18 Nov 2018

The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get

By Rich Miller

I had the pleasure of meeting several Democratic women candidates from Lake County during the Illinois State Fair last summer. Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) was showing them around town and brought them to a reception I was attending. We chatted for a while before they went on their merry way.

“Merry” is actually an understatement. Those candidates were positively joyful. They seemed genuinely thrilled to be running for office. Only one had ever run for something before. The rest felt compelled to get involved after the 2016 election.

11 Nov 2018

What to Expect from Pritzker's First Months in Office

By Rich Miller

Governor-elect JB Pritzker has taken the prospect of an immediate income-tax hike off the table, telling the Sun-Times that he won’t pursue an “artificial” progressive income tax during the coming spring legislative session.

04 Nov 2018

A Pre-Midterms Lawn-Sign Story

By Rich Miller

The last column I write before an election day is always the toughest because some papers will publish this before election day and others will publish it after. So today you get a yard-sign story.

28 Oct 2018

The Art of the Midterm Campaign Ad

By Rich Miller

“I’ll be a check on the Pritzker/Madigan agenda,” Republican attorney-general candidate Erika Harold says in her latest TV ad about Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner JB Pritzker and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

21 Oct 2018

Suit Against Pritzker Campaign Smells Fishy

By Rich Miller

The more I read it, the more skeptical I became of the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the JB Pritzker campaign by 10 current and former field-level workers last week.

14 Oct 2018

Dear JB Pritzker …

By Rich Miller

Dear JB Pritzker,

I totally understand the campaign politics of not wanting to say what you think the income-tax rates should be under a graduated tax structure. I also get why you won’t say what ought to be the income level at which people will begin paying a higher income-tax rate than they do now.

Actually, nearly everyone understands your political calculation. It’s elementary. You don’t want to give the other side any ammunition to attack you.

07 Oct 2018

Can a Democrat Endorse a Tax Hike but Still Win?

By Rich Miller

JB Pritzker was recently endorsed by Crain’s Chicago Business. Yes, you read that right. The state’s premiere business magazine endorsed a candidate whose biggest promise is to raise taxes on the publication’s well-off subscriber base.

30 Sep 2018

AHEA Designed to Attack the Culture of Silence

By Rich Miller

The Anti-Harassment, Equality, and Access (AHEA) panel set up by the Democratic Party earlier this year released its final recommendations last week.

23 Sep 2018

Plenty of Conflict, but Little Substance, in First Gubernatorial Debate

By Rich Miller

The first gubernatorial debate of the 2018 general election was almost all heat and no light. Instead of talking about where they want to take the state, the candidates focused mainly on delivering rehearsed zingers at other people in the race.

16 Sep 2018

Rauner Admits Past Mistakes and Makes New Ones

By Rich Miller

Governor Bruce Rauner’s campaign-reset speech last week has been described as “contrite,” a “mea culpa,” and even an “apology.”

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