Tom Weber: 2026 candidate for Illinois House District 64

Bio

Office sought: House District 64

Party: Republican

City: Lake Villa

Age: 59

Previous offices held: Lake County Board, Forest Preserve Board

Q&A

What do you consider the three most pressing issues facing the state in the next four years, and how should they be addressed?

Illinois families are struggling to afford basic needs like food, gas, insurance, a home, utilities, health care, education, and more. It's time we focus on them.

First, we need to undo the massive gas hike that doubled in 2019 along with the automatic yearly increase based on inflation. This tax hurts every person at the gas pump, but also the cost of delivering goods to our stores, effectively causing higher prices.

Next, stop raising tolls commuters pay to travel to work. We continue to see toll hikes rise, with the new fee increase coming January 1st.

Other necessary changes include ensuring sufficient baseload energy, reform our business environment to attract more job creators so our economy can grow, and relaxing mandates on homebuilding to bring down housing costs.

How would you assess the General Assembly's handling, to date, of the various proposals surrounding a Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights? What proposals would you have been willing to support and in what ways, if any, might you have approached it differently?

What started out as a request for some help with infrastructure has grown into a complete disaster, caused by a lack of leadership and communication. My only concern is protecting taxpayers if this project moves forward.

Now roughly three years into the elimination of cash bail in Illinois as part of the SAFE-T Act, how would you assess the success or failure of the criminal justice reform measure? What changes, if any, would you support?

I continue to work with victims to address weaknesses in our criminal justice laws. Unfortunately, the stories of victims of the SAFE-T Act go unheard. In the case of Megan Bos, a young lady was missing for nearly 2 months. When police finally located Megan’s body, it had been stuffed head-first in a garbage can, bleach poured over her. The man likely responsible destroyed evidence but could not be held in jail under the SAFE-T Act.

Not every case in court is the same, and that is why I filed legislation returning the power to a judge to have discretion on detention. Other legislative changes needed are to tighten electronic monitoring by eliminating the two days a week of unmonitored movement.

I have made progress on revoking professional licenses for convicted sexual predators. This issue came to light after a victim was assaulted in a massage salon, yet her convicted perpetrator was still licensed 7 months later. I intend to file additional legislation requiring regular background checks for license holders to ensure anyone walking into an Illinois massage studio is served by a vetted professional.

Illinois homeowners face one of the highest relative property tax burdens in the country. What specific proposals could you offer to ease the burden on state residents?

Property taxes are out of control and rapidly increasing. It's unsustainable to slap property owners with property tax increases until they are forced from their homes. It's not the mortgage chasing people out of Illinois, it’s the property tax system.

There are actions legislators should take. First, consistently fund the Targeted Property Tax Relief Grants. Data has proven the relief grants help keep property taxes lower, and we must use that information to consistently implement this program as a priority- not as an afterthought.

A direct help to families would be for the State of Illinois to increase funding to our schools, per child, with the requirement that every one of those dollars be deducted from the school levy for taxpayer relief.

Additional actions would be to stop passing unfunded mandates, incentivize consolidation where practical, fund the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), and ask voters before any debt extensions.

Gov. JB Pritzker recently paused a state initiative granting incentives to data center developers, and residents statewide have concerns about how such developments are affecting their access to water, utility rates, and the environment. How should the state approach data centers going forward?

Data Centers, and all large projects in general, should show their work transparently, in publicly available documents, from everyone involved (company and governing body), to ensure all costs are accounted for and that those costs will not be passed on to the taxpayer. They should have community support. People have heard too many times the benefits of these projects but rarely do they hear how it will cost them money. Often costs for infrastructure of utilities and roads get passed on to the taxpayers. Bring your own water, bring your own energy, pay for your infrastructure. It’s time we put taxpayers first.

Illinois’ “sanctuary” policies concerning immigration have made it a target for the Trump administration and critics who say they encourage criminal behavior. How do you feel about those policies, and how, if at all, would you change them?

I support a repeal of the TRUST Act so local law enforcement can work with federal officials to take dangerous criminals off the street. How many victims’ families like Megan Bos's have to wonder, would my child still be alive today if we had stronger laws?

Many women in the legislature complain about a culture of sexual harassment in Springfield. Do you see evidence of this and, if so, what should be done about it?

Over the years I have seen great strides in professionalizing politics, but there is a long way to go. Harassment, political appointments, sweetheart deals, kickbacks, and more still occur. In fact, one member of the current General Assembly is under federal indictment right now. We need to crack down on corruption, work together to strengthen the Legislative Inspector General’s (LIG) office, and pass legislation aimed at reforming lobbying rules and disincentivising bad behavior. The LIG should have subpoena power and true independence from lawmakers.

Misconduct complaints need to be handled with competence, expediency, and transparency so victims are heard and the accused can have opportunities to defend themselves. The LIG should have experience in conducting professional investigations and inquiries, take detailed notes and recordings, and understand how to speak to victims and witnesses in a way that puts them at ease, rather than cause additional angst.

Are you satisfied with the state's existing ethics policies for senators and representatives? If so, what about the policies should reassure Illinoisans that elected leaders abide by high standards? If not, what changes need to be made?

Our Republican caucus continues to bring public attention to bills filed to improve our ethics laws. I support a strengthened and professional LIG office, fixes to the legislator-to-lobbyist revolving door, a ban on using campaign funds to pay for legal fees when a member abuses the public trust, and recall to put voters in the driver’s seat.

What personal qualifications do you bring that would make you an effective legislator?

As a small business owner, I know firsthand how job creators are impacted by the layers of regulation and cost increases implemented by the General Assembly. I believe it’s an important point of view, and I take my responsibility seriously of advocating for mom and pop businesses throughout our state.

The work I find most rewarding is legislation I have worked to pass for victims and their families. When a mother of a boy killed in a DUI crash wanted to honor her son by changing the law to protect others, I was able to do it, and was recognized by MADD. After hearing about a 16 year old girl trafficked by foster parent, I worked to change the law to ensure human traffickers could never become foster parents. A woman told me her experience of sexual assault at a massage salon, and this year we were able to change the law to revoke the professional licenses of predators. Currently, I’m working on legislation after witnessing the pain of Megan Bos' family watching a man walk free after he hid her body and destroyed evidence. I continue my work as state representative because these victims matter, and working to prevent these crimes matters.