Gov. JB Pritzker has “revised” his remarks about not raising taxes to balance the budget. “It’s very important that we live within our means in this state, and that we not resort to tax increases as a way to, you know, to balance the budget,” Pritzker said on Jan. 30. Last week, when I asked […]
Rich Miller
Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Posted inOpinion
Feds attempt to block trillions in government spending
To many Statehouse types, some of last week’s news out of Washington, D.C., felt eerily familiar. On Jan. 27, the White House announced a sweeping new policy that would’ve at least temporarily defunded trillions of dollars of government spending on everything from the National School Lunch Program, to Head Start, to cancer and sleep disorders […]
Posted inOpinion
State braces for major deficits
The Illinois legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability recently released an eye-popping actuarial analysis of a union-backed pension reform plan. The analysis concluded that the proposal, House Bill 5909, would cost taxpayers almost $30 billion through the year 2045. And the annual state cost starting in Fiscal Year 2027, which begins in mid-2026, would […]
Posted inOpinion
Madigan trial wraps up
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime law firm partner Vincent “Bud” Getzendanner testified in Madigan’s defense against numerous federal charges last week. One of the main themes of Getzendanner’s testimony was the property tax firm’s process of weeding out clients and potential clients who could pose a conflict of interest to Madigan. Getzendanner testified […]
Posted inOpinion
A high-profile setback for the governor
Every now and then you get a story that helps explain the Statehouse power dynamic. The saga of the “intoxicating hemp” regulation bill is one of those stories. The governor’s office began last week by handing House Speaker Chris Welch a list of 62 House Democrats who said they would vote for the hemp regulation […]
Posted inNews
Politicians ponder next moves
We’re less than nine months from when candidates can begin circulating petitions for the 2026 election, so we’re rapidly approaching the time when major figures will need to decide whether to run or not. Because of that, a lot of people are polling. The state’s two big dogs, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. JB […]
Posted inOpinion
State budget battles
The Democratic legislative leaders and the governor agreed to squirrel away $260 million in lump-sum appropriations to various state agencies last spring. But now some groups are figuring out that a big pile of state money is just sitting there and they are trying to stake their claims. This came to light last month when […]
Posted inNews
Madigan corruption trial continues
Whenever someone assures you that another person you’re both dealing with “understands” the “quid pro quo,” you’d be wise to run away as fast as you can and never look back. But that’s exactly how then-Ald. Daniel Solis assured then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in late June of 2017 that their mark – the developers of […]
Posted inOpinion
Have Democrats forgotten the people in the middle?
In the wake of Donald Trump’s national victory and his losing margin dropping to 11 points in Illinois from 17 in two prior races, state legislative Democrats here have different views on how their party should proceed. Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, told my associate Isabel Miller last week that Illinois Democrats have “forgotten about […]
Posted inOpinion
House Speaker Chris Welch addresses changes needed
Just about nothing happened in the first week of veto session in the House and the Senate. The Democratic legislative leaders are still trying to figure out what their members want to do in the wake of Republican President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory and whether that can be done. Whether that action starts in the second […]
Posted inOpinion
Democrats seek to “Trump-proof” some state statutes
Back in 2018, about midway through President Donald Trump’s first term, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that was designed to prevent “the weakening of Illinois environmental and labor regulations in response to a weakening of federal regulations,” according to an Illinois Environmental Council press release. Some state rules are tied directly to federal rules, […]
Posted inOpinion
False claims abound in state races
As usual, plenty of false claims have been made during this state legislative election cycle. But the campaign I keep going back to in my own mind is the battle in the 97th House District. The race features freshman incumbent Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, a union ironworker and a former local elected official. The Republican challenger […]
