Nobody ever really knows what’s going through Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s head except for Madigan himself. So, the actual purpose of two highly choreographed gun control and pension reform debates last week ordered up by Madigan weren’t completely clear to anyone. That’s by design, of course. Madigan prefers to keep people in the dark […]
Chicago
Posted inOpinion
Cost of inaction on concealed carry law
Illinois House Democrats were told during a private caucus meeting in Springfield last week that, despite what Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez says, inaction on concealed carry would have very serious consequences. As you most assuredly already know, a federal appellate court has given the General Assembly until June 8 to pass a new […]
Posted inOpinion
Bad start to Quinn’s re-election effort
“Off topic? I can’t imagine what that would be,” cracked Gov. Pat Quinn last week during a press conference. Just hours before, his lieutenant governor had announced that she would not be Quinn’s 2014 running mate. Gov. Quinn usually does a pretty good job during his press conferences of convincing reporters to wait to ask […]
Posted inOpinion
Illinois: the nearly ungovernable state
Gov. Pat Quinn used the phrase “our Illinois” almost 30 times last week in one form or another during his annual State of the State address. “In our Illinois, everyone should have access to decent healthcare,” Quinn said. “In our Illinois, working people find good jobs not just for today but for tomorrow.” “In our […]
Posted inOpinion
Polls peg Madigan above Quinn and Daley
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that a poll taken last Wednesday, Jan. 30 of 1,255 likely Illinois Democratic primary voters shows Attorney General Lisa Madigan leading Gov. Pat Quinn by a very large margin. Madigan also leads Quinn and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley in a three-way contest, according to […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Surprise!
We Glatzs have a long history of throwing surprise parties, largely due to my husband, Peter. For my first birthday after our wedding, for days ahead he’d get up after I’d fallen asleep, roll a towel against our bedroom door to keep any smells out, and begin cooking through the night, storing his efforts in […]
Posted inMusic
Fun with Greg Fundis
Most frequently in this column, the musicians I interview are either in Springfield or from another place. This week I was very fortunate to speak with drummer Greg Fundis, a hometown hero now residing in Chicago, working on a very successful and balanced career in the business of making music. Greg grew up in Springfield […]
Posted inOpinion
Carry debate carries on
Before last Friday’s horrific school shooting in Connecticut, people on both sides of the concealed carry debate were saying privately that they did not expect Attorney General Lisa Madigan would appeal her major loss at the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals. As you already know, a 7th Circuit panel in Chicago voted 2-1 […]
Posted inMusic
Hip-hop heroes
I must admit to being rather ignorant of rap and hip-hop music styles. I’ve heard certain artists and felt the influence of the genre in contemporary music, but overall I’ve not listened deep into the catalogue of this fairly new variety of music. All through the history of popular music the improvisation and musicality of […]
Posted inOpinion
Fahner goes too far trashing pension reform
For the past few years, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago has been one of the most feared participants in the state’s pension reform debate. Ty Fahner, a former Illinois attorney general who heads the Civic Committee, managed to convince both parties to elbow each other for a position of favor with […]
Posted inOpinion
Latino voting soars in Illinois
Back in 1992, Latinos made up about 8 percent of Illinois’ population, yet only 1 percent of that year’s total Election Day voter pool was Latino. The trend continued for years. Latinos just didn’t vote. Twenty years later, things have changed in a big way. According to exit polling, 12 percent of Illinois voters last […]
Posted inOpinion
Bothering to vote, and bothering voters
Two heroes emerged at the polls this year, and neither was named Barack or Mitt. Their names are Galicia and Ken – ordinary Americans with extraordinary depths of civic spirit. While nearly 40 percent of eligible voters didn’t bother to cast their ballots this year, these two demonstrated that our democratic right to vote is […]
