Capital Facts

Madigan should have known to walk away

Published by admin on Sat, 12/07/2024 - 12:40pm

Whenever someone assures you that another person you’re both dealing with “understands” the “quid pro quo,” you’d be wise to run away as fast as you can and never look back.
But that’s exactly how then Ald. Daniel Solis assured then House Speaker Michael Madigan in late June of 2017 that their mark – the developers of a West Loop apartment complex – would eventually be convinced to retain Madigan’s property tax appeals law firm.

Veto session ends without Trump proofing

Published by admin on Sun, 11/24/2024 - 5:18pm

In the wake of Donald Trump’s national victory and his losing margin dropping to 11 points in Illinois from 17 in two prior races, state legislative Democrats here have different views on how their party should proceed.
Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) told my associate Isabel Miller last week that Illinois Democrats have “forgotten about the people in the middle.”
“I think we have done a lot of really good, progressive things,” Sen. Morrison said. “But sometimes I think we have the tendency to not think about the people in the middle.”

Illinois lawmakers trying to figure out what they should do next with Trump presidency looming

Published by admin on Sun, 11/17/2024 - 3:24pm

Just about nothing happened in the first week of veto session in the Illinois House and the Senate.
The Democratic legislative leaders are still trying to figure out what their members want to do in the wake of Republican President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory and whether that can be done. Whether that action starts in the second and final week of veto session, or in the lame duck January session or in the regular spring session is still up in the air as I write this.

Illinois leaders looking ‘Trump-proof’ state laws

Published by admin on Sun, 11/10/2024 - 4:47pm

Back in 2018, about midway through President Donald Trump’s first term, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that was designed to prevent “the weakening of Illinois environmental and labor regulations in response to a weakening of federal regulations,” according to an Illinois Environmental Council press release.
Some state rules are tied directly to federal rules, so if the feds had slashed regulations, the idea was to prevent that from happening here.

Saying what they want without consequences

Published by admin on Sun, 11/03/2024 - 2:40pm

As usual, plenty of false claims have been made during this state legislative election cycle.
But the campaign I keep going back to in my own mind is the battle in the 97th House District.
The race features freshman incumbent Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield), a union ironworker and a former local elected official. The Republican challenger is Gabriella Shanahan, an executive assistant with the Illinois Policy Institute.
Organized labor is keen on this race because the Illinois Policy Institute is known for its anti-union crusades and Benton is one of their own.

Illinois taxpayers need to pay attention with public transit nearing ‘fiscal cliff’

Published by admin on Sun, 10/27/2024 - 3:33pm

One of the most important legislative debates next year will be about reforming, restructuring and finding a way to fund Northeast Illinois’ public transportation system.
Statewide taxes could possibly be raised to pay for this, so you should pay attention no matter where you live.

State Democrats hold huge spending edge over Republicans

Published by admin on Sat, 10/19/2024 - 11:39am

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon continues piling up campaign money.
His latest quarterly report for his personal campaign committee showed Harmon had $13.4 million in the bank, up almost $2 million from the previous quarter. His caucus committee ended with $2.6 million in the bank, up about $800K from the previous quarter. And his two other committees held a combined $1 million.

Chicago mayor needs to tell it right

Published by admin on Sun, 10/13/2024 - 12:11pm

Last week, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly slammed Statehouse legislators.
“Some of the same individuals who claim to support an elected representative school board only got the gospel once I became mayor of Chicago,” Mayor Johnson told reporters during one of the most combative and counter-productive press conferences I have ever seen.
No.

Democrats, Pritzker spending on county board races

Published by admin on Sat, 10/05/2024 - 2:15pm

Last year, the Democratic Party of Illinois and Gov. JB Pritzker targeted local school board races to defeat candidates who wanted to ban books and/or were receiving support from right-wing political organizations.
The governor ended up claiming victory in more than 70 percent of those campaigns.

With no crisis on the horizon, state lawmakers hinting there’s no need for a fall session

Published by admin on Sun, 09/29/2024 - 5:18pm

For months now, Statehouse types have been talking about whether there’s a need for a fall veto session this year. The session is scheduled to run the two weeks after the November election.
As one person put it, veto sessions are for things that the governor and legislators “have to do.”
But with no gubernatorial vetoes to deal with, is there anything that absolutely has to be done before the end of the year?