Two weeks ago, state lawmakers wrapped up the fall veto session and headed home with hopes that Illinois' financial crisis wouldn't follow them back to their own districts. So far, the bad budget news has trickled in slowly enough that many have been able to distance themselves from the severity of [...]
Campaign Finance Reform Takes Center Stage
With
two days left in the fall veto session, lawmakers are under pressure to
strike a deal on campaign finance reform legislation. So far, such a compromise remains somewhat elusive. Despite vetoing caps that he saw as too weak earlier [...]
State legislators headed back to Springfield today to begin the second and final week of the fall veto session. Here's a quick rundown of the issues they are taking up:
Borrowing
In case you hadn't heard, Illinois' tax base might as well be quicksand. According to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability's [...]
When the General Assembly reconvenes next week for the final three days of their fall veto session, all eyes will turn to SB 1466, the bill introduced by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to overhaul the state's campaign finance system. This version addresses some concerns reformers had with [...]
Yesterday evening, Carol Marin convened a roundtable of state legislators on WTTW's Chicago Tonight to talk about the latest developments in the fall veto session. Not surprisingly, the conversation quickly turned to an item that's conspicuously absent from Springfield's legislative agenda: the looming budget crisis. Per usual, the Republican [...]
Half of the 2009 fall veto session is now on the books and one legislative priority lawmakers identified before they trekked down to Springfield -- funding for the Monetary Awards Program (MAP) -- has been partially resolved. Yesterday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law that gives him the authority to restore second semester [...]
