Gov. JB Pritzker last week squarely placed the responsibility for passing a Chicago Bears stadium bill on the team itself and had some unsolicited lobbying advice for the Bears as he attempted to brush off his own session attendance issues. The governor continued to downplay his own role in passing a stadium or stadium-related bill, […]
Rich Miller
Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Posted inRich Miller
Inside the Bears stadium saga
Six days before the last day of the spring state legislative session, Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) gave me two big reasons why it was so difficult to push a Bears stadium bill across the finish line. Cunningham, as you know, is the chief sponsor of the Senate’s Bears bill. 1. Every stadium-related legislation passed in […]
Posted inRich Miller
Pappas’ megaprojects “study” not her best work
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released a “study” last week about the state megaprojects proposal including a new Bears stadium complex that was mostly uncritically received by local news media. But it’s not her best work, to say the least. OK, before we go any further I should say I find corporate tax breaks distasteful […]
Posted inRich Miller
List of proposed budget cuts circulates
In response to a question last week from my associate Isabel Miller, Gov. JB Pritzker said he didn’t think a group of progressive legislators could pass their progressive revenue bills through both chambers by the end of the spring session. “They’ve been working very hard on getting something done,” Pritzker said of the bicameral progressive […]
Posted inRich Miller
Bill offers little state tax relief for homeowners
Before the House passed the megaprojects bill last month, we were told that the drafters didn’t want to just do some symbolic or “token” property tax relief. After the chamber passed the bill, we were told the property tax component will provide meaningful statewide relief for homeowners. Well, the governor’s office ran the numbers on […]
Posted inRich Miller
Progressives push tax ideas
More than a year ago, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget was projecting a $3.2 billion deficit for what is now the current fiscal year. Part of the problem was that existing revenues were flat while spending was growing, according to the budget office. This is a recurring problem in Illinois. The previous fiscal […]
Posted inRich Miller
Bears stadium bill advances
“We’re almost there” on a Bears stadium bill, Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) told some sports radio hosts on a Friday morning before the House returned to Springfield for three days of session last week. “We’re very close.” Asked if the rumor spread by sports business pundit Marc Ganis earlier that week was true about House […]
Posted inRich Miller
Poll finds support for data center regulation
In a mid-March poll, 68 percent of likely Illinois voters said they would support legislation to “regulate data centers to minimize their impact on our utility bills, climate, and water while still allowing them to be built.” But while 21 percent opposed the legislation, more than half of those opponents (56 percent) said they did […]
Posted inRich Miller
State revenues rise but situation remains volatile
State government revenues were up $1.571 billion at the end of the third quarter, according to the most recent report from the legislature’s bipartisan, bicameral Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The almost $1.6 billion in new revenues is an increase of 4.2 percent. The state budget was crafted last year with an expectation that […]
Posted inRich Miller
Poll: Cost of housing a problem in Illinois
A YouGov poll conducted last month shows Illinois registered voters overwhelmingly believe that the cost of renting and buying a home is a problem in Illinois, think that there aren’t enough affordable homes for average folks and want the state legislature to take action. The poll of 806 Illinois registered voters was taken March 1-9 […]
Posted inRich Miller
Voter turnout analysis
The trend in special elections around the country for the past several months has shown spiking Democratic voter turnout and tanking Republican turnout. And some preliminary primary election results from earlier this month show the same trend here. What follows is a quick look at governor’s race turnout in the state’s five most populous counties. […]
Posted inRich Miller
Big spending doesn’t guarantee victory
One of the biggest stories to come out of election day was that several candidates with the most money came up short. The obvious example is the race for U.S. Senate, where U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi reportedly spent $29 million on TV ads and benefited from another $10 million spent by the crypto industry against […]
