State Representative Charlie Meier

Join Rep. Charlie Meier and Congressman John Shimkus for a special Telephone Town Hall “COVID-19 Edition” on Thursday, April 23 beginning at 6:00 p.m. If you do not receive a call from us and you would like to participate and ask questions, call 888-652-0386 by 6:00 p.m.

I want to address the confusion concerning greenhouses, garden centers, and nurseries. Yes, you can remain open provided adequate social distancing is in effect. It is clear these essential businesses can stay open according to Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-10 and is reaffirmed under DCEO’s Essential Businesses & Operations Frequently Asked Questions UPDATED on 4/9/20 which reads as follows, “Our original guidance provided that stores that sell supplies that assist with either (a) agriculture; or (b) products for landscaping can continue to sell those products to the public, provided adequate social distancing is complied with. This guidance remains valid.” For centuries our forefathers have provided for their families with large gardens. In the twenty-first century, we have community and urban gardens that provide fresh healthy food for a large portion of our population who can’t afford it. Healthy diets help with overall health which helps fight COVID-19. These essential agriculture businesses must remain open as we enter the season when family gardens, community gardens, and urban gardens need to be planted now – not May, June, or July. These plants will not survive in the containers they are in or have time to mature if not planted now. Our health and well-being depend on this essential agriculture industry.

State Representatives Charlie Meier (R-Okawville), Mike Marron (R-Fithian), and Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) held a press conference in Springfield Wednesday alongside fellow Republican legislators and 2nd Amendment supporters to discuss solutions to end delays in FOID card processing, and discussed their shared 2nd Amendment focused legislative agenda. The lawmakers expressed their concerns that fund sweeps of $28 million from the Illinois State Police fund have led to delays in processing FOID card applications and renewals. Meier said when he first took office in 2013, there was a slight delay in FOID processing, but the delay has gotten much worse. “My office receives anywhere from 3 to 5 e-mails and calls a day from constituents that are affected by the delay in FOID renewal,” said Rep. Meier. “The fund sweeps have led to long delays for gun owners to get their FOID cards renewed. The FOID program has been used as a piggy bank to fund other programs. If the State is going to require the fee, and require the FOID, then we owe it to our citizens to run an efficient and effective program. If we can’t do that, the program should be eliminated.” Continue reading

As I head back to Springfield for the 2020 legislative session I am reminded of the important issues our state is faced with today. The issue I hear most from people in my district lately is, what is the legislature going to do to stop corruption in state government? I could not agree more that something must be done. Corruption is the root of Illinois’ problems! It’s arguably the reason why our state is faced with many issues such as high property taxes, billions in debt and of course gerrymandered districts which are drawn to protect entrenched politicians. On January 29th during the Governor’s annual ‘State of the State’, I was happy to hear that Governor Pritzker announced his support for stronger ethics reforms such as legislation I co-sponsored that would ban lawmakers from serving as paid lobbyists. However, I was disappointed we didn’t hear anything about fair maps. The current process of drawing political maps to suit the politician instead of putting the choice in the people’s hands is corrupt. Our forefathers platted America using straight lines instead of drawing boundaries. Taking the redistricting process away from politicians goes hand in hand with much needed ethics reforms. It’s time for the legislature to pass stricter ethics reforms immediately. There should be no excuses, the Democrats control the majority in the legislature and they have yet to pass any ethics reforms that will help end the culture of corruption. As of today, the FBI has ongoing investigations pertaining to specific state lawmakers, lobbyists and elected officials in Chicago. Most recently, on January 28th a Chicago Democrat Senator plead guilty on corruption charges. The recent guilty plea by a member of the Illinois General Assembly should provide a sense of urgency for the legislature to approve these reforms. I have co-sponsored seven bills to stop corruption in our state, it’s time for the Democrat majority in the House to join my colleagues and I by allowing these bills to be voted on in the legislature. I hope House Democrats give us the opportunity to vote on stronger ethics reforms as soon as session reconvenes.

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) is calling on the Office of Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) to suspend the Automatic Voter Registration program given the fact that 545 non-citizens were registered to vote in Illinois during a 17-month period. “The right to vote is for American citizens only, this is the law,” said Rep. Meier. “The fact that nearly 600 non-citizens were registered to vote is a serious mistake which needs to be addressed. This is exactly what myself and many other colleagues were concerned about when the automatic voter registration bill was signed into law. I am told the issue has been corrected by SOS, but I think more work needs to be done to ensure this mistake does not happen again which is why I support a temporary halt to the Automatic Voter Registration program.” The Automatic Voter Registration “program error” became public following a recently disclosed December 18, 2019 letter from the Secretary of State’s office to the Illinois State Board of Elections that voter registration information of 545 self-identified non-citizens was forwarded to the Board of Elections. That registration was in-turn forwarded to local election authorities for finalization of the voter registration process. With absentee voting set to begin on February 6, Rep. Meier and his Republican colleagues are demanding accountability and immediate action to preserve the integrity of our elections and want to learn more about what went wrong and how to fix it. Following calls by Meier and his colleagues in the House, a legislative hearing to discuss the Automatic Voter Registration program is scheduled on Thursday, January 30th at the State Capitol. Rep. Meier added, “Something needs to change, only in Illinois do we have non-citizens ‘mistakenly’ being registered to vote while law-abiding gun owners have to wait months to obtain their FOID card. We need to get our priorities straight and follow the Constitution. Our law-abiding citizens deserve better.”

As Illinoisans begin their first day of 2020 on Wednesday, January 1st, State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) wants the public to be aware of 256 new laws scheduled to take effect. In addition to legislation introduced by Rep. Meier, a few new laws which may be of interest include; eliminating fees placed on rebate cards provided by retailers, doubling fines for illegally passing a school bus, making mammogram screening more accessible, enhancing criminal penalties for violence committed in a place of worship, removing the statute of limitations for prosecuting criminal sexual assault cases, and the legalization of marijuana sold by businesses licensed with the state. BILLS INTRODUCED BY MEIER BECAME LAW Included in the 256 new laws, two bills introduced by Rep. Meier became law – Public Act 101-75 (HB 3069) and Public Act 101-383 (HB 2264). Public Act 101-75 requires all emergency calls made from Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILAs) otherwise called “group homes” to be reported to the Department of Human Services. The new law is in response to reports of abuse and neglect which occurred in group homes for the developmentally disabled. “It’s about time mandated reporting of all emergency calls from group homes became law,” said Rep Meier. “In the past the public was unaware of the emergencies which took place in group homes because emergency calls were kept secret. Thanks to this new law, these secrets are a thing of the past.” In order to secure funding for agriculture programs, Public Act 101-383 makes a significant change in order to provide annual funding to all 102 counties under the County Cooperative Extension Law. Some of the programs funded under this law by the University of Illinois Extension include; agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H and youth, community, and special services. “Oftentimes funding for 4-H, county fairs, and many other agriculture programs have been delayed as a result of political gridlock,” said Rep. Meier. “This new law will make sure these important programs receive annual funding to help keep agriculture Illinois’ number one industry.” Continue reading

The Illinois General Assembly fall Veto Session recently came to a close, State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) says he left session “disappointed with the majority party’s lack of enthusiasm to pass major ethics reform.” Instead of enacting stricter ethics reforms, the House of Representatives did however find time to approve 42 bills in six days and declined to consider legislation to make daylight saving time year-round for the entire state. “Illinois has a reputation for being one of the most corrupt states in America, we need stronger ethics reforms to help end corruption in state government,” said Rep. Meier. “I co-sponsored seven common sense bills to improve the integrity of the legislature. I hope the legislature returns to work before the end of the year to consider these important bills to stop corruption.” Rep. Meier co-sponsored seven substantive ethics reform bills including House Bills 361, 3947, 3954, 3955, House Resolution 588, and House Joint Resolutions 87 and HJRCA 36. None of these bills were considered or allowed to move by Super-Majority Democrats during the two weeks of the fall Veto Session, which are likely to be the last two weeks of legislative session in 2019. The legislature did end up approving two watered down ethics reform bills, but more reforms need to be made. Aside from ethics debate, of the 42 bills which passed the Illinois House, a few bills of local interest include the consolidation of 649 police and fire pension funds, capping insulin copays, and cleanup language for the Recreational Cannabis law which passed during the Spring Session supported by law enforcement and the business community. Continue reading

State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) and State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) teamed up to urge the legislature to secure state funding to make repairs and improvements to the Kaskaskia Watershed. “The Kaskaskia Watershed is vital to the economy in southern Illinois,” said Rep. Meier. “These funds will be used to restore and protect the Watershed from further erosion, resulting in the prevention of flooding at Scott Air Force Base and improving the waterway for barges that ship goods down the river.” Continue reading

“Corruption is running rampant in Illinois government,” said Rep. Meier. “The FBI is currently investigating specific state lawmakers, lobbyists and elected officials in Chicago. It’s time for the legislature to pass stricter ethics reforms immediately. There should be no excuses, the Democrats control the majority in the legislature and they have yet to pass any ethics reforms. I have co-sponsored seven bills to stop corruption in our state, it’s time for the Democrat majority to join my Republican colleagues and I by allowing these bills to be voted on in the legislature.” Continue reading

State Rep. Charlie Meier announced he will seek re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives. Rep. Meier says he’s running to “protect Southern Illinois values at the State House while continuing to work against Chicago’s liberal agenda in Springfield.” According to Rep. Meier, “Each year I see numerous bills introduced which do not reflect the values of the district. The fact is, since the Democrats control the legislature and Governor’s office, I can’t prevent all bad bills from becoming law. However, this year we were able to prevent some bad ideas from becoming law. As always, I encourage residents to contact my office to discuss legislation they are concerned about.” The 2019 General Assembly witnessed legislation to create new taxes on satellite tv, plastic bags, online streaming such as Netflix and Amazon, including a new tax on beer and wine. Rep. Meier and his colleagues were successful at preventing these new taxes from becoming law, including a repeal of the franchise tax. Meier also voted against legislation that would increase fees and require mandatory fingerprinting for all gun owners in the state, the legislation thankfully stalled in the Senate. Continue reading