Capital Facts

Illinois House is more diverse than people think

Published by admin on Sun, 02/28/2021 - 10:49am

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch gave his standard reply to a question about redistricting reform last week when queried at the Chicago Economic Club, saying different people have different opinions about what a "fair map" actually is.
But then the new House Speaker leaned a bit harder into the concept of protecting minority rights when redrawing the new legislative district maps than I've heard him do in the past.

Madigan relieved to be done with it all

Published by admin on Sun, 02/21/2021 - 2:44pm

"The 22nd District is a garden," then-House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters several years ago when asked about his House district. Some thought it was funny, but he was serious. And he's most definitely the head gardener.
I've often said that Madigan, who officially resigned from the House on Feb. 18 after more than 50 years in office, ran the Speaker's office like he ran his ward and district offices. So, the House was an even bigger garden than his home turf.

New rules in Illinois House is just the first step

Published by admin on Sat, 02/13/2021 - 12:49pm

While the House Republicans made some decent points last week when arguing against the chamber's new rules, they all but dismissed some pretty darned historic changes.
For years, decades even, the House Republicans have argued for leadership term limits. House Speaker Michael Madigan rebuffed them at every single turn. Heck, Madigan retaliated against members of his own party who dared broach the subject.

Pritzker allows lawmakers to get vaccinated

Published by admin on Sun, 02/07/2021 - 11:12am

The immediate partisan reaction to the governor's reversal on whether legislators should be allowed to be vaccinated during Phase 1B was fairly predictable.

New House Speaker so far doing what Madigan didn’t

Published by admin on Sat, 01/30/2021 - 12:17pm

Just a couple of weeks into a job that most people couldn't imagine being held by anyone other than the guy who had it for decades, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch is putting together a House that looks both familiar and different at the same time.
Welch's first week included a rollout of his new leadership team, with a Black woman as Speaker Pro Tempore and fresh faces throughout. By the third week, we'll see committee membership rosters and vice chairs. The following week will be the new rules.

New Speaker says Illinois House is ‘back in business’

Published by admin on Sun, 01/24/2021 - 12:28pm

House Speaker Michael Madigan avoided calling the General Assembly back into session during the pandemic for several reasons, many of them having to do with himself.
But Speaker Welch told me earlier this month that "The legislature is back in business. We're going to work in 2021."

Lame duck session was a failure by Pritzker administration

Published by admin on Sun, 01/17/2021 - 1:39pm

"The legislature is going to be a check on the executive branch," newly-elected House Speaker Chris Welch flatly declared to me during an interview the other day.
Welch was responding to a question I posed to him about his Jan. 13th inaugural address, when he asked not-so-rhetorically, "Why is it difficult to ensure that families' unemployment checks continue unabated and arrive on time so struggling families can feed their children? Why is that hard to grasp?"

Rep. Kinzinger’s punches may come back to haunt him

Published by admin on Sun, 01/10/2021 - 12:26pm

"This isn't their Republican Party anymore!" Donald Trump Jr. declared January 6th during a fiery speech near the US Capitol.
"This is Donald Trump's Republican Party," the President's son insisted. "Today, Republicans, you get to pick a side for the future of this party. I suggest you choose wisely."

The days of voters not caring about Madigan are over

Published by admin on Thu, 12/24/2020 - 1:04pm

I reached out to several House Democrats who could be considered politically vulnerable in 2022 to ask them how they plan to vote on Speaker Michael Madigan's reelection in January.
With one exception, I didn't make much headway.
Much has been made about the number of Democratic women who have said they will not vote to reelect the longtime House Speaker. That's true, but it isn't yet a universal opinion.

Pritzker could have done the responsible thing to balance the budget

Published by admin on Sun, 12/20/2020 - 12:18pm

"What if" games are never quite accurate, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that Gov. JB Pritzker had the opportunity and most probably the votes to balance the state budget with an income tax hike during 2019, his "honeymoon" year with the General Assembly.
Instead, the governor came into office and proposed what was essentially a pension payment holiday and other magic budgetary solutions.