Some signs of courage in civil unions vote

By Rich Miller

Six Illinois House Republicans voted with 55 Democrats last week to approve a civil unions bill. But a few of the Democratic “Yes” votes were a bit more surprising.All but one of the six R

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, December 2,2010

The Republican takeover of Downstate

By Rich Miller

One of the consequences of Gov. Pat Quinn’s laser-like focus on Chicago and Cook County during this fall’s campaign is that he won just 20-22 of the state’s 59 Senate districts, acco

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, November 24,2010

A flurry in the legislature could mean big stuff is coming

By Rich Miller

What started out as a slow state legislative veto session suddenly accelerated last Thursday.Senate President John Cullerton formed two new bipartisan committees and charged them with reforming worker

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 18,2010

How a pro-choice group defeated Brady

By Rich Miller

One of the very top officials in Bill Brady’s campaign told me a few days after the election that he believes Brady lost to Gov. Pat Quinn for one reason: The pro-choice group Personal PAC.Brady

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 11,2010

Life could get tough for House Republicans

By Rich Miller

Without a doubt, the worst place to be right now in Illinois politics is the state’s House Republican caucus.Their leader, Tom Cross, went “all in” this year against House Speaker Mi

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 4,2010

A word of advice to the new governor

By Rich Miller

I will never forget the night Paul Lis was fired.My parents were at my house, but I refused to budge from my barstool because I couldn’t miss this. Not for them. Not for anybody. Lis was a bigti

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 28,2010

After the bloodbath, who will pull us together?

By Rich Miller

I joked to a Democrat last week that I seriously doubted state Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-Orland Park) would ever vote for a legislative pay raise again after getting whacked so hard by the Republicans fo

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 21,2010

Who’s behind Stand for Children?

By Rich Miller

It’s not every day that a group almost nobody has ever heard of gives $175,000 to a single state legislative candidate. But that’s just what happened on Oct. 7 when Stand for Children Illi

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 14,2010

Speaker Madigan acts like he’s running scared

By Rich Miller

The race for governor appears to be seriously tightening. The U.S. Senate race has been close all along. Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Secretary of State Jesse White, both Democrats, are surely he

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 7,2010

Governor’s race tightening up

By Rich Miller

While the Republicans say the pollsters are contacting the wrong people, the fact remains that three polls released last week had the Illinois governor’s race within two points. And five polls r