East Central Reporter

State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) has called the Illinois General Assembly’s recently concluded fall veto session “outrageous,” saying Democrats pushed through measures that will increase costs for families, limit funding for downstate communities, and create new risks for public safety.

In a video recorded outside the state Capitol after the session’s adjournment, Rose said the Democrat majority “raised your power bills,” “put illegals over the safety of the citizens of the state of Illinois,” and “stole your downstate transportation funds” by diverting motor fuel tax revenue to the Chicago Transit Authority.

The veto session drew opposition from Republicans, who said Democrats advanced an agenda that raises costs and reduces accountability.

“I'm just some kid from Charleston, Illinois who has a degree of common sense,” Rose told the East Central Reporter. “Frankly, the Democrats are just outrageous.”

Rose singled out the Energy Omnibus Bill, which passed largely along party lines, as a particularly concerning measure.

“An $8 billion rate increase,” Rose said.

The Energy Omnibus Bill could drive an $8 billion increase in power bills statewide, while a new transportation plan diverts 85% of the sales tax on motor fuel to a Northern Transit Authority, leaving 15% for downstate infrastructure. Critics say this could cost rural communities $500 million in investment for roads and bridges.

Lawmakers also passed a measure to legalize assisted suicide and another that decouples Illinois from federal tax relief provisions for small businesses, which opponents called “another tax hike on employers.”

Rose criticized legislation banning civil immigration arrests inside state courthouses and within 1,000 feet of their entrances, enacted in response to recent federal immigration enforcement operations in Chicago.

Under the bill, Illinois residents can sue immigration agents who violate due process protections or conduct unlawful searches and seizures. Rose said the law creates unnecessary risks and undermines public safety.

“What they did with the illegals, they're giving illegals a thousand-foot head start against ICE, which I think is insane,” Rose said. “You've got people in custody that, instead of handing them over, you're going to unhandcuff them, give them a thousand-foot head start, and force ICE into a foot chase.”

He added, “Why on Earth would you not hand over somebody who's already in custody in the most expedient and safe manner possible, as opposed to unhandcuffing them, telling ICE to give them a thousand-foot head start, and then pretend it's going to end well? That's insane.”

Rose cited a recent incident in his district to illustrate potential risks under the new law.

“I can give you a case study because this just happened,” Rose said. “I had two, a county board member and his wife killed by an illegal two weeks ago.”

Two of his constituents, Gil and Mike Clayton, were killed in a car crash, while two others were airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries. According to Rose, the passenger had an active ICE detainer but was released because state law prohibited local authorities from transferring him to federal immigration agents.

“The guy was drunk in a DUI,” he said. “They had ammunition and drugs in the car, as well as open alcohol. The passenger of the vehicle, who had a valid ICE detainer, walked out of the courthouse the next morning because under the current Illinois Trust Act, they couldn't hand him over to ICE via a valid detainer. They unhandcuffed him and let him walk out of the courthouse.”

He said the new law’s restrictions on federal enforcement could have made the situation more dangerous.

“Thankfully, ICE was standing there and handcuffed him and took him into custody,” Rose said. “Under this law that just passed, that guy would have had a thousand-foot head start, because ICE would not be allowed to come within a thousand feet of the courthouse. We're no longer talking hypothetically—that's what would have happened. And never mind if the driver of the vehicle killed two of my constituents, maimed two others, and sent them to the hospital with extremely serious and dangerous injuries.”

Other measures passed during the veto session include the Clean Slate Act, which expands record sealing by removing previous restrictions on habitual offenders and drug-testing requirements. Lawmakers also passed provisions allowing large battery storage facilities to be built within 150 feet of homes or farms without local input, with ratepayers subsidizing the projects.

Rose represents the 51st State Senate District, which includes parts of McLean, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Shelby, Moultrie, Douglas, Champaign, Vermilion and Edgar counties.