By Illinois Review
Illinois State Representative Norine Hammond’s voting record is under renewed fire as grassroots conservatives shine a spotlight on a series of Democrat-aligned votes that have resurfaced amid a growing storm of political controversies.
Hammond, the Deputy Republican Leader in the Illinois House, has long represented a deep-red district in western Illinois – where more than 70 percent of voters supported Donald Trump. Yet her voting record tells a very different story: one increasingly in lockstep with Gov. JB Pritzker’s progressive agenda.
At the center of the latest backlash is Hammond’s 2023 vote to allow non-citizens to serve as police officers – a Democrat-backed measure that became law on January 1, 2024. House Bill 3751 permits green-card holders and certain non-citizens with federal work authorization to be sworn in as officers in Illinois.
Supporters claimed the law would help address police staffing shortages, but conservatives across the state saw it as an attack on citizenship and the rule of law, including groups like the National Fraternal Order of Police.
In the Illinois Senate, nearly all Republicans opposed it, with only one GOP senator voting in favor and 18 voting against. Despite near-unanimous Republican opposition in the Senate, Hammond voted with Democrats in the House, helping send the measure to Pritzker’s desk.
That decision has become a flashpoint among conservatives, who say Hammond has abandoned the values she once claimed to defend.
The resurfacing of that 2023 vote comes as Hammond faces mounting scrutiny over a series of other scandals first exposed by Illinois Review. Among them: her 2024 vote for Senate Bill 3597, which expanded Pritzker’s taxpayer-backed “Illinois Climate Bank” for green energy loans, and her 2023 vote to expand transgender patient rights in state health facilities.
These votes, combined with new ethical questions, have shattered grassroots confidence in Hammond’s leadership.
She is also entangled in the growing “PillowGate” scandal after revelations that House Republican Leader Tony McCombie – whom Hammond personally nominated for Speaker – approved taxpayer-funded payments to a business owned by Hammond’s husband. The controversy has intensified calls for transparency within the House GOP caucus.
And on Friday, Hammond was hit with yet another controversy: a formal complaint filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections accusing her of misusing campaign funds. Records show she wrote herself multiple checks labeled only as “non-itemized reimbursements,” totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, Gov. Pritzker’s broader agenda has only deepened concerns among conservatives. While citizens face rising crime, record taxes, and underfunded police departments, Pritzker continues to pour billions of taxpayer resources into benefits for illegal aliens – including free health care, housing, and food.
His administration has openly clashed with federal immigration enforcement, accusing ICE agents of “targeting” migrants while refusing to cooperate with detainer requests. Critics say those actions not only reward lawbreakers but also endanger the lives of ICE officers and law-abiding residents alike.
For many in her deep-red district, Hammond’s record has become a symbol of Republican hypocrisy – campaigning as a conservative, but voting and governing like a Democrat.
With her credibility eroding and scandals piling up, Hammond’s once-secure seat is no longer guaranteed. For many conservatives, she now represents exactly what’s wrong with Illinois politics: politicians who promise one thing – and deliver the opposite.
