28 Dec 2004

2004: What a Long, Strange Trip in Illinois Politics

By Rich Miller
In my opinion, 2004 was the weirdest year in Illinois political history. January: Governor Rod Blagojevich used most of his State of the State address to blast the State Board of Education for being a "Soviet-style" bureaucracy - the first time a sitting governor red-baited a state agency.
20 Dec 2004

Illinois Governor Plays It Safe with Video-Game Attack

By Rich Miller
It was probably no accident that Governor Rod Blagojevich chose a Naperville school last week to unveil his proposal to criminalize the sale or rental of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. If he had used an impoverished inner-city school as a backdrop, the assembled parents might have asked him about the real-life violence that their children face every day.
07 Dec 2004

Get Ready for the 2006 Illinois Campaign

By Rich Miller
The dust isn't even settled yet from the 2004 campaign, but candidates are already lining up for the 2006 race. You and I might be sick of campaign news, but to these people the game is just beginning. Joe Birkett, the DuPage County state's attorney who narrowly lost the 2002 attorney general's race to Democrat Lisa Madigan, sent a letter to Republican leaders late last month telling them he is looking forward to being on the statewide ticket.
30 Nov 2004

Is the Illinois Legislature Gearing Up for a January Surprise?

By Rich Miller
After the Republicans lost complete control of the state legislature in the 1996 election, they rushed through several bills the following January, before handing the House gavel back to the Democrats. The state Constitution requires a three-fifths majority to pass any bills with immediate effective dates after May 31.
23 Nov 2004

Illinois Governor Wants to Leave Few Fingerprints

By Rich Miller
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is becoming way too predictable. Twice now, the governor has told a legislator that he's for a gaming-expansion deal, then his staff denies that the governor said any such thing.
02 Nov 2004

Coalition of Female Legislators Fractures Under Election Pressure

By Rich Miller
Women House members from both parties have stuck together like glue for the past few years, uniting to form the bipartisan Conference of Women Legislators (COWL). The group has become a powerful force at the Statehouse, successfully pushing several woman-friendly bills and budget items.
26 Oct 2004

Obama Comes Out Swinging in Second U.S. Senate Debate

By Rich Miller
Since most of you probably had higher priorities last Thursday night than catching the debate between Barack Obama and Alan Keyes (such as watching the St. Louis Cardinals win the National League pennant), I figured I'd do my civic duty and tell you what I saw.
19 Oct 2004

Desperate Democrats Throw Mud in Supreme-Court Race

By Rich Miller
This is an election. It is not a meeting of a Sunday School class," Illinois State Bar Association President Ole Bly Pace told the Associated Press this week. Pace was referring to the Fifth District Supreme Court race as he made what could be the political understatement of the year.
12 Oct 2004

Can Lieutenant Governor Keep His Silence for Two More Years?

By Rich Miller
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn was threatened with political "divorce" not long ago by Governor Rod Blagojevich's office. Quinn has been a critic of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority for years, but he was completely cut out of the governor's massive restructuring and reform plan.
05 Oct 2004

The Hottest Race in Illinois? For the Supreme Court

By Rich Miller
This year's only Illinois Supreme Court race is just about the hottest political thing going. The Fifth District race pits appellate justice Gordon Maag (D-Glen Carbon) against trial judge Lloyd Karmeier (R-Nashville).

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