Capital Facts

Illinois must act now before getting hit with $705 million a year in SNAP benefits

Published by admin on Sat, 07/12/2025 - 11:41am

The costs to Illinois’ government because of the new Republican congressional budget reconciliation law will be steep.
However, the state has some time to prepare itself, and possible Democratic gains in the US House and Senate next year might be able to reverse or mitigate some of the steepest cuts to food security and healthcare programs before the vast majority of them take effect after the 2026 elections.

Pritzker’s new running mate threw several punches

Published by admin on Sun, 07/06/2025 - 9:44am

Christian Mitchell has had strong detractors ever since Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle elevated the young Black man out of obscurity and backed him for the Illinois House in 2012.
Preckwinkle chose her trusted aide Mitchell over appointed Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago). Preckwinkle’s move upset a lot of people in that part of the world because the du Buclet family’s local influence had been strong for decades and Mitchell was not a born South Sider.

‘Protecting’ Illinois is one thing, but making it better is another

Published by admin on Sat, 06/28/2025 - 1:49pm

“I ran for governor in 2018 to change our story,” Gov. JB Pritzker told a Chicago crowd last Thursday morning as he announced his bid for a third term. “I ran for governor in 2022 to keep telling our story. And I am running for governor in 2026 to protect our story.”
This general theme of protecting what Gov. Pritzker maintains is Illinois’ progress from damage by President Donald Trump will be the foundation of the governor’s reelection bid - at least for the foreseeable future.

19 Democrats who refused Madigan did the right thing

Published by admin on Sat, 06/21/2025 - 1:20pm

I reached out last week to several members of the “19” – the Democratic House members who refused to vote to re-elect House Speaker Michael Madigan in 2021, thereby forcing him into retirement.
I asked for their reaction to Madigan’s 90-month federal prison sentence handed down a few days earlier. Because it was a holiday (Father’s Day), I didn’t expect to hear much back.

Pritzker said he’ll stand in the way of ICE

Published by admin on Sat, 06/14/2025 - 3:10pm

As I write this, multiple news outlets have reported that the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five major US cities, including Chicago, in the very near future.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas told reporters last week: “There will be tactical teams, mini-tanks, other tools they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in Los Angeles.”

Lawmakers run out of time on energy bill

Published by admin on Sun, 06/08/2025 - 11:36am

I asked Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch last week about the failure to pass an omnibus energy bill (the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act) during the just-ended spring legislative session.
“I think the same thing that happened on energy happened on all the things, you know. Big bills take time,” Welch said. “And I really do believe it's important that we take the time to get it right and make sure we produce the best results for everyone.”

IL may have a fascinating campaign season

Published by admin on Sun, 06/01/2025 - 12:18pm

As I write this column, the spring legislative session is a day away from adjournment. Nothing of great importance has cleared both chambers.
So, there’s no point in writing about any of that. I’ll let you know my thoughts next week.
Let’s discuss a different topic instead.

Illinois facing Medicaid cuts for 500,000

Published by admin on Sun, 05/25/2025 - 5:14pm

The US House’s Energy and Commerce Committee released its recommendations for budget reconciliation early last week. A preliminary review by the Congressional Budget Office projected that, if implemented, at least 8.6 million Americans would lose their Medicaid coverage during the coming decade.
That translates to well over 300,000 Illinoisans.

Illinois Democrats oust one of their own

Published by admin on Sat, 05/17/2025 - 5:00pm

Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch took the extraordinary actions last week of permanently kicking Rep. Fred Crespo (D- Hoffman Estates) out of the House Democratic caucus, stripping him of his legislative staff, removing him from his appropriations committee chair’s position and booting him from the bicameral Legislative Audit Commission.
Speaker Welch also suspended a Democratic staffer who reportedly helped Crespo prepare an alternative budget plan, which is what got both people axed.

The party’s over for state revenue forecast

Published by admin on Sat, 05/10/2025 - 11:27am

I spent some time talking with a top legislative budget negotiator last week who said rank and file legislators will very soon have to come to terms with a state budget environment unlike anything many have ever seen before.
The “budgeteer” didn’t know yet how things would shake out, but the person was adamant that weak revenues combined with total uncertainty from both the federal government and in the national economy meant the new state budget should most definitely not be overloaded with spending.