Few Illinois outlets have devoted any energy to covering the fight in Washington to extend unemployment benefits, even though over 400,000 Illinois residents are currently collecting jobless insurance. Even fewer have reported on the looming cutoff for federal subsidies, which could leave almost 200,000 Illinoisans with no income by the beginning [...]
Last week, we noted GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk's latest anti-earmark effort, pointing out that the whole thing sounded rather McCain-esque. The AP, meanwhile, used Kirk's latest demagoguery to recall that he was a fan of earmarks not that long ago. (Indeed, he secured $30 million for various [...]
Kirk Dillard took his gubernatorial campaign to ABC 7's studios this weekend, where he was a guest on their Sunday interview segment NewsViews. Not suprisingly, when asked whether Illinois could dig itself out of this budget crisis without a tax increase, the Republican state senator answered, "Yes .. And I've" [...]
In addition to examining the gubernatorial and Cook County board president primaries, the Tribune also polled the U.S. Senate race and found that Democratic voters continue to favor Alexi Giannoulias over his rival candidates. The poll found that 31 percent supported Giannoulias, 17 percent supported Cheryle Jackson, 9 percent [...]
Quinn Suspends Early Prisoner Release Program
Gov. Pat Quinn has suspended his early release program, which allowed
hundreds of inmates to be released before the end of their prison terms
by earning credit for good behavior. The decision follows an AP investigation
that found some inmates with past convictions [...]
The Quinn campaign has to be feeling good thsi weekend. Conducted eight weeks before the February 2 primary, a new Tribune poll released shows the governor with high approval ratings among Democratic voters and a sizeable lead over challenger Dan Hynes. Here are the toplines (full results here): [...]
The big news in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary today is a new Rasmussen poll showing how the three top contenders are faring in head-to-head matchups against GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk. After tying Kirk in the October Rasmussen poll, Alexi Giannoulias now leads him by three points. Meanwhile, [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Losing Faith In State Aid
Community colleges across Illinois have
waited so long for payments from the state, reports Illinois Statehouse
News, that some are now wondering if they will get any money at all
next year.
The [...]
Earlier this fall, the Daily Herald editorial board reminded Illinois' congressional delegation of their own culpability in the financial market's meltdown, pushing them to take leadership "in fixing the lack of oversight that contributed to this mess." Today, those lawmakers faced another major test in how far they'll go to protect consumers from the [...]
Given Illinois' widening deficit and the repeated calls from editorial boards across the state to enact budgetary reforms, we were astonished to notice in recent weeks that not one major publication covered the final report issued last month by Gov. Pat Quinn's Pension Modernization Task Force.
The silence can be interpreted in [...]
This week, the bad financial news continued to roll in for Illinois. First, Moody's downgraded the state's general obligation bond rating on Tuesday, giving the Prairie State the second lowest ranking nationwide (only California's is worse). That same day, the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported that sales and income tax' [...]
Thanks to the Tribune, we finally have a survey of Cook County Democratic voters on the county board president primary -- and it doesn't bode well for incumbent Todd Stroger. The poll found that Dorothy Brown leads the four-candidate pack with 29 percent support, followed by Toni Preckwinkle with' [...]
Right on schedule, Illinois Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean threatened to thwart debate on a host of consumer-friendly financial protectionsthis week if her preemption amendment wasn't included in the final negotiations. The amendment -- which aims to weaken the emerging Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) by blocking states from enforcing consumer protections that' [...]
Quinn: Prison Decision "Very Shortly"
Gov. Pat Quinn says he expects a decision "very shortly" on whether the
federal government will buy the Thomson Correctional Center to house
Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Another Chink In Illinois' Bond Rating
In a second blow to Illinois' bond rating this week, [...]
This morning, Republican Rep. Peter Roskam took some time out of his schedule to give the hosts of WFLD's Good Day Chicago his opinion about the current health care negotiations. But if they were looking for conservative talking points, perhaps the producers should have saved their energy and simply asked anchor [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Keeping Prisons In The Dark
Why is Gov. Quinn blocking access to the state's youth prisons? Chicago Public Radio's Rob Wildeboer tries to find out.
Where Are The Labor Writers?
Former Tribune labor correspondent Stephen [...]
The candidates in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary are starting to differentiate themselves on a few crucial federal issues. One week after both Cheryle Jackson and David Hoffman expressed skepticism about President Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan, a plan Alexi Giannoulias supports, the state treasurer issued a statement today calling for [...]
A bit of good news from our friends over at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR): Rigo Padilla's impending deportation (following a misdemeanor DUI offense) has been deferred for one year by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. As we noted last week, the University of Illinois' [...]
Yesterday morning, Gov. Pat Quinn celebrated the Blago anniversary by signing into law a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill, the first in state history to cap (in some form) campaign contributions.
"When we enact a reform like today," the governor said at the signing, "it is not" [...]
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Mark Kirk's U.S. Senate campaign is starting to feel a whole lot like John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.
As was the case with McCain, Kirk has long benefited from media coverage that exaggerated his "moderate" and "independent" credentials, while glossing over his [...]
Senate Democrats held a caucus-wide meeting last night to iron out the final details on a compromise of the chamber's health care legislation. Late Tuesday, the so-called "gang of 10" struck a deal that would jettison the watered-down public option that's currently in the bill and instead expand Medicare eligibility to [...]
U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean isn't the only lawmaker who quietly slipped an amendment into the financial reform package that's up for debate in the U.S. House this week. It appears that Sen. Dick Durbin's judicial mortgage modification proposal reemerged as well. Indeed, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced an amendment (PDF) Wednesday that would' [...]
Quinn Signs Campaign Cap Legislation
Gov. Pat Quinn marked the one-year anniversary of Rod Blagojevich's arrest yesterday by enacting Illinois' first law establishing campaign contribution limits, rules he described as "not the whole loaf but a few slices" of reform.
Various organizations and elected officials are throwing their weight behind candidates in the race to replace Rep. Mark Kirk in the 10th Congressional District. That includes former governor Jim Edgar, who formally endorsed State Rep. Beth Coulson (R-Glenview) in the crowded Republican primary.
On the other side of the aisle, the New Trier [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Shedding Light On The Shadow Budget
The full TIF budget recently acquired by the Reader reveals drastic inequities in how the public funds are spent.
Federalism And Its Discontents
State
governments are drowning in debt. Greg [...]
U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias today released his second TV ad. The new spot ties his advocacy this year on the part of the embattled Hartmarx workers to his economic plan (which he is still in the process of unveiling). Watch it:
Also, Democratic candidate Jacob Meister posted a [...]
While much of the current local coverage is being devoted to the anniversary of Rod Blagojevich's arrest, this week also marks one year since the historic sit-in by the employees of Chicago-based Republic Windows and Doors. The occupation of the factory began on December 5 after owner Richard Gillman abruptly attempted to close' [...]
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a long-anticipated ruling that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. Environmentalists have praised the decision, which will allow the agency to finally place limits on carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act if Congress fails to curb emissions. Not surprisingly, GOP Rep. John Shimkus [...]
It's hard to believe that one year ago today, federal FBI agents arrested Rod Blagojevich at his Ravenswood home for engaging in what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald would call a "staggering" level of corruption. To mark the occasion, the Capitol Fax's Rich Miller drudged up an entertaining (and infuriating) string of old [...]
In his Wall Street Journal column today, Tom Frank contrasts Washington Republicans' kvetching about the so-called "Chicago Way" with the fact that the city has become ground zero for the conservatives' beloved privatization movement. After recalling the parking meter fiasco in all its frustrating glory, Frank concludes:
It may not [...]
Quinn To Sign Campaign Finance Bill
On the one-year anniversary of Rod Blagojevich's arrest, Gov. Pat Quinn
will sign a campaign finance bill today that caps most political
donations for the first time in Illinois. The legislation also
strengthens auditing and reporting requirements for campaign funds.
It was clear yesterday that if liberals in the Senate were going to support a plan to toss out a public option in lieu of a network of nationally-based, non-profit plans regulated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), they were going to have to get something in return. While negotiations are [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Handing The GOP A Problem
GOP gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna
wants to cut the state's minimum wage. NBC's Steve Rhodes responds that
this blue state likely won't take kindly to such a proposal.
Overcoming Stigma
Tim
Klein at' [...]
Apart from declining to endorse either of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates, the AFL-CIO threw its weight behind Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate, Terry Link for lieutenant governor, and Robin Kelly for state treasurer.
The federation also did not endorse in the 10th Congressional District primary or the comptroller race.
You can [...]
The Sun-Times is reporting that the Illinois AFL-CIO, which held its endorsement session this morning, has declined to support either Gov. Pat Quinn or Democratic challenger Dan Hynes:
Tuesday’s weighted vote of Illinois AFL-CIO member unions was 58-42 for Hynes, short of the two-thirds majority needed for an endorsement. That means [...]
After wrangling over the details of a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) for months now, the House will finally take up legislation to create the consumer watchdog agency this week. As this bill (H.R. 3126) made its way through committee during the fall, it engendered a good deal [...]
Following the partial rollback of the Cook County sales tax, there's been plenty of action in the Democratic primary for board president. Here's the latest:
Veteran Chicago reporter Don Terry scored an interview with incumbent Todd Stroger shortly after the board overrode his veto last week. Stroger was quick to play the victim card,' [...]
Facing the worst recession in a generation, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare isn't sitting around and waiting for the job market to rebound on its own. On Friday, we highlighted the Quad City Democrat's proposal to close what he's called the jobs deficit. On MSNBC's The Ed Show last night, he explained the' [...]
As regular readers know all too well, ongoing mismanagement at Chicago's Public Health department is costing taxpayers a bundle. The agency's problems date back to 2007 when former director Dr. Terry Mason approved a plan to purchase a $16.1 million billing system from Cerner Corp. State officials warned early on that the system was [...]
Solution Near In High-Speed Rail Dispute
Springield leaders who had threatened a lawsuit to block a proposal to run a high-speed rail line through Sagamon County met with state officials yesterday to hash out a solution. The dispute threatens the state's ability to collect billions in federal [...]
Just as in the gubernatorial race, the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate has seen a bunch of new endorsements in recent days. Along with their support of Gov. Pat Quinn, Citizen Action/Illinois threw its weight behind Alexi Giannoulias' candidacy over the weekend. From a press release:
"Alexi has a proven'" [...]
Just how many unemployed Illinoisans are facing the prospect of a winter without any income? Too many, according to new state-by-state figures (PDF) from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).
Between January and March of next year, the national policy organization says 66,271 Illinois workers will exhaust their regular 26 weeks of state-based benefits. [...]
After "balancing" the state's budget, in part, by pushing $3.2 billion worth of bills off until next year, Illinois lawmakers left Springfield over the summer crossing their fingers that the economy would rebound quickly and stave off the obvious need for an income tax increase. It was a naive proposition to say the least. [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Putting Off LGBT Rights
After they pushed the deadline on a civil
unions bill back another six months, political activist Patrick Kelly
expresses doubt that Illinois Democrats will put the rights of gays and
lesbians ahead of their own re-election [...]
The question that dominates the Illinois gubernatorial race this cycle is a huge one: What will each candidate do to fix the state's budget deficit? Because the shortfall is so large, righting the ship will require
comprehensive changes both in the way the state generates and spends
revenue. We've already seen
Rep. Mark Kirk's decision to abandon his previous position on cap-and-trade might have earned his U.S. Senate campaign a few extra supporters, but it's certainly angering his former allies in the environmental community.
Over the weekend, the Illinois Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) -- both of whom [...]
At last week's full Chicago City Council meeting, Ald. Tom Allen (38th Ward) opposed Mayor Daley's budget and offered several proposals to raise revenue in the short-term without raiding various reserve funds. Included among them was a one-year pause on the mayor's precious tax increment financing (TIF) system. Later [...]
Sen. Dick Durbin had another busy weekend. The Senate Majority Whip is hustling to cut deals on some of the more contentious issues dividing Democrats as they hash out health care reform legislation. We will get to those debates shortly. First, check out this video of the Illinois' senior senator on the floor Saturday' [...]
There's been a lot of action since our last update on the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Here's the latest:
Over the weekend, Gov. Pat Quinn received the endorsement of both Citizen Action/Illinois and the Sierra Club. The campaign posted this video from a chilly lakefront press conference announcing the latter:
Quinn is scheduled to [...]
Illinois Prison Likely To House Detainees
Following a briefing Friday with large portions of the Illinois
congressional delegation, officials from the White House are signaling
that Thomson Correctional Center will likely become the new home for
dozens of detainees currently housed at the U.S. naval base at
Guantanamo Bay.
When President Obama takes part in the international climate meetings in Copenhagen next week, he won't carry with him any domestic legislation that mandates strict limits on carbon emissions. While this may have initially seemed like a missed opportunity to increase leverage for binding global limits, Obama certainly won't be making the trip without anything [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Crumbling Base
After
losing Daley's endorsement for re-election, Don Terry writes that Cook
County Board President Todd Stroger is struggling to rally his base
A Gift To Us
Greg Hinz explains how Chicago residents can' [...]
For University of Illinois at Chicago junior Rigo Padilla, the countdown to deportation is now less than two weeks away. And immigration reform activists are pulling out all the stops in an effort to push back the deadline.
Among them is Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who yesterday filed a measure [...]
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias earned the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers today in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. From a press release:
"Alexi Giannoulias is an advocate for public education," said Ed Geppert, Jr., president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which represents 103,000 members statewide. "He understands the importance" [...]
The governor's race isn't the only campaign that's getting heated this election cycle. Here's the latest from the Democratic primary in the 10th Congressional District.
First up, State Rep. Julie Hamos has produced a new television ad highlighting her work protecting battered women. Hamos was a co-founder of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. [...]
Less than 24 hours after convening a summit to generate ideas on how the government can spur job growth, the White House received some encouraging unemployment news. New figures from the Labor Department show that because of minimal job losses in November (just 11,000, compared to a three-month [...]
Mayor Daley must be really eager to tamp down all this tax increment financing (TIF) talk. Appearing on WBEZ on November 1, he talked at length -- and not entirely truthfully -- about the benefits of this economic development tool. At a November 13 press conference, he [...]
Illinois Prepares $5.27 Billion Bond Deal
State officials are preparing to sell
$5.27 billion worth of sales-tax backed bonds to fund pension payments and get school
construction and other capital projects moving.
Speaker Madigan: Tax Hike Won't Solve Budget Crisis
Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan says that the' [...]
Anyone who's been following the City of Chicago's budgeting process knows that neither the public nor elected officials have had much substantive input into each year's spending. But up in Chicago's 49th Ward, Ald. Joe Moore and some of his constituents are testing out a new process -- "participatory budgeting" -- at [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Putting Wage Theft On The Map
Partnering with the University of Illinois at Chicago, Arise Chicago has created a map of local employers accused of wage theft.
Major Changes
The Tribune explains the new state [...]
Here's the latest from the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate.
Alexi Hits The Airwaves
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is going up with his first television ad of the season, which focuses on his involvement in the fight this past spring to protect the 122-year-old, Chicago-based clothier Hartmarx Inc. from liquidation. (You can find [...]
State lawmakers aren't the only Illinois residents facing loads of debt. According to new research released this week by the Project on Student Debt, last year's crop of college graduates here in Illinois borrowed mightily before receiving their diplomas.
On average, local students in the 2008 class left school with $
As he makes his rounds on the gubernatorial campaign trail, State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) loves to tout his "executive experience" as former Gov. Jim Edgar's chief of staff. And there's no accomplishment he loves to brag about more than his experience helping the former governor turn "a mountain of debt" into [...]
There is no assurance that Congress will act on it quickly, but a bill extending unemployment benefits through 2010 has now been introduced in the U.S. House. Yesterday, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), the chief House sponsor of the jobless insurance extension signed into law last month, officially offered H.R. 4183. If approved this [...]
Judging by the budget debate that took place yesterday, there's no doubt that members of Chicago's City Council have noticed the unprecedented tax increment financing (TIF) blowback that we chronicled this week. In our round-up, we noted how Ald. Tom Allen (38th Ward) had, in late October, trumpeted the need for [...]
Cullerton Downplays Plan To Add Slots At Horse Tracks
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) is expressing skepticism about a proposal to transfer thousands of slot machines from towns that have banned video gaming to horse tracks across the state. Instead, Cullerton says he's setting [...]
Trying to predict what the Senate Democrats are going to throw into their upcoming jobs bill is a fool's game at this point. On the one hand, there are too many valuable uses for the money. On the other hand, there are too many deficit hawks in the upper chamber trying [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Where Are The Women?
The Sun-Times' Carol Marin looks at the current list of candidates running for statewide office and wonders why so few women have decided to enter the fray.
Can't Get Paid
ABC [...]
The state of Illinois isn't the only taxing body reeling from dwindling revenue these days. Declining sales, property, and gaming receipts are blowing holes in municipal budgets across Illinois. As a result, local officials are struggling to maintain basic services like police protection, fire' [...]
With leaders in the Senate building a new package to protect the economically vulnerable and spur job creation, legislators are trying to figure out ways to increase lending to small businesses. The problem came into full focus last month, when a report from the Treasury Department found that in the past six [...]
For months now, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has kept a spotlight on Rigoberto Padilla, a 19-year-old University of Illinois-Chicago student who is staring down a December deportation deadline. As the coalition points out, Rigo's situation -- he is facing deportation due to a misdemeanor DUI offense' [...]
After surviving the first cloture vote last month, "debate" on the final Senate health care bill officially kicked off this week. Republicans are up to their usual tricks, railing against "Medicare cuts" they have previously supported and spinning the latest Congressional Budget Office report that reaffirmed reform will bring down the [...]
The latest from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois ...
Former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman is up on the air with his first television ad. Watch the spot, in which he states, "The bankers, the lobbyists and insiders have owned Washington for too long":
Meanwhile, three of the [...]
It's Official: Cook County Cuts Sales Tax
Is this Mayor Daley's idea of a compromise? Yesterday we noted that Ald. Joe Moore (49th Ward) had introduced a budget amendment calling for the restoration of the $2.5 million in lost state mental health reimbursements. (Ongoing billing glitches at the Department of Public Health are to blame for the drop in funding.) [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Flores Talks Budget
Last week, Ramsin Canon sat down with Ald. Manny
Flores (1st Ward) to discuss the Daley administration's budget, which
the Chicago City Council will vote on tomorrow. Listen to the audio
over at Gapers Block.
[...]
Anyone who has been following the debate over tax increment financing (TIF) this past decade is probably rubbing their eyes in disbelief today. That's because the Sun-Times became the second daily paper in a week to devote an editorial to Mayor Daley's "slush fund," capping off an unprecedented two months in [...]
December won't be kind to the millions of Americans still looking for work in this sluggish economy. After December 31, over 1 million workers will lose eligibility for the next tier of unemployment insurance benefits provided by the economic stimulus plan. And beginning today, 7 million unemployed individuals will' [...]
The banking industry is so, so predictable. Whenever talk turns toward capping predatory interest rates on credit cards or other financial products, like clockwork, the group warns that consumers will have to kiss their access to credit goodbye. Last Tuesday, in a new hour-long documentary titled The Card Game, PBS' Frontline explored the' [...]
Durbin Calls Closed-Door Session On Thomson Transfers
Sen.
Dick Durbin will host a closed-door, lawmaker-only briefing with
Illinois' congressional delegation tomorrow to discuss tranferring
Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Thomson Correctional Center.
Black Ministers Back Jackson
U.S. Senate candidate Cheryle
Jackson got a boost yesterday as more than a dozen' [...]
Today, three high-profile Illinois lawyers -- former federal judge Abner Mikva and former U.S. Attorneys Thomas Sullivan and Dan Webb -- sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation supporting "the use of federal and state prisons, including the one at Thomson, IL, to house Guantanamo detainees pre-trial and" [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
A Victory
While it's a tragedy that millions of families are
struggling to put food on the table, Megan Cottrell points out that the
rise in food stamp use is an unquestionably positive development.
Hard Hats
The [...]
In just two days, the Chicago City Council will put Mayor Daley's $6.1. billion budget to a vote. From the looks of various news reports, even some of the mayor's staunchest allies remain concerned about his plan to plug the budget hole by pulling another $370 million from the' [...]
In his Sun-Times column last week, Rich Miller revisited Rep. Mark Kirk's various flip-flops since entering the race for U.S. Senate. He noted that all this maneuvering has resulted in something that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago: In recent weeks, the Chicago media has turned against [...]
In just three days, President Obama will convene his latest White House summit. Beer won't be served at this particular function, however. Instead, lawmakers, business leaders, union officials, and economists will join administration officials to discuss how to spur job growth and protect the long-term unemployed.
Politics will prevent Obama from passing another stimulus package along' [...]
Over the weekend, the Sun-Times published a news article scrutinizing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's November 1 interview with WBEZ's Alison Cuddy. Specifically, reporter Abdon Pallasch fact-checked the mayor's fervent defense of his controversial tax increment financing (TIF) network.
The paper is a little late to the party on [...]
Quinn Expects Sales Tax Veto Overthrown
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Here's the latest from the Illinois political scene:
Cross Attempts To Slow Down Thomson Deal
Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross is attempting to stall a proposed deal in which the state will lease Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government to house certain' [...]
Is Mayor Daley acting a little defensive these days or what? During a Tuesday press conference, he took a jab at the aldermen who are opposing his $35 million property tax rebate gimmick, adding: "So the politicians are saying: increase your property taxes and increase your income tax. Unbelievable! It seems" [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Waiting For A Miracle
Stephen Franklin explores the financial insecurity faced by Chicago day laborers.
Reenergizing The South Side
WBEZ's
Gabriel Spitzer checks in on the proposed state-of-the-art solar power
plant that could transform an industrial' [...]
Illinois finances have been on shaky ground for the better part of the past decade. As a result, transit doomsdays, school funding referendums, and the threat of human service cuts emerge, like clockwork, every year. But the fact that the state has slipped so quickly from "the middle of the pack" in financial stability [...]
With unemployment jumping over 10 percent nationally last month and the midterm elections just a year away, Democrats are scrambling to find new ways to buoy the economy. In the past few weeks, a cadre of high-ranking lawmakers have coalesced around a "job creation" package, which Illinois' own Sen. Dick Durbin has' [...]
The folks at Environment Illinois have been doing yeoman's work documenting exactly why federal climate change legislation is an urgent priority. Yesterday, they released yet another report detailing a major source of pollution in the Prairie State: coal-fired power plants.
It's no coincidence that Illinois ranks sixth nationally for its [...]
Officials: Keeping Terrorists Quiet Is Biggest Concern
Today, Gov. Pat Quinn released the first of what will be a weekly documentary series (dubbed "Quinn Stories") chronicling his time on the campaign trail. The initial installment includes some candid video of his visit to Agriculture Day at the Illinois State Fair this past summer:
The campaign also put [...]
Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:
Facts About Recall
Byron Williams, a syndicated columnist from
California, warns Illinois residents that while having the ability to
recall the governor might seem "empowering," that feeling is "temporary
at best."
Food Insecure
With food insecurity on the [...]
At a press conference before reporters in Chicago today, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias unveiled his financial reform platform, the third installment of the campaign's Future Works America economic plan, which we previously covered. In the video below, the Democratic Senate candidate lists his varios proposals, including the application of commercial banking regulations to non-bank' [...]
In their opposition to raising the state income tax, conservatives love to talk about Illinois' "bloated" government. Of course, they conveniently overlook the fact that we are one of the lowest spending states nationwide and that we are ranked near dead last in the country for our
Josh Kalven, Progress Illinois, Adam Doster, Angela Caputo
