Quinn
Ryan
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A new poll on Illinois’ top election races for the Feb. 2 primary shows Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan leading their respective parties for the nomination for governor.
Not a huge surprise…
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Durbin
Kirk
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Newsmax Magazine has put out a list of the “most loved” and “most hated” members of Congress, as determined by a survey of “a wide spectrum of congressional staffers, lobbyists, and even former members of Congress.” (An…
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Quinn
UPDATE: Noon: Quinn formally signed the bill a short time ago, vowing it will “make a difference in our government and our politics.”
“It isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of citizens making sure their government works right,” he said.
The…
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Brady
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois’ earliest-ever television ad war for the 2010 governor’s race has a new participant today: State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, who’s got a 30-second cable spot going up in Chicago, the suburbs on downstate, “primarily on the…
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Quinn
Hynes
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Any lingering hope that Illinois’ bitter contest for governor wouldn’t start to affect the operation of state government has been pretty much dashed today, as two of the state’s top Democrats thrash each over a $500 million…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - We’ve yet to see the first snowflake in Illinois this season, but the air is already thick with political campaign ads. Today, it’s Alexi Giannoulias, the third Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat…
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Hynes
ST LOUIS - Illinois Comptroller and governor candidate Dan Hynes today reiterated his stance that Illinois should expand gambling to help address the state’s budget crisis, by adding “two to three” new casinos in the state.
But he isn’t embracing the…
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Quinn
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn a few minutes ago told reporters in Chicago that he thinks the state should “take a look” at a controversial proposal by the horse racing industry to have slot machines at the tracks…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Horseracing tracks across Illinois, including Fairmount Park at Collinsville, are offering to bolster state revenue for Illinois’ struggling infrastructure improvement plan by allowing gaming machines at the horse tracks.
Not everyone is lauding their generosity.
State leaders, intent on…
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Inmate No. 38699-079
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Associated Press, reporting out of Chicago today, is quoting Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn as predicting that the controversial plan to house suspected terrorists in a mostly empty northern Illinois prison will “probably” happen.
Quinn, like most…
[...]UPDATE (3 p.m.)
We’ve gotten an emailed response from Rep. Kirk’s office. It doesn’t directly answer Sen. Durbin’s criticisms about Kirk’s comments, but here it is:
“By moving the Al Qaeda core to Thomson [Correctional Center] along with 1,500 U.S. troops,…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Three of the four top spots in Illinois’ Feb. 2 primary ballots will go to political unknowns, following a lottery a little while ago to determine ballot position.
In the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, the top…
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(NOTE: The ballot positions of candidates in Illinois’ Feb. 2 primaries will be determined by a lottery being conducted in Springfield this afternoon. We’ll report the results here.)
Meister
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Jacob Meister, trying to stand out…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Republican Party has posted on its website the video of last Thursday’s first debate between the seven GOP gubernatorial candidates. You can watch it here.
The downfall of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich this year should give Republicans…
[...]UPDATE: 4:50 p.m. : The Cook County judge has issue the restraining order. The law is suspended once again.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The story out of Chicago today — that the state’s 1995 parental notification law on abortion will start…
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Ryan
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - After seven years out of state politics, former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan formally announced his campaign for governor outside the state Capitol a short time ago–and promptly reminded us that the debris from impeached Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s…
[...]UPDATE, 7:15 p.m.: We have what appears to be a final list of primary candidates for statewide offices. There are no surprises, other than the total numbers, which are even bigger than the massive fields that were anticipated. The hopefuls for…
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Quinn
Hynes
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s gubernatorial campaign — which is catching some heat for an allegedly misleading new TV ad against Democratic primary opponent Dan Hynes — this morning put out a news release calling for an “end to negative ads.” [...]
UPDATE, 1:30 p.m. — The Senate just now gave final passage to the bill, as expected. It passed on a partisan 36-22 vote. Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign it.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Senate today is expected to…
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Madigan
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois House tonight passed a bill to impose the first political contribution limits in the state’s history. House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, personally presented the measure to the floor.
But critics continue to blast the bill for…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration and lawmakers have reached a tentative agreement today to revive a controversial “STAR bonds” tax-incentive plan, targeting it more specifically to attracting a major entertainment center to the Glen Carbon area and providing payments…
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Jackson
Officer
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Controversial ex-East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer has filed petitions to challenge state Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary, according to the State Board of Elections.
Jackson was appointed to the seat after last [...]
Candidates wait in the rain to file Monday in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - As the Post-Dispatch reported today, hundreds of politicians and political wannabes filed nominating petitions yesterday to get on the Feb. 2 primary election ballot.
It' [...]
Ryan
Topinka
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Among the many (many, many) candidates filing in the next week to run for statewide office in the Feb. 2 Illinois primaries are two familiar faces whose campaign slogans might aptly be something like, “I told you…
[...](Related post: Topinka, Jim Ryan among expected filers)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Today is the first day of candidate filing for Illinois’ Feb. 2 primary election, a bi-annual Springfield ritual that has candidates or their representatives (usually the latter) lining up in…
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Quinn
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Pat Quinn today is opening his 2010 election campaign with a five-point plan for job creation that includes more public works programs, “green” energy development and a renewed emphasis on tourism.
“We’ve got to be welcoming to the…
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Quinn
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday will formally announce his candidacy for election to a full term next year, with a nine-stop statewide fly-around including a Metro East event.
Quinn, of course, became governor in January, stepping up from…
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Hoffman
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - David Hoffman, the former Chicago Inspector General, is officially launching his bid for the U.S. Senate today in Chicago today.
Hoffman joins a high-profile field of fellow Democrats who will compete in February for the seat formerly held…
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UPDATE (3:39 PM) - Hynes just finished his Springfield news conference. As expected, he took some swings at Quinn under the now-familiar theme that the governor is waffling and inconsistent. “Monday’s landmark legislation can’t be Tuesday’s celebrated veto,” Hynes said…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has tentatively approved a measure that some critics contend gives a sweetheart deal to Metro East developers — but he has made it a little less sweet.
Quinn has amendatorily vetoed SB1909, which creates…
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Gov. Quinn
UPDATE, 12:40 p.m. : As expected, Quinn vetoed the legislation at the Chicago press conference. He was flanked by top legislative leaders of both parties, and reformers, who took turns lauding him for the veto. Quinn acknowledged up front his previous…
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Christopher Kennedy
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn today lauded the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy as an historic leader with “a lion’s heart.” Minutes later, Quinn appointed Kennedy’s nephew, Chicago businessman Christopher Kennedy, to the scandal-plagued University of Illinois Board of…
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McKenna
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The chairman of the Illinois Republican Party this morning opened a statewide gathering of party unity-building activities in Springfield . . . by resigning his post.
GOP Chair Andy McKenna told party leaders about his surprise decision in…
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Quinn
Hynes
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - So it begins. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and state Comptroller (and newly announced gubernatorial candidate) Dan Hynes, both Democrats, used a party unity gathering this morning to start taking subtle jabs at one another in advance of…
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Culver
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois State Fair is in full swing this week, which in addition to pigs and corndogs means politicians. Wednesday is “Governor’s Day” at the fair, which traditionally has been used by sitting governors to sign high-profile…
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Quinn
Madigan
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn just now signed into law several tough new open-government measures, including rules that will make it more difficult for public agencies to get around the state’s freedom-of-information laws, and a new on-line system…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes will run for governor next year, the Democrat said in an emailed statement to reporters minutes ago.
The news means incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn will have a serious primary challenger after all, following last…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois lawmakers tonight have begun patching together a budget for the fiscal year that started two weeks ago. The new spending plan doesn’t contain the tax increase that Gov. Pat Quinn has sought.
As a result, even supporters of the…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the state’s long-awaited $29 billion capital works bill into law on Monday, opening up a money spigot for bridge, road and infrastructure improvements across the state and creating thousands of jobs.
Those…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Legislature adjourned for the week a short time ago, after a special session that appears to have brought the state no closer to ending its protracted and potentially devastating budget stalemate.
But with the July 1…
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Ahmadinejad
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An in-party fight among Illinois Republicans that has been percolating quietly out of sight of most voters is starting to bubble to the surface, helped along by a GOP activist who today compared his state party’s chairman…
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Madigan
Giannoulias
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that Democratic Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is apparently rethinking her presumed bid for governor and instead might run for the U.S. Senate (in part because of pressure from top national Democrats who…
[...]UPDATE, 11:15 A.M. — Quinn’s office is still being coy about whether he will officially call them back next week — though, again, it’s difficult to see how he won’t, given the looming July 1 start of the new fiscal…
[...]UPDATE, 10:20 p.m. - This bill hasn’t been taken up in the House, and is apparently dead.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois House committee this morning approved a tax hike bill that would boost the state’s income tax rate to 5…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois House Democrats tonight offered a “sort-of” state budget that would have provided about half the funding needed to run state government for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Then they pulled it back before anyone…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Senate late Saturday approved a measure that would allow horseracing tracks – including Fairmount Park at Collinsville – to host slot machines at their facilities. The vote was 30-28, after a heated floor debate about…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., just paid a surprise visit to state lawmakers who are meeting in an unusual weekend session trying to patch together a new state budget before Sunday’s adjournment deadline.
“I wish I could have…
[...]UPDATE, 9:50 p.m. — The full Senate approved the 5 percent income tax tonight. Still looks unlikely that the House will touch any tax hike like this.
UPDATE, 5 p.m. — This passed the committee on a partisan vote, and could be…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – With about 36 hours left before the Illinois General Assembly’s constitutional deadline for passing a new state budget, lawmakers still haven’t started their final debate on it. They haven’t come to agreement on Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed…
[...]SECOND UPDATE, 12:25 P.M. SATURDAY - The House Revenue Committee just approved a two-year version of Quinn’s tax hike (from the current 3 percent to 4.5 percent flat-rate, to automatically revert back to the 3-percent rate in 2011). It passed…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois Senate committee today gave preliminary approval to a bill that will require state lawmakers to take four unpaid furlough days in the first four months of the fiscal year that starts July 1. The bill…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois House just passed a measure to allow an automated speed camera on the Martin Luther King Bridge at East St. Louis, in response to chronic fatalities there, including six deaths in the final weeks of…
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< This is the scene greeting visitors this morning in the front lobby of the Illinois Statehouse press room in Springfield, a city of divided loyalties.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn this morning made a major new push for…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois House right now is going through a series of long-awaited government ethics bills. They just approved (unanimously) a measure to tighten the procurement rules under which the state buys goods and services, to make sure…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois House committee today approved the massive state public-works program that passed the Senate yesterday, which includes legalization of video poker, higher drivers’ fees and liquor taxes and some other hot-button stuff. It now moves to…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Anti-gambling lobbyists are pressing Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to take gambling expansion off the table as the state struggles for something to plug a massive state budget deficit.
Some folks - especially anti-tax Republicans - are pushing plans to…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A new web ad by the Illinois Republican Party gives a peek at the downtrodden party’s strategy in next year’s statewide elections. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the…
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UPDATE, 2:55 p.m. : William Olson, lobbyist for the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, counters that the tax won’t raise as much money as proponents claim, because some people will drink less as a result, and others will cross state…
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Haine
UPDATE: From state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, when informed just now of the Chicagoans’ complaints: “My reaction is — Give. Me. A. Break.”
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A group of Chicago-area state senators just conducted a news conference to complain that their…
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UPDATE: Sandoval just caved to the questions being raised. He has agreed to pull the bill from the record to do some re-writing that would answer the concerns. We’ll be watching for it to return in the next few days.
SPRINGFIELD,…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois’ fight over a huge new cigarette tax is likely to reignite soon. Most indications are that it’s going to pass - but the tobacco industry isn’t conceding just yet.
The proposal, as we’ve reported here before, is…
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State Rep. Franks
[Update, 5:30: Jerry Stermer, Quinn's chief of staff, addressed the committee about why any of Blagojevich's cabinet members are still employed. (This question was asked, bluntly, while several of those cabinet members sat nearby, looking on.) He responded…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission this morning formally recommended a series of sweeping changes in the way the scandal-wracked state does business, including campaign contribution limits, an end to gerrymandering on congression and legislative districts, and term…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - After almost three months of hearings, Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission will officially unveil its recommendations Tuesday, including the possibility of proposed campaign contribution limits.
Quinn assumed office at the end of January, with the ouster of…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A top Metro East law firm known nationally for asbestos litigation has become one of the first and biggest political contributors to the U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, according to newly filed federal election…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - About 200 dentists were in Springfield today, pushing legislation to increase state funding for dental care around Illinois.
How would they pay for it? You guessed it: A soda-pop tax.
The legislation they’re seeking would tack a 5 percent…
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Haine
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - One more update on the Illinois medical marijuana issue: We were expecting another committee hearing on the subject today, but it was postponed until next week, without explanation. I just caught up with the sponsor, Sen. Bill…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Proponents of legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois will unveil a television advertising campaign this week, the latest shot in an increasingly hot political battle over the issue.
The ad campaign - to be formally announced in a Statehouse…
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UPDATE (11:18 a.m.) Quinn talked just now with reporters outside the hearing about his call for campaign finance limits. I asked how he would address the scenario (outlined below) of candidates like his potential rival, Lisa Madigan, having raised gobs…
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Madigan
CHICAGO - Illinois law doesn’t give state-level prosecutors enough power to go after political corruption, which is why the federal government has to keep stepping in, members of the Illinois Reform Commission said at the opening of today’s hearing in…
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Quinn
CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and others will testify shortly before a meeting here of the Illinois Reform Commission. This is the panel that Quinn put together upon taking office in January, after the removal of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will appear in a Chicago courtroom next week, the opening act in his upcoming federal corruption trial.
Blagojevich’s arraignment has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to an announcement emailed to reporters this…
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UPDATE: (12:15 p.m.) Republican response.
This is from a written statement by Lance Trover, spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party. He notes that, four days ago, Moody’s downgraded the state’s rating on general obligation bonds to A1, from Aa3, and today,…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A group of Chicago lawmakers just now presented a bill in the Illinois House that would redistribute the state’s lottery revenue based on which areas buy the most lottery tickets - meaning, poor urban areas, especially in…
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UPDATE (1 p.m.) — The sponsor, Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Freeport, just tabled his bill, when it became apparent during the vote that it was going to lose. It’s unlikely to be back.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois House right now is…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An effort to change Illinois to an “open” primary state failed just now in the state Senate, as it does almost annually. That means when Illinois voters go to the polls during next year’s primary election, they…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. Pat Quinn’s government reform commission today joined the growing chorus of people in and out of Illinois government calling for limits on campaign contributions. But there’s little indication that the leaders of the General Assembly will…
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Blagojevich, on the air
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - We’re just over one week away from an April 7 deadline (next Tuesday) for the federal government to formally indict ex.-Gov. Rod Blagojevich on charges of fraud and solicitation for bribery. But speculation is, the feds…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Under the heading of, “Wait a minute, that’s not already the law?”, the Illinois House today approved a measure that would require a court’s approval before a mentally handicapped person could be forced by his or her…
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Bedell
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Are Illinois lawmakers so anxious to squeeze more state revenue out of gambling that they’re trying to circumvent debate on the issue?
That’s the claim of Anita Bedell, a Springfield anti-gambling lobbyist. She contacted me today to say she…
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Quinn's business card
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn sat down yesterday with me and Post-Dispatch columnist Pat Gauen to talk about his tax hike proposal, his relationship with the Legislature, and his predecessor, impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The roughly hour-long interview at Ramon’s Eldorado…
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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s income tax hike proposal, unveiled last week, is coming under heavy fire from Republicans. Not much surprise there, but the new governor is also getting a little push-back from his…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Political campaign reform activists - generally some of the loneliest people in Springfield - are getting some high-profile allies in their new push to limit political money in Illinois, thanks to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
A new coalition unveiled today…
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Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn
UPDATE: As mentioned below, the administration is still being coy about the exact amount of the proposed tax hike. But now that we’ve had a little time to do that math, the rumored 50-percent hike - to…
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Ill. Rep. Jack Franks
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Though it’s beginning to sound like ancient history to the general public, the political meltdown involving impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., is still poisoning the atmosphere of the state…
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Gun owners lobby in Springfield
(Update, 3 p.m.: The scene outside the Governor’s office. The statue on the left is of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, whose son and successor is the Illinois gun lobby’s chief nemesis.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - As predicted here and elsewhere, Litchfield resident Betsy Hannig has been tapped to replace her husband, Illinois Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, in the Illinois House. (He’s leaving to become the new Transportation secretary for Gov. Pat Quinn.)
The…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - School children throughout Illinois may soon learn about what has been called the “forgotten injustice” against Mexican-Americans during the Great Depression.
Illinois Sen. William Delgado, D-Chicago, has sponsored a bill that would require schools to teach about the…
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Ill. Rep. Gary Hannig
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Outgoing state Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, will likely be replaced in the Illinois House by his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Hannig, according to a report by authoritative Springfield political columnist Bernard Schoenburg in the State…
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Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The clumsy partisan dance continues over whether to hold a special election in Illinois to replace U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, the Democrat who is under fire because he allegedly didn’t come clean about his…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - For years, downstate Illinois residents have complained about the way that the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, which runs the toll system around Chicago, has been sending out expensive mailed tickets to alleged toll violators from other parts…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - In what has become a daily ritual in Springfield lately, Illinois House Republicans are once again angrily demanding to debate a bill that would create a special election to replace embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., and…
[...]UPDATE (1:55 pm) - Well, so much for my powers of prediction. Rep. Pritchard just pulled the bill back, meaning there was no vote and he’ll try again later, which is what they do when they sense from the debate…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., apparently believes he’ll be able to serve out his full term in the Senate and has even left the door open for keeping it in the 2010 election. But other Illinois…
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