This week in Springfield, the pattern continues: more spending, less accountability, and priorities that seem increasingly disconnected from the realities facing Illinois families. Whether it’s a multi-million-dollar diversity commission that’s producing worse results than when it started, energy policies driving up utility bills while shutting down reliable power, or political agendas creeping further into our classrooms, the direction is clear—and it’s not working. The people of Illinois deserve better than higher costs, weaker outcomes, and a government that refuses to course-correct.
Brad
WATCH: WATCH: Rep. Halbrook Speaks at Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day 2026
“We not only hate the gun tax, we hate all the taxes.” ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Too Many Tough Questions for Illinois’ DEI Commission
After a months-long Center Square investigation, the Illinois Commission on Equity recently got a bi-partisan grilling from state lawmakers who criticized the commission’s lack of effort to increase access to state contract money for businesses that are owned by racial minorities, women and people with disabilities They also pointed out that their counterparts elsewhere in government have far fewer responsibilities than they do.
The commission is a hot mess, yet they are asking for their $5.6 MILLION budget to be approved!
Lawmakers have asked the commission’s staff to return to the Capitol for further questioning, but it remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to get their act together.
In the committee hearing, I highlighted CEI’s FY2027 appropriation request of approximately $5.6 million. He says the price tag is far greater than the effectiveness of the program as there has been over a nearly 50% decrease in participating businesses, from 5,400 to 2,782.
Rep. Halbrook said, “Since the inception of this commission, results have deteriorated dramatically. This panel has come before us today asking for more money, knowing full well we have already wasted millions of dollars on what has proven to be a failed idea.”
Halbrook concluded, “Not only are the stated goals not being met, but they are literally making it worse. This commission has spent approximately $28 million dollars, not including the nearly $5 million dollars in commissioners salaries in the last 5 years. This commission is an embarrassment to this great state and a blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Watch Committee Questioning Here ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Read additional details from the hearing HERE.
More in Video – This Week’s Inside Track
Energy Bills SKYROCKETING
This IL Democrat will not admit that our energy policy that shuts down reliable fossil fuel production is the direct cause of higher energy costs.
The Democrat bill requests more taxpayer support for people who can’t afford their electric bill. Instead, the Democrat should be reversing CEJA.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune editorial bemoans the literal move of a natural gas plant in the Joliet area to another state. This move which will take 900 MW of power out of Illinois with no effect on the climate.
This is insanity folks!
From the Chicago Tribune editorial:
“We’ve learned that two-thirds of the capacity at the 1,350-megawatt Elwood Energy facility — the largest natural-gas-fired peaker power plant in Commonwealth Edison’s territory and one of the biggest in the nation — now is being shut down thanks to Illinois’ landmark clean-energy law enacted in 2021. The sudden removal of that whopping 900 megawatts of capacity could well drive up local electric bills that already have been rising…
Under the 2021 statute in question, the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, Elwood was required to stop operating by 2030. The law, one of Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature accomplishments, requires Illinois to phase out the burning of fossil fuels for electricity by 2045 and sets an earlier 2030 deadline for closing certain gas-fired plants.”
Listen to My Remarks in Committee ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Their Motives Are Crystal Clear And Purely Political
The Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) wants a paid day off May 1st to join a national day of “no work, no school, no shopping” and will push students out of the classroom and into the streets to promote their political agenda. Instead of consistently focusing on their own self-enrichment and power grabs, CTU should take a hard look at their colossal failures: 2 in 5 Chicago Public School children are reading at grade level, 40.1% are chronically absent, and enrollment declined by 9,000 students in the past year alone.
Read More From Illinois Policy HERE
It is fair to say that CTU’s president, Stacy Davis Gates, is primarily a UNION OPERATIVE- not an education advocate. As the president of the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (CORE) she endorsed Brandon Johnson in the 2023 mayoral election and oversaw large contributions to his campaign, which included donating union members’ dues.
And don’t forget…Gates is wielding her power over 200 school affiliates as president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) as well. This distressing November 2025 article spells out exactly what her reign of tyranny is all about, and it has nothing to do with the welfare of teachers and students:
Take A Spring Day Trip!
Illinois’ sleepy landscape is coming alive, and there is a wide range of springtime beauty to behold.
From bright green fields brimming with flowers to river bluffs to forests filled with birdsong and soft new leaves, this list covers 15 favorite spots to visit across the state:
https://everafterinthewoods.com/scenic-day-trips-that-show-off-the-best-of-illinois-in-springtime/
In The News-Media Highlights:
Illinois lawmakers grill diversity commission over lack of progress
Lawmakers concerned about commission’s work after an investigation by The Center Square
Apr 15, 2026
"It seems to be in shambles," said state Rep. Brad Halbrook, a Shelbyville Republican.
Latin American history, pet custody bills advance in Springfield ahead of deadline
Lawmakers moving dozens of measures as legislature enters final 6-week stretch
byPeter Hancock,Ben Szalinskiand1 others
SPRINGFIELD — Public school teachers in Illinois may soon have to add Latin Americans to the list of ethnic groups whose contributions to American history and culture must be taught in class. Some Republicans, including Rep. Brad Halbrook, of Shelbyville, called the bill a mandate on local schools that would ultimately raise people’s property taxes.
“We have the highest real estate property taxes in the nation,” he said. “This could continue to increase our property taxes when our residents or constituents or citizens are asking from some level of relief.”
Illinois lawmakers seek to eliminate state diversity commission
“After recent testimony, it is clear this commission is doing the exact opposite of what it was created to do,” state Rep. Brad Halbrook, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said in a prepared statement. “The taxpayers have paid millions of dollars for failure, plain and simple. We don’t need to fund this commission once again; we need to abolish it and start over. JB Pritzker needs to take accountability for this commission under his watch, do the right thing, and deliver some accountability for Illinoisans.”
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