Back when the reformers demanded that state campaign contributions be capped, they said it would limit the dollars flowing into Illinois political funds.

But, overall, contributions have only barely decreased from four years ago, according to a search of the State Board of Elections’ database. That may have as much to do with the economy these days compared to what it was back then, when Illinois’ unemployment rate was half what it is now. According to the search, about $55.6 million was contributed to campaigns during the last six months of 2011, while about $57.3 million went to campaigns during the same period four years earlier.

Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan raised a total of $2.6 million for the three campaign funds he controls in just the last three months. Madigan now has a total of $4 million in cash, which puts him far ahead of anybody else in politics. Four years ago at this time (the same point in our national and state election cycles), Madigan had $1.3 million in cash reserves. There were no contribution caps four years ago.

And a whole bunch of money is avoiding the new contribution limits by being spread around to newly formed political action committees and to some little local committees that have never before seen much, if any, activity.

Iowa business leaders on January 17 urged lawmakers to be bold and reduce commercial property taxes so the state can be more competitive, while local-government officials warned the loss of revenue would increase tax rates for homeowners.

“This problem we all acknowledge exists,” said longtime Des Moines developer and property manager Jim Conlin, founder and CEO of Conlin Properties – which manages 7,000 residential units and 250,000 square feet of commercial, retail, and industrial space.

“I respect and appreciate your wrestling with it, but we’ve been wrestling with it for 35 years. It’s time to make a decision,” Conlin said. “I think we need a bold approach to create jobs, to move the state forward.”

Iowa’s commercial property taxes are among the highest in the nation. Conlin said the high taxes affect about 80 percent of the population, including people who rent and those who work inside commercial buildings.

Meaningful education reform is always fraught with political peril. By definition, it challenges the status quo. There are also disparate vested interests – from teacher unions to parents to school administrators, districts, and boards. Depending on the approach, reform can be onerous on schools, teachers, or taxpayers (or all three). And, of course, children and their futures are at stake, and by extension so is the long-term health of the state itself.

So education reform is inherently difficult. Consensus education-reform is even more challenging, but that hasn’t stopped the administration of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad from trying. Even with Democrats controlling the state Senate, the Republican governor is trying to get his 26-element education-reform package through the legislature this year.

The final proposal was unveiled January 6, and the draft legislation followed on January 11. It has three thrusts: “great teachers and leaders,” “high expectations and fair measures,” and “innovation.” In broad terms, the proposal aims to: improve the quality of classroom teachers (increasing selectivity, allowing nontraditional pathways into the teaching profession, and giving school districts more flexibility in personnel decisions); evaluate student progress more consistently and add new requirements – such as third-grade reading proficiency and end-of-course exams for high-school students; and remove barriers to new educational approaches. (See sidebar.)

Jason E. Glass, the director of the Iowa Department of Education, told the River Cities’ Reader last week that some education-reform efforts add too many requirements without the funding to meet them. Others increase funding without accountability. “With this proposal, we’re trying to get to the right balance of pressures and supports,” he said.

I have a bone to pick with you.

I want to start off saying that I thoroughly enjoy your publication and read it every other week. I think you are a great contributor to the growing culture of the Quad Cities that is much needed and appreciated. With that said ... the bone.

The “Best of the Quad Cities” for fall of 2011 was disappointing to say the least. It is not a good representation of the entire area given to the nature of how the submissions were collected and whom they were collected from. In the introduction it’s mentioned that it was like “pulling teeth” to get people to participate in this style of survey. It is evident from the results that this way of polling the public’s opinion did not work.