18 Nov 2019

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s Looming Retirement Creates a Vacuum into Which State Senators are Diving

By Rich Miller

Much will change at the Statehouse when Senate President John Cullerton retires in January, a year before his term expires.

Unlike his House counterpart, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton always wanted to find ways to get things done — and he got a lot done.

11 Nov 2019

Lobby-Hobbyists: State Assemblymen Take Donor-Groups to Shakedown Street

By Rich Miller

Bribery is a Class 2 felony in Illinois. It's also a federal offense, punishable by up to ten years in prison. Neither of those laws stopped former State Representative Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) from allegedly attempting to bribe a state Senator, who turned out to be an FBI mole.

04 Nov 2019

If the Herd Gets Spooked by a Rat in Its Midst, What Does That Say About the Herd?

By Rich Miller

The first day of the 2019 veto session on Monday, October 28, was unlike any other that most people have ever seen.

28 Oct 2019

In His Bid to Be Like Caesar’s Wife, Governor JB Pritzker Might Want to Check Where He’s Standing as He Opens Trap-Doors on Dodgy Party Ops

By Rich Miller

Governor JB Pritzker has lately won plaudits from some conservative opinion-makers for making the right moves on corruption. But I am going to register an objection in a bit.

21 Oct 2019

ComEd Cancer at the Statehouse: When Will the Feds Call Quarantine?

By Rich Miller

The political muscle of ComEd/Exelon aced its last major test in 2016, when the energy companies finally passed what one Illinois House member referred to at the time as a "multi-billion-dollar corporate-bailout" by electricity rate-payers to keep two of its nuclear power-plants open.

14 Oct 2019

When State Pensions are a Gamble, First-Responders Have Second Thoughts about Putting It All on the Line

By Rich Miller

One of the provisions of the sweeping state pension-reform law passed in 2010 has always stuck in the craw of first-responders.

Police and (especially) firefighter unions fought the local government lobby for decades to increase survivor benefits, and then they watched many of those hard-fought wins get wiped away when the General Assembly decided it had to lower pension benefits for new hires to avoid a fiscal catastrophe.

07 Oct 2019

You’re Nobody 'Til Somebody Puts You on the Feds’ List of Persons Pursuant to Its Investigation into Martin Sandoval

By Rich Miller

The Illinois Senate recently released a heavily-redacted copy of the federal search-warrant served during the raid of State Senator Martin Sandoval's Statehouse office last month. And the Village of McCook also released a heavily-redacted search-warrant from the federal raid of its town hall.

30 Sep 2019

The Raids on State Senator Martin Sandoval’s Offices and Home Prove That Justice Ain’t Beanbag, Either

By Rich Miller

At about the same time last week, Chicago-based investigators with the FBI and the IRS swooped into Democratic State Senator Marty Sandoval's district office, Statehouse office, and home residence, removing boxes of documents and seizing computers.

23 Sep 2019

Lori Lightfoot Risks Being Seen as Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of a Horse Called Victory

By Rich Miller

Whatever else you may believe, you have to commend Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for trying to live up to her campaign promise of making sure that new economic development isn't concentrated in her city's downtown business district.

16 Sep 2019

The Revenue Gods Smiled Down upon Governor JB Pritzker and Said, “Do Not Squander This Gift — Winter is Coming”

By Rich Miller

The governor's top budget people sent a memo last week to agency directors giving them a heads-up about what will be required in their annual budget-request submissions. They are not easy-peasy asks.

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