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 […]
Rich Miller
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Planet Blago
Over the last few weeks it’s become clear that Alan Keyes, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, lives in his own little world — and it’s a pretty odd planet. In Keyes’ version of reality, pro-choicers are like terrorist sympathizers, his Democratic opponent Barack Obama has a “slaveholder mentality,” and Jesus would never even consider […]
Posted inOpinion
Weird Al
As if Alan Keyes wasn’t embarrassing enough with his hours-long diatribes, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate had to go off and verbally slime the vice president’s daughter. That’s just great. It’s not as if Dick Cheney holds grudges or anything. Calling Cheney’s lesbian daughter a selfish hedonist will have absolutely no repercussions. If Keyes […]
Posted inOpinion
Deal with it
Word from on high is that the U.S. Senate’s Republicans are planning to contribute lots of money to candidate Alan Keyes. It’s not that the national pooh-bahs actually believe Keyes can win, mind you. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a sane person to predict that. Then again, what sane person could have predicted a month […]
Posted inOpinion
The commitments
No governor ever gets everything he wants in a budget. But this year’s budget agreement reflects what appears to be the greatest expansion of legislative power in decades. Gov. Rod Blagojevich had to give up a lot during the two-month overtime session, and he didn’t get much in return. Governors are usually given plenty of […]
