McLean County Times

The Illinois House of Representatives reconvened in Springfield this week for the fall legislative session, with Representative Jason Bunting expressing concerns over partisanship and a lack of focus on key state issues. According to Bunting, while there are pressing matters such as estate tax and property tax reform, ethics legislation, and efforts to lower costs for residents, these were not prioritized during the recent session.

"The Democrat majority couldn’t find time for those important issues this week. Instead, we spent Wednesday afternoon debating partisan resolutions about federal issues. We heard five resolutions, which mentioned President Trump 36 times," Bunting said. He added, "There are things we all agree on, like freedom of speech and condemning political violence. But even these unifying issues were used for partisan finger-pointing on the House floor."

Bunting stressed that legislators should be addressing significant challenges facing Illinoisans rather than engaging in debates over national topics: "We have real and serious challenges facing state government... These are the issues we should be spending our time on as state legislators. Not grandstanding on federal issues." The House is scheduled to return for the final week of the fall session on October 28.

On fiscal matters, Bunting pointed out that Illinois faces a $267 million budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. Earlier this month, Governor J.B. Pritzker directed state agencies to identify potential 4% spending cuts in response to revenue projections falling short of expectations. "The order was an admission that the state budget for this year was based on unrealistic predictions of how much money the state would have available to work with," Bunting stated.

He criticized the budgeting process: "Budgets are crafted behind closed doors, based on questionable assumptions about revenue, and then quickly rammed through the House and Senate without enough time for anyone to read them." Bunting called for reforms that would rely on more realistic figures and avoid frequent tax increases.

Ethics reform also remains a priority following former House Speaker Mike Madigan's recent incarceration after being convicted earlier this year on corruption charges. Madigan began serving his 7.5-year federal prison sentence after losing an appeal to delay it. "Madigan’s conviction was just the highest profile in a long (too long!) series of political corruption cases," said Bunting. He argued that despite Madigan's departure from office, mechanisms remain that can prevent ethics legislation from advancing: "This blockade needs to end, and these reforms need to be enacted."

In community outreach efforts, Bunting visited Watseka High School’s civics class led by Mrs. Bandur: "I had a great time talking with her civics students about government and the importance of being active, informed citizens."

As of now, Illinois has more than $2.3 billion in unpaid bills submitted to the Comptroller's office—an amount similar to last year's backlog at this time—excluding unfunded liabilities such as pension debt.

Jason Bunting is a Republican who was elected in 2023 to represent Illinois' 106th House District after succeeding Thomas Bennett.