New GOP Leadership – 11.2022
Last night, both Republican legislative caucus’s elected new leaders: Rep. Tony McCombie in the House and Sen. John Curran in the Senate. Please see below for bios of each.
Tony McCombie
- In a 31-8 vote at a caucus meeting last night, House Republicans selected Rep. Tony McCombie to be their new leader.
- McCombie will be the first female legislative leader in the House in state history.
- McCombie (R-Savanna) represents a northwestern Illinois district that runs along the Wisconsin and Iowa borders.
- First elected in 2016 after she defeated a Democratic incumbent, the next session of the ILGA will be her fourth term.
- McCombie previously considered running for the leadership position last cycle against outgoing leader Jim Durkin but ultimately chose not to.
- McCombie is an opinionated, conservative legislator who has never shied away from her beliefs in House floor debates. She is passionate about many issues including law enforcement and criminal justice.
- Born and raised in Savanna, Illinois, McCombie received a BA from Western Illinois University. She is currently a small businesswoman, operating Blue Appraisals and self-employed in the real estate industry as a broker with MelFoster Company.
- Formerly served as the Mayor of Savanna, IL and as a Savanna Councilwoman.
John Curran
- John Curran, R-Downers Grove, will be the Senate Minority Leader.
- First appointed in July 2017, Curran’s 41st Senate District includes western suburban areas like Downers Grove, Homer Glen, and Darien in parts of Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties.
- Curran is a former Vice-Chairman of the DuPage County Board and longtime prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Prior to the General Assembly, he served as the Vice-Chairman of the DuPage County Board, and was a board member from 2008 to 2017. Following 19 years working as an Assistant State's Attorney in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Curran now works as an attorney at a private law firm in Oak Brook.
- He received his Juris Doctor Degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law and Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Curran and his wife, Sue, have four daughters and live in Downers Grove.
Media:
McCombie:
Illinois House Republicans Select Rep. Tony McCombie as New Leader – NBC Chicago, November 2022
After Rep. Jim Durkin announced that he would step down as the leader of the Illinois House Republicans, the party has chosen its new chair, tapping Rep. Tony McCombie for the position. McCombie, who will represent the 89th district in the new General Assembly, was one of the early favorites to ascend to the position, according to Politico, and she was voted into the office during a caucus meeting on Tuesday. “The House Republican Caucus is focused on helping Illinois families by offering common sense solutions to the many problems our state faces,” she said in a statement. “We will be a unified force that will grow our party by sticking to our core values and ending the corruption that has pervaded state government.”
GOP chooses new leadership in General Assembly as Dems retain control – Capitol News Illinois, November 2022
publicans chose new leadership for their caucuses in the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday night, while the two Democratic leaders have each announced they have the votes to maintain their positions. House Republicans elected Tony McCombie of Savanna and Senate Republicans chose John Curran of Downers Grove. The change in leadership comes after Democrats maintained control of every statewide office and had strong gains in last week’s elections across the rest of state government, aside from in the state Senate.
Illinois Democrats unveil 'pro-law enforcement' package amid Republican criticism – State Journal-Register, April 2022
Republicans on Monday criticized the package, mostly because it failed to address their grievances with the broader criminal reform package passed last year, the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act. Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, attacked the package on the House floor Monday, asking questions about whether the package contains any provisions to strengthen electronic monitoring, gives judges guidelines about issuing warrants for certain types of criminals or unwinds the reforms to cash bail that were part of last year's criminal justice reform bill. “Not one of these bills that Representative Vella posed today, not one, addresses any of these issues,” McCombie said on the House floor Monday. McCombie received a round of applause from her Republican colleagues for her comments.
Illinois House of Representatives reopens to the public, masks still required – State Journal-Register, March 2022
Masks were the subject of heated debate in the House earlier this month. Several Republican lawmakers were removed from the House floor on Feb. 17 for refusing to put on a mask. Most of them continued to participate via Zoom. The House voted to remove nine members, though one, Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, stayed in the chamber for the rest of the day. On Tuesday, the defiance continued and the House voted to remove three Republican lawmakers: Reps. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, and Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur.
Lawmakers Mull Restoring Death Penalty To Deter Crime, But Critics Call It A ‘Proven Failure’ – Block Club Chicago, February 2022
In the wake of recent deaths of first responders in the line of duty, Illinois Republicans are pushing to reinstate the death penalty as a way to toughen punishment for people who intentionally kill police officers, firefighters or other public workers. Several Republican lawmakers have filed bills that would make the death penalty a possible sentence for people convicted in the first-degree murder of police officers, firefighters or case workers at the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). They argue partially reversing Illinois’ 2011 abolition of the death penalty could be a deterrent to stop people from killing first responders.
Curran:
IL Sen. John Curran unanimously selected Senate GOP Leader – WGN, November 15, 2022llinois Senator John Curran (R-41st District) was selected as the new Senate Republican Leader on Tuesday.
The vote was unanimous. “I am humbled and honored to have the full support of my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their new leader in the 103rd General Assembly,” Curran said. “We stand ready, with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state. We are equally dedicated to growing our ranks, which will give all Illinoisans greater representation and balance in their state government.”
State Senator John Curran: The SAFE-T Act does not maintain public safety – State Journal-Register, September 2022
Bipartisan committee rejects emergency mask rule for Illinois schools – WGN, February 2022
The top committee of Illinois state lawmakers rejected an attempt to refile the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 emergency rules for schools Tuesday afternoon. “To me, it’s an irresponsible action of government to just essentially thumb your nose at another branch of government that has properly ruled,” said Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove). Curran said IDPH could’ve presented a rule giving due process rights to staff and parents who object to COVID-19 mitigations in schools.
Op-ed: To keep Chicago safe, law and order must be restored – Chicago Tribune, October 2021
Note: Joint Op-Ed by Durkin and Curran.
With the dramatic rise in violent crime across Chicago, it is expected that we will continue to see Illinois Democrats try to paint a new reality of the harm they have done to citizens across our state. The leading criminal justice “reform” Democrats in Springfield are now trying to characterize their attempts to “defund police,” not as the cause of our current problems, but as the solution to the mess they created.
Letitia Dewith-Anderson, J.D.
