You really have to hand it to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. By simply proposing to transfer the powers of the Illinois State Board of Education to his own office, Blagojevich did several huge favors for the teachers unions, forestalled any budget-busting funding increases for education and all but killed the income-for-property tax swap idea for the […]
Rich Miller
Posted inOpinion
Dodge ball
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s success on major legislation last year may not translate into passage of his top priority this year: eliminating the Illinois State Board of Education, which he’s compared to a “Soviet-style” bureaucracy. On every major victory last year, the governor had the backing of both Democratic legislative leaders, House Speaker Michael Madigan and […]
Posted inOpinion
Pride and Prejudice
Rick Garcia, who runs the state’s largest gay rights organization, is obviously a little fed up with some Democrats in the Illinois state Senate. “They’re just wusses,” Garcia says. Garcia is upset at the Democrats for preventing Senate Bill 101 from receiving a vote by the full Senate. The bill would essentially forbid discrimination in […]
Posted inOpinion
Guilt by association
John Sullivan, a Democrat from Rushville, was the biggest surprise winner of the 2002 election in Illinois. Political observers still wonder how Sullivan beat Laura Kent Donahue, a popular Republican state senator, in a Republican-leaning district. Sullivan was a factor in why Senate Republicans refused to cooperate with the Democrats during last year’s session: They […]
Posted inOpinion
Seeking inspiration
Despite easily winning two consecutive statewide elections, a recent Chicago Tribune poll has Comptroller Dan Hynes at just 14 percent in the U.S. Senate race. Even worse, Hynes is tied with two of his opponents, Maria Pappas and Barack Obama. How can Dan Hynes possibly be polling just 14 percent in this race? And how […]
Posted inOpinion
Small potatoes
“A prosecutor once described political corruption as a ‘time-honored tradition’ in Illinois, but the scandal outlined in a 91-page indictment against former Gov. George Ryan might be the worst yet,” the Associated Press claimed last week. At the risk of sounding like an apologist for this state’s Public Enemy Number one, gimme a break. Most […]
Posted inOpinion
Remembering Paul Simon
My father is a Barry Goldwater Republican. He never voted for a Democrat — until 1984. To this day, dad sports a “Goldwater for President” campaign sticker on his prized 1963 Cadillac convertible. But in the year of the Ronald Reagan landslide, my dad voted for his first Democrat, U.S. Senate candidate Paul Simon. My […]
Posted inOpinion
Wooing single women
Meet the single woman, breadwinner, cultural icon, and the star of every liberal’s dream of regime change. Whether she is a divorced waitress in Harlem, a welfare mom in Iowa, or that 30-something singleton sipping a Cosmopolitan at your local bar, the unmarried woman may hold the fate of the 2004 elections in the palm […]
Posted inOpinion
Like a rose
Every year, at least one big corporation hires top lobbyists, signs up a PR firm, cuts a deal with pliable and influential third parties, and descends on Springfield with a clever proposal in hand. And every year, the big corporation wins. The media scream, reformers lament the influence of money on government, and nothing changes. […]
Posted inOpinion
The circuit breaker
Up until the afternoon of Nov. 18, it looked like Commonwealth Edison had it made in the shade. House Speaker Michael Madigan had signed off on what was thought to be the final draft of ComEd’s bill to help it purchase Decatur-based Illinois Power Co. Everyone was all smiles, including the Citizens Utility Board. CUB […]
Posted inOpinion
Ruffled feathers
You’ve probably heard that Gov. Rod Blagojevich is fighting with state legislators again. This time, he’s claiming the General Assembly is on a “spending orgy” and tossing around taxpayer money like “drunken sailors” who have “run amok.” We’ve seen this time and time again. The governor often tries to control the General Assembly’s behavior by […]
Posted inOpinion
Power play
Commonwealth Edison has come a long way from the bad old days when it was constantly trying to find underhanded, sneaky ways to bill consumers for its overpriced, and then-unfinished, nuclear power plants. ComEd’s service territory was infamous for having the highest electric rates in the Midwest, and the third highest rates in the country. […]
