Metro East Sun

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) is proud a bill that would pull state investments in Russian businesses, while preparing for an influx of Ukrainian refugees passed the House so easily.

“It is good to see that when good legislation can be made better, we can pull it from the record, not take an immediate vote, and come back with an even better bill,” Davidsmeyer recently said from the House floor. “I hope this will be a lesson to this body on how we can better serve our constituents together. I really appreciate your willingness to pull it from a vote in the exec committee and come back with an amendment that would fix the bill and make it stronger for the Ukrainian people.”

Davidsmeyer was referring to Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago), the chief sponsor of House Bill 1293. She is joined by 30 colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, as co-sponsors.

In addition to divesting from Russian businesses and providing help for Ukrainian refugees, the bill also creates the Money Laundering in Real Estate Task Force and the Illinois Elections and Infrastructure Integrity Task Force ahead of the 2024 election to prepare for and prevent potential cyberattacks. 

“This bill in itself is not going to end the war in Ukraine,” LaPointe said, according to Week 25. “But it’s a way to harness our collective power and do everything we can in Illinois to make a statement to support Ukrainian people.”

House Bill 1293 passed the House on April 5 unanimously with 114 yes votes. It has now moved on to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) told Week 25 he saw a bipartisan effort in the House.

“The atrocities that have happened are just mind-numbing in this day and age to just see that that kind of thing happens,” Butler said. “And I think all of us have to look at that and say we need to do whatever we can as elected officials to respond in a way that we should.”