to apply for a possible second nuclear reactor at Clinton. Most Illinois nuclear power plant complexes have two reactors, thereby enabling each plant to generate up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity. However, uniquely for Illinois, the Clinton Plant has only one reactor, although it was built with a “footprint” that could enable the construction of a second plant on the site. A second reactor on this site would be much easier and safer to build than a reactor complex on a wholly new site; the second reactor would have the same site security as the current one.
With future demand for Illinois electricity expected to increase sharply due to the growing need of data switching, data storage, and artificial-intelligence-oriented facilities, Clinton nuclear power plant owner Constellation Energy has told the DeWitt County Board that they are gathering letters of potential support for a possible formal application for a permit from the U.S. Department of Energy. The proposed second Clinton Constellation reactor would be a small modular reactor, made with new technology that has been computer-developed to make old-fashioned nuclear meltdowns physically a near-impossibility.
The incoming U.S. federal administration is expected to look with favor upon new energy developments of all sorts. However, the construction of a new nuclear reactor will be a lengthy process. Even if Constellation and the U.S. Department of Energy fully greenlight the proposal, no actual construction is expected at Clinton until 2026.
ENVIRONMENT
Radon Action Month is an opportunity to get homes tested. Radon, the “silent killer,” is a radioactive gas that rises up out of the bed rock that lies under all of Illinois. Although the bedrock is a long way down, radon – a gas – can rise up through any obstacle. The American Lung Association has declared each January to be Radon Action Month.
Fortunately, technology exists to test the air of a home for the presence of radon. As a unique element, radon has a distinctive chemical signature that can be picked up by the instruments used by Illinois licensed professionals. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA) has launched their annual Radon Awareness Campaign to encourage public understanding and building testing.
Homeowners should work with a licensed professional to test their home for radon. IEMA publishes a frequently updated list of radon testing professionals in each section of Illinois.