Comment: This response to the Wirepoints op-ed in the Tribune is dead wrong. Legislators would not have unlimited discretion over pensions under the state constitutional amendment we proposed. The U.S. Constitution would still limit pension reform to measures that are fair, necessary and reasonable under the circumstances, as our op-ed stated.

Don Tracy, Illinois Republican Party Chairman: “Senator Duckworth and every other congressional Illinois Democrat voted for a provision of the COVID relief bill that explicitly prohibits states who receive money from cutting taxes through 2024. The Wall Street Journal reported that ‘the language is so expansive that states could be limited from making any changes to their tax codes that reduce revenue even if they don’t use federal funds as direct offsets.'”

Harmon’s claim that inclusion will be at the center of this process is dubious; no information has been released about the data lawmakers plan to use for the remap, nor what principles and guidelines the redraw will follow. And hearings begun this past week show little evidence of effort to include under-served voices.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that state legislators were right to condemn state Rep. Chris Miller for rhetoric they say helped incite the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, arguing the downstate Republican’s remarks were “in that category of hatred and intolerance.”