NW Illinois News

Republican state Sen. Neil Anderson is determined to hold onto his place in Illinois' legislature.

Less than a month after the Democratic-majority approved newly drawn legislative maps that drew him out of the 36th District seat he’s held for two terms, Anderson has thrown his hat in the ring in the 47th District.

“It’s a completely new district; it’s a new challenge,” Anderson told QCTimes.com. “It's a lot bigger. I'll go from representing two counties geographically to 16. I grew up in the rural Quad-Cities. The new district is so big because it's based on population and it's a very rural district. I think I have a lot to bring to the table having grown up out in the country and on a farm."

Still, Anderson admits his decision to take on his latest challenge didn’t come easily.

"There was a lot of thought and a lot of praying with the family that went into deciding to run again," he said. "I was encouraged by a lot of my colleagues and others from Congress to maybe run for higher office. That was something I thought about as well. But at the end of the day, I think I can best serve the constituents in the state of Illinois being there in the Senate."

A firefighter and paramedic in the city of Moline for the last 15 years, Anderson was first elected to the 36th state Senate district in 2014 and reelected in 2018. He has long been a supporter of term limits, suggesting 10-year limits, and insists that hasn’t changed.

 "A couple of years ago, I filed Constitutional Amendment 4, and that (included) term limits for everybody," he added. "I do believe in term limits, but it has to apply to everyone. As (U.S. Sen.) Rand Paul has said, we can't force the good people out if we're not applying it to everybody. That's something I'm going to keep fighting for, and I'll refile it and see if we can get a hearing on it."

If elected again, Anderson vows many of his long-held priorities won’t change, especially when it comes to public safety.

"We have to make sure we are fighting for our law enforcement and first responders and make sure they can do their jobs to keep our community safe," he said. "That is going to take some convincing of the (Democrats) that we need to invest in law enforcement rather than de-invest in them."

The veteran lawmaker, who to date is the only candidate to announce in the 47th District, recently founded the 2APatriot PAC, a political action committee focused on recruiting, supporting and electing candidates who support issues that support the Second Amendment.

The Rock Island Today also reported Anderson recently called out Gov. J.B. Pritzker over what he sees as his faulty handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

“For nearly two years now, we've seen the governor take a unilateral approach at mitigations and mandates,” he said during an Oct. 26 news conference on the subject. “Trying to figure out the best way to get people safely back to work and get our state back on its feet should not be done by rule by fiat by the governor.”

Anderson argues that Pritzker’s actions have only served to make a bad situation worse for many residents.

“This has impacted communities on the borders like my district and I'm sure some of my colleagues, too,” he added. “People are fleeing Illinois to Iowa to go shopping, to buy fuel, and to have the retail experience. By continuing to exclude us as leaders and local leaders, he has caused a huge problem not only with government but with trust in the process.”

Anderson points to Senate Bill as a move toward bringing about the level of change he argues is needed. The bill he is now co-sponsoring seeks to amend the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act to establish that “after an initial proclamation declaring that a disaster exists, the governor may only extend that declaration or make further proclamations regarding the same disaster if the General Assembly passes a resolution within five calendar days that approves the extension or further proclamation.”

Anderson also recently spoke out against the state’s rising crime rate to the Rock Island Today.

“I’m tired of hearing that we need to be mindful of the criminal,” Anderson said in a video recently posted to YouTube. “We need to start being mindful of the victims and our law enforcement. Recidivism is at an all-time high and that’s something we can control.”

Anderson is joining other GOP lawmakers championing the Fund The Police Act proposed by state Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) as the answer. The measure seeks to address the problem by “getting more boots on the ground to fight violent crime, funding police training, incentivizing the hiring and retention of police officers, helping to offset local governments’ police overtime costs and helping to tackle mental health issues.”

Rose’s proposal also seeks to create a $100 million fund for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board that would be used to make grants available to local governments and universities to hire more police officers and purchase equipment designed to prevent gang violence. The measure also mandates that a defendant who commits aggravated battery to a police officer serve at least 85% of his or her sentence and denies bail for previously convicted gun offenders or a felon charged with a gun offense.

"Public safety is very important to me, mostly because of my job as a professional firefighter, but one of the things that's been frustrating is that Friday I'll be back on duty for another 24-hour shift and I guarantee you I'm going to go on a call that involves violence,” Anderson said. “That's not unique, but what is getting to be more prominent is that we're going out on these calls time and time again with the same people.”