Capital Facts

Candidate’s combat claim needs clarification

Published by admin on Sun, 09/19/2021 - 9:48am

Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Schimpf has mostly followed Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment and avoided speaking ill of his Republican opponents.
Until now.
When a relative unknown named Jesse Sullivan jumped into the race earlier this month with a nearly $11 million out-of-state-funded campaign war chest, state Sen. Darren Bailey and businessperson Gary Rabine both called him a member of the San Francisco/Silicon Valley “elite” because that’s where his business was located and where much of his campaign money came from.

Energy bill proves there’s a new way in Springfield

Published by admin on Sun, 09/12/2021 - 9:54am

"This is what decentralized, collective leadership looks like," declared House Speaker Chris Welch's spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll not long after the chamber approved the climate/energy bill on an unexpectedly lopsided 83-33 roll call on Thursday.
The vote was without a doubt a spectacular victory, especially considering the Senate was unable to put together its own package that could pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Here’s who’s to blame for failed Illinois energy bill

Published by admin on Sun, 09/05/2021 - 2:51pm

While a huge cloud of coal ash exploded around Springfield's coal-fired electric power plant late in the afternoon, the state's top three Democrats were huddled in a Statehouse conference room trying to find a way to slash electric power plant carbon emissions to zero by 2045.
The irony was both unmistakable and irresistible.
The giant ash plume, caused by an equipment failure, finally dissipated hours later. But by then it was also clear that any attempt to pass a climate/energy bill by the end of the day was doomed - and that was a human failure.

Dodging the Covid virus while chasing Springfield politics

Published by admin on Mon, 08/30/2021 - 5:50pm

The week of Governor's Day and Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair is always packed with political events. And this year was no exception. It's impossible to attend them all, so one has to pick and choose and go with the flow.

Rift among state Democrats may be all for naught

Published by admin on Sat, 08/21/2021 - 11:02am

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon decided last week to join House Speaker Chris Welch in his decision to not participate in the Democratic Party of Illinois' new "BLUE Committee" structure.

New census numbers may change early legislative maps

Published by admin on Sun, 08/15/2021 - 10:30am

In the wake of last week's Census numbers release, the news media has widely reported a seeming reduction in the number of white people, both nationally and here in Illinois.
"Census shows U.S. is diversifying, white population shrinking," the Associated Press reported. "Overall, in the five collar counties, the white population declined by 183,869 over the past decade," the Chicago Tribune reported.
But is that true?

Unvaccinated state workers ‘part of the problem’

Published by admin on Sun, 08/08/2021 - 9:20am

When Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced that state employees who work in congregate facilities would have to be vaccinated by Oct. 4, the largest state employee union, AFSCME, released a statement chiding the governor. "We strongly oppose any effort to define them as part of the problem," the powerful union claimed on behalf of those workers.
But Pritzker also said that about 80 percent of new COVID-19 cases in those congregate facilities "have been due to infection among employees."

Pritzker needs unions to back down on energy bill

Published by admin on Sat, 07/24/2021 - 3:02pm

This past May, Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Jehan Gordon Booth (D-Peoria) and Gov. JB Pritzker worked out a deal with some key state business groups to mandate seven days of paid leave per year for every employee in Illinois. Workers wouldn't have to give any reasons for the guaranteed paid leave.
But organized labor, in particular some Chicago union leaders, angrily came out against it, arguing that the bill's home rule preemption language would prevent Chicago from eventually enacting an even broader ordinance.

Illinois Legislative Inspector quits with good reason

Published by admin on Sun, 07/18/2021 - 8:50pm

Illinois Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope announced her resignation last week and will leave office by Dec. 15. She cited several reasons, including her thwarted attempt to issue subpoenas without any checks or balances.
"True ethics reform," she said of the legislature, "is not a priority."

Fitch owes Illinois an upgrade

Published by admin on Sat, 07/10/2021 - 10:28am

As I write this, two of the three national credit rating agencies have upgraded the State of Illinois’ rating in a week’s time. And the only remaining holdout owes us one. Bigtime.
As you know, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded its Illinois rating by a notch in late June and S&P Global Ratings followed suit on July 8. Fitch Ratings is the only one left.
Back in April of 2020, when the pandemic was gripping the world, Fitch downgraded Illinois’ credit rating – the only credit downgrade Illinois has received since Bruce Rauner’s days as governor.