Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, July 15,2010

Pay raises show Quinn doesn’t get it

I was talking to my mom on the phone last week and just as I was about to hang up she stopped me short and insisted that we talk about Gov. Pat Quinn’s bigtime raises to his top staff.If you&rsq

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, July 8,2010

Blago’s eye for ties could tie him down

By Rich Miller

During the long, excruciating overtime state legislative session of 2007, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan complained that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had a habit of diverting high-level discussions aw

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, July 1,2010

The unlikely co-conspirator

Was Lon Monk trying to steer the governor straight? Or was he rotten?

By Rich Miller

To many Illinois politics insiders, one of the more surprising aspects of this Rod Blagojevich saga is not that the former governor was arrested. Most of them knew for years that he was heading for bi

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, June 24,2010

Smoking guns on the Blago tapes

By Rich Miller

Back in 2003, Rod Blagojevich’s former congressional chief of staff, Dave Stricklin, was asked by Chicago Magazine to recall an example of his former boss’ “goal-oriented approach to

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, June 17,2010

Watching the Blago trial from the jury box

By Rich Miller

Keep in mind while watching coverage of the Rod Blagojevich trial that reporters in the courtroom have a far keener understanding of what is going on than do the jurors. Their perceptions are not nece

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, June 10,2010

Candidate Mark Kirk is damaged goods

By Rich Miller

Political reporters and pundits have a bad habit of saying: “If present trends continue.. . .” The truth is, in politics, “present trends” almost always change. Last week, Illi

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, June 3,2010

A Republican gets thrown out into the cold

By Rich Miller

Illinois House Republicans had a universal message for Rep. Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst) last week: You are officially an outcast.Rep. Biggins infuriated his fellow Republicans by switching his position a

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, May 27,2010

Jason, just release those tax returns

By Rich Miller

Twenty years ago, Secretary of State Jim Edgar and Attorney General Neil Hartigan ran for governor against each other. Both men released their tax returns without much fanfare.Four years later, Gov. J

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, May 20,2010

In Illinois politics, it’s Goofballs vs. Goofballs

By Rich Miller

It occurred to me not long ago that the best analogy for this year’s governor’s race would be if the Washington Generals played the Washington Generals.The Washington Generals basketball t

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, May 13,2010

Both sides to blame for the budget mess

By Rich Miller

One of the things that became crystal clear last week during the Illinois Senate’s debate over a new state budget was that the Democratic legislative leaders have completely broken the budget-ma