GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Illinois Republicans urge veto of Senate Bill 328, file lawsuit to expose Constitutional Violation.
This week, members of the Illinois House and Senate Republican caucuses joined together to call on Gov. Pritzker to veto Senate Bill 328, legislation that would serve only to enrich trial lawyers at the expense of jobs and economic growth. They also filed a lawsuit in Sangamon County court to enforce the Illinois Constitution’s Three Readings Rule, due to the blatant unconstitutional manner the Democratic Majority rammed the special interest proposal through the General Assembly after midnight on the last day of session.
The legislation would overhaul Illinois’ judicial system and allow out-of-state businesses to be sued by out-of-state plaintiffs in Illinois courts for incidents with no connection to the state. A lesser-known provision in the law allows foreign businesses registered in the state to be sued as well. It was passed using a variety of procedural gimmicks to avoid constitutional requirements and public scrutiny.
“We are answering the call of job creators, good government watchdog groups, and most importantly, our constituents, to stand up for transparency and against this job-killing legislation,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) said. “Governor Pritzker must veto SB 328 and show not only the people of Illinois, but also businesses around the world, we want to put all of our people to work, not just trial lawyers.”
Despite Democrats’ super majorities in both the House and Senate Chambers, major pieces of legislation continue to bypass the constitutionally required Three Readings Rule to avoid due process, transparency, and public engagement. Senate Bill 328 was passed after midnight with a gut-and-replace maneuver that allowed the majority party to avoid proper due process such as committee hearings and public input, violating the Three Readings Rule required in the Illinois State Constitution.
“The Illinois Democrats’ rule breaking is appalling to taxpayers across the state, and Republicans continue to be cut out of steadily more discussion as major pieces of legislation are passed while subverting the legislative process,” said Rep. Coffey. “SB328 had no deadline, so there was ample time to follow the Constitutional process, yet Democrats chose not to. Every time the rules are ignored, the people of Illinois lose. The Democrats will continue to break rules until they are held accountable by court rulings.”
Similar legislation has twice been vetoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and multiple national and state business groups, including the American Tort Reform Association and Illinois Manufacturers Association, have been echoing the Republicans’ call for a veto.
The bill itself was designed to make it easier to file frivolous lawsuits in Illinois, even in situations where the case has nothing to do with the state. Any out-of-state business could be sued in Illinois as long as the company is licensed to operate in the state. The legislation would encourage businesses not to expand to Illinois, while only serving to help those who make their living through lawsuits.
Republicans call on Gov. Pritzker to veto SB 328, and the lawsuit seeks to keep it from reaching his desk in the first place.
BUDGET
Gov. Pritzker signs $55.2 billion tax-and-spend budget into law. On Monday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget for the State of Illinois.
The budget passed by Democratic legislators and signed by Gov. Pritzker will spend $55.2 billion, which is nearly $2 billion more than the FY25 enacted budget. State spending has increased by more than $15 billion, a 38% increase, since Pritzker took office in 2019.
Rep. Coffey issued this statement:
“Illinois’ budget has grown by over $2 billion since I took office two short years ago, and taxpayers have had no relief whatsoever from the Democratic supermajority. Families are being taxed to out of the State of Illinois and this budget prioritizes Democrat pork, pay raises for politicians, and funding for illegal immigrants over relief for Illinois citizens. This isn’t monopoly money: this is people’s livelihoods. Life just got a whole lot more expensive for Illinois families, thanks to Illinois Democrats.”
CRIMINAL LAW
Another day, another SAFE-T Act failure. This time, a former teacher accused of sexually abusing a student could not be held pre-trial because of provisions in this misguided law.
The judge in the case stated, “While this case is horrific in nature — it’s shocking, it’s appalling, it’s garnering lots of attention — I do believe under the SAFE-T Act I am tied to whether there are any conditions I can set to mitigate the risk she poses to [the boy] right now.”
Read more from the Chicago Sun-Times.
GAMING/TAXES
Placing a smartphone sports wager through one of Illinois’ highest market-share sportsbooks will soon cost an extra 50 cents. The additional fee announced by FanDuel, and its corporate parent Flutter Entertainment, will be imposed on all Tier 1 and Tier 2 sports wagers placed by FanDuel users who are registered within Illinois and who place bets in Illinois. This supplemental fee, which will not be charged by FanDuel upon bettors in any other state, is a direct response to the passage by the Democrats of HB 2755, the partisan “omnibus” Illinois tax increase bill.
In order to raise money for their record $55.2 billion in spending, Illinois Democrats once again raised taxes on a wide variety of goods and services, ranging from moist snuff and nicotine vapes to sports bets. The FanDuel Illinois surcharge is a direct response and pass-through of the tax increases enacted by the Democrats in the final minutes of the Spring session.