METROPOLIS – State Rep. Patrick Windhorst says Governor JB Pritzker’s signature on a major expansion of the State of Illinois’ Sanctuary State law (HB 1312) is a mistake that will harm public safety and cost taxpayers more money. Windhorst voted against the legislation during the October 2025 Veto Session.
“This legislation establishes the ability to sue anyone who violates someone else’s Constitutional Rights during immigration enforcement action. While this legislation is largely aimed at ICE agents and law enforcement officers who are trying to do their job in deporting criminal illegal immigrants, it will also mean local and state law enforcement officers can be sued,” Windhorst said. “The Governor has made a regular practice of resisting anything the Trump administration is for. In this case, that means the Governor is standing up once again for the rights of illegal immigrants over the rights and public safety of law-abiding Illinois taxpayers, who have already paid billions of dollars to prop up the Sanctuary State policies of Illinois through premium healthcare, cash payments, and other types of assistance to those who entered the country illegally.”
The legislation will also place new requirements on hospitals, childcare facilities, and higher education institutions on how they work with law enforcement on their premises and restrictions on what information they can share with law enforcement, with potential penalties for those institutions that fail to comply.
Windhorst offered sharp criticism for the process that led to the bill’s passage on the final day of the fall Veto Session, pointing out that Republicans weren’t even given a chance to read the final bill before it was brought for debate and a vote on the House Floor.
“As the House GOP Floor Leader, I asked that we be given at least one hour’s notice to read the bill when the amendment was filed,” Windhorst said. “Disappointingly, but maybe not surprisingly, House Democrats voted to suspend their own rules and passed the bill in the middle of the night, giving the Republicans in the House and the public no time to review the bill’s contents. This is a major expansion of the TRUST Act, or what is better known as our Sanctuary State policies. I maintain my belief that this law is unconstitutional, and that its implementation will hurt morale in our law enforcement community, stifle recruitment, and cause people to retire or choose other professions. I voted NO.”
