SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Working to improve election transparency, state Rep. Chung, D-Bloomington, is sponsoring legislation that will prevent corporations from financially supporting candidates or ballot initiatives, expanding existing state law to mitigate financial election interference.

“Citizens United changed the landscape of elections for the worst,” said Chung. “Allowing corporations and elites to influence election outcomes and bolster candidates takes power away from the people. We need to restore the voting power to the people who should truly determine their representatives and what initiatives should be executed.”

House Bill 4435 will prohibit corporations from engaging in any and all election activities, from impacting a candidate’s nomination to influencing ballot initiatives on potential policies or programs. Additionally, super PACS and other similar organizations would no longer be able to donate to campaigns.

“Voters should determine elections, not billionaires and corporations,” said Chung. “This is just one step in removing elitism from elections and leaning into grassroot organizing and fundraising.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, helped pass a formal resolution opposing a Republican bill introduced last week to the Illinois State Senate, seeking to classify reproductive healthcare services—including in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments—as capital murder.

“In Illinois we believe in women’s fundamental rights and will continue to protect healthcare and reproductive care,” said Chung. “Unlike the male senator who introduced this bill, I have been pregnant and experienced reproductive healthcare. To assert that conception care, let alone termination care, could result in capital punishment is absurd and shameful.”

Senate Bill 3572 severely punishes women seeking reproductive healthcare, specifically abortion services, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The legislation states that all embryos and fertilized eggs are considered human beings in the eyes of the law. Thus, under this bill, abortion and IVF treatments would be labeled as murder, and the subsequent penalties for women and medical professionals would be harsher than the penalties for rapists and abusers. 

House Resolution 695 vehemently opposes Senate Bill 3572, reaffirming support for survivors of rape and incest, parents trying to start a family, and any and all women seeking legal reproductive healthcare, for any reason, in Illinois. The resolution also highlights similar legislation made legal in Alabama in 2024, where anti-choice Republicans nationwide remarked that IVF would be protected—indicating that extremist bills like Senate Bill 3572 would never be supported within their party. 

“As a mother, I will continue to protect women’s rights to dictate their reproductive health. As a legislator in this body, I will not stand for vitriol and violence towards women,” said Chung. “I will continue to advocate for reproductive healthcare across the board, unlike my colleagues who claim to stand for family values and rights.”

​SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –  State Rep. Chung, D-Bloomington, helped pass a formal resolution Wednesday demanding the Trump administration end its illegal censoring of the Epstein files and calling for an independent investigation into the file’s significant, potentially politically-aligned, redactions. 

“The president campaigned on releasing the Epstein files once elected, so my colleagues and I are simply asking the president to fulfill a campaign promise,” said Chung. “Jeffrey Epstein and his fellow abusers need to be held accountable, and their survivors deserve justice. The first step in this long process is releasing the unredacted files so all the necessary information on Epstein’s abuse of children is publically available; this isn’t a tall order and it’s already been demanded by U.S. Congress.”

House Resolution 697 demands that the Trump administration abide by the requirements included in the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act and make redactions explicitly to shield the identities of survivors, as well as releasing all files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices. 

The resolution comes after months-long concerns have been raised over how the U.S. Department of Justice has handled and responded to the act’s disclosure requirements, and whether politically-motivated redactions, or other politically-favored changes, have occurred.

House Resolution 697 passed the House floor partisanly, with zero Republican members voting in favor.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. –  State Rep. Chung, D-Bloomington, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court declaring tariffs President Donald Trump initiated with emergency orders are illegitimate:

“Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled some of the president’s campaign of tariffs are invalid. We already know that these tariffs weren’t working— they’ve been punishing the American people, not foreign countries. Now, at least some of these tariffs will be ineffective, which is a step in the right direction.

“This set of tariffs were ruled illegitimate because of the president’s overreach to assert them, feigning an emergency situation that rendered the tariffs necessary, and without Congressional oversight. The president is not a king, this Supreme Court ruling shows there can be consequences for his unlawful overreach.

“Last month I proudly supported House Resolution 623. The resolution called for the president to rescind his tariffs, even though tariff is his favorite word, and to reimburse the people who really paid for these tariffs— American taxpayers. 

“Let’s take this victory in stride and continue to work to ensure checks and balances in our government.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following Governor JB Pritzker’s budget address, state Rep. Chung, D-Bloomington, released the following statement:

“The Governor’s budget address is the first step in establishing a responsible budget that will ultimately serve families and individuals across the state. My priority is crafting a financially responsible budget that continues the work to make our communities affordable.

“Federal policies and executive orders are making the cost of living unlivable, and it’s our job to work towards remediating this as much as possible with our state budget. We saw the damage that was done in the first year of the Trump Administration, with millions of funds cut for Illinois child care and food access programs, and we cannot let history repeat itself.

“There are countless high priority issues for me in our budget, from ensuring higher education is adequately funded and grants are available to students, to funding the Department of Agriculture, to working to ensure utilities and groceries are affordable and our communities are safe.”

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, joins over 200 lawmakers from all 50 states to sign a comprehensive letter organized by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), and the Child Care for Every Family Network urging the federal government to restore childcare funding.  

“Childcare is one of the highest priority issues across the country, and as a working mom, I know the struggle,” said Chung. “I stand proudly with my colleagues in demanding funding for childcare be released to parents and families nationwide.”

In January, the Trump administration announced its intention to cut childcare funding in five states, including Illinois. Additionally, the federal government’s “Defend the Spend” policy targets social services and childcare programs by forcing agencies servicing these vital resources to provide excessive and unnecessary documents before receiving any kind of funding, causing nationwide delays.

Chung has been integral to championing legislation supporting young families, children, and education access. Recently, Chung co-sponsored House Resolution 621, calling for the immediate release of the $10 billion in child care funds frozen across democratic-majority states, including over $1 billion to Illinois families and children facing poverty, chronic illness or disability.

“Without childcare funding, parents are unable to work and financially care for their families,” said Chung. “These cuts are detrimental to so many families. The Trump Administration cannot keep using our families and children in their political games— it’s immoral and unethical.”

The collaborative letter can be read here and was entered into the record during yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Hearing.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, joins more than 600 state legislators from over 48 states across the country to release a joint national statement regarding the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) occupation of Minneapolis, MN, and the killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, and others at the hands of DHS and ICE.

The statement reads, in full:

“We, the undersigned state legislators from across this country, contend we are at a decisive moment in our nation’s history. For a nation founded 250 years ago on the basic and fundamental principles of freedom, liberty, and inalienable rights, having armed masked federal agents on our streets engaging in a campaign of wanton destruction threatens to destroy these foundational values that underpin our democracy. 

We are stepping into extraordinarily dangerous territory in this country and have reached an unimaginable point where ICE and Border Patrol agents have now, twice within one month, killed US citizens on camera while the federal government tells us not to believe our own eyes.

Further, the vast majority of ICE arrests in our cities and suburbs are of those with no criminal record, while due process and search and seizure rights guaranteed by our Constitution are not just being violated daily: chillingly, per a leaked memo, these violations are sanctioned by the Department of Homeland Security.

We stand with the people of Minnesota and demand that ICE and Border Patrol leave Minnesota immediately.  

We demand a full and independent investigation into the shootings and deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as others, over the last year.

Finally, we demand the restoration of our American values and principles to our federal government, an end to the abductions and killings, an end to the occupation of our towns and cities, and an end to Congressional funding for ICE.”

Chung has been outspoken in condemning ICE, including in a statement responding to ICE presence in her district and in Minnesota.

“The violence we are seeing across America by federal agents is horrifying, to say the least,” said Chung. “To see our Constitutional rights be eroded is disheartening, but what keeps up our spirits is the protests we’re seeing around the country. People are in the streets telling our federal government what they think, and they’re protecting their communities at the same time. I stand with my colleagues and the Minnesotans who are fighting for their livelihood and are demanding a full investigation into the murders of Alex Pretti, Renee Good and all who have died at the hands of federal immigration enforcement.

Chung recently passed House Bill 1312, protecting people from ICE violence at locations including hospitals, courthouses and daycares. Last month, she co-sponsored House Resolution 622, condemning federal violence and lawlessness, and calling for DHS Secretary Noem’s immediate resignation or impeachment. 

The full joint statement can be found here.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, responds to the continued violence of ICE and Border Patrol officers in Minnesota, resulting in at least two deaths and countless injuries this month alone, with this statement:

“I am sickened by the news of an American citizen being killed, and children as young as 5 years-old being detained, in Minnesota this weekend. This is not a political issue. As a proud woman, a mother, the daughter of immigrants— speaking out against the violence we’re seeing ICE and Border Patrol agents commit against American citizens is non-negotiable.

“This weekend, 37 year-old Alex Pretti was executed by Border Patrol agents as he tried to protect a woman they were brutalising. Alex was a son to loving parents, VA nurse, and advocate for social justice. He was an American citizen, killed by Border Patrol for recording violence on his cell phone and protecting a woman being attacked. While he was armed, as is his Constitutional right, he did not brandish his weapon at any point in his deadly interaction with Border Patrol.”

“Already this year we have seen the murder of Renee Good, a loving mother and wife who was not engaged in a protest and whose last words were ‘I’m not mad at you.’ We’ve seen American citizens detained and released at best, killed at worst, and everything in between. This has to end.

“I want to commend my fellow Illinoisans and fellow Midwesterners for protesting despite the intense winter weather this weekend. You’ve made us all proud. I want to urge you all to continue to lead with kindness and empathy, even when facing the opposite. Continue to take care of one another, neighbors and strangers alike. We must all stand together in this fight.”

“The Trump Administration has talked about the ‘enemy within.’ The only enemy I see detaining and killing American citizens is ICE and Border Patrol. We must end this violence immediately, and begin to reform our immigration and immigration policies and processes in our country.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, is standing up to Washington’s affordability crisis by voting to demand the reinstatement of Affordable Care Act subsidies that make healthcare more affordable, and rejecting unconstitutional efforts to freeze funding for affordable childcare.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that affordability is of the utmost concern for so many people in our community and nationwide, and recent actions by the federal government are making this worse,” said Chung. “As a mother, I cannot sit idly by as childcare support and healthcare are stripped away from the families in our community.”

Illinoisans are facing skyrocketing expenses of medical care due to Trump and Republican leaders allowing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire on Jan. 1 of this year, and tariff- motivated price increases on a broad swath of consumer goods—from groceries to warm winter clothing. Additionally, the Trump Administration recently froze $10 billion in funding for affordable childcare, making one of the greatest expense facing working families even more daunting and jeopardizing care for 100,000 Illinois children.

Chung is fighting back by advancing House resolutions formally condemning the causes of the Trump affordability crisis, and demanding solutions:

• House Resolution 620 calls on Congress and the Trump Administration to immediately reinstate the 2022 healthcare subsidies. Because these subsidies were allowed to lapse in January, families are now facing nearly $1,000 in annual premium increases— with rural and downstate communities facing average increases as high as $2,000.
• House Resolution 621 condemns Donald Trump’s effort to freeze funds for affordable child care and calls for the immediate release of all congressionally approved child care funds.

“Enough is enough— it’s time to start holding the Trump Administration accountable for making our lives harder,” said Chung. “I’m going to continue to fight for the affordable, accessible community we all deserve to live in.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, is co-sponsoring a House resolution condemning ICE misconduct across the nation on the heels of releasing a statement last week, where she denounced the disturbing presence of civil immigration agents in the Bloomington-Normal and Peoria areas.

“I will say time and time again that as the daughter of immigrants, I will not stand for the mistreatment and harassment of immigrants, regardless of their immigration status,” said Chung. “In my statement last week, I condemned the violence committed by ICE, and I will continue doing so.”

On Wednesday, Chung co-sponsored House Resolution 622, a resolution that rejects ICE and the federal government’s overreach by:

• Condemning the excessive and deadly force deployed by federal immigration agents
• Calling for the immediate resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
• Requesting an independent investigation into committed, directed or covered up acts of violence, killings and deaths in immigration custody.

“While the violence we’re seeing is horrifying, we must continue to be active in our communities. Continue to support your neighbors and friends, peacefully record any potential ICE presence, and please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns you might have regarding immigration enforcement in our community,” said Chung.