Three of Governor JB Pritzker’s appointees to the Illinois Commerce Commission have not yet been confirmed by the Illinois Senate, including the chair, Doug Scott. All three unconfirmed appointees have recently voted against the stated interests of trade unions. Senate President Don Harmon has assiduously courted trade-union support and has raised millions of campaign dollars from them.

Imagine a lobbyist approaching a legislator and promising that if the member voted for a specific bill, the lobbyist would contribute to their campaign committee. Lobbyists have been convicted here for doing just that, going back to at least 1982. Legislators would be violating state law if they made that deal. The statute prohibits legislators, candidates, and others from promising “anything of value related to State government,” including any “action or inaction on any legislative or regulatory matter, in consideration for a contribution to a political committee, political party, or other entity that has as one of its purposes the financial support of a candidate for elective office.”

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) released a revised state revenue and spending forecast last month for the current fiscal year and it’s pretty good. Its projections for next fiscal year, however, was not nearly as strong. Projected Fiscal Year 2024 revenues have been revised upward by $1.4 billion, according to GOMB. However, “most of this fiscal year 2024 revenue forecast revision is assumed to be one-time in nature,” the budget office warned.

The transformation of East Second Street in downtown Davenport is truly remarkable. And The Last Picture House (TLPH) movie theater that launched its soft opening at the corner of Second and Iowa Streets is a phenomenal transformation.