I hope you’ve all been doing well! I had another very busy week. In Springfield, we were scheduled to be in Session until last Friday, but the Speaker abruptly cancelled Thursday and Friday session. I spent my time working to keep my bills moving and advocating for our Southern Illinois values. Here’s this week’s update!
EDUCATION
The Wall Street Journal slams IL Democrats’ ‘Assault on Home-Schoolers.’ House Republicans continue to fight to protect the rights of parents to choose the best educational experience for their children.
House Bill 2827, the “Homeschool Act,” was heard in committee and passed over the objection of tens of thousands of families choosing home or private school for their children. This bill mandates that non-public elementary and secondary schools register annually with the Illinois State Board of Education and requires homeschools to fill out a Homeschool Declaration Form or risk truancy, which could lead to fines and even imprisonment. It further requires homeschool administrators to submit personal information about themselves and their students to state and local authorities.
The public has been vocal about their opposition to this state overreach. Nearly 51,000 motivated residents filed witness slips in opposition to HB 2827. Thousands of Illinoisans went to the State Capitol to express their opposition and speak to lawmakers about their positive experience with homeschooling.
HB 2827 was heard in the Education Policy Committee. Despite all Republicans voting in opposition, it passed committee and was advanced to the House Floor for further action. Residents who agree HB 2827 should be stopped should sign the House Republicans’ petition to Protect Homeschool Freedom.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed ‘The Illinois Assault on Home-Schoolers’ in a scathing editorial published on Friday, March 21. The WSJ editorial stated that “Democrats want to impose new rules and bureaucracy on parents.”
Fewer than one in three students in Chicago Public Schools can read at grade level. That should be a five-alarm fire for the Democrats who run Illinois, but they have other priorities—to wit, regulating those dastardly parents who educate their children at home.
On Wednesday Democrats passed the Homeschool Act out of a House committee on an 8-4 vote. Current state law imposes minimal regulations on home-schoolers, requiring only that they teach certain core subjects. Democrats introduced the Homeschool Act after a 2024 report by Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica claimed Illinois’s limited oversight leaves home-schooled children vulnerable to abuse. […]
Under the bill, home-school families would have to submit annual forms to their local public school that include students’ names, birth dates, grade levels and home addresses. Families who fail to submit the forms would be subject to criminal truancy penalties.
Families must also allow the state to compile annual reports on home-schooled students, and state authorities may demand at any time that a home-school administrator submit for review a log of curricular materials and an assessment of academic progress. The bill also requires private schools to register with the state and submit to requests for personal information on all enrolled students and guardians. […]
The good news is that the home-school putsch has aroused the public. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, nearly 50,000 voters had filed witness slips against the Homeschool Act, compared with fewer than 1,000 in favor. Perhaps Democrats will listen to the public for a change.
Republicans Demand Response from IHSA on Protecting Female Athletes. On March 18th, 2025, the House Republican caucus sent a letter to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) asking the organization to detail how their policies and protocols for administering high school sports will be amended in line with President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order which prohibits biological men from competing against biological women in sports.
Ensuring fairness and safety in sports should not be a political matter or subject to debate. Policies regarding same-sex sports and locker rooms are in line with President Trump’s Executive Order and Illinois should stand firm in keeping men out of girl’s sports.
iGAMING
I joined Megan Lynch on Total Information AM to discuss his opposition to recent iGaming proposals.
HB 3080 would bring slots and poker to the fingertips of millions of Illinoisans. This is dangerous for two reasons: our local businesses rely on the revenue from foot traffic they receive from their slot machines, and it leads to gambling addiction and financial ruin.
Listen to the full interview here.
MARCH FOR LIFE
I was proud to, once again, join thousands of pro-life Illinoisans to March for Life! It’s a bit warmer than when we normally march in Clinton County around the courthouse, and it was great to see so many friends and colleagues standing up for LIFE!
ETHICS REFORM
We have got to try to clean up the mess in Springfield. How many arrests, indictments, guilty pleas, verdicts, and prison sentences is it going to take for the majority party to actually do something to prevent corruption?
I signed on to the House Republicans’ Ethics Reform Bill Package that would bring real, meaningful ethics reform to Illinois. Read more here.
SECOND AMENDMENT
This month I joined Tom Miller on WJPF’s ‘The Morning Newswatch’ to discuss my Second Amendment Heritage Bill Package.
Listen to my interview about what I’m doing to protect your Constitutional Rights here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
I welcomed Titus Jefferson to Springfield to serve as his Page for the Day. Titus is from Pocahontas. He is an eighth grader in the Greenville School District and his hobbies include 4H, Model UN, track and field, and football. He’s a lifelong Bond County resident, shows swine at county fairs across the state, and he is on the junior fair board in Bond County. Titus’ mom, Mindy, joined him in Springfield.
I was invited to attend the IAA District 15 Meeting at Donnewald Distributing in Greenville. I updated the Farm Bureau members on what is going on in Springfield with Ag Related legislation. It was a nice evening with friends and fellow members of the farming community. Thank to Donnewald Distributing for hosting the meeting.
I was able to support the Taco Dinner at my Church, St. Peter’s UCC. This dinner was for the Junior Youth Program. I have wonderful memories of being a part of the Junior and Senior Youth Programs when I was young and glad to see it still active in the community.
I was happy to seat down with this group and discuss mosquitoes, ticks, and public health. They are finding new variations of ticks and the cases of Lyme disease has been growing.
I stopped by the St. Paul’s Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser in Highland.
I supported the Troy Frieden’s Sausage Supper and stopped in at the Troy Produce place. A wonderful meal and great little produce shop!
I was happy to stop in and visit with this group from SIUE and discuss their Corn to Ethanol Research.
Meeting with a group of students from U of I.
DOWN ON THE FARM
I’ve been busy getting my garden planted. I’ve planted potatoes, onions, lettuce, radishes, spinach and more.
Thank you for reading this week’s catch-up. Have a great week, I’ll give you another update soon! It’s an honor to serve you!