Illinois sanctuary state policies under fire from DHS Secretary, Illinois GOP leaders. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Springfield on Wednesday, where she blasted Illinois' sanctuary state policy protecting undocumented immigrants. During her visit, Secretary Noem highlighted how sanctuary policies in Illinois have unleashed violence on American citizens — including rape, sexual assault, murder, and more — while shielding the illegal aliens responsible from facing consequences.
She also rebuked Governor Pritzker for using $1.6 billion in taxpayer money to expand healthcare to those who are here illegally.
Following Secretary Noem’s visit, Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie called on state and local officials to repeal policies that cater to undocumented immigrants and instead focus their efforts on policies that keep Illinois families safe.
“Illinois must abandon its sanctuary state policies that have emboldened criminals, harmed families, and wasted billions in taxpayer dollars,” said Leader McCombie. “Instead of doing his job to protect Illinois families, Governor Pritzker is focused on pandering to liberal primary voters for an election that’s three years away,” McCombie continued. “Governor Pritzker’s relentless defiance of the federal government is not leadership—it’s reckless. And Illinois families are paying the price.”
Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer also called on the Governor to rescind the state’s sanctuary state policies and allow law enforcement to do its job.
“The flood of illegal immigrants into Illinois under Biden’s Open Border Policy led to a string of horrific crimes, endangered public safety, and blew a huge hole in our already-strained budget,” said Rep. Davidsmeyer. “With over half-a-million illegal immigrants in Illinois, we should be working with the Trump Administration to detain and deport dangerous criminal aliens.”
Rep. Davidsmeyer sponsored legislation (HB 1317) to repeal the Illinois TRUST Act, a misguided law that prohibits law enforcement agencies from working with federal authorities to detain and deport illegal immigrants. Davidsmeyer’s bill would end Illinois’ sanctuary state policy.
“Governor Pritzker’s failed sanctuary state policy has cost Illinois taxpayers billions of dollars and made our communities less safe,” continued Rep. Davidsmeyer. “Unfortunately, Governor Pritzker is more concerned about building his progressive national image than he is about protecting Illinois families from murderers and rapists.”
BUDGET
CGFA report points to worsening Illinois budget challenges. April 2025 State of Illinois tax revenues paid to the Department of Revenue (IDOR) came in healthily, with a year-over-year monthly increase of $765 million. However, all of this increase could be attributed to personal income tax payments. This subset of overall Illinois tax cash flow was up $896 million in April 2025 on a year-over-year basis. A “spike” in personal income tax payments in the month of April is usually associated with reconciliation payments made by individual income taxpayers who are filing their annual income tax returns in that month. As part of their filings, they must reconcile their payments with their personal non-paycheck income, such as capital gains. The April 2025 numbers could be a reflection of the strong U.S. stock market performance in calendar year 2024 and capital gains enjoyed by some investors.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) also shared some serious warning flags with Illinois lawmakers. The Commission, which is the General Assembly’s nonpartisan budget watchdog, has the job not only of monitoring current Illinois State tax cash flow, but also projecting the future Illinois budget picture. A warning is coming to Illinois in the form of a sharp drop in federal funds to the State. In April 2025 this second key income source was down by $227 million on a month-over-month basis. On a percentage basis, this was an April 2025 decline of 70.7%. Federal money, which has in the recent past been a major component of our State’s general funds, is experiencing significant decline.
In addition to general funds, which have a wide latitude on how they can be spent, there are other funds used by the State of Illinois for specific encumbered purposes that are outlined by law, or by the State Constitution. Examples include the Illinois Road Fund, which under the Section 11 of Article IX of the Constitution of Illinois must be used on transportation related costs, and licensure fees which are often used to oversee sectors in which the fees are imposed. These other state funds are not typically the topic of intense budget discussion and press coverage, but budgeteers will likely need to get creative to balance the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Furthermore, borrowing or shifting these other state funds into general revenue is a budget gimmick that has been used several times in tight budget years. The added uncertainty from Washington D.C. will make crafting an FY26 budget even more difficult.
ETHICS
House Democrats again stonewall ethics reform. The Democratic supermajority has implemented a foolproof plan to prevent action on legislative ethics and election reform in Springfield:
- Set up a House Committee on Ethics & Elections with jurisdiction over all bills dealing with ethics reform and elections in Illinois
- Assign bills dealing with Illinois legislative ethics reform and Illinois election law to the Ethics & Elections Committee
- The House Ethics & Elections Committee never meets
This spring marked the first legislative session after the conviction of Michel J. Madigan, former Illinois House Speaker, on multiple federal corruption charges. The Madigan conviction, along with numerous other government corruption charges and convictions, have led to serious calls for ethics reform. However, Democratic Party leaders have made sure these calls for reform go unheard. Although this week was the House and Senate deadlines for reporting bills out of committee to the floors of the House and the Senate, the House has not had the chance to debate or vote on any substantive ethics reform legislation this year. Once again, House Democrats are stonewalling efforts to stop political corruption and clean up the mess in Springfield.
JOBS
Pritzker-supported Lion Electric faces liquidation, auction. The Montreal-based firm won strong support from Governor Pritzker when it announced plans to open an assembly plant near Joliet. The May 2021 announcement came with promises that Illinois would be Lion’s hub location for the manufacturing of its signature product, an electric battery-powered school bus. The plant was expected to create up to 1,400 new jobs. Lion quickly borrowed money and opened an assembly-line-scaled factory in July 2023, with Gov. Pritzker present for the ribbon-cutting.
Although Lion operated in Channahon, Illinois in 2023-2024, almost no school district anywhere in the U.S. bought Lion Electric’s new school buses. The schedule of a school bus, which includes heavy use and frequent stops and starts, proved not to be ideally suited to electric vehicle operations. After hiring workers and starting up its assembly lines, Lion found itself faced with an almost immediate cash flow crunch. Lenders demanded their money back and the cash-strapped manufacturer began an insolvency process. The new factory shut down, the workers were laid off, and the troubled firm offered itself for sale.
This week, an insolvency court-appointed monitor reported to the court and to Lion Electric’s creditors that no reasonable offer has been received for Lion Electric’s assets that would enable the troubled firm to resume operations under a new owner. Submission of this report enabled the creditors to commence the immediate liquidation of the company’s assets. A report suggests that the Channahon plant’s equipment will be sold off at a public auction to be held on May 15. Completion of the Channahon auction will leave behind a 900,000-square foot empty facility.
REAL ID
May 7 REAL ID deadline. Starting May 7, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) will commence enforcement of federal REAL ID requirements upon those using state-issued identification cards, including drivers’ licenses, to enter federally secured zones. These zones include military bases, departure gates at airports, and most courthouses and federal buildings. The REAL ID is distinguished from prior identification cards by a supplemental device or marking on the upper right-hand corner of the card. If the card is REAL ID-compliant, it will bear a white star printed inside a gold circle.
The Illinois DMV, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, has issued REAL ID cards for more than five years to people requesting these cards. Illinois DMVs continue to issue these cards to eligible applicants. As a condition of eligibility, persons who request REAL ID-compliant Illinois cards are required to have legal status in the United States. To verify their status the applicants are required to present federally mandated required identification documents to Illinois DMV. The documentation necessary to achieve this eligibility is set forth on this Illinois Secretary of State checklist. People requesting a REAL ID card should gather these documents and make an appointment at an Illinois DMV center.
Illinois residents are not required by law to obtain a REAL ID. Non-REAL ID-compliant identification cards, including drivers’ licenses, will also continue to be issued by Illinois DMV. These alternate cards will continue to be valid for all non-REAL ID purposes, including age verification. Other secure documents approved by USDHS, such as passports, can also be used by Illinois citizens and residents to enter secure federal areas. In addition, Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) officials appeared to be granting temporary relief to some non-REAL ID travelers at O’Hare International Airport as of Wednesday, May 7.
TAXES
Threat of up to $6 billion/year in new Illinois taxes. A “tax-and-spend” wish list totaling over $6 billion in new revenue was presented to state lawmakers last week by the Illinois Revenue Alliance, a consortium that includes the Chicago Teachers Union, healthcare unions, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and other left-leaning special interests.
Here are the tax increases and new taxes that would be implemented, according to the Illinois Revenue Alliance:
- $1.7 billion from increased taxes on capital gains
- $1.5 billion from a tax on so-called carried interest
- $1.2 billion in increased revenues from the corporate income tax, based on combined reporting
- $840 million from a wealth tax on billionaires
- $830 million from a hike in the corporate income tax rate
- $725 million from a tax on digital advertising (Alphabet and Meta would be major payors)
- $200 million in additional corporate income tax proceeds from an improved application of the tax to offshore income
- $175 million in additional corporate income tax proceeds from the closure of unspecified corporate income tax loopholes
- $150 million in additional estate tax income
At a Capitol news conference on May 1, Deputy Republican Leader Norine Hammond and Assistant Republican Leaders C.D. Davidsmeyer and Amy Elik called the $6 billion in proposed tax hikes “outrageous and unacceptable.”
POPE LEO XIV
Illinois' own Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV. As the world watched on Thursday, an American from Illinois, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected as the new Pope, the first from the United States.
He chose the name Leo XIV.
Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago in September 1955. He was raised in the south suburbs, attending St. Mary of the Assumption parish in Dolton. He was ordained in 1982 and earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The new Pope is considered by some to represent “a dignified middle of the road.”
The 69-year-old Pope attended Villanova University, and then spent much of his life abroad, primarily in Peru where he became a naturalized citizen, worked as a missionary and later was archbishop. He was the Bishop of Chiclayo beginning in 2015.
In 2023 his predecessor, Pope Francis, named him to the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican office which oversees worldwide appointments of bishops. Pope Francis later named him president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The communications director for the new Pope’s former diocese in Chiclayo told the Associated Press that, “no matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy.” He has called for service, saying last year that, “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.” He must be “called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”
Announcing the news of the election of the first American Pope on Thursday afternoon on the Illinois House floor, Rep. Norine Hammond offered her good wishes for the new Pope.
“We are so excited and praying for Pope Leo XIV that he is able to guide the entire world in a peaceful manner,” Hammond said. Find out more about Pope Leo XIV from the Associated Press.
In 2023 his predecessor, Pope Francis, named him to the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican office which oversees worldwide appointments of bishops. Pope Francis later named him president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The communications director for the new Pope’s former diocese in Chiclayo told the Associated Press that, “no matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy.” He has called for service, saying last year that, “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.” He must be “called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”
Announcing the news of the election of the first American Pope on Thursday afternoon on the Illinois House floor, Rep. Norine Hammond offered her good wishes for the new Pope.
“We are so excited and praying for Pope Leo XIV that he is able to guide the entire world in a peaceful manner,” Hammond said. Find out more about Pope Leo XIV from the Associated Press.