Illinois can’t cut its way out of this mess

By Rich Miller

Almost every reporter who covered the unveiling of new budget-cutting recommendations by the governor’s Taxpayer Action Board last week claimed the “TAB” had found a half

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, June 3,2009

Democrats to blame for legislative debacle

By Rich Miller

The Democratic Party was given a clear mandate in the past two election cycles, but they completely blew it last week. The Senate has more than a three-fifths majority, the House i

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, May 27,2009

After the whistle blows, governor rethinks fundraising strategy

By Rich Miller

At the same time that Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing the General Assembly to pass major ethics reforms and solve a horribly complicated $12 billion budget deficit, his campaign committee has been calling

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, May 20,2009

All is well at the General Assembly, except for the $12 billion deficit

By Rich Miller

It’s been clear from the beginning that Gov. Pat Quinn muffed his budget rollout. Instead of stressing the billion dollars or so in cuts he made and the additional cuts he might be open

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, May 13,2009

Other states aren’t great at regulating campaign contributions

By Rich Miller

Editorial writers, crusading columnists and reformers say it all the time: Illinois is one of only a small handful of states which does not regulate campaign contributions. That’s tech

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, May 6,2009

Things aren’t going well for state’s capital plan

But will the “old” Mike Madigan return and save the day?

By Rich Miller

Everybody at the Illinois Statehouse always says they’re for a major, multibillion-dollar public works construction plan. The problem has been that they could never agree on how to spend the mo

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, April 29,2009

Reforming state’s contract system is harder than you think

By Rich Miller

By far the most ironic aspect of this entire post-Rod Blagojevich push to reform Illinois has to be the last paragraph of Gov. Pat Quinn’s much-praised reform commission report. “All Con

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, April 22,2009

Pat Quinn is popular so far, but that could change

By Rich Miller

Pat Quinn is the most popular Illinois governor in more than a decade. A new statewide poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports found that Gov. Quinn has a 61 percent job approval rating. The poll

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, April 15,2009

What will the Madigans do about the governor’s race?

By Rich Miller

Back in 2005, I asked House Speaker Michael Madigan why he didn’t just run somebody against Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the ’06 Democratic primary if he was so upset at the way Blagojevich was

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, April 8,2009

Contribution caps unfair to challengers

By Rich Miller

I’ve often said that I’m a reform agnostic. It’s not that I don’t believe in good government. I do. Fervently. And I most certainly don’t believ