14 Oct 2026

How Does One Vote for the Undeserving?

By Kathleen McCarthy
Cartoon by George Sedlak copyright 2026

My frustration with the looming 2026 midterm election is that so few candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, deserve my vote. Most incumbent career politicians stopped representing voting constituencies long ago. Newbie challengers hit the ground running in place, relegated to the fringe and saddled with newbie duties, such as marathon fund raising for their respective parties – duties deliberately designed to distract away from the serious business occurring elsewhere.

14 Oct 2026

Three Topics for Scott County Supervisor 2026 Election Candidates

By Todd McGreevy
Scott County Board of Supervisors 2026.10.06 Committe of the Whole Meeting Screen Shot

Policy Practices, NDAs, and County Home Rule Relative to Iowa Utilities Commission

There are five supervisor seats on the county board, and elected supervisors serve four-year terms. This year, there are three open seats, and two of the three incumbents are running again, as Ross Paustian did not run again. Only one of the two incumbents, Jean Dickson, responded to the questionnaire. Supervisors are paid $45-50,000 annually plus health and retirement benefits. Five of the seven candidates vying for the three seats participated this year. Responses are in alphabetical order by family name.

14 Oct 2026

Two Topics for Scott County Recorder Candidates: No Appointment Necessary? and Mortgage Fraud Protection

By Todd McGreevy
OCT 2026 Scott County Recorder Property Fraud Alert Webpage Screenshot

According to the Scott County, Iowa Recorder's Office's web page, "The Recorder's Office was created by the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa in 1839."
The incumbent Recorder, Rita Vargas has served since 2002, and last fiscal year was paid $102,313 plus benefits. Vargas is not running for re-election and there are two candidates for a single seat that has a four-year term, Tony Paone and Michael Wulf. Responses are in alphabetical order by family name.

14 Oct 2026

Three Topics for 2026 Scott County Treasurer Election Candidates: By Appointment Only?, Paul Revere Square vs County Store, Public Hours

By Todd McGreevy
OCT 2026 Scott County Treasurer Office Webpage

The incumbent Scott County Treasurer, Tony Knobbe has served since 2023, and last fiscal year was paid $102,313 plus benefits. Knobbe is not running for re-election and there are two candidates for a single seat that has a four-year term, Greg Guy and Samuel Samara. Responses are in alphabetical order by family name.

12 Oct 2026

Speaker Welch’s Personal Jet-Propulsion System for Getting Stuff Done Appears to Run Entirely on Vapors

By Rich Miller

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch raised some eyebrows after he attended a meeting in suburban River Forest to talk about the proposed O’Hare Flyer project, which would run express commuter trains back and forth from Downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport. Speaker Welch told attendees he could prevent two state agency budgets from moving forward if he didn’t get what he wanted out of the project for towns in and around his district.

05 Oct 2026

Can Football Help Illinois Progressives Achieve Their Policy Goals? What Does the Magic 8 Ball Say?

By Rich Miller

More than a year ago, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget was projecting a $3.2 billion deficit for what is now the current fiscal year.

28 Sep 2026

It Is Now Not Enough That Speaker Welch Apologizes – He Must Apologize Better

By Rich Miller

Last month, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley during an interview, “I’m going to apologize for making her feel uncomfortable.”

21 Sep 2026

When State Dems and Speaker Welch Offer Differing Accounts on Fundraising, It’s Time to Call in the Shinto Mediums

By Rich Miller

My associate Isabel Miller and I told subscribers earlier this month that Democrats for the Illinois House had been suddenly cut off from the Democratic Party of Illinois’ lucrative postage-discount program, which can save as much as one-third to half of campaign postage costs.

14 Sep 2026

Michael McCuskey Did Not Feel Your Pain Points. His Tenure Shows He Treated Them as Seriously as You’d Expect

By Rich Miller

You may know that embattled Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey has agreed to resign his post by the end of September. But this sorry saga shouldn’t end there. The Legislative Ethics Commission should immediately launch an investigation into why so many women over the years have said they were mistreated, belittled, and dismissed by McCuskey. They could also ask McCuskey’s replacement to revisit the cases.

04 Sep 2026

25 Years of Lazy Lies About 9/11

By Kathleen McCarthy
9/11 25 Years of Lazy Lies

The tragic attacks on September 11, 2001 are 25 years old this month. This issue's cover story author Jason Bermas co-produced and edited Loose Change: The Final Cut, an exceptional, timeless documentary released in 2007. Jason and crew catalogue the overwhelming amount of evidence that defies the hopelessly uninspired official fairytales, scripted for public consumption by our government and mainlined into our emotionally susceptible brains via media devices using a relentless “rinse and repeat” strategy of high-strung propaganda designed to anchor the official fiction as the real story. If you have not watched Loose Change, you should and can at RCReader.com/y/loose-change.

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