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Madigan Taps Harris for Key Oversight Committee
(Springfield, IL) — March 31, 2011. State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) has been tapped to serve on a key Illinois House of Representatives oversight panel. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) appointed Harris to the bi-partisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules known in Springfield as “JCAR”. “It’s a great honor to serve on this committee to … Continue reading
Speaker Michael Madigan Says House Budget Revenue Projection Would Prevail over Senate’s
(Springfield, IL) — March 31, 2011. A budgetary battle could be brewing in the state Capitol, but not necessarily between Republicans and Democrats. Continue reading
Rep. Michelle Mussman Spearheads Bi-Partisan Effort to Cut Lawmaker Salaries 10%, Abolish Raises
(Springfield, IL) — March 30, 2011. A bi-partisan group of Illinois House lawmakers are pushing a legislative effort to permanently cut legislative salaries by 10% and deny legislators any future raises. Continue reading
Senator Matter Hunter Criticizes Illinois Human Service Budget Cuts by Gov. Pat Quinn
(Chicago, IL) — March 30, 2011. In an op-ed published yesterday, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) criticized Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed cuts to the Illinois Human Services budget. Continue reading
John Cullerton, Christine Radogno Say Caterpillar, Others Claim Illinois Business Climate Is More than Illinois Taxes
(Springfield, IL) — March 29, 2011. Illinois recent jump in income tax across the board is getting a lot of attention after the leader of Caterpillar Corp. says other states are wooing him to relocate. Continue reading
Congressional Dithering on Highway Bill Jeopardizes 129,014 Illinois Jobs, New Study Says
(Chicago, IL) — March 29, 2011. As partisan bickering continues on Capitol Hill, the failure to pass necessary federal legislation that provides multi-year federal aid to state highway and transit programs jeopardizes 129,014 jobs in Illinois, according to new research. Continue reading
Illinois AARP Leads Rally against ComEd Rate Hike Request, Regulatory Oversight Changes
(Chicago, IL) — March 29, 2011. As ComEd seeks rate increases and legisltive changes to state oversight, multiple groups yesterday rallied in Chicago to persuade Illinois lawmakers to derail the utility’s agenda in Springfield. Continue reading
Illinois State Rifle Association “Push Poll” Fails to Sway Many Illinois Democrats on Conceal Carry
(Springfield, IL) — March 29, 2011. According to partial information of a new released yesterday by the Illinois State Rifle Association, legislation that allows Illinois residents to carry guns enjoys majority support in only two of four Democratic-controlled Illinois state senate districts that were polled and barely mustered a majority in the third. Continue reading
Illinois Witnessed $2.2 Billion Tax Income Drop in 2010
(Springfield, IL) — March 28, 2011. Tax money coming into state and local governments in Illinois fell sharply — by $2.2 billion dollars between 2009 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn Names New Illinois State Police, Labor Department Chiefs
(Springfield, IL) — March 25, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today announced new chiefs of the Illinois state police and the Illinois Department of Labor while reappointing other top officials. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn’s Plan to Cut Illinois School Bureaucracy Draws Little Legislative Support
(Springfield, IL) — March 25, 2011. Illinois’ regional superintendents are realizing they might not make the cut for state money in Gov. Pat Quinn’s attempt to close the more than $13 billion budget gap. Continue reading
Treasurer Dan Rutherford Hires Illinois Republican Party Executive Director for State Job
(Springfield, IL) — March 18, 2011. Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford today announced that has hired the Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party, Curt Conrad, to serve as his director of technical support services. Continue reading
Illinois Businesses, Labor Seek Plan to Pay Illinois’ $2.8 Billion Unemployment Debt to U.S.
(Springfield, IL) — March 18, 2011. Business and labor groups are meeting to hammer out a plan to pay off the state’s $2.8 billion unemployment debt to the federal government, with both groups apparently sharing in the pain. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn Names New Illinois Liquor Control Commission Chief
(Chicago, IL) — March 17, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today tapped Illinois Housing Development Authority Executive Director Gloria Materre to serve as the Executive Director of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Continue reading
Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno Pushes Illinois Budget Cuts, Aiming Ax at Education, Human Services
(Springfield, IL) — March 17, 2011. Illinois Senate Republicans are pushing a plan that shaves $5 billion off of Governor Pat Quinn’s introduced budget of $35.4 billion. The cuts are necessary if the state is to finally dig itself out of the budget hole of the past several years, senators said Thursday. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn Vetoes Illinois Coal Gasification Plant Bills
(Springfield, IL) – March 14, 2011. With no fanfare, Governor Pat Quinn today quietly vetoed two controversial bills that aimed to give state backing to the construction of two coal gasification plants in Illinois, one in downstate Jefferson County and the other in Cook County’s Calumet City, that backers claimed would generate thousands of new jobs. Continue reading
New Report Says Illinois Captures Top Ten Slot–for Cutting Mental Health Care Funding
(Chicago, IL) — March 14, 2011. Illinois has captured another dubious distinction in its long-running budget crisis, snagging a spot among the top ten states for slashing funding for mental health care, a new report says. Continue reading
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations to Cost Illinois $800,000 on Drunk Driving Prevention
(Springfield, IL) – March 12, 2011. Illinois will spend this year an estimated $800,000 in federal highway safety dollars to fund the extra Illinois State Police patrols to target St. Patrick’s Day drunk driver follies. Continue reading
State Rep. Susana Mendoza Wins House Panel OK for Bill Targeting Illinois Sex Offender DNA
(Springfield, IL) – March 11, 2011. An Illinois House panel yesterday approved legislation that would further harness the power of DNA to target criminal sex offenders and other criminals by expanding required specimen submissions to the Illinois state police. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn OKs “Amazon.com” Sales Tax
(Springfield, IL) — March 11, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn yesterday signed the “Amazon.com tax” to require all online companies doing business in Illinois to collect legally required sales taxes. House Continue reading
House Panel Approves Illinois Medical Marijuana Legislation
(Springfield, IL) – March 9, 2011. An Illinois House panel today voted to approve the use of medical marijuana for individuals who suffer from chronic pain and debilitating medical conditions, such as Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, and cancer. Continue reading
Statement from Gov. Pat Quinn on Illinois Death Penalty
Today I have signed Senate Bill 3539, which abolishes the death penalty in Illinois. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn Signs Bill to Protect Illinois Minority Voting Rights in Redistricting Process
(Chicago, IL) — March 7, 2011. At ceremony at the Chinese American Service League, in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood, Governor Pat Quinn today penned a new law that aims to protect the voting rights of minority communities in the Illinois legislative redistricting process. Continue reading
Illinois House, Senate Dems May Be at Odds on Illinois Budget
(Springfield, IL) — March 4, 2011. The state’s next budget could be much smaller than Governor Pat Quinn outlined last month. Or it could be the same. Or larger. Continue reading
State Rep. David Leitch Questions $336 Million Raises at Illinois Department of Human Services
(Springfield, IL) – March 4, 2011. It’s going to be a tough year for the Illinois Department of Human Services if it can’t find places to trim its budget, consolidate and address the rationale behind recent pay raises. Continue reading
Illinois Unemployment Rate Drops for 12th Consecutive Month, New Jobs Added
(Chicago, IL) – March 4, 2011. The Illinois unemployment rate fell for the 12th consecutive month, dropping -0.2 to 9.0% in January, compared to 11.2% in January 2010, according to preliminary estimates released today by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Continue reading
Gov. Pat Quinn Appoints 22 Members to Commission to End Hunger
(Springfield, IL) March 2, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today announced 22 appointments to a commission aimed at eliminating hunger in Illinois. Continue reading
Extra $1 Billion is “Found” for Illinois Budget
(Springfield, IL) – March 2, 2011. Illinois may have just over a billion dollars that’s not included in Governor Pat Quinn’s new budget. But lawmakers in Springfield say just because they may have the extra cash, it doesn’t mean they will spend it. Continue reading
David Ormsby, Editor
Gov. Pat Quinn
- McHenry County Blog | Pat Quinn Tells Truth about Pension ... Cal Skinner
- Illinois General Assembly, Gov. Pat Quinn Must Reconcile ... Marge Berglind
- Pat Quinn Criticizes Scott Walker On Jobs The Huffington Post News Editors
- Will Governor Pat Quinn Sign Illinois Budget on Thursday? « Child ... Marge Berglind
- Quinn: Lawmakers Must 'Show Some Fortitude' On Pension ... Todd Feurer
- Governor Pat Quinn Puts His Foot Down On Gambling Expansion ... Mark
- Senate narrowly backs Quinn on facility closures - Capitol Fax.com Rich Miller
- Democurmudgeon: Gov. Pat Quinn exposes Scott Walker as a fake ... Democurmudgeon
- Advocates Seek Illinois Child Welfare Vision from Governor Pat Quinn Marge Berglind
- Chicago News Bench: No, Really, Pat Quinn Still Sucks More Than ... TM-1000
IL General Assembly
- General Assembly puts health exchange bill on back burner - Crain's Chicago Business May 10, 2012
- IL educators react to proposed state budget cuts - WREX-TV May 11, 2012
- Violence Against Women Act Survives Partisan Fight, Quinn Told Not To Close ... - Patch.com May 9, 2012
- American Progressive Bag Alliance Urges Illinois General Assembly To Pass ... - MarketWatch (press release) May 1, 2012
- You Paid For It: IL General Assembly Scholarship Program - FOX2now.com May 7, 2012
- Our Opinion: Anti-bully bill should get OK - The State Journal-Register May 10, 2012
- American Progressive Bag Alliance Urges Illinois General Assembly To Pass ... - PR Newswire (press release) May 1, 2012
- Illinois State University considers 4.4 percent tuition increase - Herald & Review May 10, 2012
- Asian-Americans to have state caucus - WBEZ May 8, 2012
- Suburban mayors also urge state to pass pension reform - Chicago Sun-Times May 10, 2012
The Capitol Fax Blog
- Question of the day May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- Political cover or political payback? May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- Illinois Needs Private Sector Jobs Now! Why Labor Leaders Support Senate Bill 1849 May 10, 2012 Advertising Department
- Senate narrowly backs Quinn on facility closures - Chamber backs Quinn pension reforms May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- House approves bill to effectively end free employee health insurance premiums May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- *** UPDATED x2 - VIDEO *** Smith hearing resumes today (LIVE Coverage and Video) May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- *** UPDATED x2 *** Not a big deal at all, but it’s probably time to delegate a bit more May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- Morning Shorts May 10, 2012 Owen Irwin
- *** LIVE SESSION COVERAGE *** May 10, 2012 Rich Miller
- Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - COWL review, supplement to today’s edition and a Statehouse roundup May 10, 2012 Rich Miller