Working for Illinois Caucus

Gregg Johnson is a Democrat who resides in East Moline and represents the 72nd House District. Johnson is a former Department of Corrections officer and supervisor and was the president of his local AFSCME chapter. He was elected to the House in 2022.

Revenue package, including tax increase on sportsbooks and child tax credit for low- and middle-income families: Yes

State-level regulations on carbon capture technology, including two-year pipeline moratorium: Yes

Banning step therapy, reining in prior authorization in health care industry: Yes

Prohibiting anti-union "captive-audience" meetings: Yes

House Bill 4954: The U.S Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration must certify four state mine rescue stations. Every coal-producing mine must maintain a mine rescue team or mine complex rescue team with someone in charge of training and recordkeeping and at least one member trained in the maintenance of the breathing apparatuses. (passed)

House Bill 4552: Would require the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to study the economic impact of requiring at least 25% of plants used in landscaping projects on state property or in projects financed with state funds to be species native to Illinois. (did not pass)

House Bill 4417: All public high schools and charter schools would be allowed to designate and annually observe a week known as “Workplace Readiness Week.” (passed)

Johnson said some of the successes from session include the state making its full required pension payment. On a local level, he was happy that the Illinois Quad-Cities were added to the River Edge Redevelopment Zone program, which offers tax breaks and incentives meant to spur the redevelopment of environmentally-challenged riverfront properties.

“Another big focus of mine has been trying to use the Mississippi River as a place to draw people in, and I think the River’s Edge tax credit is going to do quite a bit to bring businesses in as well.”

Johnson said he would have liked to see more attention paid on the economic side of downstate Illinois.

“I think we always feel like we’re fighting for our fair share of funding. We feel like sometimes Chicago and the suburbs of Chicago will get (more) funding than some of these areas, and I think that we can do better here. I think we could be treated a little bit more fairly on some of that development. We have the same needs that those other communities have, and I think we should make sure that when we go into budget session, we should be treated that way.”