LAME DUCK

Legislative session to start in January. Last month lawmakers concluded the legislative veto session in the Illinois House. Lawmakers will return to Springfield early next year for a lame duck session, which House Republicans stood firmly against. I released the following statement in opposition:

"We do not need more time for out-of-touch Democrats to dream up harmful legislation. We need bipartisan legislation that focuses on the issues Illinois families care about most. Until the Democrat majority can get their priorities in order, the House Republicans oppose a Lame Duck session."

FIREARMS

Appeals court keeps Illinois' gun ban in place as the case proceeds. Illinois' gun and magazine ban will stay in effect pending the outcome in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the appeals court ruled Thursday. I released the following statement in response:

"I stand firmly with the law-abiding gun owners of Illinois who responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights. This ongoing process in the courts highlights the significant concerns many of us have about this legislation and its impact on the freedoms of responsible citizens.

While the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed the state's gun ban to remain in place for now, I believe this is not the path to making our communities safer. We should be focusing on addressing crime, holding violent offenders accountable, and supporting law enforcement rather than targeting law-abiding gun owners.

This case will continue to move through the judicial process, and I remain hopeful the courts will ultimately recognize the constitutional concerns raised. In the meantime, I will continue to stand against overreach that infringes on the rights of Illinoisans and advocate for policies that truly protect public safety."

Read more from The Center Square.

OUTDOOR SPORTS

Numbers reported for first weekend of firearm deer season. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which counts deer tags, says 54,661 tagged deer had been reported by the close of the first weekend (November 22-November 24) of the traditional deer hunting season. Firearm deer hunting will reopen on December 5 through December 8. In addition to these full weekends, archery deer hunting, and supplemental deer seasons bring down more of the game animals.

The 2024 first-weekend numbers were an increase of more than 2% from the 53,348 deer tags reported for the comparable weekend in 2023. Illinois' leading deer county was once again Randolph County in southern Illinois, with 1,506 deer in the first 2023 weekend and 1,565 in 2024.

STATE GOVERNMENT

DFPR responds to House Republican pressure, announces first phase of plan to modernize professional licensing. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) is the State agency that oversees the issuance of licenses for working professionals. Repeated delays and failures with the archaic licensing system has created a cascade of increasingly severe problems for licensed professionals.

This first-electronic-generation DFPR process has been added to many times, including numerous add-ons and additions intended to create database security firewalls. DFPR licensure software is currently aging, dysfunctional, and well past the end of its useful life. I have heard from many constituents in the 89th District about the problems they are finding when they submit an application to the DFPR for a license or a license renewal. In some cases they have to wait months for these all-important documents to be completed.

With House Republican pressure serving as a key part of the legislative process, the General Assembly eventually demanded action. In the 2023 veto session, the legislature passed HB 2394, a measure that made major amendments to the law governing DFPR and its operations. The new law instructed DFPR to switch out its old licensure computer system. The law also instructs DFPR to buy new software to implement the licensure laws of the State of Illinois. The legislative intent of this measure is to move DFPR's licensure software into an all-electronic, cloud-based, verified-password system for data storage and rapid retrieval. A system of this type operates in line with what has become the universal standard for secure global databases.

The Department at first dragged its feet in response to this new State law. They reported difficulties in procuring new software and complained of snags in transferring the data contained in existing and ongoing licensure databases from the old system to the proposed new system. The Department now reports, however, that these difficulties are beginning to be resolved. The new DFPR Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment (CORE) will give Illinois residents the opportunity, working from home, from an office, or from a mobile device, to log into a secure, password-access-controlled system. Once there, they can interact directly with the DFPR database. This will reduce the need for human DFPR personnel supervision of the paperwork associated with the intake of a license application, will improve DFPR productivity, and will speed up the licensure turnaround times for those professions selected for admission to the new process.

As of December 2024, the DFPR CORE system is still being rolled out. It is open only to new professional licensure applications in the following three professions:

• Clinical psychologist
• Music therapist
• Nail technician

Additional professions will be rolled into CORE in what is expected to be a two-year process. Illinois professionals and licensure applicants may need to continue to work with their lawmakers to ensure that other professions are moved to the new user-friendly application process in a speedy and functional manner.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Save the date for the Savanna Community Blood Drive! Each donation can help save a life. I encourage anyone able to stop by and give blood.

Let's work together to help families in need this holiday season. I am partnering with State Representative Ryan Spain on a Holiday Diaper Drive!

I am also hosting office hours on December 19th in Mt. Morris and Forreston! If you need help with state agencies or legislative issues, stop by:

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