PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Near the top of any list of Illinois government’s many problems is that House Speaker Michael Madigan has made a decades-long game out of messing with the minds and the agendas of our governors. If there’s one constant since 1983, it’s Speaker Madigan’s jiu-jitsu moves against whoever happens to be governor. […]
Gov. Bruce Rauner
Posted inOpinion
Get out of the way
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS With yet another poll showing plunging Downstate support for Gov. Bruce Rauner in a Republican district and the intense Republican freakout over Donald Trump’s impending presidential nomination and its impact on independent suburban women, there appears to be a growing feeling among Democrats, particularly in the Illinois Senate, that they need […]
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Rough week for Madigan
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS “He seems so done with it all,” said one top Republican earlier last week about House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. “He hates this,” said a close Durkin pal not long afterward. The overtime session’s constant battles with the House Democrats and super-strict marching orders from Gov. Bruce Rauner were wearing Durkin […]
Posted inOpinion
Prevailing wage debate rooted in ideology
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS For months now, Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he won’t negotiate a state budget unless his “Turnaround Agenda” demands are met. In the meantime, he has slashed funding for the child care assistance program, homeless services have been decimated, mental health services are going without cash, universities are struggling and even […]
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Republicans ‘winning,’ according to Rauner
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS Gov. Bruce Rauner took it on the chin for several days in a row this month. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s recent poll of southern Illinoisans showed Rauner’s approval rating absolutely tanking in a region he swept last year. Just 37 percent of voters in 18 southern counties approved of […]
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A Statehouse divided
PHOTO BY ALAN SOLOMON/TNS The Illinois Senate had been scheduled to return to Springfield on Oct. 6 after not being in session since Sept. 9. But last week the Senate President postponed session until Oct. 20. The reason is pretty straightforward. The Senate has overridden several gubernatorial vetoes. It’s pretty easy for the majority party because the chamber […]
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Rauner’s TV ad is all bark, no bite
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s much-anticipated TV ad isn’t as over-the-top negative as we might have thought it would be. “Exactly,” was the response from a Rauner official I spoke with after watching the ad and making that above observation about its somewhat muted tone. “There’s plenty of time for that if it’s necessary,” the official added. […]
Posted inOpinion
Statehouse misunderstandings
After five months, you’d think that the warring parties at the Illinois Statehouse would have learned something about each other. Instead, last week’s bitter and divisive House overtime session showed that they still fundamentally misunderstand one another. What follows are some questions I’m hearing and my own responses. Republicans: Why would the House Democrats propose […]
Posted inOpinion
Rauner’s secret, legislative ‘working groups’
I recently obtained a document distributed by the governor’s office detailing the membership list and meeting times and locations of the secret state legislative “working groups.” The governor’s office has insisted that not only should legislators dummy up about what goes on at the groups’ meetings – which are designed to forge compromises on the […]
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Bruce’s budget address boo-boo
A rookie mistake has led to some big problems. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton both believed that Gov. Bruce Rauner would ask to postpone the scheduled Feb. 18 budget address. The current fiscal year’s outlook was so incredibly dire (by the Democrats’ own making), that the veteran Democratic leaders figured Rauner […]
Posted inOpinion
Another reckless, delusional budget
After he was elected, but before he was sworn in to office, Bruce Rauner repeatedly lambasted Gov. Pat Quinn and the legislative Democrats for passing a “booby trap” budget that was about to blow up in the state’s collective face. Rauner was absolutely right. Last year’s budget was irresponsible and didn’t deal with the reality […]
Posted inOpinion
Rauner’s labor attacks continue
More than a few Statehouse types have been wondering aloud for weeks what Gov. Bruce Rauner is up to with his almost daily attacks on organized labor. Just what, they ask, is the end game here? His people say that the governor feels “liberated” since the election to speak his mind about a topic which […]
