House Speaker Chris Welch promised the Chicago Teachers Union last week that he will “lead” the effort to send more state money to Chicago Public Schools during the upcoming fall veto session. Welch made his pledge in a CTU-posted video yesterday while holding a union poster blasting proposed CPS layoffs and budget cuts. “The state […]
Rich Miller
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The House and harassment complaints
By now you’ve probably read at least something about the scandals surrounding former state Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield). In a nutshell, a young female district office staffer alleged Benton sexually harassed her in 2023. Two of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s top staffers asked her to file a complaint with the legislative inspector general, but […]
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GOP trails Dems in campaign cash
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223,000 in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual […]
Posted inRich Miller
Politicians and due process
Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 28, 2019, for attempting to bribe a state senator. House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was under investigation himself, called on Arroyo to resign that same day. The next day, Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) was one of three House Democrats who signed a petition to […]
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More budget fallout
About a week after the state budget passed both chambers in the dark of night, Attorney General Kwame Raoul spoke to the City Club of Chicago to complain that his budget was cut by $10 million. “For every dollar of General Revenue Fund spending on the attorney general’s office, we return $21. Anybody who has […]
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The AFL-CIO and endorsements
The news earlier this month that the Illinois AFL-CIO has “deferred” all decisions on legislative and statewide endorsements in the upcoming fall election generated quite a bit of headlines. “Springfield not only failed to advance key priorities, but the process by which legislation was considered fell short of what working people deserve,” a statement by […]
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Pritzker offers some lobbying advice to Chicago Bears
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, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Legislation stalled as May 31 adjournment nears
Every year when the legislature arrives at mid-May, it’s always tempting to look around, see the absence of real bicameral movement on legislation and conclude that nothing’s gonna happen in time for the scheduled May 31 adjournment. Succumbing to that temptation this year may not be a bad bet, but things can change. Right now, […]
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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 […]
