Rich Miller

Forty Democratic members of the Illinois House and Senate have been meeting weekly to come up with a plan to find some government efficiencies and create new revenue streams to help the state meet its obligations.

I just do not see how Democratic legislators are gonna agree to take away any cash buffers while the state budget is under constant federal siege, with more likely on the way.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has so far raised and spent the most money. And while he has a substantial lead in the polls, it’s unclear yet if his wide support is paper-thin, meaning he could be taken out with some strong attacks.

Politically, it’s imperative that the state not be seen as giving the billionaire Bears ownership a taxpayer-funded stadium. If they can give themselves enough cover, then maybe (maybe) they might possibly find enough votes for this.

The Illinois Constitution does allow the General Assembly to set up a replacement procedure, so it could act if it wanted to.

Gov. JB Pritzker set off a chain reaction last November when he told reporters he’d be open to changes in the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail and replaced it with a new pre-trial release/retention system, among other things.

A recent study published by three state agencies warns that electricity shortages are coming to Illinois.

The two most intense state legislative pressure campaigns I’ve witnessed both ended in failure.

Is the SAFE-T Act perfect?

The literally last-minute petition filing meant that people who would’ve run if García had announced his intent earlier were shut out of the race.

House Democratic legislators received a stern lecture during the second week of veto session about leaks from their private party caucus meetings.

The heart of the transit funding package is a decision to use all state motor fuel sales taxes to fund mass transit instead of sending that cash to the Road Fund.

The Chicago Teachers Union president was recently elected president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. State legislators haven’t appreciated aggressive advocacy by CTU allies in the past.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights held a statehouse lobby day last week to push its far-reaching veto session agenda.

The announcement last week that the Illinois AFL-CIO was withdrawing from the “agreed bill process” at least 40 years after its inception took almost everyone by surprise, but nobody was really shocked.