A big question on a lot of Statehouse minds right now is: Why would Senate President John Cullerton all of a sudden decide to string out his members yet again on a dollar a pack cigarette tax hike whe
One of the main reasons the Democratic Party did so poorly across the nation last year and lost ground in Illinois was the defection of senior citizens to the Republican Party. On election day, 2006,
If you thought that Illinois government might get a tiny breather after raising income taxes, think again.The Illinois House’s new revenue projection for next fiscal year, which begins in July,
After decades of dominating every tiny aspect of life in his legislative chamber, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan now appears to want his members to grow up a little and do some things for them
Child care advocates thought they had avoided $400 million in threatened cuts to the state’s child care services budget after speaking with top officials in Gov. Pat Quinn’s office earlier
“Is it weird that I’m kind of glad to have Judy Baar Topinka back?” a Democratic friend of mine asked me the other day.No, I replied. It’s not weird. I’m glad she’s
The state’s Secretary of Human Services met with a group representing child-care providers Jan. 31 and gave them some bad news. Prepare for $100 million in cuts to child-care programs, Secretary
Billions of dollars worth of badly needed state construction projects on roads, bridges, schools and transit were abruptly halted last week when a state appellate court tossed out Illinois’ enti
An out-of-state education reform group raised a whopping $2.8 million in the days leading up to historic state caps on campaign contributions. All of the money raised by Stand for Children’s Ill
Whether they admitted it or not, a large majority of Statehouse denizens was relieved last week when the General Assembly approved the income tax hike. Ironically enough, Republicans may have been the