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 […]
Rich Miller
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 inOpinion
Republicans want gay marriage passed
Talk to just about any top Illinois Republican these days off the record, and they’ll freely admit that they want the state bill legalizing gay marriage passed as soon as possible. It’s not that they’re necessarily in favor of gay marriage, mind you. Many of them are publicly and privately opposed. Some of them do […]
Posted inOpinion
Will Bill or won’t Bill run for governor
Bill Daley called the other day. We estimated that it had been about three or four years since we had last spoken to each other, which is par for the course. Going back to at least 2001, Daley, the brother and son of former Chicago mayors, has mulled a bid for governor. The last time […]
Posted inOpinion
The state pension reform waiting game
“Frankly, I’m not sure they want it,” Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said Tuesday about the Democratic legislative leaders and state pension reform. It sure looked like she was right last week, at least in the House, where Speaker Michael Madigan barely lifted a finger for any of the pension reform bills that were […]
Posted inOpinion
The day the bills stood still
Last Thursday was not exactly a banner day for the Illinois Senate Democratic leadership. In high profile moves, leadership’s attempts to pass a bill legalizing gay marriage stalled, as did bills on gun control. Even a much-needed spending bill was unable to move out of committee. Pension reform went nowhere. The biggest winners were cigarette […]
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 inOpinion
Facts about State senator’s bust for carrying
One of the most fascinating things about the media frenzy surrounding state Sen. Donne Trotter’s arrest last week was that not one of his Democratic 2nd Congressional District opponents immediately jumped in front of the cameras to comment publicly about the matter. They stayed silent even when Trotter, D-Chicago, announced after he was bonded out […]
Posted inOpinion
Driver’s license bill revived by huge Latino vote
Five years ago, most Illinois House Republicans, including House GOP Leader Tom Cross, voted against a bill which would’ve allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain state driver’s licenses. The conservative rhetoric against the legislation was very harsh. Even so, it was approved by the House, but was never called for a floor vote in the state […]
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 […]
