Dear Neighbors,
For the past few weeks, I have worked with colleagues from both parties to prevent a federal government shutdown. Unfortunately, Republicans—who control all three branches of government—refused to help us keep health care affordable and forced the government to shut down. Despite repeated efforts to negotiate and protect critical Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for millions of Illinoisans, partisan gridlock has prevailed. Without these subsidies, health care premiums will rise dramatically, placing even greater strain on working families. It is vital that Republicans come to the negotiating table to end this shutdown and preserve affordable health care for every American.
So, what does this mean for our community? While my staff in Schaumburg and Washington, D.C. will remain available to assist you and respond to your questions, many federal agencies have been forced to furlough employees. As a result, you may experience delays of critical services such as passport appointments, assistance with Social Security and Medicaid, IRS inquiries, and support from the Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information on how this shutdown will impact agencies and our community, please visit the Shutdown Information Page on my website.
As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact my office by calling (847) 413-1959, emailing me at [email protected], or sending a message through my website at https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/contact/email. For more frequent updates, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
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The letter Congressman Krishnamoorthi sent to Oversight Committee Chairman Comer urging him to hold a hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
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As a senior member of the House Oversight Committee, I recently urged Chairman James Comer to convene a hearing with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to account for disturbing abuses carried out under her watch. Across Illinois and the nation, masked ICE agents have engaged in racial profiling, harassment, and even violence against American citizens. In Elgin, U.S. citizens were detained without explanation in early morning home raids. In Des Plaines, another was tased in the face in front of his children by agents who never identified themselves. At the Broadview ICE facility, federal officers escalated tensions by firing chemical agents at peaceful demonstrators, sending some to the hospital and arresting at least 16 people amid reports of racial profiling.
These are not isolated incidents—they are part of a broader pattern of operations meant to intimidate and sow fear in communities that did not vote for President Trump. Turning federal law enforcement into a tool for political retribution is not just unacceptable—it is unconstitutional. Secretary Noem took the same oath I did: to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Her department’s conduct has fallen far short of that duty. That is why I am demanding that she testify before the Oversight Committee, and why I will keep pressing for accountability and justice for the people of Illinois and beyond. You can read the full letter here.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi discusses high energy prices at Windy City Wieners in Bloomington. (Click the image above to watch WMBD's coverage of the visit.)
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Earlier this week, I traveled to the Bloomington-Normal area to meet with local leaders and small business owners about the dramatic rise in utility bills facing families across Illinois. During my visit, Steven Marifjeren, owner of Windy City Wieners, shared how his utility bill spiked by $1,000 in a single month, squeezing his operating budget and threatening his livelihood. Sadly, Steve’s story is far from unique. Across the country, utilities are hiking rates by more than $38 billion this year, and Illinois households alone are projected to pay an extra $180 annually for electricity starting next year.
These rate hikes are not inevitable – they are the direct result of policy choices made by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans. Instead of unlocking a new era of American energy, President Trump slammed the brakes when he signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. In just the first half of this year, the OBBBA eliminated $22 billion in clean energy projects and cost Illinois 21,000 potential new jobs, a number that climbs to 52,000 when factoring in ongoing projects.
The solution is clear: reinvest in the clean energy programs gutted under the OBBBA and modernize our aging power grids so they can handle extreme weather and meet the demands of the 21st century. Working families in Illinois deserve reliable, affordable power, and I will continue drawing on the stories I heard in Bloomington to fight for lower utility bills in Congress. You can read more about my visit in The Pantagraph here and watch WMBD’s coverage here.
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As Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I recently sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer demanding answers about the Trump Administration’s reckless tariff policies—policies that put John Deere, Illinois workers, and the entire U.S. agricultural machinery industry at risk.
John Deere employs more than 30,000 workers nationwide, including its headquarters and the world’s largest farm equipment plant right here in Illinois. More than 75 percent of its equipment is built in America. Yet the administration’s blanket tariffs have already led to layoffs in Illinois and Iowa, raised costs for manufacturers, and reduced export opportunities for farmers.
Tariffs can be an important tool when carefully targeted at unfair trade practices. But sweeping, uncoordinated tariffs create damaging ripple effects—forcing farmers to delay equipment purchases, straining small businesses, and leaving communities uncertain about their future. In my letter, I pressed the administration to explain whether it has analyzed these impacts, how it plans to support laid-off workers, and what steps it will take to protect farmers while preserving America’s leadership in agricultural machinery.
If we cede that leadership to the Chinese Communist Party, we risk not only losing thousands of good-paying jobs here at home but also leaving U.S. farmers dependent on foreign-built equipment. That is why I will continue pressing this administration to change course—because protecting American jobs and keeping our farmers strong is also about preserving our nation’s economic and national security leadership.
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Last week, I joined Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey to introduce bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. advocacy on behalf of Americans unjustly detained in China. Our bill—the Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained Americans in Communist China Act—is named after two of the most heartbreaking cases, including that of Dawn Hunt, a lifelong South Sider from Chicago.
In 2014, Dawn was tricked into carrying handbags secretly lined with drugs. Despite clear evidence that she was deceived, she was sentenced to death—later reduced to life in prison—and remains incarcerated in China, where she suffers from untreated medical conditions. Her family, including her brother and father who both served as Chicago police officers, has fought tirelessly for her release for more than a decade. Our legislation requires the State Department to craft a diplomatic action plan, provide direct support to families, issue formal declarations clearing the names of detainees, and impose sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for wrongful detentions.
Dawn Hunt is a daughter of Chicago and a victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. She—and every American unjustly detained abroad—must know their country will never abandon them. I will keep fighting to bring them home and to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable.
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The Congressional App Challenge is the official computer science competition of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since its launch in 2013, more than 50,000 students from 374 congressional districts across all 50 states and five U.S. territories have participated—making it the largest student coding competition in the nation. This competition is a unique opportunity to develop coding skills, unleash creativity, and design innovative solutions to real-world challenges.
I’m proud to announce that my office is participating in the 2025 Congressional App Challenge. Now through the end of October, middle and high school students of all coding skill levels in Illinois’s 8th Congressional District are encouraged to take part. Learn more by watching my video on the challenge here and get started here.
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The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter (X) here, my Facebook page here, my Instagram here, my Threads here, and my Bluesky here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.
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