Senator Steve McClure Launches Re-Election Campaign
With a pledge to continue standing up for safe communities and law-abiding citizens, State Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield) today announced his campaign for re-election in Illinois’ 54th Senate District.
“Our families deserve to feel safe and proud of Illinois, but crime is out of control, taxes keep climbing, and too many politicians put criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens,” said McClure. “I’m running to change that. It’s time to restore law and order, secure our communities, and uphold the conservative values that make our state strong and safe for everyone.”
Since taking office in 2019, Senator McClure has emerged as a leading advocate for public safety in Springfield. He helped craft a major legislative package to support police, keep violent offenders off the streets, and repeal the dangerous provisions of the controversial SAFE-T Act.
He also passed legislation that allows DCFS frontline workers to carry pepper spray for self-defense and successfully worked to remove members of the controversial Prisoner Review Board that were releasing murders before the expiration of their sentences.
McClure also backed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit compelling Illinois officials to comply with federal immigration law, arguing that state leaders must stop prioritizing criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens. Additionally, he introduced legislation to protect election integrity after discovering state agencies were sending voter registration forms to noncitizens – an effort to ensure only eligible citizens vote in Illinois elections.
As a fiscal conservative, McClure has consistently fought against wasteful spending and higher taxes, and he has been an outspoken critic of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s budgets. He points out that state spending has ballooned by nearly 40% in six years and that the latest $55 billion budget was packed with roughly $1 billion in new taxes.
“For years, Illinois politicians have been piling one tax after another onto our hard-working families,” said McClure. “Governor Pritzker’s $1.50 delivery tax is the cherry on top of a bloated tax-and-spend agenda that’s driving residents out of Illinois. Enough is enough – it’s time to rein in spending and give taxpayers a break.”
Before being elected to the Senate, Steve served for nearly six years as an assistant state’s attorney in Sangamon County, where he rose to chief of the Juvenile Division and later prosecuted violent felonies. He currently serves as a Republican Assistant Leader in the Senate and is the caucus’s leading voice on criminal law issues.