Wilhour Endorses County Board Votes on State Separation, FOID Card Registration

“While it is true that the State of Illinois would be better off if Chicago and the rest of Illinois could work together, it has become increasingly clear that there is no interest on the part of the Chicago politicians to respect our point of view,” Wilhour said. “They continue to burden our industries with impossible regulations that have crippled our private sector and limited our ability to create high wage jobs. They have no respect for the traditional values that have made our area great, and they are constantly working to erode our Constitutional rights. This is a position that I have long resisted, but so long as Chicago continues to marginalize our rights, our values and our pathway to prosperity; I contend that we are in fact better off without them. We are fortunate to have local officials who are willing to take a stand for what is right. I think it is important that our local officials all over Downstate Illinois rise up and show Springfield that we are serious about what is happening to our state and that we are no longer going to allow our values to be compromised. What has started here in Effingham County needs to spread throughout the state.”

The Separation question that will appear on the Effingham County ballot reads, “Shall Effingham County collaborate in discussions with the remaining 101 Counties of the State of Illinois, with the exception of Cook County, the possibility of forming a new state and ultimately seeking admission to the Federal Union as the 51st State, pursuant to the provisions of the United States Constitution?”

Rep. Wilhour is a co-sponsor of House Resolution 101, which urges Congress to allow for the creation of a state separate from the City of Chicago.

The Board also approved a resolution opposing the FOID card. Wilhour said, "Currently efforts are under way in the Legislature to make the onerous FOID card process even worse. The legislation (Floor Amendment 1 to HB 96) is a giant leap toward a firearm registration. The legislation would substantially increase the cost of a FOID card from $10 dollars for 10 years to $50 for five years, require fingerprinting, prohibit private sales and stipulate that you must apply in person at a State Police headquarters."

“This is one of the most outrageous gun control bills to date,” Wilhour said. “These burdens will only apply to law-abiding citizens. The criminals will continue to circumvent the laws. We need to ask ourselves if these people really think legislation like this will take the guns out of the hands of criminals or is this just another step in the process of chipping away our constitutional rights and eventually making it impossibly burdensome for a common citizen to own a firearm.”