** Patriots,
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On May 5th, we helped launch the Illinois Freedom Caucus, the 5th state to join our State Freedom Caucus Network. Below is a Q&A session that we recently did with its chairman, Chris Miller. We hope you enjoy it.
Representative Chris Miller speaks before the Illinois Freedom Caucus at their launch in Chicago, Illinois, May 5th, 2022.


** Q&A: Representative Chris Miller,
Illinois Freedom Caucus Chairman
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Tell us about yourself. How long have you lived in Illinois?

I’m the State Representative for District 100th, which is Southeastern IL. I’m a lifelong Illinois resident. I’ve lived in Illinois for 68 years. My family has lived in the Coles and Douglas County area for over 100 years. We’re an agriculturally based family. I spent four years getting my BA in Education at Eureka College where former President Ronald Reagan also went to school. I had the privilege of meeting him while I was there. I also played football up there. My wife and I have been married 42 years this coming July. We have seven children and 19 grandchildren. We farm corn, soybeans and wheat and raise purebred Angus herd which comes to about 100 pairs of angus cattle. We raised children with the philosophy for them to learn work, serve and suffer. The farm has been a perfect environment to achieve all those goals.

How has Illinois politics affected your life as a farmer?

The problem as a farmer is that we always struggle, as a small family farm in particular, to make ends meet. Illinois has decided they want a very hostile environment for businesses and families with burdensome real estate taxes, income taxes and every other way they can tax us. They’re killing small family farms and small businesses. We’ve lived in our house for the last 42 years. When we moved in our real estate taxes were $900. Now the real estate taxes are $5,000.

What made you want to run for office?

What really triggered me was that we had a 32% tax increase that passed. The guy who held my seat voted for the tax hike. He knew he wouldn’t be re-elected again after voting for it. Two current state representatives approached me and asked if I would run and I said I would.

Why are you a conservative?

When you look at conservatism and how you would define that, in my mind, it means they are principled people, for one. Secondly, there are three defining documents for a conservative, which is the Word of God, our Constitution, and the Republican Party platform. If you remain true to these defining documents, you have a line in the sand and won't get off into the weeds. Also, when you think of conservatism, in my mind, there’s seven planks that define a conservative which are individual liberty, limited government, rule of law, fiscal responsibility, fair markets, the precious sanctity of life and understanding the idea of peace and restraint. Those define who I am as a conservative.

How will the Illinois Freedom Caucus work with the Republican party?

What the ILFC is doing is calling the Republican Party back to the foundations that make us Republicans. The Constitution and the Republican Party platform have to take precedence. The establishment Republicans think the pathway to victory is through compromise and acquiescent to the Dems and the far left wing of the party. I personally think the pathway to victory is to be who you are, to stand for the platform and have a backbone filled with iron knowing we aren’t compromising but staying true to the things that make the Republican party the Republican party. We’ve worked our way into a super-minority through poor leadership and straying away from the fundamentals, so to say, the faith of our party. The only way to restore confidence in the grassroots of the Republican Party and actually, the people that make it move, is that we build it from the ground up. The people, the citizens want the Republicans to act like Republicans, not RINO’s, not like the establishment has or acquiesce the
special interest groups that continue to destroy businesses and families in the state of Illinois. Some people would say that Illinois is a lost cause.

What caused you start the Illinois Freedom Caucus?

I don’t think Illinois is a lost cause. That’s why we’ve drawn a line in the sand and are standing firm to fight for the future of the great state. One thing we can recognize is that the politician thinks about the next election, but a patriot thinks about the next generation. Right now we’re focused on the next generation of Illinoisans to make life better for them. So I absolutely don’t think Illinois is a lost cause. We’ve gotten in the position where we’ve been because of bad policy. We’ve dug a massive hole and they’ve begun to cover us. Myself and other members in the Freedom Caucus are bound and determined to climb out of the hole that the Dems and RINO establishment have dug. We’re going to embrace the ideals that make America who we are and fight against all the powers that be and all the forces of the establishment RINO’s as well as the Democrats to stand firm against this tide.

The Lord said when iniquity would abound, He would rise a standard against it. We are part of that standard that is rising up. Because what they want us to do is sit down, shut up and go over in the corner. It’s time for this generation of American patriots and the Illinois Freedom Caucus to not be silent anymore but to stand up and speak up. We need to inform the citizens of Illinois of what’s going on, especially in the establishment Republican party.

How does the Illinois Freedom Caucus plan to combat the long time corruption in Illinois
politics?

In order to solve any problem you must recognize that you have a problem. Right now, we do have a problem in the state of Illinois and it’s been brought to you by the establishment RINO’s and the Democratic party. One of our primary missions is to educate the people and look at the facts and be able to segment and define the problems. For every problem, there’s always a solution to that problem. One thing we talk about is Habakuk 2:2 - that we “write the vision and make it plain” so that the people who read it can run with it. ILFC is coming up with solutions to fix the problems that we have here in the state of Illinois. We’re working diligently with the next Governor Darren Bailey and Congresswoman Mary Miller to actually address the reasons why Illinois is a sinking ship and begin to plug the holes one hole at a time.

What is one way you see Illinois being turned around?

The only way to fix Illinois is to stop electing Democrats to public office. They have no solutions. Their paradigm for governing is more borrowing, more taxes and more spending. They have no moral fiber to govern their decisions. One of the messages we have to be clear about is that in order for God to bless Illinois, we need to repent and allow the Word of God to revive our dying land. Stop electing visionless leaders. The Dems have no plan. We can see they have no plan by the way they govern. Since 2018, the state budget was $32 billion. The next budget is going to be up to $46.5 billion. If money could fix the problem, then Illinois would be on the right path. Any extra income we have is from federal money, which means you’ve been taxed again. The federal government doesn’t have any money unless they’ve taxed you again. We’re on a downward spiral and it’s time for the ILFC to be the first one to pull the jake brake.

What do you see as the biggest issue Illinois is facing?

The biggest issue Illinois is facing is the moral rot of our government and elected officials.

What are some policy proposals you’d like to see passed in the 2023 legislative
session?

Here’s the problem, to be real, we’re in a super minority. If it’s going to be business as usual, the Republican Party is not going to pass any true reforms. As long as Dems are in charge, any reform measures won’t see the light of day. As long as we have Dems in the Governor’s mansion and as the supermajority, it will be business as usual.

What can be done? Can the ILFC help to stop these bad bills from going through?

One thing we’ve done is establish a beachhead era in Illinois politics. Another thing we can do with some of our staff is do research and throw sand in the gears of the Democrat machine. We may not be able to stop every bad bill but we can slow it down, expose it and shout from the rooftop and from the mountain tops what’s going on and get the ear of the public. They’re governing against the will of the people. Illinois, in my opinion, is a center right state. The people don’t like what’s going on. The polling data reflect their displeasure with Governor Pritzker and Joe Biden. When you look at the raw data, it gives us hope that we’ve got their attention and they’re listening. We need to strike while the iron is hot and have a well thought out meaningful message that will resonate with the common sense, hardworking people of Illinois.

A lot of times they want to pass these terrible bills in secret in the middle of the night so no one will know about it. There is a reason they pass stuff at 2am, 3am or 4am in the morning. Even they know they are bad bills because if they were good bills, they’d be passing them in the light of day. But instead, they’re hiding in the dark hours of the night. So one of the biggest things the ILFC can do is create awareness of what’s really going on.
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