Rock Island Today

The Illinois General Assembly convened in Springfield this week for the first part of the fall veto session, a brief period dedicated to reviewing any gubernatorial vetoes of legislation passed earlier in the year. Representative Dan Swanson expressed disappointment with how the House used its time, stating, "There are a lot of issues we need to address, including ethics reform (see below), but none of those were on the agenda this week. Instead, the House spent its time on resolutions directed at federal policy and President Trump, rather than working on fixing the many problems we are facing in state government. I was sorry to see the House spend its time so poorly when there are so many issues at the state level which it is our responsibility to address." The House is scheduled to return to Springfield from October 28 to 30 to conclude the session.

One urgent issue highlighted by Swanson is the need to reform Illinois’ property tax sale laws. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled a portion of the state’s law unconstitutional, following a similar case in Minnesota. The court found that counties must return any surplus proceeds from tax sales to previous property owners. Swanson explained, "Attorneys have advised that money can only change hands through proper procedures, which effectively mandates Illinois lawmakers to change our state’s law to set forth the required procedure for enabling the return of this money. Until our law is changed, counties cannot return these funds to property owners, even though they have been required to do so by the U.S. Supreme Court. This creates a substantial and growing liability for Illinois counties and their taxpayers." He noted that House Republicans have previously attempted to pass legislation to address this issue, and now, after the Supreme Court’s decision, reform is more urgent.

Swanson also commented on former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s recent incarceration. Madigan began serving his sentence this week after being convicted in February 2025 on multiple corruption charges and sentenced in June to over seven years in prison. Swanson stated, "Madigan’s conviction is yet another reminder of the importance of enacting ethics reform in Springfield to clean up the corruption which we have seen so much of in state government. House Republicans have introduced numerous ethics reform bills which would empower the legislative inspector general, enforce our conflict-of-interest rules and improve regulation of lobbyists. But Democrats have blocked those bills from being debated or voted upon."

In other news, the Office of the State Fire Marshal is accepting applications for its Small Equipment Grant Program, which will distribute $6 million to eligible fire departments and ambulance services for equipment purchases. Applications must be submitted by November 14, 2025.

Swanson, a Republican, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2023, representing the 71st House District and succeeding Donald L. Moffitt.

Additional topics in Swanson’s update included educational opportunities, warnings about refund scams claiming to be from the Illinois Department of Revenue, a new automated system for hunters to receive chronic wasting disease test results, a report on educational progress in Illinois, and updates on fall foliage in the Quad Cities region.