State Rep. Halbrook holds town hall in Effingham

Nov. 24—State Rep. Brad Halbrook held a town hall in Effingham earlier this week to update residents on recent legislation following the Illinois House of Representatives' fall veto session.

During the town hall, which was held at Effingham City Hall on Monday, Halbrook discussed issues ranging from efforts to lift the state's ban on nuclear reactors to the ongoing implementation of the SAFE-T Act.

Halbrook updated residents on Senate Bill 76 and explained that the intent of the bill is to allow for small modular nuclear reactors rather than larger existing nuclear reactors like the Clinton Power Station in Clinton, Illinois.

"It covers hundreds of acres up there," Halbrook said regarding the Clinton Power Station. "The technology has changed dramatically. We're powering submarines now and aircraft with small reactors."

He said some new language was added to the bill during the fall veto session, and the bill has already passed both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives.

"I think the governor will sign that," Halbrook said.

If signed into law by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the bill would cap the output production of nuclear reactors at 300 megawatts.

Halbrook also discussed the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program, which is set to come to a close at the end of this year, and he said he's unsure if or when the program will be brought back.

"It looks like that program is going to sunset out here in a few weeks," Halbrook said.

There are about 9,600 Illinois students in the state of Illinois who are enrolled in the program, which provides support for students in the state who attend non-public schools.

"There has always been a push to change the K-12 school funding formula," Halbrook said. "And the arrangement there to get the evidence based funding formula passed was a school choice program called Invest in Kids."

Halbrook said the program is "funded 100% by donor money," and he noted that donors are given a 75% state tax credit in return for their support of the program.

Halbrook also updated residents on some recent developments with the Protect Illinois Communities Act, particularly the upcoming registration deadline for any Illinois gun owners to register firearms or firearm accessories they have in their possession that are included in the state's long list of banned assault weapons.

"As I've been out this fall talking to constituents, they're really concerned about this law and how it's going to effect them negatively," Halbrook said. "We'll see how it plays out."

As the Jan. 1 deadline approaches, only a small percentage of Illinois' Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card holders have registered their firearms, and Halbrook said he's been seeking more clarity on how the registration will be enforced.

"When the law passed and was signed, there were over 90 sheriffs and county state's attorneys who said that they would not enforce this, what they believes to be, unconstitutional gun ban," Halbrook said.

He claimed that an attorney for the Illinois State Police said each county's state's attorney will be responsible for enforcing the registration at their own discretion.

"Now, the governor believes differently than that," Halbrook said.

Halbrook also claimed that Illinois' roughly 2.4 million FOID card carriers are less likely to commit gun crimes than those who have obtained weapons illegally which is why he doesn't think the registration will do much to decrease gun violence in the state.

"Typically, all the gun crimes going on are prohibitive possession," Halbrook said.

Halbrook also addressed the recent abolition of cash bail in Illinois under the SAFE-T Act and claimed that the new law has created more work for state's attorneys in counties throughout the state.

The provision of the SAFE-T Act ending cash bail took effect in September.

"The thing that I hear from state's attorneys is that typically on a Monday, what they normally deal with in a few hours, working through cases that came in over the weekend, is taking them till late into the afternoon or early evening of that Monday," Halbrook said.

Additionally, he argued that people will be less likely to attend their court hearings if they aren't required to pay any cash bail.

"If there's no incentive, why would you?" Halbrook said.

After providing updates on recent legislation, Halbrook took some questions from the residents in attendance which included Matt Heiser, 47, and his father Melvin Heiser, 74, who both live in Altamont.

Matt Heiser, who works as a truck driver, said he had only just learned about some of the legislation Halbrook discussed during the town hall and asked Halbrook if anything could be done to better share important information with constituents.

"More information is always better," Heiser said.

Halbrook told Matt Heiser about the other informative events that his office hosts, including live streams and tele-town halls, and he said he plans to hold more town halls in the future.

"I think it's my job to be here," Halbrook said. "I wish we could do more of this."

Meanwhile, Melvin Heiser asked Halbrook about potential solutions to the recent traffic accidents that have occurred in or around construction zones in the area.

He referenced the accident just outside of Teutopolis involving a semi-truck carrying anhydrous ammonia that killed five people in late September as an example of just how serious the problem has become.

Melvin Heiser noted that his wife's sister is the great grandmother of two children who died as a result of the accident.

"If possible, my wife suggested that there should be a police officer at these lane closures with their lights flashing to make people get over, and not just at the last minute," Melvin Heiser said.

In response, Halbrook cited the legislation recently proposed by State Rep. Adam Niemerg and State Sen. Chapin Rose that is aimed at reducing the risk drivers face when driving through areas that are under construction as a potential solution to the problem.

Halbrook also expressed his concern over the role distracted drivers play in many of the accidents occurring as a result of lane closures.

"There's no easy answers, but we're trying to have those conversations," Halbrook said.

Nick Taylor can be reached at nick.taylor@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300132.