State Rep. Alex Burton (D-Evansville) issued a statement criticizing current immigration enforcement efforts and called for comprehensive, humane policy solutions that address Indiana’s critical workforce shortages in health care and agriculture.

As federal officials, including “Border Czar” Tom Homan, promote immigration enforcement measures in Indiana, Burton argues that the state’s focus should shift from detention and enforcement toward practical solutions that strengthen Indiana’s economy, health care system and food security.

Burton released the following statement:

“Indiana is failing our people and its economy. Our state is drifting further away from the values that built our communities with hard work, compassion and common sense. Instead of focusing on solutions that actually help families, we’re spending time on political stunts that divide us and distract from the real issues Hoosiers face every day.

“The legislature must stop taking orders from Washington, D.C., and start focusing on everyday hardworking Hoosiers. As families face rising costs for energy, rent, groceries and child care heading into the holidays, our state’s priorities remain deeply misaligned.

“What began as a focus on violent offenders has now expanded into a sweeping overreach that tears families apart, jeopardizes our health care and food security, and drives up the prices Hoosiers pay at the grocery store. This is not immigration reform — it’s political theater that ignores real solutions.

“The answer is not detaining the very people responsible for Indiana’s population growth in rural, urban and suburban communities. We are wasting limited resources without improving outcomes for anyone.

“This mean-spirited approach will also strain law enforcement and local governments already stretched thin. With communities still dealing with consequences of SEA 1, placing even more burdens on local agencies and schools is unconscionable.

“Hoosiers deserve solutions that uplift our workforce, keep families together and move our economy forward, not policies that pit neighbors against one another.”

Evansville, IN – The Vanderburgh County Republican Party today voices serious concern regarding the City of Evansville’s newly adopted 2026 budget, citing fiscal mismanagement and misplaced spending priorities.

Two City Council members were absent from one of the most consequential budget meetings of the year. A meeting that approved $175,000 for a new city website despite the absence of a vendor, quote,or proposal. This same expenditure was previously rejected for those very reasons.

Mayor Stephanie Terry has attributed budgetary challenges to Indiana Senate Bill 1, which provides approximately $300 in annual property tax relief for the average Evansville homeowner. While the Mayor has described the bill’s impact on municipal revenues as significant, the city’s spending tells adifferent story.

Despite acknowledging revenue pressures, the city has allocated funding for a new municipal ambulance service, a non-mandated initiative with considerable financial risk. The service will operate under a soft-billing model, meaning residents are not obligated to pay the balance of their ambulance costs. Based on projected transports, this approach could leave $10–15 million in uncollected revenue.

Additionally, the Evansville Fire Department has financed the service through a 0% interest loan from the city’s riverboat fund. There are no enforcement provisions for repayment, and when repaid, funds will be redirected to the general fund rather than restored to their original source. If the service’s revenue projections fall short, taxpayers will bear the burden, potentially leading to an increase in Evansville’s local income tax rate from the current 1.25% to levels seen in comparable to Democrat-run cities like Bloomington and Terre Haute, where residents currently pay 2%.

No city operates an ambulance service to generate profit. The claim that Evansville can do so, while expanding spending elsewhere, is unrealistic and fiscally unsound. The Vanderburgh County Republican Party urges the City of Evansville to prioritize transparency, spending discipline, and fiscal accountability to ensure the city’s long-term financial stability.

The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet in executive session at 4:00 PM. on Monday, October 20, 2025 at the offices of Ziemer, Stayman, Weitzel, & Shoulders. The session will be conducted according to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1. The purpose of the meeting is for the discussion of the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems (b)(3) and to train school board members with an outside consultant about the performance of the role of the members as public officials