Metro East Sun

State Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) is criticizing what he and others say is an attempt by Illinois Democrats to muzzle political opponents.

“Make no mistake, HB5850 is a direct attack on the right to free speech,” Plummer said in a press release. 

“The voters have the ultimate authority to hold politicians accountable for what they say and do, exactly as it should be," Plummer said. "Free and open elections are the foundation of our democracy. It is truly frightening that anyone would support the idea of empowering bureaucrats to decide to only allow speech they agree with. Worse yet, this bill wouldn’t just apply to candidates, it would also go after citizens for speaking their minds. Offending overly sensitive people is the lesser of two evils compared to violating the constitutional rights of Illinoisans. The freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our nation and I will always be vigilant in defending it.”

The bill in contention is HB5850, which was introduced by State Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie). 

Also known as the Truth In Politics Act, the bill would allow for those in violation to be charged with a class A criminal misdemeanor or be subject to civil litigation. 

“No person shall knowingly or recklessly make, publish, broadcast, or circulate or cause to be made, published, broadcast, or circulated in any letter, circular, advertisement, poster, or other communication any false or misleading statement designed to affect the vote on any public question submitted to the electors at any election or relating to any candidate for election to public office,” the draft bill says.

Critics said Stoneback wants to silence what is currently free speech protected by all people and the U.S. Constitution. 

The Edgar County Watchdogs noted the bill “would criminalize certain speech directed at political campaigns. The bill prescribes criminal and civil penalties for certain election speech and adds speech requirements for political campaigns. Let’s hope this bill goes nowhere."

The exact determination of what is fit to print and distribute is ambiguous, still Stoneback falls back on political rhetoric to describe her want to muzzle speech. 

“All of this disinformation and hateful language is really resulting in disgusted and frustrated voters, that I think we’ve all seen, and it’s causing the public to become distrustful of government and politics in general,” Stoneback told WFIR. “This is a dangerous thing for our democracy.”

Stoneback is in her last days in the chamber. She lost to Kevin Olickal in the Democrat primary who will be taking her spot in the State House.