DeKalb Times

In a Sept. 19 Facebook post, Rep. Jeff Keicher shared his vision for making Illinois better.

“We have a plan for making Illinois the place people come to for a better life," Keicher wrote on Facebook. “Imagine an Illinois where we have the opportunity to grow and succeed.”

A significant talking point in Illinois policies is the ending of cash bail. Illinois Republican lawmakers claim to end it will create more crime. However, ACLU explained that falsehood stemmed from not understanding the meaning of cash bail.

“The idea is that judges should have good reasons to detain people, rather than picking a bail amount and leaving it to chance whether people can afford to pay for their release,” ACLU wrote. “We’re talking about basic constitutional safeguards against arbitrary detention that destroys lives. It’s not exactly radical.”

In his Facebook post, Keicher shared a YouTube video where he expanded on the vision for the state. 

“Imagine an Illinois where we work with job creators bring some freezing new opportunities of investment across all of our opportunities like what you see over my shoulder,” he said. “Imagine an Illinois where we have apprenticeship and artisan training programs that prepare our students our citizens for the jobs of tomorrow today imagine an Illinois where we have affordable healthcare available to all and childcare options for every family across this in Illinois where we work together with job creators to develop an economy that's adaptable and innovative for tomorrow’s needs imagine an Illinois with a growing economy and opportunities for all of our family.”

The United States Census Bureau reported approximately 12 million people in Illinois in 2021. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism found among Illinoisans are approximately 800 members of the extremist group called the Oath Keepers — a group that has members incarcerated for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capital.

Keicher supported the Reimagine Illinois platform in March 2021- and had this to say:

Keicher says the House Republicans’ platform reflects the frustration among Illinoisans by laying out a set of proposals that resonates and benefits all residents.

“Last fall, Illinoisans sent a clear message to state government – they are done paying for years of fiscal mismanagement in state government,” Keicher said. “We want the residents of Illinois to know we’ve heard you and Reimagine Illinois is an alternative that reflects months of work to lay out a comprehensive framework of proposals that we believe resonates in every part of Illinois. To move Illinois forward – to Reimagine Illinois – we need to get past the failed promises of the past and look in a new direction, which is exactly what this platform does.”

Reimagine Illinois also reflects the values and concerns of working families across Illinois.

“When we recognize and use all of the state’s strengths we can create jobs and a strong economy across Illinois,” Keicher added. “The foundation for that is our workforce. Illinois needs to be a leader in making sure our workforce has the skills needed to compete in our ever-changing economy. This means having apprenticeship and artisan training programs that prepare our students and our citizens for the jobs of tomorrow, which is a core component of Reimagine Illinois.”

His party is running with Senator Darren Bailey as the Republican gubernatorial candidate who made headlines in August for a 2017 leaked video of him comparing abortions to the Holocaust. Jewish publication Forward reported the comment.

This news comes after Bailey landed in hot water after saying in Parkland to “move on” while 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz was at large at the time, just after news broke of the incident.

“The attempted extermination of the Jews of World War II doesn’t even compare on a shadow of the life that has been lost with abortion since its legalization,” Bailey said in the video, Forward reported. “The Jewish community themselves have told me that I’m right. All the people at the Chabads that we met with and the Jewish rabbis they said, ‘No, you’re actually right.’”

Regarding the violence in Illinois, inmates are feeling the aggression of correctional officers. The situation in Illinois prisons revealed by investigations by the Illinois Department of Corrections showed correctional officers abused the inmates. The Marshall Project and Illinois Public Radio reported inmates in the U.S. penitentiary in Thomson would get a “Thomson tattoo” because officers forced them to wear shackles that scarred wrists, ankles and abdomens.