For Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats, making and breaking big promises is becoming a way of life. If that sounds like a typical throwaway political attack line, an examination of the last year of action (or inaction) by the governor and the Illinois General Assembly reveals the truth.

From drawing fair legislative maps to promises of honesty in financial dealings, protecting children in the care of DCFS, addressing rising crime, and providing relief for families struggling to afford necessities like food and fuel, Democrats have made some big promises. To this point in the 102nd General Assembly, it seems Democrats' promises were made to be broken. 

One of the vital roles of government is to protect its residents, especially vulnerable children in state care. For a variety of reasons, Illinois children end up in the system, because of abuse from their parents or guardians, death of parents or guardians, homelessness, neglect, and even outright abandonment. As a society, we give up part of our income to the government to establish a social safety net to protect these children and provide them with vital services.

Illinois State Representative Deanne Mazzochi has accused the Democrat majority of not just being soft on crime, but creating state and local policies that allow crime to thrive.

Carjacking, burglaries, and retail thefts are on the rise in her district. Murders, robberies and gang violence are threatening other Chicagoland communities. And, Democrats in Illinois won’t tackle the problem. They are comfortable sitting back while Illinois families endure violence in their neighborhoods with little recourse because Democratic lawmakers have refused to make laws to protect them.

Deals to reduce charges and jail time are often used by prosecutors to obtain guilty pleas from defendants. There are many motivations behind plea deals and Illinois State Representative Dan Caulkins thinks victims, judges and the general public should know what they are, especially with armed robberies, carjackings and violence on the rise in Illinois.

Last February, the Governor signed a massive criminal justice reform bill into law that has resulted in increased crime and violence throughout the state. The 600-page bill was hastily crafted with minimal input from law enforcement and Republican lawmakers. In the waning hours of the lame-duck legislative session, while most Illinoisans were sleeping, the billpassed the House with the bare minimum number of votes. 

A police officer attempts to pull over a driver for running a red light. The driver knows there are drugs in the car and if caught may be charged with drug possession, a crime that carries up to 15 years in prison. Aware of the local police department’s strict pursuit policies preventing officers from giving chase at high rates of speed, the driver doesn’t stop and instead takes off - exceeding 100 mph. Sure, the driver knows they could be charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, but the sentence and penalties will be significantly lower than if they had been caught with the drugs – only facing 1-3 years of prison instead of 15.

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.

Buyer’s remorse – you know that feeling of regret in the pit in your stomach after you make a hasty and expensive purchase. At times the remorse anxiety causes us to simply justify our purchase so we can live with the decision, other times it compels us to return the purchase for a full refund. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) even has a “cooling off” rule that gives consumers 3 days to cancel certain types of purchases because the FTC recognizes rushed and high pressure decisions are not always the best ones.

Illinois State Representative Chris Bos has long advocated for victims and survivors of Human Trafficking, both in his former role at a non-profit that worked to free children from sexual exploitation and now as a state lawmaker. For this session, he has filed several important pieces of legislation that protect victims of human trafficking and that put punitive disincentives in place to protect children from predators. January is also National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of human trafficking.