State Representative Charlie Meier

Republican members of the Downstate GOP elected State Representative Charlie Meier to serve as their Vice-Chairman. The Downstate GOP consists of a majority of republican representatives serving in the Illinois General Assembly. Rep. Meier’s mission, “elect more downstate republicans to the State House and work towards gaining the majority in the House of Representatives.” “I’m honored to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Downstate GOP,” said Rep. Meier. “I will continue to help recruit and raise funds to support candidates so we can take control of the State House away from Chicago democrats. I’m tired of Chicago politicians running our state into the ground. We can do better, but it starts with electing more republicans in the legislature. Chicago has ruled long enough, the only way we can make swift changes is to pick up more seats and gain the majority.” Continue reading

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation today to require law-abiding gun dealers which are already licensed by the federal government to obtain a state gun dealer license and pay a fee up to $1,500 for the license. State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) opposes this new law and released the following statement: “I’m disappointed to see our new Governor sign a bill that requires law-abiding gun dealers that are already licensed and authorized to sell firearms in the State of Illinois to now be required to obtain an additional license from the state. The new law is a result of two questionable gun dealers in the city of Chicago which have been identified for putting guns in the hands of criminals which in fact can be traced back to gun crimes in the city. Just because there is a problem with two gun dealers in the city, it doesn’t mean all gun dealers should be slapped with duplicative regulation. Continue reading

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) was sworn into office on Wednesday, January 9 at the University of Illinois – Springfield, the official inauguration of the 101st Illinois General Assembly. In addition to Meier taking the oath of office, he nominated House Republican Leader Jim Durkin for Speaker of the House. Following inauguration, the first order of businesses for the House of Representatives is to cast their vote for Speaker of the House. Rep. Meier nominated Jim Durkin for Speaker, offering lawmakers a choice between Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and incumbent Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago). According to Rep. Meier, “I’m proud to stand here today and nominate Jim Durkin for Speaker of the House. Jim Durkin genuinely understands each of our districts, he respects that all of us have been elected to represent our district and must advocate for what our district needs. Durkin has proven he will do what is right and what is best for the State of Illinois. He will work with all of us, regardless of party affiliation. During his time in the House, Jim Durkin has been successful at reaching bipartisan agreements to keep the state moving forward while not compromising the core beliefs of the Republican caucus.” Continue reading

Today, the Auditor General released a performance audit of the Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILAs) program administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). The audit was directed by House Resolution 34 sponsored by State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville). Rep. Meier requested the audit in light of the abuse and neglect which took place throughout the state in group homes for the developmentally disabled dating back to 2011. According to State Representative Charlie Meier, “This audit reaffirms that more work must be done to improve the quality of care our most vulnerable population should expect to receive. Not all group homes are bad, but there is no excuse for these mistakes to happen again. Since 2015 the state has made improvements; however there is always room for improvement. I won’t give up advocating for better care for our developmentally disabled. In the meantime I will continue to review this audit with my staff in order to help advocate for more improvements.”The following is an excerpt from the Auditor General’s report which can be found at https://www.auditor.illinois.gov. Continue reading

The legislature completed its regular session work for the 100th Illinois General Assembly on May 31, 2018. The 2018 session was a busy one for State Representative Charlie Meier. During the 100th GA, Rep. Meier sponsored a total of fifty-one pieces of legislation. Here are a few legislative highlights from this session: Judicial Election Reform (HB 4176) If enacted, states that no judge or former judge may submit his or her candidacy for a vacancy in a judicial office by any method other than seeking retention in his or her office, unless that judge or former judge is seeking judicial office in a higher or lower court or he or she has not served as an elected or appointed judge for at least 2 years.The legislation is in response to the decision made by three St. Clair County judges Baricevic, Haida and LeChien to avoid retention and the requirement to receive 60% voter approval to remain on the bench. Instead, the three judges chose to run for election which only required approval from over 50% of the voters in the November 2016 election.Status: Stuck in Madigan’s Rules Committee Income Tax Hike Repeal (HB 4211) Would repeal the 32 percent income tax hike which took effect in 2017. The current income tax rate in Illinois is 4.95 percent and 7 percent for employers. Rep. Meier’s bill would roll back the income tax to 3.75% on taxable income and 5.25% for employers. Meier’s legislation would reduce the tax burden placed on individuals and families while saving thousands of Illinois jobs.“Our state continues to lose population because of higher taxes and fewer jobs,” said Rep. Meier. “We need more jobs and less taxes in our state which is why I filed a bill to reduce taxes on individuals and businesses. I voted against the final bill which forced the recent 32 percent income tax hike onto Illinois taxpayers.”Status: Stuck in Madigan’s Rules Committee Concealed Carry License for Armed Forces in Illinois (HB 4177) Creates an exemption for non-resident active duty members of the Armed Forces or their spouses to apply for concealed carry licenses.  “I have been pushing for this bill ever since ISIS put out their hit list on our current and former service members,” said Rep. Meier. “Our service members put their lives at risk to protect our freedom, its common sense that we allow them to protect themselves and their family when they are in public.”The legislation provides that whether or not the laws of the state where the non-resident resides are substantially similar to Illinois, the Illinois State Police shall allow by rule a non-resident license application if the applicant is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in this State or the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in this State.Status: Passed Judicial Criminal Committee, then held up by Anti-Gun Lawmakers Continue reading

Here are the 34 new laws that take effect on June 1 that you should know about: Local governments cannot prohibit autonomous vehicles(Public Act 100-352, House Bill 791)No unit of local government, including home rule units, may enact a local ordinance which prohibits the use of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems. Designating lottery funds for education(Public Act 100-466, House Bill 213)This legislation amended the Illinois Lottery Law to direct that any money transferred from the lottery fund over to the Common School Fund be considered supplemental to any money due to be transferred into the fund, rather than in lieu of those funds. Publicizing the child abuse hotline(Public Act 100-468, House Bill 370)The Department of Children and Family Services is empowered to cooperate with school officials to distribute in school buildings materials which list the toll-free telephone number established by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. This information can also include the methods of making a report under the Act. Changes to some boat safety registration information(Public Act 100-469, House Bill 434)Boats operated, used or stored in Illinois must have on board a valid certificate of number issued under the Boat Registration and Safety Act or another federally-approved numbering system. The identifying number must be displayed on both sides of the bow of the boat. Fees for obtaining these numbers will increase slightly, and expiration of certificates will be extended to September 30 of the relevant year instead of June 30. The legislation also limits the requirement for a certificate of title for watercraft required to be numbered to those over 21 feet, rather than all watercraft as in the current law. Notification of highway detours(Public Act 100-473, House Bill 799)The Department of Transportation and local governments will be required to post notice of highway detour locations on their websites at least 10 days before the detour becomes active. The requirement will not apply in the case of an unanticipated emergency, nor will it apply to a local government that does not have a website maintained by full-time staff. A local government can post on its website a link to IDOT’s notice in order to satisfy its posting requirement. Continue reading

Legislation sponsored by State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) to help generate more solar projects while protecting farmland now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature in order to become law. Rep. Meier anticipates his proposal will help create more solar energy jobs in the state. “These commercial solar projects are coming in quickly and creating a lot of jobs,” said Rep. Meier. “Everything is different in their contracts. Establishing a uniform standard for commercial solar projects will help provide some standards for landowners and help make sure there is financial protection for decommissioning the projects. We want to make sure this is done right while protecting Illinois’ number one industry, agriculture.” Continue reading

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville), along with his House Republican colleagues recently co-sponsored House Resolution 975 to state their opposition to a proposed progressive income tax on Illinois residents. The Resolution was introduced by Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs). “More taxes will not solve Illinois’ spending problem,” said Rep. Meier. “People are leaving our state as a result of having the highest tax burden in the country. We need to do more with less while growing our economy. More jobs, spending less, and no more taxes is the common sense approach my colleagues in the legislature should follow.” Illinois already has the highest effective state and local tax burden in the nation, according to a report by WalletHub. Studies have shown that states with progressive income taxes create even more of a tax burden on the middle class and dissuade economic prosperity. According to House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, “The General Assembly cannot continue spending money frivolously and expect Illinois taxpayers to pick up the tab with more tax increases like this progressive income tax proposal from the Democrat party. It is our constitutional duty to protect our constituents, and we will remain firm as a caucus on blocking any progressive tax measures.”

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) honored the Okawville High School varsity boys basketball team, the Rockets, on winning the 2017-2018 Illinois High School Association Class 1A State Championship during Tuesday’s session of the Illinois House of Representatives. “I am extremely proud of the Okawville boys basketball team on winning their first state championship,” said Rep. Meier. “The dedication and hard work that took place in order to win a state championship is a skillset the team can carry-on throughout life. Congratulations to my hometown team, the Okawville Rockets on winning the state championship.” The Rockets defeated Annawan by a score of 59-48 on March 10, 2018 at Carver Arena in Peoria. The Rockets set a Class 1A state finals record from the three-point range, shooting 8-of-14, or 57.1%, during the championship game. The Rockets have been to the state tournament nine times in school history, but this is the first time the Rockets have won the state championship. The Rockets ended their season with an overall record of 27 wins and 8 losses. Rep. Meier recognized the championship team and coaching staff by adopting House Resolution 947. The following were recognized and congratulated by Rep. Meier’s Resolution; Head Coach Jon Kraus, Assistant Coaches Ryan Heck, Jackie Smith, Mike Frederking, and Cameron Obermeier; Rockets Boy’s Basketball Teammates; Payten Harre, Lucas Frederking, Caleb Frederking, Will Aubel, Jordan Green, Wyatt Krohne, Luke Hensler, Carter Killion, Drew Riechmann, Tyler Parsley, Tyler Roesener, Payton Riechmann, Lane Schilling, Tom Segelhorst, and Jackson Heckert. The Okawville High School cheerleading squad joined the team at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 24th to show support, members of the cheerleading team include; Tiffany Thompson, Emily Bening, Lauryn Cepeda, Jordyn Curtis, Alyssa Jenkins, Katy Kinzel, Caryssa Kennelly, Bryleigh Prest, Abby Schmersahl, Anna Schmersahl, Erin Wiedwilt, and Taylor Bleisch.