Years served: 1997 - Present
Committee assignments: Transportation, Regulation, Roads; Prison Reform; Vehicles & Safety; Juvenile Justice Reform (Republican Spokesperson); Environment & Energy; Veterans’ Affairs; Judiciary II - Criminal Law (Republican Spokesperson); Red Light.
TAXES AND SPENDING
Reboletti voted for a huge electric rate increase.
Reboletti helped pass SB1652 – a huge electric rate increase sought by ComEd and Ameren. (2011)
Reboletti voted for the Democrats’ pork-bloated FY2008 $59 BILLION budget.
Reboletti’s vote for HB3866 demonstrates inability as a legislator to seriously address Illinois’ chronic fiscal crisis that’s attributable to out-of-control spending, an antiquated pension system, and government corruption. (2007)
Reboletti voted to allow the Mayor of Chicago to DOUBLE the telephone tax.
SB0837 would give Mayor Richard Daley the ability to raise the telephone tax from $1.25 to $2.50 per month for all customers. (2007)
Reboletti voted to increase the real estate transfer tax by $30 million.
SB0075 increased the cost of selling a house in Illinois by adding a $10 tax to closing fees. (2005)
EDUCATION
Reboletti voted against groundbreaking school choice legislation.
Reboletti voted against SB2494 which would have given parents in underperforming Chicago school districts a voucher to cover educational expenses at nonpublic schools. SB2494 represented a lifeline to poor children who face bleak futures as a consequence of the awful and dangerous public schools in the City of Chicago. To read more about this disgrace - go here. (2010)
Reboletti listened to the teachers’ unions and voted against a Constitutional Convention.
HB0025 urged the electorate to support the calling of a Constitutional Convention. The Illinois Education Association (IEA) and Reboletti fear giving taxpayers the opportunity to debate and decide upon school funding reforms in Illinois. Instead, the IEA and Reboletti want to keep the power in the hands of politicians whose votes can be easily bought and controlled by teachers’ union PAC money. (2007)
Reboletti voted to prohibit parents’ right to alternative education.
HB0232 prohibits the State Board of Education and school boards from establishing, maintaining, or in any way supporting any virtual schools or virtual classes for elementary or secondary students in this State. (2007)
Reboletti voted to increase education spending by nearly $600 million.
Reboletti’s vote for HB3866 proves he is incapable and unwilling to address the public education-spending crisis in Illinois. Instead of leading with bold reforms, Reboletti follows the Democrats’ dishonest argument that blames school failures on “not enough money.” (2007)
Reboletti voted for a $45 million taxpayer-funded experiment - Universal Preschool.
According to National Taxpayers United of Illinois, SB1497 will once again prove that “universal preschool” schemes yield benefits that simply do not justify the costs involved. (2006)
GAMBLING
Reboletti voted for the most massive expansion of gambling in Illinois history.
Reboletti voted for SB744 which allows for five new casinos (including one Chicago-owned casino), slot machines at the state’s horse racing tracks, slot machines at Chicago’s two airports, more gaming positions at existing casinos, and slot machines and year-round racing at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. (2011)
Reboletti voted to allow video poker at truck stops and VFW halls and to make it more difficult to regulate gaming operators.
Reboletti voted for HB4927 - a controversial video poker bill that state gambling regulators fear will allow operators of illegal machines to stay in business throughout the state. The bill requires a felony conviction on gambling charges before regulators could deny a license to operate video gambling machines in Illinois. HB4927 further expands gambling by adding truck stops and VFW halls to the list of venues that will be allowed to have on-site video gambling machines that make payouts to patrons. (2010)
Reboletti voted to allow video poker at OTB locations.
Reboletti voted for SB744 allowing restaurants and bars attached to off-track betting locations to have video gambling machines. (2010)
Reboletti voted for a massive expansion of gambling in Illinois.
Reboletti voted for the massive gambling expansion bill - HB 2651. Passage of HB2651 would have meant 3 new casinos, new gambling machines at racetracks, the introduction of electronic poker games, plus many other expansions. The good news is this irresponsible bill failed with 55 State Representatives voting “no” and 47 voting “yes.” A three-fifths majority was required for passage. The bad news is it was a big chunk of the GOP caucus led by House Minority Leader Tom Cross who was on Governor Rod Blagojevich’s side in trying to pass HB 2651. (2008)
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Reboletti voted for taxpayer funded embryonic stem cell research.
SB0004 was signed into law at the end of August 2007, capping off a long effort to proceed with all forms of stem cell research, including human embryonic. SB0004 became effective January 1, 2008. (2007)
REFORM (or the lack thereof)
Reboletti voted to water down ethics reform law.
Reboletti voted to exempt transportation projects from the new ethics law (SB761). Despite the awesome demands of riding around on a High Horse every day since Rod Blagojevich’s arrest lecturing about the need to reform Illinois’ culture of corruption - state lawmakers still somehow found time to gut their own brand new “landmark” ethics reform law. This of course would be the same ethics reform law these same lawmakers hailed as “a big step forward.” (2009)
Reboletti voted to make it more difficult for write-in candidate to get on the ballot.
SB662 changed the deadline for filing to be a write-in candidate to 61 days before an election. The purpose for this change is purely for incumbent protection. (2007)
Reboletti desperately opposes a common sense reform that would once again allow ALL Republicans to directly elect the senior leadership of their own Illinois Republican Party.
Reboletti continues to keep rank-and-file Republicans from having the same voice all Illinois Democrats enjoy in their State Party. Reboletti opposes SB600 - returning to the better system of direct election Illinois Republicans used until the late 1980’s. Illinois has been a “Blue State” ever since the change to the easily corruptible system Reboletti dishonestly still protects.
Reboletti did nothing to help cleanse the Illinois Republican Party of the tainted National Committeeman Bob Kjellander.
Bob Kjellander could have been removed and replaced with an honest leader a lot earlier, if only Republican “leaders” like Reboletti were serious about reform. Reboletti never joined the rank-and-file and more serious officials who overwhelmingly called for Kjellander’s immediate ouster. It’s only because Reboletti and a tiny handful of other old guard faces refuse to unify on reform that even this simplest of clean-ups remain difficult to accomplish.
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