Capital Facts

One campaign tactic that’s good to let go

Published by admin on Wed, 12/04/2019 - 8:00am

Another relic of Tim Mapes' days as House Speaker Michael Madigan's chief of staff has passed into history.
Mapes could be a kind and generous man to his friends and family. He was often the delightful life of the party when he chose to go out.

Madigan insider put it in writing which is a big mistake

Published by admin on Tue, 11/26/2019 - 8:00am

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Mike McClain, the most prominent insider connected to House Speaker Michael Madigan, sent a blind-copied email to what he called the "Most Trusted of the Trusted" asking for help raising money in the closing weeks of the 2018 campaign.

Madigan insider put it in writing which is a big mistake

Published by admin on Mon, 11/25/2019 - 1:29pm

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Mike McClain, the most prominent insider connected to House Speaker Michael Madigan, sent a blind-copied email to what he called the "Most Trusted of the Trusted" asking for help raising money in the closing weeks of the 2018 campaign. After thanking them for their work on behalf of "Himself" (presumed to be Madigan), McClain claimed to have reviewed a "magic Excel sheet" and asked for more contributions, which were to be directed to a Madigan person at the Democratic Party of Illinois so their money could be tracked on said "magic" spreadsheet.

Senate President Cullerton will be missed

Published by admin on Mon, 11/18/2019 - 11:20am

Much will change at the Statehouse when Senate President John Cullerton retires in January, a year before his term expires.

Unlike his House counterpart, Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton always wanted to find ways to get things done - and he got a lot done.

He's a kind, approachable man who prefers bipartisan statesmanship but relishes partisan battle whenever the times call for it. He's smart and funny and has managed to keep a diverse caucus together without resorting to intimidation, like his predecessor routinely did.

Pritzker speaks anti-corruption but crosses the line

Published by admin on Tue, 10/29/2019 - 3:24pm

Gov. JB Pritzker has lately won plaudits from even some conservative opinion-makers for making the right moves on corruption. But I am going to register an objection in a bit.
When Senate President John Cullerton dithered about what to do with Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) after the powerful Transportation Committee's Statehouse and district offices and house were raided by federal agents, Pritzker called on Sandoval to quit the chairmanship or be removed.

ComEd kills rate bill now that feds are investigating

Published by admin on Mon, 10/21/2019 - 10:32am

The political muscle of ComEd/Exelon aced its last major test in 2016, when the energy companies finally passed what one Illinois House member referred to at the time as a "multibillion dollar corporate bailout" by electricity ratepayers to keep two of its nuclear power plants open.

Talk of reforming Illinois pensions is taking place

Published by admin on Mon, 10/14/2019 - 10:39am

One of the provisions of the sweeping state pension reform law passed in 2010 has always stuck in the craw of first responders.
Police and (especially) firefighter unions fought the local government lobby for decades to increase survivor benefits, and then they watched many of those hard-fought wins get wiped away when the General Assembly decided it had to lower pension benefits for new hires to avoid a fiscal catastrophe.
The reforms produced a system known as "Tier 2," as opposed to the more generous pre-existing system, which is known as "Tier 1."

Impossible to tell what feds were looking for during raid

Published by admin on Mon, 10/07/2019 - 11:49am

The Illinois Senate recently released a heavily redacted copy of the federal search warrant served during the raid of Sen. Martin Sandoval's Statehouse office last month. And the Village of McCook also released a heavily redacted search warrant from the federal raid of its town hall.

Illinois senator under the gun after FBI raid

Published by admin on Tue, 10/01/2019 - 9:00am

At about the same time last week, Chicago-based investigators with the FBI and the IRS swooped into Democratic Sen. Marty Sandoval's district office, Statehouse office and home residence, removing boxes of documents and seizing computers.
Last November, the feds launched a simultaneous raid of super-powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke's city and ward offices, but they didn't raid the man's house.

Chicago mayor may be passing up two good money making opportunities

Published by admin on Tue, 09/24/2019 - 8:00am

Whatever else you may believe, you have to commend Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for trying to live up to her campaign promise of making sure that new economic development isn't concentrated in her city's downtown business district.
Her city casino proposal didn't include a downtown location because she said she wanted the development benefits to target an outlying area. Her adult-use cannabis plan also forbids retail sales downtown, for partially the same reason: Let the neighborhoods benefit.