Politics is a numbers game — and the numbers of votes, dollars, and favors are the only numbers that matter. The boys who play politics at the street level never forget their numbers. They can tell you how many votes they pulled out of precinct 22 three elections ago, or how much money they raised […]
Rich Miller
Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Posted inOpinion
What setup?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich tends to bring out the worst in people. There is such a strong feeling of ill will against him among all stripes of political insiders and observers in this state that they’ll believe almost anything. Two solid years of the governor deliberately attacking people who didn’t deserve it, attacking people who deserved […]
Posted inOpinion
Mad County revisited
The ongoing Illinois drama over the medical malpractice-reform debate intensified last week when President George W. Bush paid a visit to Madison County. Yes, that Madison County — the favored courtroom home to many of the nation’s wealthiest trial lawyers, made universally infamous by the multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuits filed over asbestos and Marlboro Lights. Madison […]
Posted inOpinion
Game boy
It was probably no accident that Gov. Rod Blagojevich chose a Naperville school last week in which to unveil his proposal to criminalize the sale or rental of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. If he had used an impoverished inner-city school as a backdrop, the assembled parents might have asked him about […]
Posted inOpinion
Class act
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is widely believed to be the teachers’ unions’ best friend. Madigan passed the “temporary” income tax surcharge years ago, which earmarked half of the new money for schools. He helped the unions stop unfriendly reforms of the Chicago schools. His 1991 fight against property tax caps forced the Illinois General […]
Posted inOpinion
Never-ending story
The dust hasn’t even settled yet from the 2004 campaign, and candidates are already lining up for the 2006 race. You and I may be sick of campaign news, but to these people the game is just beginning. Joe Birkett, the DuPage County state’s attorney who narrowly lost the 2002 attorney general’s race to Democrat […]
Posted inOpinion
January surprise
After the Republicans lost full control of the Illinois General Assembly eight years ago, they rushed through several bills in January 1997, just before giving the House gavel to the Democrats. The state Constitution requires that lame-duck General Assemblies muster a three-fifths majority to pass any bills that take effect after the next May 31. […]
Posted inOpinion
The fall guy
It’s understandable if Republicans feel a little panicky right now. Their party’s U.S. Senate candidate, Alan Keyes, was wiped out in the biggest Senate landslide in Illinois history. And they were stunned when longtime congressman Phil Crane, of the 8th Congressional District,lost his seat to a Democrat. These two striking events have some Republicans calling […]
Posted inOpinion
Obamarama
Because most of you had other priorities — such as watching the Cardinals dispose of the Astros — I figured I’d do my civic duty and tell you about another thrilling match-up last Thursday night: the second debate between U.S. Senate candidates Barack Obama and Alan Keyes. The first Obama-Keyes debate, held at the Old […]
Posted inOpinion
The not-so-mighty Quinn
Not long ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office threatened Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn with political divorce. Quinn has been a critic of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority for years, but he was completely cut out of the governor’s massive restructuring-and-reform plan. This did not please the formerly outspoken lieutenant governor, and when he made plans […]
Posted inOpinion
Proxy fight
This year’s only Illinois Supreme Court race is just about the hottest political thing going. The 5th District race pits appellate justice Gordon Maag, a Democrat from Glen Carbon, against trial judge Lloyd Karmeier, a Nashville Republican. For many, this race isn’t between two candidates; it’s an all-out proxy war fought on behalf of, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Statehouse murder
Up until last week the Capitol had been one of the safest places in Illinois. No one had ever been killed there in its entire history. And then some unbalanced kid stops taking his meds and all hell breaks loose. William Wozniak, security guard, who had a wife and two kids and a mortgage and […]
