Rockford Sun

Illinois Sen. Andrew Chesney sent a message to consumers and to his colleagues in the General Assembly in an April 17 Facebook post, in which he encouraged fewer economic restrictions.

"Rather than weighing our businesses down with onerous regulations and wrapping them up in red tape, we need to support our businesses and show them through our policies that we appreciate their choice to locate in Illinois," he wrote.

Chesney, a former member of the Freeport City Council, also shared a news release by Senate Republicans, who discussed barriers to job creation and economic development, as well as sharing their agenda for economic growth.

“Illinois can and must do more to let businesses know that we value them and appreciate their decisions to locate and operate in the State of Illinois. Unfortunately, the policies coming out of Springfield convey just the opposite. We make our business owners jump through an inordinate number of hoops and we wrap them up in red tape,” Chesney said in the release. “Rather than stifling the state’s job creators, let’s help them grow.”

A piece of legislation Sponsored by Chesney and Sen. Craig Wilcox, Senate Bill 2140, would amend the Limited Liability Company Act by reducing "various filing fees payable to the Secretary of State by 50%," according to state documents. Chesney filed the bill Feb. 10, and it would go into effect immediately upon passage. The same day, it was referred to the Assignments committee, which was the last action on the bill.

Chesney also co-sponsored Senate Bill 140, which would eliminate the Estate Tax for persons dying on or after the effective date, or for transfers made on or after the effective date. The bill was sponsored initially by Sen. Jil Tracy and co-sponsored by Chesney, Jason Plummer, Dave Syverson, Craig Wilcox and Win Stoller. It was initially filed on Jan. 24, and it was re-referred to the assignments committee on March 10.