Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶

B’s Husband. Kas’ Dad. God’s son. Chicagoan. IL State Rep. Speaker Pro Tempore.

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

When the League & NFLPA negotiate the ‘31 CBA, they need an Int’l travel protocol on the table.

A 15 hr ✈️ across the Date Line, landing 27 hrs before kickoff is wild.

Player health & acclimation can’t be left to 32 diff. team philosophies.

Global games are a biz decision.
Int’l travel is a working condition.

[Ryan Clark @Realrclark25]

Boy!! They gonna talk about these different travel plans all day tomorrow.

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

This transformational new agency could not have a better captain at the helm.

TK and I worked together years ago in Senator Durbin’s office, and I’ve long known him to be one of the most capable, passionate and knowledgeable transportation minds around.

Proud to see my friend Tom Kotarac elected the inaugural Chair of the @NITA_Chicago Board. Now let’s get to work.

[Streetsblog Chicago @streetsblogchi]

.@senvillivalam swears in Tom Kotarac as @NITA_Chicago board chair. 🥳

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

Interesting to see this in my texts today.

Nick Saban made 100s of millions in a system where coaches could change jobs, negotiate every dollar of their worth + face no salary cap — while the kids doing the hitting couldn’t.

Now that players finally have leverage, he wants Congress to bring “order” to the market.

PCSA has some good things in it, but it’s not good enough. It gives the institutions antitrust protection without giving the athletes a collectively bargained seat at the table.

Funny how the free market becomes “chaos” when the labor finally gets some freedom.

Ain’t no fun when the rabbits got the gun.

[Robert Townsend @Robert_Townsend]

Today was the service for,Michael Wright. On behalf of his wife, family,I want to say to the fans,thank you for celebrating him, thanks to the fan that put together this montage of Mike from the doc about the making of the Heartbeats. As we say “Got nothin but love for you.”

[Governor JB Pritzker @GovPritzker]

NEW: Illinois scores our 12th credit rating upgrade.

Two credit upgrades back-to-back confirm that our financial progress is built to last.

We’ve transformed our state from one defined by fiscal instability into one earning recognition for responsible fiscal management.

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

Happy NITA day to those who celebrate.

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

Chicago is moving toward what will be a very spirited 2027 muni.election cycle. We’re going to hear a lot from a lot of candidates for mayor, City Council & school board about crime, taxes, schools, budgets and everything they believe is wrong with Chicago.

But we should ask every one of them:

What are you going to build? What are you going to grow? And what does winning actually look like?

Chicago has spent too much time managing scarcity & measuring success by the calamities we avoid. Avoiding disaster is necessary. BUT It is not a vision.

Population policy IS fiscal policy. We can’t keep looking for more ways to tax people, we need more people in the tax base.

So the day the mayor is inaugurated in 2027, start a 10-year clock: 3 million Chicagoans by 2037.

We’re at roughly 2.73 million today. That means gaining about 268,000 people…74 new Chicagoans a day for a decade.

Ambitious? Absolutely. Impossible? Nope. Phoenix, Houston & San Antonio have all experienced sustained periods of growth around that pace. If they can grow, why can’t we?

And let’s not be scared to say big numbers out loud. Publish them. Measure them. Put up a scoreboard.

It’s easy to promise to “strengthen our communities,” “improve our schools” + “grow our economy.” If there’s no number attached, everybody can claim victory.

Let’s be bolder.

3 million Chicagoans. 125,000 new homes. 375,000 CPS students. By 2037.

Then every year, tell us where we stand.

The next election shouldn’t just be a competition over who can best manage what Chicago has left.

Tell us what you’re going to build. Tell us what you’re going to grow. Give us a number. And let us hold you to it.

The candidate who does that will win the election and the Mayor who does it will win the future.

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

11 credit upgrades.

Credit upgrades are the receipts; proof that fiscal discipline pays off.

They tell taxpayers that balanced budgets, paying bills on time, building reserves + meeting our pension obligations are translating into lower borrowing costs and greater financial stability.

We still have hard choices ahead. But Illinois is no longer budgeting from crisis to crisis.

That matters.

[Governor JB Pritzker @GovPritzker]

BREAKING: Illinois has earned its 11th credit rating upgrade.

Moody's rating returns our state to its highest rating in nearly 15 years.

Under my administration, we've doubled down on strengthening finances, saving taxpayers money, and securing a better financial future.

[Dream for America @DreamAmerica_]

At DemocracySummit 2026, our “Priced Out: Affordability and the Fight for Economic Opportunity” panel tackled one of the biggest questions facing young Americans: can the next generation still afford the American Dream?

From housing and wages to unions, small businesses, public investment, and the cost of everyday life, panelists Leonard Aguilar (President of the @TexasAFLCIO), Illinois Speaker Pro Tempore @kambucknerchi, former San Antonio Mayor @Ron_Nirenberg, and Missouri Rep. @RayReedMO joined DFA Founder & CEO @WilliamHeTX for a conversation about building an economy where working people can actually get ahead.

Because economic opportunity should not be reserved for the lucky few — it should be within reach for every American willing to work for it. 🇺🇸

[Jeff Dalessio @jeffdalessio]

“When one organization sits at the center of a multibillion-dollar industry with no real competitors and no meaningful pressure to evolve, you get what we see today: an organization that behaves more like a cartel than a regulator," @RepKamBuckner says. https://t.co/ENp8k68bJB

[Democrats for the Illinois House @DemsforILHouse]

Congratulations to Leader Buckner (@RepKamBuckner) on his appointment to the National Conference of State Legislatures Executive Committee! His leadership will help ensure Illinois has a strong voice in shaping policy and strengthening state legislatures nationwide. 👏

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

Happy heavenly 25th BDay to my baby cousin.

10 yrs ago, our family worked w/@RaymondALopez to honorarily name the street in front of his school “Julian D. King Way.”

Today, seeing @IAMJHUD post brings me right back to that day. His life was far too short, but his name, his smile and his memory remain part of Chicago forever.

Rest well, Julian. 💙

[Jennifer Hudson @IAMJHUD]

Happy heavenly birthday to my nephew Julian D. King! He would’ve been 25 years old today!

[Heartland Politics on WVIK public radio @PoliticsWVIK]

On the next Heartland Politics State Rep @kambucknerchi talks about his role as lead negotiator for the state in keeping the Bears in Illinois. Tune into @WVIKqc Quad Cities NPR 90.3 FM & HD1 in the QC @ 830pm on Friday & 4pm on Saturday or listen online @WVIK.org

[Wall Street Journal Opinion @WSJopinion]

There is a delicious bit of historical irony at the heart of the college-athletics debate now before Congress, writes Kam Buckner
https://t.co/T8FiBaStt6

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

Teddy Roosevelt pushed college sports reform and busted trusts. Now NCAA seeks antitrust protection. I wrote in @WSJopinion on the Protect College Sports Act—balancing guardrails and competition.

Give it a read. https://t.co/z5DDr71tIG

[Dream for America @DreamAmerica_]

We’re proud to welcome Illinois Speaker Pro Tempore @kambucknerchi to #DemocracySummit2026! 🇺🇸

Get tickets here: https://t.co/n8p5B48i7D

[Sifu @MEdwardsBball]

The Tim Hardaway “UTEP Two Step”, is only one of maybe 3 Signature Movements that no one in today’s current game have yet to figure out, copy and Master!
#IHaveTheAnswersThough
#MonStarLab 😈

[Rep.Kam Buckner ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ @RepKamBuckner]

There’s a deep historical irony in the push for antitrust protection.

100+ yrs ago Teddy Roosevelt looked at college football and saw a sport in crisis; dangerous, largely unregulated and badly in need of guardrails. His intervention helped give birth to the NCAA.

But TR was also the great trust-buster. He understood that concentrated private power required public accountability.

Now the institution that grew out of his insistence is asking Congress for protection from the very antitrust laws designed to keep concentrated economic power in check.

College sports needs rules. But if Congress gives the NCAA extraordinary protection from competition, athletes deserve extraordinary protections and power in return.

The legacy of TR shouldn’t be that powerful institutions need freedom from accountability. It should be that when we give institutions more power, we must also build stronger checks on how they use it.

[Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger]

The Protect College Sports Act couldn’t beat the Senate clock. While the bill has a “guaranteed vote” in September, it must now survive five more weeks of scrutiny.

Meanwhile, conferences may pivot to Plan B & C.

Our @YahooSports story, filed at 3 am https://t.co/HfxvwptSrF