For the last several years, Democrats who control both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly have implemented an unwritten policy prohibiting increased penalties in current criminal statutes. Additionally, they have prevented the passage of laws that would criminalize new behaviors. Two such examples of legislation that were thwarted by Democrats include one that would have increased penalties for attacks on DCFS workers and the another that created a new law criminalizing surreptitious electronic tracking.

In this podcast episode, Assistant Republican Leader 

Keith Wheeler talks about Reimagine Illinois and HB3037, legislation he sponsored as a first step to a balanced budget and enhanced fiscal responsibility. 

Have All Voted Who Wish · Reimagine Illinois with Rep. Keith Wheeler

LAW ENFORCEMENT
New lottery game to benefit families of fallen police officers. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill this week to create a new Illinois Lottery scratch-off game from which proceeds will fund police memorials, support for the families of officers killed or severely injured in the line of duty, and protective vest replacements for officers.

“Our police officers stand in the face of danger every day to keep us safe. We are proud to stand with them and support their families when they are faced with a devastating loss,” Rauner said. “This new ticket will help fund scholarships for their children and honor their bravery at memorial parks across the state.”

For the past four years as a state legislator, I have watched Democrats introduce bill after bill on the House floor that spends taxpayer money.

In 2015, my first year as an Illinois representative, I repeatedly stood up and asked Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie why we don’t first determine how much taxpayer money we have to spend before we start spending it.
My questions were brushed aside with flippant answers along the lines of “We’ll do that when we actually do a budget.”

Well, I’m still waiting.

That brushoff didn’t sit well with me or my fellow Republican legislators at that time. It still doesn’t and it shouldn’t. Taxpayers should hate it. Budgeting based on how much money we wish we had is how politicians got Illinois into this mess in the first place.

This isn’t some inconsequential issue. Illinois has a balanced budget requirement. The only lever that taxpayers and the minority party have to pull is the revenue estimate that locks in a cap on spending. Doesn’t that make it obvious why House Speaker Michael Madigan and the Democrat caucus have avoided it? No cap, no accountability. Read the rest of Rep. Keith Wheeler's commentary in the Chicago Tribune.

BUDGET
Leaders Durkin, Brady Call For Adoption Of Revenue Estimate. Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and Illinois Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady filed joint resolutions Thursday to adopt a revenue estimate in order to begin the budgeting process for fiscal year 2019.

“It is our constitutional duty to taxpayers across Illinois to spend within our means – something we have not done in decades here at the Capitol,” Durkin said. “The rejection of certifying a revenue estimate in Springfield is not acceptable and is legislative malpractice. We owe it to Illinois taxpayers to take this first step in finally balancing the state’s checkbook and putting Illinois on the right track towards fiscal stability.”

Our children’s education remains a top priority for Illinois House Republicans, which is why they have taken action to address the growing teacher shortage in our state. First and foremost, our members are committed to ensuring highly prepared and effective educators are teaching our children. To do that, Illinois must address the teacher shortage.

Background
The Illinois State Board of Education said the 2017-18 school year began with about 2,000 unfilled teaching positions across the state.* And a recent survey conducted by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools found that school districts were increasingly having difficulty finding qualified candidates to apply for teaching positions.

When the subjects of jobs, unemployment, and small businesses come up on the House floor in Springfield, you can guarantee that State Representative Keith Wheeler will rise to be part of the conversation.

We talk with him about those issues and what needs to be done to help Illinois grow jobs.  In getting to know more about the representative, we hear about his passion for Chicago Bears football, Walter Payton, U-2, and an educator who influenced him not only in school but who has been a source of motivation ever since.

State Reps. Michael McAuliffe, Christine Winger, Peter Breen, Grant Wehrli, and Keith Wheeler today introduced legislation, House Bill 4082, to immediately repeal the one-cent-per-ounce Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax. The tax, which went into effect on August 2, will result in Cook County consumers having to pay on average 67 percent more for a 2-liter of pop, 43 percent more for a gallon of juice drink or sweetened iced tea, and 29 percent more for a 12-pack.

In an effort to propel the state budget process forward, State Representative Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) sent a letter to Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Thursday calling on her to use the power of her office to force the Illinois General Assembly to adopt a revenue estimate prior to the filing and passage of any spending bills, in order to prevent further damage to the state’s finances and the many social service providers who serve the most vulnerable individuals and families across Illinois. Representative Wheeler’s letter to the Attorney General was co-signed by 39 other House Republican legislators.

In the letter, Representative Wheeler cites several prior court rulings and instances which set precedent for the Attorney General to intervene to ensure the Illinois Constitution is upheld. Both the Constitution and state law require the General Assembly to adopt a revenue estimate on which to base a balanced budget for the forthcoming fiscal year, an action which legislators have failed to take in either of the past two years and haven’t yet done for the coming fiscal year. Read more here.

K-12 schools and state universities need a state budget.

Social service providers need a state budget.

The most vulnerable individuals and families across Illinois need a state budget.

State government in Illinois is financially adrift because the General Assembly hasn’t stepped up to lead and make the tough decisions to work through a budget. By law we are required to begin by adopting a revenue estimate. I have filed legislation to do just that.

Why is it so important that we adopt a revenue estimate? There are three reasons:

1. The revenue estimate is the actual first step in our budgeting process. How do we know how much each appropriations committee has to allocate for their assigned departments and agencies if we don’t start with the Revenue Estimate?
2. The revenue estimate is required by state law and the Illinois Constitution. Just look it up. We have to do it. If we appropriate funds without a revenue estimate, we are, in effect, breaking the law.
3. The revenue estimate is an important form of taxpayer protection. If we skip the revenue estimate and just appropriate according to our wishes and the requests of the departments and agencies of state government, we will likely spend too much, which will trigger a tax increase.

Read the remainder of opinion piece by Rep. Keith Wheeler.

When State Representative Keith Wheeler heard the cost to translate the Illinois General Assembly's website into one other language could be as high as $1.5 million, he knew he could find a better solution. One that was significantly less expensive and more inclusive.

Using a free internet tool he set up a translated version of the website for several different languages. Anyone with access to the internet can now access a translated version of www.ilga.gov in any of the most common languages spoken in Illinois simply by clicking on the links below:

Spanish Español
Arabic عربي               

Hindi  हिन्दी      

Chinese (Simplified) 中文简体               

Chinese (Traditional) 中文繁體                

Japanese 日本語 

Korean 한국어             

Russian Русский 

French Français    

German Deutsch             

Italian Italiano           

Polish Polski        

Greek  Ελληνικά            

In response to the failure of Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino to answer questions amidst the ongoing federal and state investigations into his campaign spending irregularities while a member of the Illinois General Assembly, State Representative Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) announced the filing today of House Joint Resolution 158 aimed at removing Mautino from office, a measure with over 20 co-sponsors.

“Auditor General Mautino is not able to perform his duties with the trust and confidence that Illinoisans deserve,” Rep. Kay said.  “The Auditor General’s Office is a position where transparency is at the very heart of the job itself.  Illinoisans deserve a clean government and Auditor General Mautino, by his refusal to respond to public questions surrounding his ethical conduct, has demonstrated that he is unfit to remain in office.” Read more.

State Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego), a 25-year small business owner of an information technology consulting firm, applauded Governor Bruce Rauner’s action today to create the new Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). The agency will transform the state’s information technology functions into one agency to provide better service to Illinois residents and businesses.

The Governor signed Executive Order 16-01 on Monday creating a strategic, statewide technology plan to accelerate Illinois’ modernization. All information technology decisions and spending will be centralized and consolidated under this new agency. DoIT will develop statewide IT solutions that take a 360-degree view of a resident or business. This will allow the state to use data to provide more tailored services while reducing inefficiencies and costs to taxpayers.

"Saving taxpayer dollars and making state government more efficient and accountable in the use of technology is a significant step forward,” Rep. Wheeler said. “For the past 25 years, my private-sector career has been providing IT solutions to Chicagoland’s best small businesses, not-for-profits, local governments, and public safety agencies. I am very excited to see the State of Illinois moving in the direction of modernizing our IT infrastructure to better serve Illinois families and taxpayers.” Read more.

General Assembly Pay
House Republicans vote for bill to deny pay increase for selves in FY16. The measure, HB 576, amends State law to block implementation of the automatic pay increases slated to be paid in FY16 to Illinois elected officials. This action is necessary to prevent an annual automatic pay increase from being paid to members of the General Assembly, statewide elected officials, certain Cabinet-level executive branch agency directors and appointees, and county state’s attorneys. Automatic pay increases of this type have been mandated by the Compensation Review Act since 1984.

Budget – FY15 – Social Services Restored
Revenue estimate up; $26 million in State grants to be restored. The State of Illinois has faced continuous challenges in “keeping the lights on” during the final months of FY15. When the Governor’s office changed hands in January, Governor Bruce Rauner found that the FY15 budget passed by Democrat majorities and signed by former Governor Pat Quinn was drastically unbalanced. The General Assembly and the Rauner administration have worked together since that time to shift funds around to cover shortfalls. In some cases, additional cuts were imposed on some agencies and their spending programs.

Small business now has a stronger voice in Springfield, thanks to State Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, and State Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills, who recently formed the Small Business Owners Caucus in the Illinois House of Representatives.

“Small business is the backbone of our state and local economy, accounting for over 60% of all new private-sector jobs created in America each year,” Rep. Wheeler said. “This new bipartisan caucus will bring together small business owners from every region of Illinois to formulate policy reforms that will make our state more competitive and help to attract and retain quality Illinois jobs for Illinois families.”

The 20-member Small Business Owners Caucus has been created to bring together state legislators who are current or former small business owners to share similar entrepreneurial experiences. Activities will include caucus-backed legislative proposals and supporting individual caucus members' legislative ideas, as well as holding subject matter focused business discussions with the constitutional officers, agency directors, legislative leaders and pro-business organizations. Various business groups have already come forward with ideas of establishing an annual scorecard of pro-business legislation and nominating annual champions of the business community. Read more.

Rep. Keith Wheeler is a sixth-generation resident of Kendall County and lives with his wife and children in Oswego.  For the last 23 years he has owned his own small business and served his communities as chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business, Fox Valley Area Action Council and chairman of the Board of Directors for the Kendall County Food Pantry.

Rep. Wheeler represents the 50th District.

Read more about Rep. Wheeler.