Two Illinois lawmakers appeared at their second joint Kewanee town hall Tuesday night and addressed issues ranging from education, property taxes, an end of life bill and Kewanee roads maintained by the state.
Sen. Neil Anderson (IL-47) and Rep. Travis Weaver (IL-93) appeared at Kewanee City Hall alongside Mayor Gary Moore. Also present was City Manager Gary Bradley.
About two dozen residents turned out to ask questions of Sen. Anderson and Rep. Weaver, who make frequent joint appearances at town halls in cities such as Canton, Pekin and Aledo.
Rep. Weaver, who was re-elected to another two-year term in November, thanked residents for coming, describing his entry into public service as a “coming to Jesus” moment during the pandemic. Weaver, who had previously worked for Caterpillar, cited his issues as fiscal responsibility, education, agriculture and growing the economy.
Sen. Anderson was elected to the Illinois senate 10 years ago but is new to the district because of redistricting.
“I have the same priorities as Travis,” Anderson said, adding that he is also a second amendment and public safety advocate.
Questions from attendees included one from Kewanee Supt. Rebecca Baney, who inquired about the teacher’s retirement system, specifically Tier 2, which requires a higher retirement age for full benefits.
Anderson said he felt that Tier 2 would not be repealed back to Tier 1. which allows teachers to retire at age 60. Anderson said he believes in pensions, but the current system is not sustainable. The number one thing that needs to be fixed, he said, is the retirement age.
“I think there is room for reform,” said the senator.
Supt. Baney also inquired about Title 1 federal funding, which supports struggling learners through a grant program that provides supplemental instruction for economically disadvantaged students and targets schools and districts, such as Kewanee, that have a high percentage of low-income students. The school district receives $900,000 from the funding, but Baney told the lawmakers that superintendents are worried.
“There’s a lot of concern at the superintendent level of Title 1 cuts at the federal level,” she said.
Sen. Anderson said that any federal education cuts would be funds that would come back to the state and that the state would then decide how they were spent.
Kewanee resident Rich Kubiak inquired about the status of Illinois HB 2882 that would amend the property tax code by increasing the amount of the low-income senior citizens assessment homestead exemption freeze from $65,000 to $75,000.
“When is that bill going to be passed?” Kubiak said.
Rep. Weaver said that the bill hasn’t been passed and that the 2024 bill never made it out of the rules committee, a “signal that it wasn’t a priority,” he said.
“Property taxes are just about the number one challenge that we hear about,” said Weaver, especially for seniors on fixed incomes.
“That bill will be dead after the first of the year,” said Anderson, adding that a new bill could be introduced at that time.
Sen. Anderson said he was also introducing a bill that probably didn’t have a chance of passing that would make it so people who owned property for 30 years would no longer have to pay property taxes. At some point, Anderson said, people need to own their property.
The comment prompted an audience member to ask how the bill would be paid for, saying that the grocery tax was taken away but “it creates a cost on the other side of the equation.”
Anderson replied that the solution was to cut spending citing the $1 billion on health care for illegal immigrants, telling the audience he would like to be a part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a proposed department that would slash excess regulation, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.
Rep. Weaver agreed that there was “a lot of waste in the system.”
Town hall attendee Ruth Kapacinskas inquired about the source for the $1 billion figure for undocumented workers’ healthcare.
“It’s in the budget,” said Sen. Anderson, adding that the figure could be as high as $2.5 billion.
Also discussed was a bill that could come up during the lame duck session that would allow Illinios residents to end their lives through physician-assisted suicide. The Illinois End-of-Life Options Act, Weaver said, has robust opposition.
“I don’t think a society should be ending lives,“ said Rep. Weaver. “I don’t think we need to go down that path.”
Sen. Anderson also said he opposed the bill. “I am an abolitionist,” he said, adding that he found the issue “heart-wrenching.”
Dave Dobbels, who serves on the transportation committee for the Henry County Board, inquired about the condition of Rt. 81, Rt. 82 and 78, all Illinois highways that lead into Kewanee.
Rep. Weaver stated that the gas tax was increased, and the money is placed in a fund to be used for infrastructure.
“We have to spend that money,” he said.
Sen. Anderson said that the LockBox Amendment was passed that prohibits lawmakers from using funds for anything other than their stated purpose, although the language used in the amendment allows money to be spent on transportation as well as road work.
Rep. Weaver said he worried that as the fund grows, there will be pressure to spend it on other things.
“It’s unacceptable to have roads the way they are,” said Rep. Weaver.
Mayor Moore used the discussion as an opportunity to remind Kewanee residents that the city does not have a gas tax.
