Nikki Budzinski

Democrats are ready to end the tariff taxes driving up grocery bills, reversing the Medicaid cuts that hurt working people and extending the ACA tax credits.

Federal agents will be monitoring polling places throughout IL-13 today — something we haven’t seen here before. Our elections are run by local officials who know their jobs. Monitors are there to observe, not to interfere. They cannot challenge voters or direct election staff.

This year, I helped lead passage of a bipartisan bill to allow the sale of E15 year-round at gas stations nationwide. That means cheaper, cleaner, American-grown fuel available every month of the year — not just outside summer.

🚨 Tomorrow is Election Day, IL-13! If you haven’t voted yet, tomorrow is the day.

Find your polling place below! ⬇️

Today, U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded a combined $49,906,330 to two Illinois railroads in her district through its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. The Decatur and Eastern Illinois Railroad...

Congress blocked USDA’s reorganization plan and a federal court backed that up. USDA said they’re doing it anyway. Farmers in Central and SouthernIllinois need USDA focused on them, not fighting legal battles over a plan that both Congress and a federal judge have already pushed back on.

The REAP program used to help small farmers afford clean energy upgrades. Under USDA’s new rule, you have to pay the full project cost yourself before you’re even eligible to apply for a grant — with no guarantee you’ll get it. Most family farmers in IL-13 can’t afford that gamble.

Health care should be easy to navigate, affordable, and accessible. Republicans made it confusing, more expensive, and for too many people in IL-13 — impossible. That’s not acceptable.

Diesel in Illinois hit $6.83 a gallon. For a 7th generation farm in central Illinois, that’s $80,000 in fuel costs this harvest — double last year. A new U of I study puts the added cost at $6/acre for corn, $5/acre for soybeans. The Iran war is hitting Illinois farmers at exactly the wrong time.

The President promised “no wars.” He started one with Iran — 21 American lives lost, $43 billion spent, and no end in sight. The President promised inflation would end on day one. It has gone up.

Promises were made and broken.

This week, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) led 33 of her colleagues in a letter calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate reports of widespread overcharging by some of America’s most-recognized brand-name retailers. The letter was first reported exclusively by The Guardian. To read the full...

Here’s a Halloween trick. Candy is up 15.3% this Halloween. Cocoa and sugar prices are actually DOWN — but corporations pocketed the savings instead of passing them on. Working families deserve a treat of an economy that actually passes savings along.

A U.S. Special Forces soldier was arrested for betting on classified military operations and winning $409,000. Now the Pentagon has had to formally ban the practice.

Eight years ago, 11 lives were taken in an horrific act of antisemitism at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. Today, we honor their memories and reaffirm our commitment to eliminating antisemitism and hate in all its forms.

Illinois agricultural diesel hit a record $5.76 per gallon this month — the highest price since 2008. Before the Iran war started, it was $3.90. That compounded with fertilizer prices and a trade war with Canada – is costing Central and Southern Illinois farmers.

I visited the New Broadview in East St. Louis — a historic 1927 hotel transformed into 110 units of affordable housing for seniors and veterans. A $44.5M investment, and the 2026 national award winner for Housing Tax Credit Excellence in Veterans Housing.

SNAP participation is at a 17-year low, but the need hasn’t gone anywhere. 5 million people dropped from the program in the last year. Families across Central and Southern Illinois are navigating these same circumstances.

During my veterans roundtable in Springfield, I heard firsthand about what women veterans and survivors of Military Sexual Trauma are facing. It’s why I was proud to introduce a bill to ensure proper, specialized training for VA care providers to best serve our service members.

Kids deserve the classic trick-or-treating experience. But President Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran have driven up the cost of cocoa, sugar, and fuel — which means candy prices are up, and families are paying more just to keep the bowl stocked for the neighborhood kids.

8 in 10 voters — across party lines — say lowering the cost of living should be Congress’s top priority. When I talk with folks in IL-13 – they are saying the exact same thing.