Politics – Rich Miller

Assistant Illinois Senate Majority Leader Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) has retired after almost 30 years in the General Assembly. Sen. Trotter has been talking about retiring for years, but he has repeatedly been convinced to stick around a while longer. This time, the entreaties fell on deaf ears. He’s done, and he told me he wants to […]

 Whenever a dramatic new element is introduced into a political campaign, it’s always instructive to watch how the targeted candidate responds. Did the candidate appear ready for the new turn of events, or was s/he caught flat-footed? The J.B. Pritzker campaign appeared to pass that test last week when Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign unexpectedly (for […]

 Just days before the 2010 general election, then-Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) introduced then-Gov. Pat Quinn at a Chicago rally by calling Quinn’s Republican opponent a “racist,” among other things. The resulting uproar was quite something to behold, but Hendon refused to apologize to Sen. Bill Brady and so did Quinn. Everyone, including me, thought that […]

 “I’m not in charge,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said recently, “I’m trying to get to be in charge.” Rauner said he’ll “get to be in charge” by taking away House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Democratic majority next year. Madigan, Rauner says, is “really” in charge of Illinois. The Republicans need to win nine net seats. So, can […]

If you were worried that House Republican Leader Jim Durkin wasn’t taking his primary race seriously enough, think again. As you may already know, Leader Durkin is being challenged by Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub, who has backing from conservative activist Dan Proft and Operating Engineers Union Local 150. It’s a bizarre duo teaming up […]

 Last year, billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker derided Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for not releasing detailed income tax filings. “The question is who his investors are, and whether there are any in China or Russia that are affecting his personal income,” Pritzker said of Trump, adding that the future president was “obfuscating in order to […]

 Operating Engineers Union Local 150 is making good on its threat to back a Republican primary opponent against House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. The union local’s president, Jim Sweeney, told me he had about a dozen members in Durkin’s district passing nominating petitions for Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub a couple of weekends ago. Straub […]

One of the most unusual Illinois veto sessions I’ve ever seen wrapped up last week.The two-week session was supposed to be about whether infuriated legislative Republicans would abandon Gov. Bruce Rauner in droves over his signature of HB40, which provides government funding of abortions for state workers and women on Medicaid. The potential for drama […]

 Until recently, state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) had been passing separate nominating petitions for both her re-election to the Illinois House and a possible primary bid for governor against incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner. The ultra-conservative firebrand now says she has stopped passing re-election petitions. But if a recent poll is any indication, Rep. Ives might […]

 I don’t think I’ve ever seen House Speaker Michael Madigan move faster to get in front of a legislative issue than he did last week when he vowed action to address the climate of sexual harassment at the Illinois Statehouse. The decision came the morning after an “open letter” was published on Facebook by women […]

 Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign fund transferred $4.45 million to the Illinois Republican Party to bankroll a new effort to focus voters’ attention on House Speaker Michael Madigan. The state party unveiled its “2018 Madigan Retirement Plan,” which it claimed was designed to “specifically target members of the Illinois House and Senate who empower […]

 If it seems to you that more legislators are announcing their retirements than in the past, you’re right, at least about the House. With last week’s retirement announcement by Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights), a total of 24 House members have either resigned or announced that they weren’t running for reelection. That compares to 16 […]