North Egypt News

State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) recently welcomed GOP gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) to Fairfield for a petition-signing drive.

“Great meeting with Darren and Cindy Bailey as they hosted a petition signing event in Fairfield tonight,” Severin posted on Facebook. “I am looking forward to serving the good people of Wayne County as the next 116th District State Representative. Thankful to all that have signed my petition so far. Team Severin is building a strong conservative movement for the hard working families in Southern and Southeastern Illinois.”

Severin recently launched his reelection campaign with a vow to “protect our God-given constitutional freedoms in the face of an out-of-control Governor.”

In another post to Facebook, he wrote "JB Pritzker has used COVID-19 to destroy businesses and control every aspect of our lives through Executive Order. Enough is enough."

Since arriving in Springfield, Severin has served as a member of several key House committees, including Agriculture, Energy and Environment, Veterans' Affairs, Higher Education, Judiciary Criminal Law, Elementary and Secondary Education, Tourism, and most recently, the House Redistricting Committee.

"It's been my distinct and humbling honor to serve the people of the 117th district and Southern Illinois over the last nine months," he said. "Last year, the voters decided they wanted to chart a new course for our region. With that in mind, I've worked hard to keep the promises I made during that campaign. Voting in the House, I have said no to higher taxes, no to taxpayer-funded abortions, no to a bailout of Chicago Public Schools and no to placing Mike Madigan as Speaker of the House. I'll keep taking our voice and Southern Illinois values to Springfield every day."

Severin also recently cast a vote against changes to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which closed loopholes to vaccine and mask mandates.

"My voting record reflects my strong conservative Republican principles," he said. "I have opposed all of the Democrats' gun-grabbing attempts, I voted against JB Pritzker's plan to limit religious freedoms in health care matters and I voted against the Democrats' ridiculous gerrymandered legislative maps. I have a long conservative legislative record that puts me in the strongest position to continue representing the people of Southern Illinois in a new district."

A lifetime resident of Benton, Severin recently threw his support behind a campaign to repeal what some have cast as “the anti-police, pro-criminal” SAFE-T Act.

“I am the House Republicans’ spokesman on the House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee and have fervently opposed all efforts to defund and disarm our police,” he said in a post to his website. “The Safety Accountability, Fairness & Equity Today Act was purported to keep Illinois families safer. However, that has not been the outcome for those who are already battling violence in their neighborhoods.”

Severin argues since the measure became law, violent crime across Chicago and its surrounding suburbs has spiked, including murders, expressway shootings, carjackings, assaults, armed robberies, smash and grabs and mob retail theft.

With overall crime in the city up by 7.5% compared to 2019, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “In the seven most-violent police districts in the city, the rate was 25 times higher than the rest of the city — nearly 100 murders per 100,000 residents. That’s the largest such gap between the safest and least-safe areas in the 60 years of data tracked by the Crime Lab.”

Severin urged voters to voice their support for House Bill 598, which seeks to fully repeal the SAFE-T Act.   

“The new SAFE-T Act has made Illinois a less safe place to live for just about everyone,” he said. “Something needs to be done to address violent crime in Illinois, but it is clear rushing legislation through the General Assembly was not the right solution. It is when debate and honest input are rejected that well-intended legislation fails to deliver for the people of Illinois. Such is the case of the SAFE-T Act of 2021.