East Central Reporter

State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) has concerns about legislation that would redraw circuit court districts. 

Rose called out Democrats for acting under a guise of pursuing good policy on the Senate floor late last month. 

"If this was really about good public policy and if this was really about rebalancing Supreme Court districts, wouldn't we want to be actually balanced and not be 230,000-plus people out of whack?" Rose asked his colleagues. 

The senator questioned the legislature's goal of "one man, one vote" when it hasn't consulted the judiciary, the Bar Association and other members of the court system regarding the redistricting process. 

"Wouldn't we actually want to sit down and do this right?" Rose continued. "Walk it through over time with a commission that would have the courts involved, that would have the Bar Association involved? Wouldn't we want to actually do those things to make sure we get it right?"

Democrats are changing the rules, according to Rose. 

"This is just wrong," he said. 

Last month Rose was frustrated that Democrats backpedaled on the job creation legislation they once supported. 

"Here we are in Illinois as one of the top states in the nation for unemployment with people desperately needing work," Rose said, according to Macon Reporter. "Why on earth did the administration and Gov. Pritzker decide [...] he's going to go back on his word, his pledge when he signed the Blue Collar Jobs Act?"

The Champaign Republican is also concerned that Democrats have told the public there is a billion-dollar revenue deficit in the upcoming fiscal year budget, when in fact the state is reportedly expecting over $8 billion in unexpected income. 

"And yet, Gov. Pritzker and his Democrat Party colleagues still say they don't have enough money," Rose said. "Now let's add to that the Biden bucks that came in, we've got another $8 billion on top of that from the federal taxpayers that have sent another $8 billion to the State of Illinois."