McHenry Times

A leaders' meeting was held in April between Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich), Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other Democratic ranking lawmakers. 

According to McConchie's account, not much discussion was had on some of the state's most pressing issues April 28.

"I asked in a general fashion in what ways would you like to work together, and there was the only response was ethics, nothing of the sort regarding other things," McConchie said. "There was a little bit on the budget, but other than that, no one really spoke."

The April meeting was the first in-person leaders' meeting of the year, and McConchie said it was "most revealing" that the governor and Democratic legislators did not respond more to offers to work across the aisle.

"When I asked the governor and the other legislative leaders [...] what they were interested in working on on a bipartisan basis, the only thing that was brought up was us supporting their ethics proposal, and there was nothing else of the sort that was really brought up," McConchie said. "I was disappointed in that, that this is something where the governor and the legislative leaders have talked about a new time and phase in Springfield."

Despite promises of new beginnings, McConchie said it, unfortunately, seems that "at the end of the day what they're interested in is really not Republican input, but simply moving on in their own agenda."

Recent disappointments in Pritzker include his broken campaign promise to veto any redistricting map made by politicians and support a fair, independent map. 

Pritzker changed his tune and announced that he trusts Democrats to create a fair map and trusts Republicans to be compliant in the process.