Capital Facts

Madigan, ComEd’s patronage history on trial

Published by admin on Sun, 03/19/2023 - 10:33am

ComEd has long been a source of political patronage. The company’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with federal prosecutors even references how former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s “old-fashioned patronage system” obtained ComEd meter reader jobs for its precinct workers.
Madigan’s wasn’t the only patronage network to do this. It was a widespread practice and, as old-timers tell it, became even more important when Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor, cut some prominent White politicians out of the city’s patronage spoils.

Illinois must get smarter with mental health

Published by admin on Sat, 03/11/2023 - 10:33am

Gov. JB Pritzker declared last week when announcing the formation of the Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center that the state was building “the best behavioral health system in the nation.”
It was quite a bold thing to say. So, my associate Isabel Miller and I asked a couple of follow-up questions: How long will this take and how much will it cost?

‘Wackos’ seem to be proliferating in Illinois

Published by admin on Sun, 03/05/2023 - 12:33pm

Last month, I wrote a tongue in cheek headline for my blog: “Poll conducted for IEA finds about 10 percent of Illinoisans are wackos.”
The Normington-Petts and Next Generation Strategies poll of 1,000 Illinoisans conducted in January found that 11 percent strongly favor, “the fighting, yelling, or other contention at school board meetings that has been happening around the country.”

State Democrats targeting school board candidates

Published by admin on Sat, 02/25/2023 - 11:24am

Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters a few weeks ago that he was concerned about some local school and library board races.
“There are organizations that are anti-LGBTQ, that are racist, they’re anti Muslim, that are supporting candidates for these local boards. And they’re trying to take over at a local level and build up candidates at the local level that they can then run for the state legislature and for other offices.”

The good news in Pritzker’s proposed budget

Published by admin on Sat, 02/18/2023 - 11:05am

After taking a pandemic-induced hiatus from proposing large, permanent base spending increases and instead using most revenue increases for one-time expenditures, Gov. JB Pritzker’s recently proposed Fiscal Year 2024 state budget appears to increase base operational spending by at least $2.75 billion, or 7.9 percent.
Annual pension payments will also rise by a relatively modest $201 million, which ups the total base spending increase to $2.95 billion.

Tough decisions needed with fewer federal dollars

Published by admin on Sat, 02/11/2023 - 12:01pm

The legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released its latest monthly fiscal report last week. The report claimed the state is still on track to match the commission’s revised November estimate of a $4.1 billion revenue increase for the current fiscal year.
Revenue had originally been projected to fall from the previous fiscal year. And much of the recently projected increase is believed to be a one-time event and has so far been treated as such.

Own campaign loan backfires for DeVore

Published by admin on Sat, 02/04/2023 - 1:13pm

State records show that Dan Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC spent almost $36 million during the second half of 2022, mostly on advertising boosting Sen. Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial bid and opposing Gov. JB Pritzker.
Of that, $2.4 million was spent on consulting. Former ABC7 political reporter Charles Thomas was paid $100,000 in two $50,000 installments. Thomas appeared in some of Proft’s ads praising Bailey.

Here’s why carmakers are leaving Illinois

Published by admin on Sun, 01/29/2023 - 11:20am

The Rockford Register-Star reported last week that the state of Illinois “has submitted what could be its best offer to keep the Belvidere Assembly Plant operating and save what could be thousands of jobs.”
Stellantis announced in December it would idle its Jeep Cherokee assembly plant in February. So, there appears to be a glimmer of hope that the state can finally notch a victory with a carmaker after years of trying.

Lawmakers fired up over sheriffs’ dissent to assault weapons ban

Published by admin on Sun, 01/22/2023 - 10:07am

“All they are saying,” claimed Illinois Sheriff’s Association executive director Jim Kaitschuk about dozens of his members, “is ‘We’re not going to knock on people's doors to ask whether they have registered their firearms. And if they're arrested solely on that charge, we will not house them in our jails until ordered to do so by a competent authority.”

Illinois lawmakers spend extra cash

Published by admin on Sat, 01/14/2023 - 11:11am

When the Democrats get their act together during a legislative lame duck session, they can really pass a lot of stuff in short order.
We’ve seen it before. Two years ago, the Democrats passed a huge amount of important legislation, including the SAFE-T Act, in just a few days.
Except maybe for the assault weapons ban, which is proving unpopular with county sheriffs who believe they have the right to personally interpret the Constitution, nothing quite that intensely controversial passed during this year’s lame duck session.