Rep. Bunting’s Springfield news update for September 26

In this issue:

• "No cash bail" two years later
• Illinois unemployment rate drops to 4.4%
• Hearing from advisory committees
• Illinois headlines

"No cash bail" two years later

Back in 2021 the General Assembly passed an infamous piece of legislation known as the "SAFE-T Act," a bill which was advertised as criminal justice reform.

It was opposed by virtually every police and prosecutors' group in the state, who raised a tremendous number of concerns about it - mostly centering on the argument that if enacted, the law would make the state less safe.

They were right, but they were also ignored.

The law was hastily passed in the closing minutes of the lame-duck General Assembly, and then was challenged in court, but while a few changes occurred, those challenges were not successful in stopping its implementation. Two years ago this month, on September 18, 2023, the section of the bill prohibiting law enforcement from holding many of the people they arrest, went into effect.

The results have been as bad as predicted.

All throughout the state there have been stories of criminals who were arrested for one crime, but were released, only to commit another crime. In one case the suspected killer of a DeKalb County sheriff's deputy had to be released. In another case, a man arrested in Rockford for murder was quickly released.

It is clear to anyone who is paying attention that this law is not making Illinois any safer. House Republicans have proposed a series of bills to make changes that would restore public safety. One of these bills would revoke a defendant's pre-trial release if he or she is charged with a new offense while they were on pre-trial release. Another would expand the list of detainable offenses so that those arrested for more serious crimes could be held in jail.

These are just a few of the many ideas which House Republicans have proposed for improving public safety in Illinois. So far, these and other good ideas have been ignored by the Democrats who run Springfield. We need to act on improving public safety in the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

Illinois unemployment rate drops to 4.4%

Illinois' unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.4% in August, the lowest unemployment rate the state has seen in just over a year.

The new figures were announced by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, which reported that while the unemployment rate had improved, the actual number of jobs in the state had declined. The percentage rate is calculated based on the number of people considered to be actively looking for work.

Total non-farm payrolls in Illinois decreased in August by 13,300. Figures from July were revised slightly better, down by only 1100, instead of the 2500 initially reported. Once again, some sectors of the economy were up, while others were down. Those showing improvement last month included Information (up by 800), Manufacturing (+400), and Construction (+300). Some sectors which saw losses were Trade, Transportation and Utility (-4500), Private Education and Health Services (down 4000), and Professional and Business Services (off by 2600).

You can read the full report from the Department of Employment Security here.

Hearing from advisory committees

This week I sat down with three of my advisory committees, groups of local residents who help keep me up to date on what's happening and help to come up with ways state government can better help our area.

I heard from our local superintendents about the challenges local school districts are facing, but also about all the exciting times that come with the start of a new school year. We talked about the declining enrollment at schools in our area, issues related to title funding, and rising health insurance costs for school district employees. The difficulty of filling certain specialized positions was a topic of conversation as well.

I talked with local government leaders about the latest news from their communities and how they are navigating a wide range of challenges from the state. We talked about grant funding for new sidewalks through the Safe Routes to School program, transportation issues and battery storage, which is becoming more popular as solar energy expands in our area. We also discussed removal of the grocery tax which funded local services. I was glad to hear that several groundbreakings on new businesses are in our future.

This week I also met with our local economic development directors as we work together to bring more jobs and economic activity to our communities. We had a good conversation about business retention and expansion and what we can do to help. One topic that everyone agreed we need to do more work on is expansion of housing in our area for new workers.

Thank you to everyone who participated this week. It was a productive series of discussions with some good questions and suggestions for the path forward.

Our current bill backlog

When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state's checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $1,632,579,023. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.4 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state's pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.

Illinois headlines

House GOP plan aims to cut taxes on tips and overtime

Another troubling week for Governor Pritzker

Illinois farmer shares tractor accident story during Farm Safety Week

Archery deer season begins October 1