Written by David E. Smith
U.S. Representative Aaron Schock (R-Peoria) announced Tuesday that he would be resigning from Congress at the end of the month in the wake of six weeks of being peppered with questions regarding his lavish spending — including tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements he received for his personal vehicle.
Schock issued this statement:
“Today, I am announcing my resignation as a Member of the United States House of Representatives effective March 31st.
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Written by Russ Stewart
It’s reality check time in the Chicago mayoral race. Chuy Garcia is not Harold Washington. This is not 1983. The Hispanic base vote is nowhere near the black base vote, then and now. The result of the Feb. 24 municipal election, which set up an April 7 runoff between Garcia and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, may or may not be a “consciousness-raising” event. “They are energized,” Frank Avila, a longtime political activist, said of Hispanic voters.… Continue Reading
Written by Scott Reeder
Four years ago, State Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) walked into a state office and announced he didn’t want a pension.
“I got a blank look in response. The General Assembly has an incredibly generous pension plan, and I was told I was the first legislator to choose not to participate in more than 14 years. I guess I was a trend-setter because today one-fifth of the General Assembly doesn’t participate,” the Palatine Republican said.… Continue Reading
Tags: Bruce Rauner, C.D. Davidsmeyer, Dan Walker, Jim Nowlan, Kathleen Willis, Leslie Munger, Neil Anderson, Pat Quinn, Peter Breen, Tom Morrison
Illinois Politics | David E. Smith | 
March 10, 2015 11:30 AM | 
Comments Off on 37 State Lawmakers Decline Pensions While State Faces Unfunded Liability
Written by John Jay
Liberal media pundits are up to their usual tricks by chastising proposed budget cuts as “hurting our most vulnerable” in typical boogeyman alarmist fashion.
Anytime a reformist finally gets elected to clean up a decades-long mess that’s been simmering in any state capitol, state bureaucrats and progressives dig in to resist any change of the status quo.
Step in the Chicago Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg:
Illinois was 50th out of 50 before.
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Written by Russ Stewart
Remember that old verity, you get what you pay for? Often, you don’t. In Illinois politics, however, you pay for what you get, and the candidate who pays the most is the candidate who gets.
Bruce Rauner is Illinois’ governor because during 2014 he raised $78,191,560 and spent $58,426,802. Roughly $25 million of his receipts came from his own pocket. Self-funding, in essence, bought him the governorship.
Rauner beat Pat Quinn 1,823,627 to 1,681,343, getting 50.3 percent of the vote and winning by a margin of a margin of 142,284 votes.… Continue Reading
Tags: Bill Brady, Bruce Rauner, George Ryan, Jim Edgar, Jim Thompson, John Cullerton, Marty Moylan, Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, Rosemary Mulligan, Scott Walker, Susan Sweeney
Illinois Politics | David E. Smith | February 26, 2015 3:30 PM | Comments Off on “Spend-To-Stay” Alive and Well in Illinois
Written by Scott Reeder
Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed a budget that trimmed funding for state universities.
The reaction of university bigwigs?
Jack up tuition and protect the bureaucracy at all costs. And I mean at all costs.
Look no further than the comments Illinois State University President Larry Dietz made to WEEK TV news:
“Budget cuts at that level would have an impact on many areas of University operations and there are many issues on the table for discussion.
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Written by Mark Fitton
With nearly 7,000 units of government, Illinois is No. 1 in the nation, and that’s an honor Gov. Bruce Rauner would like some other state to enjoy.
The governor recently signed an executive order creating a task force charged with streamlining government functions.
Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti will lead the group, which will be made up of representatives from local governments, school districts and members of the legislature from throughout the state.… Continue Reading
Written by Illinois Review.com
State Comptroller Leslie Munger was the only statewide officer and only Republican elected official that attended Equality Illinois’ annual fundraiser gala Saturday night, a report on Windy City Times says.
Munger was appointed by Governor Bruce Rauner to succeed the late Judy Baar Topinka, who was recognized at the dinner for her support over the years for the gay rights agenda. Arthur Johnston, Equality Now’s co-founder spoke about how three political celebrities that died in 2014 helped Illinois’ gay movement.
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Illinois is listed as the 14th most liberal state in the Union.
Written by Frank Newport
Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are the most right-leaning states in the union, with between 46% and 49% of residents in each identifying as politically conservative. Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii are the most left-leaning, with 30% of residents in each of those states identifying as liberal.
The top 10 most conservative states in 2014 are very similar to the top 10 in 2013, with the exception of Louisiana, which was not in the top 10 list in 2013, but replaced Wyoming in the top 10 this year.
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Written by David E. Smith
In May 2012, I wrote an article in response to President Barack Obama’s statement that he had “evolved” to support redefining marriage to include homosexual partners. In this article, I pointed out that it really wasn’t an “evolution” as much as it was a flip-flop.
Let me explain:
In 1996, as a candidate for the Illinois State Senate, Obama went on record in favor of same-sex “marriage.” Then in 2004, as a candidate for U.S.… Continue Reading
