Illinois Democrats

Mapes gets 30 months for keeping mouth shut

Published by admin on Sun, 02/18/2024 - 3:26pm

“Everybody gets pinched, but you did it right; you told 'em nothin' and they got nothin'” Jimmy Conway told a youthful Henry Hill in the classic gangster movie “Goodfellas” after the mob-connected teenager was arrested for selling stolen cigarettes, clammed up to the police and was then released by a corrupt judge.
“You learned the two greatest things in life,” Conway told Hill.
“Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.”
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s people (and they weren’t alone in this, by the way) took that vow to heart.

Illinois $56.6 billion budget has no wiggle room

Published by admin on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 2:32pm

House and Senate Republicans claimed during budget-related floor debate last week that the super-majority Democrats had masked the true size of their plan by delaying the start of some spending until the second half of the upcoming fiscal year.
Yes and no.
Republicans pointed to the $317 million cost of increasing Medicaid provider reimbursement rates, including for hospitals. But that new spending doesn’t begin until January 1, the halfway point in the 2024 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Respect needed between Illinois Democrats, Republicans

Published by admin on Sat, 12/03/2022 - 2:23pm

The state legislative debate last week over amending the Pre-Trial Fairness Act provisions within the controversial SAFE-T Act featured many of the same obfuscations and outright misinformation that characterized the fall campaign by Republicans and many of the same insufficient answers by Democrats.

Overturning Roe v. Wade changed outcome of recent election

Published by admin on Sat, 11/26/2022 - 12:26pm

The Illinois Senate Republicans’ new leader John Curran told Capitol News Illinois the other day that there was nothing left to do on the abortion topic in Illinois.
“The reality is, what else can we do here in Illinois?” Sen. Curran said. “The laws of Illinois are more weighted towards guarantees of the rights to have an abortion than any other state in the nation. There's no further to go.”
However, House Speaker Chris Welch strongly indicated recently that a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights was a very likely prospect.

Voters need to punish those using misleading attacks

Published by admin on Sat, 11/05/2022 - 12:25pm

I’m writing this a few days before election day, but, from where I sit, if the so-called Workers’ Rights Amendment fails to pass muster with voters, a campaign fueled by the Illinois Policy Institute could take a big share of the credit.
The proposed constitutional amendment is backed to the hilt by organized labor. They’ve raised $16 million to support their cause.

Bailey needs the suburbs if he wants to win

Published by admin on Sun, 09/11/2022 - 12:21pm

I was looking for something else recently on Scott Kennedy’s Illinois Election Data website and noticed he had voter turnout numbers from statewide races since 1990.
We all know that Downstate has lost a significant amount of its political importance, but the numbers really help illustrate this decline.
In 1990, 42 percent of the total vote for governor came from Downstate counties, while a mere 17 percent came from the suburban collar counties outside Cook.

Illinois House Speaker tells incumbents to get to work

Published by admin on Fri, 04/29/2022 - 4:53pm

I’ve mentioned before that House Speaker Chris Welch has said since the day he was elected to his chamber’s top job last year that he is fully committed to protecting all of his incumbents, whether in the primary or in the general election. That wasn’t always the case with his predecessor, House Speaker Michael Madigan.

State tax cuts result from election year politics

Published by admin on Sat, 04/09/2022 - 12:11pm

Last year’s state budget talks were dragged into the bitter fight between the Senate and the House and the governor’s office over a massive bill to regulate carbon-based power plants. As a result, the House hurriedly and angrily jammed an appropriations bill over to the Senate before it could be fully checked for accuracy. Both chambers had to return during the summer to fix the mistakes.
And a week before the end of this year’s spring session, tensions started showing again.

Pritzker needs to figure out why losses keep happening

Published by admin on Sat, 03/06/2021 - 12:18pm

When legal questions were raised about U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly's campaign for state Democratic Party chair last week and Kelly only got stronger, that should tell you a couple of things.

Pritzker’s ‘think big’ campaign aiming for $30 million

Published by admin on Mon, 05/28/2018 - 9:29am

 

For weeks now, some Democrats have been wondering if their party intends to run a “coordinated campaign” this year and have asked what it might look like.  A coordinated campaign means all the party’s candidates are working together under one umbrella group.