Metro East Sun

Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) quoted a pop icon during his outgoing speech on the last day of the legislative session.

"One senator when he left quoted Taylor Swift saying, ‘Haters gonna hate,’ but that doesn’t mean that we don’t go to extremes to bring peace,” McCarter said on May 31, not noting who he was speaking about. “That senator made my life interesting here as you know.”

He continued by saying that although lawmakers’ convictions and beliefs may be very different, that does not mean that senators cease to argue for said convictions without the utmost respect for the opposing person’s view.

Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon)

“And ours have been different—I know that,” McCarter said.

Government is a necessary institution, but it is much less capable of delivering functional families and neighborhoods without violence and a peaceful and prosperous country, according to McCarter, who said "it's effectiveness will be... equal to the compassion of the leadership of the politicians in power and their willingness to have tough crucial conversations." 

"Speaking of crucial conversations, there is a place called purgatory. Perhaps that is where most of my bills reside," McCarter said, gaining laughter from the Senate floor. "It is the intermediate state where, after physical death, those who are ultimately destined for heaven must first go to undergo purification as to achieve the holiness necessary to get into the joy of heaven, or perhaps they're destined for Hell in one of those seven levels of 'Dante’s Inferno.'"

He said that since that is where a majority of his bills have ended up during the 10 years he has served, he would like to name them again, so they will not be forgotten.

“SB 3609, talks about how we arm dependable, qualified people in our schools to protect our children,” McCarter said. “It talks about how we give our children the same protection that we as legislators are afforded.”

He then mention SB 77, which "is justice for the poor that is enslaved in the entitlement of the welfare system."

He said penalties for cashing assistance checks unlawfully to support addictions would have been addressed in his bill, as well as penalties for participating in gambling with state-assistance funds “so they don’t use the money we gave them to destroy their life." 

After noting a couple of other bills that he had attempted to pass, McCarter said the most important bill, the very reason why he came to the capital, was his worker’s compensation legislation, which, to his knowledge, received a record 28 present votes. 

“Business needs a break in this state," McCarter said. "They don’t need opposition or being told that they are evil.”

McCarter concluded by saying that all men—lawmakers or not—must be good stewards with the gifts God has given them. 

“May we all gather from within us the courage to stand for what is right for the people of Illinois,” he said. “It’s been my honor and privilege to serve with you, spar with you and be entertained by you.”