| Thursday, December 1,2011

Another idea for managing state pension costs

You may have read the stories about how next year’s mandatory state pension payment will rise by a whopping one billion dollars.The new numbers show the state’s total pension payment, with

Politics - Rich Miller | Wednesday, November 23,2011

Court to rule on Springfield legislative district

GOP charges racial gerrymandering includes east side with Decatur

By Rich Miller

While all eyes last week turned to the Republicans’ lawsuit against the new federal district map for U.S. congressmen, a similar GOP lawsuit against the legislative district map for Springfield&

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 17,2011

When will Quinn learn not to slam legislature?

By Rich Miller

“I love this governor!” exclaimed a jubilant utility lobbyist a few weeks ago. Why would a utility lobbyist express his undying love for our self-proclaimed consumer activist governor? Sim

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 10,2011

Another big company threatens to leave

By Rich Miller

In an exclusive interview last week, CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy said he’s more than ready to leave Illinois if he doesn’t get what he believes is a “fair” tax dea

National - Jim Hightower | Thursday, November 3,2011

‘We the People,’ not ‘We the Corporations’

By Rich Miller

A year from now, Americans will be caught in an unprecedented blizzard of presidential campaign ads. We’ll be blinded by the whiteout and buried in the storm’s negativity. For the first ti

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, November 3,2011

Climbing through a giant loophole

By Rich Miller

An apparent legislative drafting error has created a massive loophole in the state’s new campaign contribution limit law, and ComEd and its parent company, Exelon, have been aggressively exploit

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 27,2011

Poll: Illinoisans still believe in budget magic

But reality about cuts and revenues seems to be gaining ground

By Rich Miller

It’s long been a tenet of public opinion that voters want the government to cut its budget and don’t want new revenues, but also don’t want any actual programs slashed. However, the

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 20,2011

Democrats are worried, with good reason

By Rich Miller

Illinois Democrats can be excused for feeling more than a little spooked these days. And there’s probably no greater example about why they are so worried than the stunning announcement earlier

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 13,2011

Sparks fly over electricity appointee

By Rich Miller

Gov. Pat Quinn has been trying to get rid of Illinois Power Agency director Mark Pruitt almost since the day Quinn was sworn into office. He finally did it, but the move is backfiring. The governor is

Politics - Rich Miller | Thursday, October 6,2011

Pay raise outrage reconsidered

By Rich Miller

Earlier this year, when it was disclosed that Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget director had handed out two pay raises to top staffers on the same day that the governor signed the income tax increase into