From State Rep. Allen Skillicorn:
End of Session, Events & More
Mobile Office Hours.
I will be holding mobile office hours this summer every other Wednesday to meet with constituents one-on-one on a first come, first served basis. Details for the two mobile office hours in June are below. Check RepSkillicorn.com for any changes and updates throughout the summer.
- Wednesday, June 12th 7:00-8:00 PM | Crystal Lake Library | Conference Room | 126 Paddock Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014
- Wednesday, June 26th 11:30 AM-12:30 PM| Randall Oaks Recreation Center | Conference Room | 500 Randall Rd, West Dundee, IL 60118
Summer Reading Club.
If you have a child or grandchild in kindergarten through 5th grade, I am offering my 2019 Summer Reading Club as a great way to keep kids intellectually engaged over their summer vacation. To be a member, children are asked to read eight books (books over 150 pages count for two) between the time school ends and the program deadline of August 2. Children who achieve this goal will receive an official Certificate of Recognition and be invited to join me and their fellow students for an ice cream party at the end of summer. The program can be done in conjunction with any program already in existence at a child’s school, or offered through the public library in their community. Participation brochures are available at my District Office in Crystal Lake or can be downloaded from my website. Read More Here.
End of Session town hall.
Join me on June 20, 2019 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Algonquin Village Hall for an end of session town hall. The House concluded session on June 1 after passing a huge package of regressive taxes on the back of one of the furthest leftward swings in state history. I will present information about the good, the bad and the ugly of the session and its impact on Illinois residents. Read More Here.
Responding to tax hike passage.
Over 30 years of domination by the Democrat majority has brought Illinois to the brink of fiscal ruin. We have over $150 billion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities, $6 billion in backlogged bills with $8 billion that was bonded out to pay it down, we are one tick above junk bond level, and I could go on and on. Promises have been made and broken. In 2011, a ‘temporary tax’ hike to solve all of our fiscal woes was passed without any reforms. Then, again in 2017 a permanent tax hike was passed without any reform. Were our pension burdens actually addressed? Was the bill backlog erased? Did we fix the structural deficit in our budget? Did our bond rating improve? The answer to all of these questions is – no, of course not. It will now be up to the people of Illinois to decide if they trust their politicians to keep their promises. Read More Here.
Calling out regressive taxes.
During debate on the budget and tax legislation that passed in Springfield, I called out the proposals for hammering Illinoisans with regressive taxes. Watch the Video Here.
Calling out gun bill infringements.
Speaking during floor debate of SB 1966, I called out the legislation for exorbitant fee increases to create a slush fund at the expense of law-abiding gun owners. Watch the Video Here.
Voting power for foreign students is slippery slope.
During floor debate of SB 172 to allow foreign students at to hold voting positions in student government, which includes university expenditures, I warned that it opens the door to non-citizens voting in Illinois. Watch the Video Here.
Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of Skillicorn’s Scoop. If you have any questions or concerns about anything you have read, or suggestions on stories you would like to hear about, please feel free to contact me at (815) 893-4884 or Skillicorn@ilhousegop.org.
After watching the SB 172 video, linked above, it looks like I have done State Representative Allen Skillicorn an injustice.
On the video, Skillicorn asked about the driver’s license provision, and whoever answered his questions said a Temporary Visitor Driver License (TVDL) can be used to fulfill the driver’s license provision of SB 172.
I really thought, as I understood the TVDL law, that a TVDL can only be used for driving privileges, and not for any other kind of identification.
Obviously, my understanding is wrong, and SB 172 does make it possible for an undocumented immigrant to be appointed a student trustee, assuming they satisfy the 6-month residency requirement.
When I am wrong, I say I’m wrong.
This does provide an interesting campaign issue that differentiates the 3 candidates who are members of the General Assembly for the Republican primary for the 14th congressional district.
State Senator Jim Oberweis voted in favor of SB 172, but State Senator Sue Rezin and Skillicorn both voted against it.
The state senate approval of SB 172 was bi-partisan, and only 2 votes against SB 172 were cast in the senate, by Rezin and State Senator Dale Righter.
In the House, no Republican supported SB 172, and the Republicans made up the 44 “no” votes.
Given the truth about SB 172, Oberweis is going to have to defend his vote in favor of SB 172, even though it would have passed without his vote, in the upcoming Republican primary campaign for the 14th district.
Given Oberweis’ history on immigration issues going back to his 2004 U.S. senate primary, some may see his vote for SB 172 equivalent to Joe Biden flip-flopping on the Hyde Amendment.
It will be interesting to see how Oberweis defends his vote on SB 172.