Dear Friend,
In this week’s edition of Windhorst Weekly, I will be sharing my thoughts on the inauguration of all six Constitutional officers for the State of Illinois. As it happens, all six Constitutional Officers and the House Speaker and Senate President are all Democrats. Democrats also hold super-majorities (veto proof) in both the Illinois House and Senate.
I am sharing this information with you prior to sharing my thoughts on JB Pritzker’s Inaugural Address because I believe it provides a good foundation for you to understand why Governor Pritzker may end up governing the way he will.
During his inaugural address, Governor Pritzker highlighted the following issues: man-made climate change (even promising to sign Illinois up for a States’ version of the Paris Climate Accords recognizing man-made climate change and creating new regulations for energy production and emissions), gun-control, universal healthcare, and a progressive income tax hike.
I will not support an agenda that forces more businesses and people to leave our state. I will not support an agenda that radically expands the size of government programs. And, I will not be duped into supporting junk science in exchange for political support at the expense of energy producers in Southern Illinois.
While I am not going to be in lockstep with the Governor on any of the aforementioned issues, I do not believe I was elected to, “Just Say No” to everything Governor Pritzker wants to do.
In fact, he has talked about the need for an infrastructure bill, which I think is absolutely necessary. Our motorists drive on some seriously deteriorating roads and bridges that are graded to be in dangerous condition. The state of our local communities’ public water delivery systems are also in major flux across the state, and we all know how our local communities can be impacted by major water line breaks, like the one experienced by Rend Lake Conservancy District just last year.
Funding for these necessary infrastructure improvements will have to be found. But, Illinoisans already pay a large portion of their income in property, income, and sales taxes to the State and to local government units. We are a leading state in outmigration, coming in second last year to only New Jersey. As I travel the 118th district, I hear nearly the same refrain from my constituents everywhere I go: “How much more can we take?”
That brings me to this week’s news. One of Governor Pritzker’s first acts as Governor was to sign legislation to add further restrictions and requirements on gun-owners, gun-dealers, and law-abiding citizens. During his Inaugural Address, Governor Pritzker several policy items that tend lean in the liberal-progressive direction. Another promise he made was to enact “common sense gun control” – which I think is what he believes he was doing when he signed SB 337 earlier this week. I could not disagree with his action more. In fact, I issued a press release earlier this week denouncing the decision. Take a look below and thank you for reading this week’s edition of Windhorst Weekly!
Sincerely,
Patrick Windhorst
118th District State Representative
Press
Release – Windhorst: New Gun Regulations Bill will Hurt Small Businesses
Metropolis….A few short days into his term
as Governor, JB Pritzker has signed legislation that creates another layer of
bureaucracy for gun dealers in Illinois. State Representative Patrick Windhorst
(R-Metropolis) says he disagrees with the action taken by Governor Pritzker on
Thursday.
“When the Governor ran for Congress, he campaigned on a platform to ban handguns,” Windhorst said. “His interpretation of the Constitution certainly does not align with mine or the vast majority of Southern Illinoisans. Had I been in the General Assembly during the debate on this legislation, my vote would have been a resounding NO. I could not disagree more with the signing of SB 337. I fear for the small business owners in my district that will now face further financial and regulatory obligations.”
Once it takes effect, SB 337 will now create new licensing costs and regulations for small, independent gun dealerships. There were several different versions of the so-called ‘gun dealer licensing bill’ in the 100th General Assembly. In regard to SB 337, Second Amendment supporters across Illinois mobilized more than 4,000 opponents to appear on the record as opposing the legislation when it was presented to the House Judiciary Committee.
“Small gun dealers already have to have a state license for the owner and a state license for the dealer, and possibly a local license in addition to the federal license that is already required. This new law also allows for local governments to impose additional requirements on gun dealers. Duplicative regulations are harmful to small businesses and they don’t make much sense in the real world. However, the action taken on SB 337 by Governor Pritzker is far more about politics than it is about policy. Law-abiding gun owners and dealers are not the cause of the violence that we hear about on the streets of Chicago.”
Windhorst says he is well-aware of the likelihood that more gun regulations are coming, as Democrats now hold super-majorities in both the House and Senate, and hold all six Constitutional offices, including the Governor’s office.
“When it comes to these Chicago-led gun grabs, I’m going to stand up for the people of the 118th district and vote No every time.” Windhorst said. “The oath of office I just took obliges me to defend our Constitution. I will always vote to protect our Second Amendment rights, each and every time these onerous regulations are foisted on the law-abiding citizens of the State of Illinois.”
Let me know what you think!
As your State Representative, I am very interested in hearing what you have to say! I want to invite you to use my Contact Form at http://www.ilhousegop.org/windhorst_contact to send me your thoughts on legislation that comes before the General Assembly.