Items by Rich Miller

• Reader comments closed for the weekend

  —Capitol Fax

  * My old buddy Hank Sinatra puts on some fantastic shows down in Austin - in his back yard. I gotta get myself back down there one day soon. This is from one of those shows. It’s the Flyin’ A’s… * Also, don’t forget Bob Waldmire’s last art show… “Bob’s Last Art [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:59pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• More GOP township endorsements for Proft, Andrzejewski

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Conservative GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft has received yet another endorsement from a Republican township organization… Last night the Southern Will County Republican Organization (SWCRO) which comprises six rural townships in Will County endorsed conservative Republican candidate Dan Proft for Governor. ]…] “By endorsing my candidacy, the Southern Will County GOP [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 1:55pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Action hero moment for state Senator

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) is the epitome of a gentle soul. But his public demeanor may just be a Clark Kentian cover. Check it out… A state senator from Peoria says he fought off an armed robber who interrupted him while he was doing some remodeling at his business. Democratic [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 1:49pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * It’s Friday, we’ve had a long, emotional week, so let’s lighten it up a bit. The Question: Will you miss Oprah Winfrey’s Chicago-based TV show when it ends in 2011? Why or why not? [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:36pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• The furor and the damage done

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I’m glad to see that the state’s GOP congressional delegation is finally starting to act like grownups… Illinois’ Republican congressional delegation attempted to tone down their rhetoric Thursday over housing detainees from Guantanamo Bay at a state prison by issuing a series of questions to Gov. Pat Quinn. “As we move [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:03pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Fighting the fantasies

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Perhaps the dumbest report I’ve seen in years was former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman’s “analysis” of the city’s parking meter lease deal. According to Hoffman’s report, if the city had just increased parking meter rates on its own, it would’ve reaped twice the amount of money of leasing [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 11:17am EST
  by Rich Miller

• This just in… Senate Ethics Committee blasts Burris, but finds no “actionable” law violations

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * 10:24 am - Read the Senate Ethics Committee’s report on Roland Burris by clicking here. From the report, which is technically a “Public Letter of Qualified Admonition”… The Committee found that you should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading, or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 10:25am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Quinn [gently] shoots back

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Earlier today, I showed you a video of Gov. Quinn nodding off during a question asked by a woman whose pregnant daughter-in-law died because she had no health insurance. Well, the Quinn campaign has countered with a video of their own. Apparently, the governor approached the woman after the event [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:21pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• And while we’re all talking about silly campaign stuff…

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 7
  * Oof… Unemployment in Illinois jumped to 11 percent in October of this year, the highest it has been in 26 years. The Illinois Department of Employment Security said the unemployment rate for October was 11.0 percent, up from 10.5 percent in September, and up from 6.8 percent in October of [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 12:56pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• 2010 campaign updates

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Sen. Bill Brady thinks the GOP gubernatorial race is a two-person battle… Jim Ryan “is really the only competition we see in this race,” Brady said. But then goes on to make two points about why Ryan can’t win… “His name ID is good and bad, and we all know why,” Brady [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 12:56pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The setup, from the Sun-Times… A Cook County judge today set a Dec. 18 date for Buffalo Grove Trustee Lisa Stone to learn the name and address of the person who allegedly made nasty — and anonymous — comments about Stone’s teenage son on the Daily Herald’s Web site. But an [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 12:18pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Asleep at the wheel?

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Gov. Pat Quinn appeared to nod off several times during yesterday afternoon’s debate with Dan Hynes while a woman explained how her pregnant daughter-in-law died because she didn’t have access to health insurance. The Hynes campaign sent me this video which they call “Asleep at the Wheel.” Have a [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 11:21am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Sacia explains reasoning behind prison support

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Rep. Jim Sacia (R-Pecatonica) represents Thomson, Illinois. Sacia pens a regular column for newspapers in his district, but I thought you might like to read his latest work, which, of course, is about the proposed sale of the Thomson state prison to the feds… At the request of Governor Quinn, [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:08am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Let the man rest in peace

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The late Chicago School Board President Michael Scott had gunshot residue on his left hand (he was left-handed), his own gun was found under his body, his money clip - with his cash, ID and his credit cards - were found in the water of the Chicago River, yet [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:54am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:08am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I’ve avoided posting about Chicago School Board President Michael Scott’s apparent suicide because a very good friend of mine killed himself recently and it’s just been too painful to deal with this story. I had talked to him less than a week before. Another friend had talked to him [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 12:35pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Andrzejewski poll has Jim Ryan way out in front

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * GOP gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski has released the results from a statewide poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters. Wilson Research Strategies conducted the survey November 15-16. It has a margin of error of +/-4.38 percent. Here are the head to heads, which shows former attorney general Jim Ryan [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:54am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Quinn and Hynes face off in first debate

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * This interpretation of Gov. Pat Quinn’s comment during a debate with Dan Hynes this morning is a bit of a stretch, but it may come back to haunt Quinn… But it was Quinn’s use of the term “missions accomplished” that was unusual for a Democrat. For years, Democrats nationally used [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:22am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Attempting to lower the decibel level

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Congressman Don Manzullo has clarified and apologized for his remarks… In an interview with television station WREX in Rockford, Ill., Republican Rep. Donald Manzullo said of terrorism suspects: “These are really, really mean people whose job it is to kill people, driven by some savage religion.” An aide said Tuesday [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:02am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Volume control, please

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * This morning, the Rockford Register Star wrote that Congressman Dan Manzullo is “normally a rational, deliberative lawmaker.” Well, Manzullo was interviewed on WREX TV in Rockford the other day and had this to say about moving the Gitmo terrorists to Thomson prison… “These are really, really mean people whose job [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:40pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Afternoon poll and campaign updates

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The Illinois GOP just sent out a news release about poll results that I shared with subscribers today. Illinoisans oppose bringing those Gitmo prisoners to Thomson, according to the poll. From the release… Survey Shows Only 32% of Illinois Voters Support Quinn/Durbin Plan to Move Gitmo to Illinois, 57% Oppose 60% [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:01pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Gitmo poll crosstabs; Miller poll; NW suburbs

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 1
  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:20am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The Illinois Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday over whether former Gov. George Ryan should be able to keep part of his pension benefits. An appellate court has already ruled in Ryan’s favor… Earlier this year, an appeals court ruled that Ryan could keep part of his state pension, as [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:20am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Take a breath and stick to the facts

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As I told you a while ago, one of Congressman Mark Kirk’s most important bases of support has been the Chicago-area media, which practically cooed over his reputation as a liberal, independent Republican. But just about every passing week has seen a dramatic erosion in that base. The Sun-Times [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:29am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Rob Blagojevich to judge: Get me away from that brother of mine

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Rob Blagojevich doesn’t want to go down with his brother’s ship… An attorney for Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, said Monday that he would seek a separate trial, citing the prejudice his client could face by sitting next to such a controversial figure. […] “It was basically his decision, not mine,” attorney Michael [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:54am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:32am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Afternoon videos and Gitmo/campaign updates

  —Capitol Fax

  Enclosure: [download]

  Number of comments: 10
  * I just finished a panel discussion at Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg campus. The panel was led by the illustrious Paul Green. House GOP campaign director Kevin Artl, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s press secretary Steve Brown and Daily Herald political editor Joe Ryan all sat on the panel with yours truly. [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:25pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Here’s Pat Quinn’s new TV ad, which started airing yesterday… * The Question: How would you rate this one? [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:18am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Strange happenings in Cook County

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Strange days, indeed… The e-mails came about an hour apart Saturday. The first, at 12:22 p.m., from the Dan Proft for Governor campaign said, “News Release; Proft wins New Trier Township GOP endorsement.” The second one, at 1:28 p.m., from the Andy McKenna for Governor campaign said, “Press release: “McKenna wins New [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:13am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Fireworks aplenty at Rockford debate

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I wasn’t able to go to the Rockford Democratic gubernatorial debate yesterday because of a previously scheduled engagement, but it appears I missed a hot one… Gov. Pat Quinn accused Comptroller Dan Hynes of crying “crocodile tears” over billions of dollars in unpaid state bills, while Hynes called Quinn the [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:55am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Doom and the embarrassment of desperation

  —Capitol Fax

  [Updated with related stories, bumped up for visibility and comments opened.] * A proposal to move less than 100 Gitmo detainees to the empty Thomson State Prison is setting off some extreme partisan fireworks… Rep. Mark Kirk, the leading Republican candidate for Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, rattled off a letter to [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 2:12am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Reader comments closed for the weekend

  —Capitol Fax

  * A couple of items to close the week. First up, we still need to keep Carlos Hernandez Gomez’s spirits up, so his friends should head over to Carlos’ FaceBook page and give him some encouragement. Pat Quinn’s campaign has yet another new video. This one is is from Quinn’s [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 4:53pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * For which lieutenant governor candidate will you be voting this February? Explain. If you don’t know who’s running, click here and do a search. [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 11:06am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Blagojevich wants trial date moved to election season

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As if the Democratic Party doesn’t have enough problems, Rod Blagojevich now wants his trial moved to September - the heart of the fall campaign season… Lawyers for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich are seeking to delay the start of his trial next summer, court records show. The attorneys want the [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:40am EST
  by Rich Miller

• McKenna may continue his spending spree thru the holidays - Plus: Gutierrez endorses Quinn; Hynes zings guv; Ballot lottery results

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 5
  * Steve Huntley has a bit of news today about the GOP gubernatorial primary race. Andy McKenna may keep spending on TV ads throughout the holidays… A February primary usually means a timeout in campaigning while voters are preoccupied with the holidays. But McKenna is exploring using his money advantage to [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:21am EST
  by Rich Miller

• We need help and we need it now

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * My Sun-Times column today is about an issue I’ve discussed several times since the federal “stimulus” plan was first debated. The states are getting the shaft and it is hurting everyone… This winter, when you’re freezing your tail off waiting extra long for a city bus because of CTA budget [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:36am EST
  by Rich Miller

• They got very little right, as it turns out

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Eric Zorn takes us through the long, disgusting road that was the wrongful prosecution of Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez. The context is a statement by DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett during Brian Dugan’s trial in the Jeanine Nicarico case that eventually led to Dugan’s death sentence: “We [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:25am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Morning Shorts

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 9
  * Lawsuits cost city $136 mil. last year * City wants to end Shakman decree Mayor Richard Daley’s administration believes it has cleaned up the city’s corrupt hiring system and early next year will seek to end court oversight of its personnel practices, his top lawyer told aldermen Thursday. Mara Georges said [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:05am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Your morning video

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign is launching a new online video series called Quinn Stories. This first video is an introduction to the series. Have a look… Keep in mind that these videos are not your normal TV advertisements. Too many of you have assumed as much when we’ve looked at [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:51am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 8:42am EST
  by Rich Miller

• PAR scholarship fundraiser this Saturday

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 1
  * This is a worthwhile event, and I hope to see as many of you as possible this Saturday night. I’ll be there… A trivia night fundraiser will be held on Nov. 14 in Springfield to raise money for the Public Affairs Reporting Vu Nguyen Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was created [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:07pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Afternoon political roundup

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  …Adding… GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan issues an apology… On Wednesday, Brian Dugan was sentenced to death for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico. In the case of Brian Dugan, the criminal justice system worked. In previous prosecutions, it did not. I said in interviews in 2002 that I had less confidence [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:11pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Back in 1996 when Dick Durbin, Pat Quinn and Clint Krislov were all running for the US Senate, Durbin challenged Krislov’s nominating petitions. Krislov eventually dropped out of the race. Durbin stomped Quinn in the primary and went on to win the seat of retiring US Sen. Paul Simon. At [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:28am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Sixteen tons

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Another day older and deeper in debt… Illinois is poised to fork over a record amount of late penalties and interest payments this year to pay off vendors who are waiting months to be paid what they are owed from the state. […] All told, the price tag for being a [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:55am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Cross endorses McKenna - Plus: AP notices tea party debate

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * House GOP Leader Tom Cross is endorsing Andy McKenna for governor… “This election is about jobs,” Cross said in a separate telephone call on Wednesday. “It’s about the economy. Andy has demonstrated the ability to run a company and really has taken a regional company to a global company. … [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:30am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Hodge: I did nothing wrong

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * This is not what I’m hearing, but I should have more for subscribers soon… Carolyn Brown Hodge said Wednesday that she resigned last month as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Pat Quinn to avoid any “cloud” over his administration, but she’s hopeful that an inspector general’s probe will clear [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:12am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:01am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Veterans’ Day news roundup

  —Capitol Fax

  Election 2010 * Candidate’s disinvitation stirs debate A spokeswoman for Quinn denied comment on whether the Quinn campaign was behind the challenge to Walls’ petitions. Quinn’s Downstate campaign director did request copies of Walls’ petitions. * Quinn won’t say if he’s behind effort to remove only African-American candidate from governor’s contest? Gov. Pat [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:58am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Afternoon odds and ends

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Patrick Collins, the chairman of the now defunct reform commission, disses the new reform bill… While several important components of the bill could serve as building blocks for true reform, there is ample reason to question whether this bill will truly change the pay-to-play political fund-raising that has scarred this [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:29pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * What’s your latest tech purchase and how’s it working out? [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:41am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Another major flip-flop from Mark Kirk

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  *** UPDATE *** From Mark Kirk’s campaign… Congressman Kirk is pro-choice and opposes federal funding of abortion. That is the same position he held when he first ran for Congress in 2000 and it hasn’t changed. In 2000, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald all reported on [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:12am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Things aren’t always what they seem

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Petition challenges can be a murky business because we have to dive into some pretty arcane laws and court cases that only a handful of lawyers really understand. Yesterday, we linked to a story about a challenge to Rep. Deb Mell’s petitions. Mell is Rod Blagojevich’s sister-in-law and the [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 10:47am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Jackson polls, Meister up with downstate TV ad

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Cheryle Jackson’s US Senate campaign is distributing a new polling memo. Keep in mind that the stuff about how numbers move after the reads the candidate’s message in memos like these means little unless the candidate actually has the money to burn his/her message into voters’ brains. There’s not [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 10:14am EST
  by Rich Miller

• *** UPDATED x1 *** Ask and ye shall receive

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I’ve been saying for months that Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign has not properly publicized the work of their underpaid, over-performing in-house video guy. The young man has cranked out one good video after another in almost complete obscurity. Well, the Sun-Times picked up on his latest effort today… In the [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 9:55am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Challenges and withdrawals begin

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * 2:11 pm - We’re beginning to see several challenges filed to nominating petitions today. You can watch them come in by clicking here. Post new challenges in comments if you’d like. …Adding… You can watch the Cook County withdrawals and challenges come in by clicking here. The petitions of Democratic lt. [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 2:13pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Mike Lawrence vents about the lack of competitive legislative politics and state gridlock in general… Three dozen of the 118 House members have no foe, and scores have only token opposition. On the Senate side, eight of the 21 seats on the ballot apparently are uncontested, and few races loom [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:59am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Campaign 2010

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Not too much shocks me these days, but I have to admit that this development did catch me off guard… Dan Proft secured the endorsement of Schaumburg Township GOP precinct captains in his Republican primary bid for governor. The Chicago resident with suburban ties called Thursday night’s endorsement a “big [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:41am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Davis drops out of county race

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As I told subscribers this morning, Congressman Danny Davis has decided to run for reelection. Davis had filed for both county board president and congress. The AP talked to Davis… Davis tells The Associated Press that he decided to seek re-election because he and three other black candidates running in [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:24am EST
  by Rich Miller

• US Senate race roundup: Hoffman misfires; Giannoulias endorsed; Jackson goofs; DCCC goes off-message

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * This isn’t the first time that David Hoffman’s campaign has made this claim. It’s apparently false. Oops… Former Chicago city inspector general David Hoffman today proposed reforms of the financial industry, including creation of a consumer watchdog agency and curbs on interest rates. But he misfired when he used that [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:17am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:36am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Saturday morning update

  —Capitol Fax

  * Gov. Pat Quinn will sign legislation today rolling back the veto override threshold on the Cook County Board. The legislation moves the minimum required vote down from an insane four-fifths to a far more reasonable three-fifths. Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is opposed to the legislation, but as I [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:52am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Reader comments closed for the weekend

  —Capitol Fax

  * Many thanks to all of you who posted best wishes to Carlos Hernandez Gomez. I’m certain that it helped both him and Randi get through a very difficult time. I love you all for that. * Man, these guys were so much fun… Dig that pearl [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:07pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Afternoon campaign roundup: Davis to announce; Alexi blasts Kirk over Palin; Hamos goes up; Trib dings Quinn; Etc.

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * We’ll know Monday morning which office Congressman Danny Davis will seek - reelection or Cook County Board President. From the Davis campaign… Cong. Davis will announce his election decision at a press conference on Monday, November 9, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., at 3333 W. Arthington, Chicago. * Democrat Alexi Giannoulias [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 1:24pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The setup, from the Illinois Radio Network…. The Illinois comptroller says he hasn’t formed an opinion yet on the governor’s plan to borrow $900 million, because he hasn’t seen the details yet. Comptroller Dan Hynes says the state does need the cash, because it has a stack of bills worth $3.5 [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:57am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Red meat for the masses

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Another Republican gubernatorial candidates’ forum, and more red meat for the base… President Obama’s former colleagues in the Illinois state Senate used him as a punching bag Thursday in the first debate among all seven Republicans running for governor. “Just as I worked to defeat Obamamcare when he was a state [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:02am EST
  by Rich Miller

• More Kirk/Palin fallout

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The Mark Kirk hearts Sarah Palin story has prompted an editorial in today’s Sun-Times entitled “Moving right might cost Kirk election“… Rep. Mark Kirk has long been a voice of reason in Illinois. A moderate Republican with an independent streak, Kirk isn’t known for pandering. In our endorsement of Kirk for [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:12am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Your must-do assignment for today

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  My good friend Carlos Hernandez Gomez is back in the hospital. Carlos, a top-notch reporter for CLTV, has cancer. I talked to Carlos last night and he was in a bad place. He had some sort of reaction to his recent treatment and I’d say it was making him miserable, but [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:45am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:26am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Maine voters overwhelmingly rejected a TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) referendum this week. Here are some details… * growth in annual expenditures of the General Fund, the Highway Fund and Other Special Revenue Funds are limited according to increases in population and inflation * revenues exceeding the [...] [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:39pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Cillizza bumbles - No explicit Palin endorsement request

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I probably should’ve known better than to believe the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza yesterday when he wrote… Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk penned a memo to Republican poobah Fred Malek hoping to secure an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his Senate candidacy, according to a copy of the [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 11:21am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Repubs talk tea party issues

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Illinois Review live-blogged a GOP gubernatorial debate last night. The debate was sponsored by a so-called “tea party” group in Will County. Here are a few of the questions. Keep in mind that live-blogging is a difficult thing to do, so typos are common… * “Where do our rights come [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:46am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Don’t bother sending a postcard, just get the cash

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I sure hope Gov. Pat Quinn asked for big buckaroos for the state budget when he was kibitzing in the Oval Office… Quinn, a longtime friend of senior White House advisor David Axelrod, met with him at the White House and after talking about stimulus funding Axelrod walked him into [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 10:25am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Mark Kirk asks for Sarah Palin’s endorsement

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * I’ve been hearing that Mark Kirk was about to move sharply to the right, but asking for a Palin endorsement? Really? Wow… Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk penned a memo to Republican poobah Fred Malek hoping to secure an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his Senate candidacy, according [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 12:59pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Politics Magazine has asked me to create a chart for them describing who the top 100 Democratic and Republican “influencers” are in Illinois (fifty for each party). The magazine’s Florida “influencers” chart is here, the New Hampshire chart is here. Notice that both charts focus mainly on people who [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 11:27am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Double standards, double talk and “B-roll spray”

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The Sun-Times tries to be even-handed today with its criticism of both Democratic gubernatorial candidates’ TV advertising. But the effort fails miserably. Here’s how the editorial begins… Gov. Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes, who are squaring off in the Democratic primary race for governor, are both smart and substantive [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 11:01am EST
  by Rich Miller

• No good news today… again

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Oy… The University of Illinois has so far seen only $400,000 of $317 million it is owed by the state, leading to a virtual hiring freeze and the possibility of furloughs. And the state may cut even deeper. The UI has billed the state for $317 million of its current fiscal year [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 10:25am EST
  by Rich Miller

• More adventures in reform

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Carol Marin points to a good reason why state parties and legislative caucus committees ought to be kept out of primaries as much as possible… [At the building housing the Chicago and Cook County election boards], an ant army of Madigan’s foot soldiers, between 35 and 40 of them, [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 9:58am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 9:15am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Sometimes, the stories just write themselves

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Gov. Pat Quinn’s new TV ad accuses Comptroller Dan Hynes of going to a “spa” and taking a family vacation during July’s budget negotiations. Today, the shoe was on the other foot… Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn said he told Chicago-area public transit officials he’d meet with them this week [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 3:58pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Flip-Flop of the day award: Jim Ryan

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As the old saying goes, the only truly honest politician is a retired politician. Case in point: Here’s former Attorney General Jim Ryan back when he was a retired politican, in June of 2007. HB 750, by the way, was the income tax hike in exchange for property tax [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:32pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As I’ve already told subscribers, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has filed petitions to challenge former Senate President Emil Jones for Jones’ 2nd Democratic State Central Committeeman’s seat. Considering how the two men despise each other, this could be a fun campaign. In honor of this battle, let’s have a [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:00pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Noontime political roundup

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Quote of the day goes to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, who said this after filing his petitions late yesterday afternoon… “I feel great,” Stroger said after filing. “I feel like 150 pounds of dynamite.” I think that dynamite might be going off in his face pretty soon - cartoon-style, [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 12:04pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Quinn mums up

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Just like his two predecessors before him, Pat Quinn has mummed up about a reported investigation into his top staff… Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn won’t say why one of his top aides is stepping down. Quinn’s office confirmed Monday that Deputy Chief of Staff Carolyn Brown Hodge resigned late Friday. Monday [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:01am EST
  by Rich Miller

• On caps and Madigan

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The SJ-R says Gov. Pat Quinn ought to sign the campaign finance bill… While recognizing that the bill failed to sever the financial umbilical cord between members and their leaders, this page urges Gov. Pat Quinn to sign it. More… Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, has expended great effort trying to convince [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:00am EST
  by Rich Miller

• A few filing surprises

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * 3:50 pm - [Surprises are highlighted.] Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti has filed petitions to run for the 7th Congressional District seat now held by Danny Davis, who may run for county board president. * Attorney Clint Krislov has filed as a Democrat to run for comptroller. Krislov dropped out [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 3:50pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Hynes’ new ad and Quinn’s video promo flops

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Dan Hynes has just posted his latest TV ad online. It’s been running since Friday. Rate it… * Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn’s online videos continue to be excellent. The problem is the campaign doesn’t even try to get people to watch them. Here’s a video from last week’s petition filing… That [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:54pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Quinn wants truce - Plus: Giannoulias leads in new poll; Filing day fun

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * After running a TV ad that is deliberately designed to insult our intelligence, Pat Quinn is now saying he’ll stop the negatives if Dan Hynes stops. From a press release… We are perplexed by Comptroller Hynes’s concerns with our latest TV ad, given that everything in our ad is factually [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:06pm EST
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * As you probably know by now, Republican Jim Ryan will reportedly file to run for governor today… Jim Ryan ran and lost to Democrat Rod Blagojevich in 2002. Now there’s word he’s entering next year’s election race, competing against fellow republicans including State Sen. Kirk Dillard, DuPage county chairman Robert [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:11am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Always bet on “nothing” and you’ll win almost every time

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Mayor Daley wasn’t pleased that nothing came of the mass transit funding bill during the veto session… Mayor Daley criticized state lawmakers Saturday for failing to roll back the controversial program that lets all seniors ride public transit for free. “Some legislators didn’t want to work this out,” said Daley, speaking [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:44am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Reform or not?

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Carol Marin brings up a criticism about the new campaign finance reform bill that I’ve seen elsewhere, including among House Republicans… The “holes” she doesn’t like include a Clintonesque bit of legislative language that defines the “receipt” of a campaign donation as the day it becomes a “deposit” in the [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 9:53am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Quinn staffer resigns amid probe - Candidates attack each other over new ad

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The person who ran Gov. Pat Quinn’s Springfield office has abruptly resigned under very curious circumstances… A top aide to Gov. Quinn has left her $119,158-a-year job amid a state government probe into whether she had done political work on state time. Carolyn Brown Hodge, Quinn’s deputy chief of staff, resigned [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 9:31am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Morning Shorts

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Deals keep sewage boss flush For 21 years, Terrence J. O’Brien has been on the board of Cook County’s sewage-treatment operation, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. During that time, O’Brien and his friends have started more than a dozen companies, including two engineering firms that have landed [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 9:16am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

  —Capitol Fax

  There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by Rich Miller

• Reader comments closed for the weekend

  —Capitol Fax

  * Two items of late business today. Former House GOP spokesman David Dring qualified for the Boston Marathon this year. His time of 3:15:13 in the Chicago Marathon got him in. Amazing. Just amazing. Way to go, Dave! I would normally give Dringy a further video shout-out, but I saved that for [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 5:28pm EDT
  by Rich Miller

• Friday political updates

  —Capitol Fax

  Enclosure: [download]

  Number of comments: 10
  * Democratic US Senate underdog Jacob Meister begins running his first radio ads next Tuesday. Click here to listen. The Spanish language ad is here. From the campaign… Person-on-the-street interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. English-speaking constituents can be heard in ads on Illinois Radio Network, WBBM, WXRT, WCPT, WMBD [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
  by Rich Miller

• Question of the day

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * It’s Friday, the GA is in session, it’s been raining for what seems like an eternity, so let’s have us a little distraction… Caption? [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 12:06pm EDT
  by Rich Miller

• This just in… All seniors will continue riding free

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 9
  * 11:52 am - Subscribers won’t be surprised by this development… All senior citizens will continue to get free mass transit bus rides after a plan to restrict the rides to poor seniors was scrapped. Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, said today a bill to restrict the free rides would not be called [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 11:52am EDT
  by Rich Miller

• Republican candidates take on the budget

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * This looks like an interesting idea… One of the handful of Republicans running for Illinois governor says he doesn’t want to shame Illinois into paying some of its three-billion dollars in unpaid bills. But Bill Brady says if that’s what it takes, then so be it. Brady has introduced a piece of [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 11:05am EDT
  by Rich Miller

• Faux populism

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * The Tribune editorial board makes a good point today… Just when it looks like lawmakers have mustered up the courage to end the gratuitous free-rides-for-seniors program, Gov. Pat Quinn has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. With a bill meant to ease the transit systems’ financial woes moving in the [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:13am EDT
  by Rich Miller

• Did Change Illinois really just, um, change Illinois?

  —Capitol Fax

  Number of comments: 10
  * Bethany Jaeger at Illinois Issues breaks down the new campaign finance reform bill… * Require candidates to report contributions and expenditures four times a year, as opposed to the current twice a year. Donations of $1,000 or more would have to be reported within two business days throughout the [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 9:34am EDT
  by Rich Miller