Editor’s Note

 Many of us of a certain age are this week reliving a painful chapter of our past with nightly installments of Ken Burns’ documentary The Vietnam War on public TV. For me it’s not just revisiting the confusing times and political turmoil of then, but beginning to understand some parts of that complex era for […]

Welcome back, Hillary. Some say she never left the public political scene, but the thoughtful talk Hillary Clinton has been giving to the media on her book promotion tour remind us how much a tough, wise, experienced and, yes, angry politician can contribute to the national dialogue as we all try to figure out, “What […]

 After years of crowing about his pro-business agenda, Gov. Bruce Rauner has finally signed a pro-business reform into law. It’s called school aid formula reform, and it, together with increased funding for education, will do more to improve the state’s business climate than anti-union legislation ever could. More equitable funding for schools, together with a […]

During his nationwide address Monday night, President Trump seemed proud of himself for changing his mind on Afghanistan, America’s longest war. For years he has criticized the nation’s involvement there, and he acknowledged that his “original instinct was to pull out,” but now his generals have persuaded him to commit more American troops and make […]

 After President Trump came out with his second Charlottesville statement on Monday, this one denouncing racism and the Ku Klux Klan, some listeners were ready to say it’s OK if he took 48 hours to get it right, or at least better. Sometimes presidents grow in office, said MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, citing JFK. Then on […]

If you had to choose politician-of-the-month between Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner, which would you pick? One threatens nuclear war, but then his secretary of state says ignore it, there’s nothing to worry about. The other plays Russian roulette with school funding days before school starts, and everyone says there’s plenty to worry about. If […]

 Last week I strolled around the U.S. Capitol in the early evening, stopping for a while to watch an orderly protest rally against the Republican plan to obliterate Obamacare, at that hour being debated inside the building. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if we didn’t have to be always protesting something? I probably was […]

Gov. Bruce Rauner has a plan for schools, but he won’t disclose it or verify his financial projections until the General Assembly sends him their bill so he can veto it. He has called the legislature back to Springfield, but he says there is “nothing to discuss.” That’s why they call this session “special.” – […]

Peter Baker, the New York Times chief White House correspondent, was in Springfield the day Republican plans to dismantle Obamacare fell apart. It’s not easy for a president to dismantle a predecessor’s legacy, even though this president seems obsessed with doing so, said Baker, here to discuss his new book, Obama: The Call of History. […]

 It is a great relief that a reasonable state budget and a tax increase to pay for it have become law. This was accomplished by overriding the governor’s veto, with the help of some courageous House Republicans, including Springfield’s Sara Wojcicki Jimenez. There is more trouble ahead, however, because the governor is threatening to veto […]

Oh thank goodness. New Jersey finally resolved its budget impasse, while there were similar budget cliffhangers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. In New Jersey, the stalemate had stretched into three full days and closed state parks before a budget deal was finally made July 4. Gov. Chris Christie, fresh from a relaxing day at […]

After a Republican sweep of four recent elections for House seats, Democrats are doing some soul searching about how to regain their momentum. They need a positive economic program, some are saying, rather than the current strategy of repealing and replacing President Trump. But if congressional Republicans succeed in their effort to replace the Affordable […]