A new Illinois General Assembly was sworn in for the next two years on Wednesday, with the House and Senate ceremonies taking two starkly different tones.
The House inauguration ceremony, conducted in an auditorium on the University of Illinois Springfield campus, was at times boisterous, featuring speeches that were more politically divisive and sometimes led to jeering.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who was reelected to his third term leading the chamber, tried to strike a chord of unity as he exhorted his colleagues to work together to meet the challenges of what he called a unique moment in history.
“The urgency of this moment shows that unity is our power,” he said. “Members of the 104th General Assembly, let’s rise to meet this moment together. Let’s use this time and all that has been given to us to do the work and move Illinois forward. Winners do the work.”
But there was less talk about unity and cooperation from Republicans who spoke at the ceremony.
Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, spoke to nominate Republican Tony McCombie as speaker. He said he agreed that cooperation and compromise are needed to solve the state’s problems. But he also criticized “people on both ends of the political spectrum” for pushing “ideas on which there is nothing resembling a social consensus.”
“What results are laws that offend the heart-felt beliefs of people whose voices are not being heard and toothless resolutions that call for us to separate this state from a world class city that’s being driven into the ground,” Reick said.
Meanwhile, McCombie, of Savanna, who was reelected to her second term as minority leader, used her speech to vent some of the frustration she and other Republicans have felt at being locked out of negotiations with majority party Democrats on major legislative issues.
“I, like many, were disappointed with our election outcomes and the ability for us to secure more Republican seats to bring some balance to the General Assembly,” she said. “However, this was not due to a lack of good candidates or hard work, but due to special interest in Illinois’ gerrymandered maps, the most outrageous maps in the nation.”
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Senate inauguration
Senators from across Illinois were sworn in Wednesday in the newly renovated Senate chamber. The room had been closed for 2 ½ years while the Senate conducted business in a modified auditorium in a separate building on the capitol complex.
Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, were reelected by their colleagues to their positions of Senate president and Senate minority leader, respectively.
The mood in the chamber, where bipartisan engagement has been more common in recent years, was far more reserved than in the House.
“While they may not always see eye-to-eye, they share a mutual respect for each other, our caucus and the constituents that allow them to work together for the good of Illinois,” Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said of the two leaders in her nominating speech for Curran. “This calm dialogue may not be the exciting drama that you see in D.C.”
Harmon is beginning his fourth term as the chamber’s leader after being elected by his caucus in January 2020 and serving in the Senate since 2003. His 2020 opponent in that contest, Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, gave the nominating speech for Harmon, saying the suburban Democrat has proven to be an effective leader.
“In an era of deeply political division, Don stands apart through his remarkable ability to unite people,” Lightford said.
Harmon’s acceptance speech had one overarching message: be kind. He asked senators to work across the aisle, including on behalf of their constituents who didn’t vote for them.
“Remember that your neighbors in this chamber are some of the only people in Illinois who can relate to what you’re going through,” Harmon said. “The Senate is an active laboratory for coalition-building. Forge those bonds and look out for one another.”
The messages from Harmon and Curran stood out in a week when the House has grabbed headlines for a caucus meeting that left a governor’s office staffer in tears while three of Welch’s senior staff members announced plans to resign.
Curran is beginning his second term as Senate minority leader after being elected by his caucus in 2023. A former Cook County prosecutor, Curran was elected to the Senate in 2016.
“It’s easy to insulate ourselves with people who look, live and think like us,” Curran said. “But if American democracy has taught us anything, it is that real progress comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone and building a coalition of different viewpoints to craft policy for the greater good.”
Of the 59 Illinois senators, three sworn in Wednesday were non-incumbents: Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, Liandro Arellano, R-Dixon, and Chris Balkema, R-Channahon.
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Pritzker on upcoming challenges
The 104th General Assembly has a lengthy to-do list, ranging from eliminating a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit to reforming transit in the Chicago area.
In a news conference following inauguration, Gov. JB Pritzker spoke about the budget challenges he faces this spring ahead of his late February budget address.
“When we talk about priorities, prioritizing the fiscal health of the state has been, you know, among the most important things that I’ve, I think, achieved and will continue to prioritize,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker also faces a reemerging challenge from his first term as governor: a Donald Trump presidency.
Pritzker said he has general concerns about Trump’s plans, particularly as they pertain to health care. But he is taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding specific actions to counter the Trump administration’s initiatives.
He noted Trump is often “unpredictable.”
“There’s not a specific thing that I can point to though because he hasn’t taken office yet,” Pritzker said, adding he’d remain “on guard” for what actions may be needed in the future.
Capitol renovations
Wednesday’s inauguration also served as the reopening of the Illinois Senate chamber following renovations to the space that began over two years ago.
The north wing of the Illinois Capitol remains in the middle of an expansive $350 million renovation that began in 2022.
Much of the project on the interior of the Capitol is designed to restore the building to how it looked centuries ago. The building was constructed in the late 1800s in the decades after the Civil War and has undergone numerous renovations that have changed its appearance and layout.
In the Senate specifically, construction included restoring the room’s original laylight and making safety upgrades. The stained glass laylight is designed to resemble the chamber’ original look before it was damaged by fire decades ago. Renovations also added more stalls to the women’s restroom to make it comparable to the men’s bathroom.
The project is also aimed at modernizing the capitol complex and includes construction of a new public entrance and visitor center on the north wing. The addition is also designed to improve security at the complex and funnel visitors in through a single space.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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