McLean County Times

Longtime Republican state Sen. Don DeWitte (R-West Dundee) thinks it’s time lawmakers in Springfield got serious about dealing with all the state’s crippling issues.

“House Bill 247, currently being debated, ... will make sure buildings are built so that birds will be protected on their migrated path through Illinois,” DeWitte said in a video posted to YouTube. “We’re not discussing the budget; we’re not discussing the gerrymandering that’s currently taking place in regard to maps, we’re not taking care of the significant issues that need to be taken care of.”

DeWitte said Republican and Democratic lawmakers have had practically no discussion at all about the state budget, even though the state is mired in a longtime financial crunch that has only been made tighter by the COVID-19 crisis.

“There has been zero engagement with Democrats with regards to the budget process,” he added. “There is more than enough money in this state to get things taken care of. There is no reason to cut business incentives, no reason to cut local government-distributed funds, no reason to cut roads funds from the capital bill to maintain our infrastructure. Hopefully we can come up with solutions for all the problems facing this state.”

 In DeWitte’s eyes, the ongoing debate about map redistricting is now one of the state’s biggest challenges. And he sees Gov. J.B. Pritzker essentially being in the middle of it all.

“When I came to Springfield in 2018, one of the things I learned was the importance of being an honest broker,” DeWitte said in another YouTube video. “When you pledge your support or opposition to an initiative in this town and this building, your colleagues need to know they can take that pledge to the bank. This is especially important when it comes to initiatives involving our constituents.”

DeWitte said he can recall being part of the team that negotiated the bipartisan agreement on the Rebuild Illinois 2019 Capital Program and Pritzker openly being in support of it.

Now DeWitte sees Pritzker singing a different tune and he isn’t sure why that is.

“There is no need to eliminate these job incentives,” he said. “The governor does not need to eliminate job creation programs; the governor has every opportunity to keep his word and be an honest broker.”