Finding compromise in school funding is tall task
We saw some examples earlier this month of why school funding reform is so difficult to accomplish in Illinois. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin appeared with Gov. Bruce Rauner at...
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State Democrats must love Trump, Rauner dramas
With yet another poll showing plunging downstate support for Gov. Bruce Rauner in a Republican district, and the intense Republican freakout over Donald Trump's impending presidential nomination and its impact...
Higher education funding plan a ray of hope in budget impasse
A blog post appears to have helped at least temporarily break the long stalemate at the Illinois Statehouse. Rep. Mike Fortner, R-West Chicago, wrote up a story and I posted...
Cullerton’s threat just might break impasse
"The governor has linked things together," Senate President John Cullerton said at a speech to the City Club of Chicago back in January. "We don't have a budget because he's...
GOP spending plan might finally initiate negotiations
Gov. Bruce Rauner has hit a brick wall attempting to convince House Speaker Michael Madigan to come to the negotiating table to talk about ending the long governmental impasse and...
Rauner has his work cut out for him
"He was a god in that district," a high-level Rauner guy told me about state Sen. Sam McCann's poll numbers from before this year's Republican primary campaign began. Benchmark polling...
Campaign has been a study in overkill
Illinois Republicans have long complained that House Speaker Michael Madigan's campaign organization doesn't just beat you, it destroys you. Madigan doesn't always set out to merely win, he wants to...
Rauner, Madigan working from same playbook
"How do they sleep at night?" It's a question I'm asked a lot these days. The inquirers always wonder how Gov. Bruce Rauner, House Speaker Michael Madigan and their more...
Next U.S. recession may not be a biggie but could be a long one
If the United States enters a recession this year, it may end up a lot like a boring conversation at a cocktail party: painfully long and shallow. The world's largest...
Familiar name behind Madigan’s primary challenger
A name from the past has been leading the charge for Jason Gonzales' Democratic primary campaign against Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Blair Hull, the hugely wealthy but unsuccessful 2004...