Weekly News from Leader McCombie

PROPERTY TAXES

Republicans, Pritzker point fingers over cause of rising property taxes

Illinois families already pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, yet Governor Pritzker continues to shift blame instead of taking responsibility. After recently suggesting Republicans are "confused" and pointing to school boards and past lawmakers, House Republicans pushed back, making clear that the real problem is years of Democratic policies, chronic underfunding, unfunded mandates, and state priorities that continue to drive costs onto local governments and property taxpayers.

I joined Rep. Dan Ugaste in calling for meaningful property tax reform and criticized the Governor for proposing new tax hikes, eliminating the property tax relief grant program, and continuing policies that leave homeowners, families, and businesses footing the bill.

Read more from Capitol News Illinois.

Republicans argue lawmakers should be able to pass property tax reform for Illinoisans if Democrats are already planning to provide tax relief to the Chicago Bears. They also stress that Pritzker eliminated the property tax relief grant program that helped schools reduce tax levies.

Read more from WAND News.

Lawmakers Urge the Governor to Get on Board

Last week, I held a press conference alongside State Representative Dan Ugaste to discuss the long-standing challenge Illinois families continue to face: the high cost of property taxes.

Listen to more of my remarks here: » McCombie Talks Property Tax Relief, Urges Governor to Get on Board.

CRIMINAL LAW

Public Safety in Illinois Continues to Decline

Over the past two weeks, our state has seen yet another disturbing stretch of public safety failures, driven by leaders at the top who continue to embrace anti-police rhetoric and dangerous policies.

Just look at what has happened over the past two weeks:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson abruptly fired his Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. When asked about it, the former aide said the mayor's office had shown "hostility" toward law enforcement.
• New reporting by The Free Press found that millions of taxpayer dollars are being funneled into so-called "violence interruption" programs with little accountability and questionable results.
• Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old college student, was tragically killed by an illegal immigrant.
• To make matters worse, just days after that tragedy, Mayor Johnson unveiled an "Abolish ICE" snow plow in a tone-deaf political stunt.
• As spring break got underway, chaos broke out once again in downtown Chicago, where a teen takeover led to fights and open taunting of law enforcement.

Coming off recent remarks from Mayor Johnson, who called law enforcement a "sickness," and Governor Pritzker, who referred to federal law enforcement as "jackbooted thugs," the past two weeks have only confirmed what many Illinois families already fear: there is no real support for law enforcement at the top in Chicago or Illinois.

At the same time, failed policies like the Illinois Way Forward Act and the SAFE-T Act continue to make the problem worse and fuel more chaos in our communities.

House Republicans are stepping up with real solutions to address Illinois' public safety crisis. We have filed more than 40 bills to fix the SAFE-T Act, yet most of those proposals have not even been called for a hearing.

Lives are at stake. It is time for Democrats to get serious about public safety.

My take was clear: "Public safety should never be a partisan issue. Every family, in every community, deserves to feel safe-and that starts with leadership that respects law enforcement, prioritizes accountability, and is willing to act before more lives are lost."

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mark your calendars: My Spring Photo Contest is still live, submit your photos today.

In addition, check out my slate of events for this spring and early summer.