Politics – Rich Miller

On a fairly regular basis back in the day, state Sen. Barack Obama would walk up to the Senate press box and bum cigarettes off me. That was when people could smoke in the Senate chambers and back when both of us smoked. Now we both chew nicotine gum and smoking on the Senate floor […]

If I had to choose a word to describe the Democrats’ nominating speeches for House Speaker Michael Madigan’s reelection last week, it would be either “defensive” or perhaps “joyless.” The speeches seemed directly aimed at Madigan’s toughest critics – and there are plenty of those out there. The nominators at times angrily justified their own […]

Let’s take a look at headlines from just one day in December: – The state’s bill backlog tops $11.3 billion as the political impasse preventing a budget deal drags on. – Chicago’s murder rate is so freakishly high that it’s significantly driving up the national murder rate. – The state’s most effective corporate tax incentive […]

“This will be the most expensive race of our lifetime,” a Republican friend assured me last week about the apparently already begun 2018 gubernatorial campaign. If Democratic billionaire J.B. Pritzker pulls the trigger and decides to run, we can expect that significant campaign spending could begin as early as next month – on both sides. […]

Top folks in the governor’s office said they didn’t quite understand last week why the Senate Democrats and House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman were so upset with them about canceling last Thursday’s leaders meeting to discuss ending the long Statehouse impasse and finishing up an incomplete budget. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s chief of staff reached out […]

As Senate President John Cullerton sees it, Gov. Bruce Rauner “needed an excuse” to veto a bill last week that would’ve given the Chicago Public Schools $215 million for its June 30th pension payment. And Cullerton believes he turned out to be that excuse. There’s little doubt that Rauner was likely to veto the proposal, which passed […]

On election night, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan started making his usual post-election calls to his Democratic members asking for their support for his own reelection as Speaker. But at least a couple said they’d like to sit down with him before providing a firm answer either way. Reps. Will Guzzardi and Kelly Cassidy, both […]

There’s been a lot of spin from the Illinois House Democrats about how last Tuesday’s losses were not that big of a deal. Don’t believe it. During the national Republican electoral wave two years ago, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn lost by four points to Republican Bruce Rauner and Quinn won no counties at all outside […]

The innocuous-looking mailer began arriving last Wednesday. Whoever sent it used plain, manila envelopes with first-class postage. Usually campaigns use bulk mail, but those have permit numbers, making them traceable. First-class mail isn’t so easily traceable. There was no return address on the envelopes. Whoever sent it used pre-printed address labels. The letters were addressed […]

During any given campaign season, one or maybe two state legislative campaigns wind up running ads on Chicago broadcast television stations. But in the age of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s gigantic campaign contributions, it may be easier to count the number of Chicago-area candidates who aren’t running any city broadcast ads. State Rep. Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago) […]

Democratic House candidate John Bartman was appointed to the ballot in July when Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) dropped out of the race to run for McHenry County Board chairman. Bartman is not getting help from the House Democrats, who appear to have all but conceded. Rep. Franks’ district is solidly Republican. President Barack Obama lost […]