Dear Friend,
Last week, I signed on as one of the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional weapons ban recently signed into law.
The lawsuit was filed in White County. While a ruling is still forthcoming, we are hoping to get a Temporary Restraining for all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
In addition to this lawsuit, one of my colleagues, State Representative Dan Caulkins, has filed a similar lawsuit of his own. There also is a lawsuit in federal court that could apply a TRO to the entire state. I will continue to keep you up to date with the latest news and information regarding these lawsuits.
Following is some information on a recent press conference I had with several local sheriffs, the mounting problems within the Department of Children and Family Services and a new effort to punish honest citizens looking to leave Illinois.
Feel free to call me at 217-813-6036 any time if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to talking with you!
Best Regards,
Adam Niemerg
Local Sheriffs standing up for our Second Amendment rights
This week I joined Crawford County Sheriff William Rutan, Jasper County Sheriff Brandon Francis, and Lawrence County Sheriff Trenton Masterson at a press conference to discuss how the state’s new weapons ban law violates the Constitutional Rights of honest citizens.
The new law restricts the purchase and manufacturing of many different types of federally legal firearms, limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns and requires signed affidavits for grandfathered in firearms. The latest lawsuit has been filed in White County.
In my view, this new law treats the 2nd Amendment like a privilege rather than a right. In our society we don’t provide the government a list of people who attend church or who are members of the local Rotary Club because our Constitution gives us the right to freely assemble. We must register with the state to legally drive a car because driving is privilege not a right. We don’t have to get permission from the government to exercise our rights because to do so would contradict the very nature of what a right is. Honest citizens are not the ones causing the violence.
It sometimes seems as if there is more anger in Springfield from the far left toward honest citizens who own firearms than there is for the people actually committing the crimes. Stripping honest citizens of their rights won’t solve the problem. More laws are not the solution. We must address the problem at its root cause. We must help troubled youth get the mental healthcare they need, and we must as a society elevate and promote the family as the bedrock of our society. Let’s focus on real solutions and let’s stop infringing on the rights of honest citizens.
DCFS must be investigated
In light of new federal lawsuit against the Department of Children and Family Services alleging as many as 80 kids were incarcerated for an average of 40 days longer than they should have been, I called for an investigation into the Department this week.
The idea that as many as 80 kids were left to sit in jail unnecessarily is beyond the pale. I understand the job is a hard one and there are no easy solutions, but it is the job of the Governor and the Director to come up with solutions. Instead, all they offer is excuses. What is happening in this agency is cruel and wrong. We need answers and we need them now.
In addition to the recent lawsuit, a recent 248-page Illinois Inspector General report shows 171 children died while in contact with DCFS last year, up 49 from 2021. DCFS receives $1.5 billion annually in funding.
DCFS Director Marc Smith also has been found in contempt of court eight times for failing to place kids in proper care in a timely manner. Marc Smith must resign. Marc Smith is not good at his job. Kids are being mistreated and abused under his watch. Nearly 50 more children died in DCFS custody in 2022 than in 2021. Marc Smith continues to ignore court orders and is failing to place kids in a timely manner. The Governor is not making any changes to the department and is not even demanding better accountability. This is unacceptable. What is happening in this department is wrong. Our children deserve better. We need Marc Smith to resign. We also need an investigation into DCFS, and we need it now.
Wealth tax proposed
There is an effort underway to tax wealth in Illinois.
The idea would be to tax assets such as stock and other investments for wealthy citizens. As those assets grow in value, the more taxes would be owed. And those taxes would be applied to those individuals regardless of where they lived.
Beyond the obvious Constitutional problems of taxing a former resident who has moved to another state – taxing wealth is a dangerous step to take. The big government tax and spenders always try to play the class warfare card to build support for whatever money grab they are pushing. Once the mechanism is in place to tax wealth, the applied income bracket can easily be changed. It may start with one income bracket but over time, the state could conceivably come after 401K investments and take money from middle class citizens.
We must reject these efforts and stop these outlandish tax increases from gaining any kind of momentum. We cannot and should not give the State of Illinois this kind of power.
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