Written by Pat Hughes
The political left will say anything to deconstruct reality and advance their agenda. While political insiders sometimes dismiss this tactic as little more than a marketing ploy, in truth, their repeated efforts at misdirection are as effective as they are destructive.
Take, for example, the left’s rebranding of tax increases as “revenue.” Most people are familiar with revenue as it is commonly defined: income generated from the sale of goods or services, or any other use of capital or assets.… Continue Reading
Written by Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Chicago’s public schools are effectively bankrupt. The city’s pension plans are countless billions of dollars in the hole, the worst in the nation. And Chicago bonds carry a junk rating, the worst of any major U.S. city.
There is plenty to fix, but city leaders are fiddling while Chicago burns. Instead of addressing the enormous problems the city faces, politicians opt to nickel-and-dime residents and businesses to death, scaring away companies in the process.
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Written by Russ Stewart
It is often remarked, not facetiously, that squeamish people don’t want to know how sausage is made and intelligent people don’t want to know how judges are made. The “best and the brightest” on the bench? Not a chance.
This article is not about sausage. In Cook County, it’s judge-making time, and it ain’t pretty. On June 25 and 26, at the Democrats’ “pre-slating,” 41 lawyers who are appointed judges appeared and begged and groveled for party slating.… Continue Reading
Written by Adam Andrzejewsk
Confronted with our Freedom of Information Act requests and hard questions from the Washington Times, the top cop in Illinois tries to justify a $1 million patronage pay spike problem. She admits that a “supervising” attorney was allowed to move two states away and 507 round-trip miles from the office after receiving a substantial pay raise. Read our Executive Summary here.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has handed out $1 million in patronage pay increases since 2010.… Continue Reading
From IllinoisReview.com
Illinois’ U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and Congressman Bob Dold – both from Chicago’s northern suburbs – were two Republicans that were among those that don’t vote along party lines, a Washington Post analysis found Thursday.
While Kirk was the third most in contradiction to Republican caucus votes with nearly 20 percent in opposition, Congressman Bob Dold voted six out of seven times against the Republican position in crucial, close votes.
The Dold campaign boasted about the WaPo findings, saying, “Rep.
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Written by Heather Niemetschek
On June 4, the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 1287, including three amendments that made up the Democrats’ version of a workers’ compensation reform package. But the overarching theme of the debate was whether the amendments could be called “reform” at all.
A careful review of HB 1287 shows the House passed a bill lacking the cost-saving reforms Illinoisans desperately need.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has remained adamant for months that reform of the workers’ compensation laws in Illinois is one of the most important structural changes the General Assembly must address this session before the governor will consider revenue increases.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
This is the last of a series that starts here.
Where is the Steve Jobs of conservative politics? Where is the innovation, creativity, and vision?
Why do things continue to get worse, despite the fact that there are countless highly paid and experienced professionals working in Republican and conservative politics? After over twenty-five years of political experience I could write a book on the topic, and maybe I will some day.
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Written by John Biver
It might be a tired old cliché, but politics as we know it today is a tired old arena, so I don’t mind using the line since it applies perfectly: The definition of the word “insanity” is doing more of the same and expecting a different result.
It looks like conservatives are going to run more presidential candidates than ever — will they split the vote even more so that a rino can waltz into the nomination?
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Written by John Biver
Let’s face it, the past few generations of political conservatives have been politically lazy. While the small numbers of conservatives that have been politically active can be lauded for their efforts, relatively few of them have been effective. If you think those two statements are mean, tell me — where are the signs of that energy? Where are the fruits of all that effectiveness?
Scattered policy victories here or there? I’m not impressed.
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Written by Mark Fritton
The head of the Civic Federation — a largely Chicagoland business group — on Monday gave a panel of Illinois state senators some hard advice:
Illinois has to control its spending and pay its debts, and it must do so for several years.
Laurence Msall, the federation’s president, reviewed some of the group’s recommendations for a state budget for fiscal year 2016, which begins July 1.
The overall message: Cut spending and raise revenue.… Continue Reading
Illinois Politics | Admin | 
July 31, 2015 11:00 AM | 
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