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Question of the day

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for all 102 counties in response to the dangerous winter storm that has blanketed the state with life threatening wind chills, power outages and accumulating snow. The extreme arctic temperatures affecting more than ten states adds additional stress on utility providers across the nation. As of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, approximately 7,000 Illinois households were without power, and that number is expected to fluctuate as the strain of arctic temperatures and extreme weather continues. To alleviate stress on the nation’s grid, all Illinois residents are encouraged to take appropriate measures to safely conserve energy.

“I have directed my administration to use all resources at our disposal to keep our communities safe amid dangerous and ongoing winter weather,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We are in communication with local governments to ensure they have the support they need in disaster response and recovery operations. We are also working with our federal partners to pursue federal assistance to help communities recover and to do what we can to protect ratepayers from soaring utility bills. I urge all Illinoisans to take this extreme weather seriously, avoid all unnecessary travel and check in on your neighbors.”

Extreme weather has resulted in frozen wells in key natural gas producing states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The sub-zero temperatures are resulting in increased demand and decreased supply, causing natural gas prices to spike. Utility companies across the nation are reporting soaring wholesale costs, and without federal intervention, those increased prices could result in higher utility bills for Illinois residents in the coming weeks.

* The Question: How are you and yours coping?

  53 Comments      


Census delay is yet another hurdle to overcome

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* NPR

The 2020 census data needed for the redrawing of voting districts around the country are extremely delayed and now expected by Sept. 30. […]

Then, in a statement, the bureau said the timing shift allows it to “deliver complete and accurate redistricting data in a more timely fashion overall for the states,” which are expected to receive the information at the same time rather than on a rolling basis as after past head counts.

Dogged by the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration’s interference with the census schedule, the latest expected release date — six months past the March 31 legal deadline — could throw upcoming elections into chaos in states facing tight redistricting deadlines for Congress, as well as state and local offices.

In a press briefing Friday, James Whitehorne, the head of the bureau’s redistricting office, said that if the agency completes its quality reviews earlier than expected, it would release the redistricting data earlier. But Whitehorne also said: “We don’t anticipate finishing much before Sept. 30.”

* Wisconsin Examiner

The Census Bureau was scheduled to detail by the end of December 2020 how many congressional seats will go to each state. That announcement is six weeks late, and now isn’t expected until late April of this year.

So, while there’s time to draw congressional districts before candidate filing begins in late August, there will be no time to draw state legislative districts. Looks like a delay in the primary could be in the cards, although some sort of temporary workaround will have to be constructed to deal with the state constitution’s June 30th deadline to draw state legislative maps.

* Crain’s

Jim Lewis, a senior researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago who oversaw remap work at the Chicago Urban League on behalf of Black communities in the 1990s, said he’d be “surprised if leadership allowed the process to go to the commission.” A new map could be made with other census data, including from the American Community Survey. But that map could be “legally contested once the new block-level data is released in the fall.”

John Patterson, spokesperson for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, said “we continue to monitor the situation.”

* Sun-Times

A spokesman for Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the delay in the data is a “unique situation,” and the new House leader is “still assessing all options, but his goal remains making sure all communities get their due representation in Congress.” […]

At an unrelated news conference Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his office is looking at how the state might “manage through that” delay.

“It’s obviously extraordinarily difficult,” the governor said. “It’s one thing when they said April, it’s another thing when they said September. It really creates a challenge for us all, but we’ll get through it, we’ll deal with it like we have all the other changes through COVID-19.”

* Related…

* NCSL: Searching for Silver Linings in Delayed Census Results

* NCSL: 5 Ways to Handle Census Delays and Redistricting Deadlines

  16 Comments      


1,348 new confirmed and probable cases; 32 additional deaths; 1,726 hospitalized; 385 in ICU; 2.8 percent average case positivity rate; 3.4 percent average test positivity rate; 63,772 average daily doses

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Blizzard and long holiday weekend caveat. Press release…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,348 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 32 additional deaths.

    - Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 1 female 60s, 5 males 60s, 2 females 70s, 5 males 70s, 2 females 80s, 3 males 80s, 2 females 90s, 1 male 90s
    - DuPage County: 2 males 50s, 1 male 60s
    - Lake County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s, 1 male 80s
    - Whiteside County: 1 male 80s
    - Will County: 1 female 90s

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,164,922 cases, including 20,034 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 46,630 specimens for a total of 17,270,877. As of last night, 1,726 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 385 patients were in the ICU and 179 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 9–15, 2021 is 2.8%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 9–15, 2021 is 3.4%.

A total of doses of 2,029,675 vaccine have been delivered to providers in Illinois, including Chicago. In addition, approximately 445,200 doses total have been allocated to the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 2,474,875. A total of 1,863,562 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight, including 251,373 for long-term care facilities. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 63,772 doses. Yesterday, 40,354 doses were administered. Weather will most likely contribute to reduced vaccinations over the next several days.

*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

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Springfield: Restricting PBM Tools Will Raise Costs for Consumers, Employers + the State

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Employers in Illinois provide prescription drug coverage for nearly 6.7 million Illinoisans. In order to help keep care more affordable, employers work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who deploy a variety of tools to reduce prescription drug costs and help improve health outcomes. In addition to helping employers, PBMs also work with the Illinois Medicaid program in the same way to help control costs. Over the last five years, PBMs have saved the state and taxpayers nearly $340 million.

Today, Illinois faces a multibillion budget shortfall as more Illinoisans are relying on Medicaid to help meet their health care coverage needs. As legislators work to address these challenges, one way to help ensure continued cost savings is by strengthening the PBM tools that the State and employers use, which are poised to save employers, consumers and the State $39 billion over the next 10 years. These are meaningful savings that will help continue to contain costs, ensure consumer access to medicines and drive savings in public health programs.

Amid a pandemic and economic challenges, now is the time to strengthen, not limit, the tools that employers, consumers and the State rely on to manage costs and ensure consumers can access the medicines they need.

Learn more

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Budget stuff

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ABC 7

The governor also promised no tax increases, though that’s not how Republicans see it.

“What the Democrats call as loopholes, we look at those as tax increases,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. “But we also believe that that is a disincentive for businesses to remain in Illinois to grow, and to keep employees employed, and to bring in new people.”

Republicans also called for greater transparency.

“Where department heads, agency directors come before the legislature to answer questions, provide information about their budgets,” said Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer.

The governor fired back, calling on Republicans to suggest their own budget solutions, setting up a potentially rocky spring legislative session that will have to navigate while still in the midst of a pandemic.

Considering the situation Illinois is in and the proximity to the next election, there will be no comity with Republicans this year no matter how great the budget proposal might be, and it won’t be great, by any means.

As I told subscribers last week, the real conflict the governor faces will be with members of his own party, most of whom will want more spending, not less.

Press conferences can make for great copy, but they don’t always reflect reality. And the reality is the House and Senate Republicans are in the super-minority. All they really have in their arsenal is media access.

* WGN TV

The budget will also close $900 million in unspecified corporate tax loopholes. Republicans call this a tax hike, however.

“What the Democrats call loopholes, we look at those as tax increases but we also believe that that is a disincentive for businesses to remain in Illinois, to grow and to keep employees employed and to bring in new people,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.

Keeping those tax breaks forces a choice between the good the tax breaks do versus the harm to the rest of the budget that keeping them causes. It’s spending by another word, even if may not be exactly dollar-for-dollar

The Republicans said Pritzker apparently wants to eliminate corporate tax incentives to create jobs, which they said wouldn’t be a wise move in a pandemic-induced recession.

Deep spending cuts are also not a wise move during a recession.

* Dave Dahl

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) says the Democrats’ budgeting practices are straight out of Fantasyland.

“Gov. Pritzker and his enablers from the House and Senate continue to budget at $42 billion,” Durkin told an online news conference. “With a snap of a finger, this budget becomes law; nevermind the global crisis.

“The Illinois Democrats cooked up a budget predicated on imaginary money that may or may not ever show up.”

No argument there at all.

* Mike Miletich

Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) also noted that the administration said a tax increase was possible when the “Fair Tax” failed to get enough support from voters. Yet, the administration recently announced Pritzker’s budget proposal would not include a tax increase. The same press release indicated the budget would “strengthen” IDPH, DCFS, IDES, and other “vital services.”

“We have a credibility issue and a transparency issue,” Demmer said. “The administration needs to be more forthcoming with information for both Republicans and Democrats in the legislature. And if they’re not going to be forthcoming, we need to use the power of the legislature to demand those answers.”

His beef is with the House Speaker.

* The Tribune editorial board wants a crackdown on AFSCME

For all of Pritzker’s use of unilateral executive orders and emergency rules, he can’t claim his hands are tied with AFSCME. He has options. He needs to apply them.

The board did not actually explain those options.

* Greg Hinz

A second item worth watching is Pritzker’s upcoming new budget. Despite his decision not to raise the current flat income tax, there’s still a lot of budget detail we don’t know, notably whether Congress will come to the state’s aid with a big check from President Joe Biden’s pending $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. If Biden delivers, Pritzker will be able to breathe much easier. If not, some distasteful spending cuts and other revenue enhancers are on the way.

Of course, Pritzker could have avoided much of this nastiness if he’d acted like the bean-counting businessman he is and moved to slash overly rich state pensions, one way or another. But that, sadly, does not appear to be in the cards.

Which path to slashing benefits would that be?

* News-Gazette

One way or another, the budget will get done before the new fiscal year begins July 1, but probably not without the usual gimmicks that will make it looked balanced on paper.

No one should envy the challenge facing the governor. He’s got a tough job. Then again, he’s getting what he asked for — good and hard.

Yep.

* From Jordan Abudayyeh…

Republicans fought against the fair tax to protect millionaires and billionaires from paying their fair share and took the best option to balance the state’s budget off the table. The Governor has presented more than $700 million in budget cuts, yet Republicans have offered no solutions to the fiscal challenges facing the state because, by their own admission today, Republicans don’t believe it is their responsibility to present their ideas to balance the budget. It’s going to take a lot more than empty rhetoric to rebuild the state’s economy after this devastating pandemic and the Governor welcomes Republicans to present their realistic ideas, so the state can balance the budget in a bipartisan fashion.

Their real job is to lob verbal grenades at this point. It’s not like they’ve been invited to the budget table as equals, after all.

Background…

The transparency and process arguments made by House Republicans are rooted in willful ignorance of the many ways the Governor’s Office communicates budget related matters to the General Assembly.

Attached is a breakdown of cuts that has been publicly available since December and below is the press release announcing the cuts.

An outline of federal dollars sent to Illinois and how they were spent is on pages 4-6. These reports were provided to the General Assembly’s Legislative Budget Oversight Committee:
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/budget/Documents/LBOC/LBOC%20Report%20-%20January%202021%20Final.pdf

After the budget was passed in May 2020, GOMB posted this document outlining how lawmakers appropriated the federal dollar in the budget:
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/budget/Documents/Budget%20Book/FY2021-Budget-Book/COVID-%20Response-Federal-Funding-Budget%20Summary-6.13.20.pdf

The attachment is here.

* Related…

* The Blue Collars Job Act in a pandemic: What it means for Illinois’ budget

  47 Comments      


Schimpf announcement roundup, Bailey about to launch

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’ve already given my take to subscribers, so here’s Mark Maxwell…


Schimpf voted to override Rauner’s veto of the Collective Bargaining Freedom Act in 2017.

* NBC 5

Republican former state Sen. Paul Schimpf announced his candidacy for Illinois governor on Monday, throwing his hat in the ring for the GOP nomination to potentially challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2022.

Schimpf most recently served as state senator for the 58th District in southern Illinois, which includes Murphysboro, Waterloo, Red Bud and Du Quoin, among other communities. He was elected to that office in 2016 and served one term before declining to run for reelection in 2020.

Schimpf, 50, is a retired Marine and an attorney who advised in the prosecution of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2005 and previously ran unsuccessfully for Illinois attorney general in 2014.

* Du Quoin Call

“I promise I will work hard, tell the truth, and keep my promises,” he said Monday morning, in a virtual news conference with reporters to officially kick off his campaign.

“This is decision I came to over the past year, as I watched the state deteriorate. We’ve watched our friends, neighbors and relatives leave the state … I’m not going to stand by idly while our state government squanders its opportunities.” […]

“Illinois needs a governor who understands the day-to-day challenges that we all face,” Schimpf said, “a governor who will live by the same rules that the rest of us follow, and, most importantly, a governor who will stand up to the entrenched special interest groups who have severely damaged our state.”

Schimpf, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1993, was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps until he retired in 2013. He attended the Southern Illinois University School of Law. In 2005, he was deployed to Iraq to be the chief American adviser to prosecutors in the Saddam Hussein trial.

* Tribune

“For far too long, we have had Illinois governors who were either career politicians or wealthy corporate executives who couldn’t understand or empathize with the struggles that the people of Illinois face,” he said in making his announcement for the GOP nomination via Zoom.

“We need a governor who understands those day-to-day challenges that we all face, a governor who will live by the same rules that the rest of us follow, a governor who will stand up to the entrenched special interest groups that have done so much damage. Most importantly, we need a governor we can trust to do the right thing and make tough decisions,” he said. […]

“I know that Gov. Pritzker has a lot of resources,” Schimpf said. “I don’t expect to be able to match him dollar for dollar, but I do expect to be able to get my message out with a lot of hard work.”

Campaign finance records show Schimpf began the year with $62,529 and has raised another $87,000 since Jan. 1.

* Sun-Times

He also addressed Illinois’ tax burden, quoting Ronald Reagan and stating Illinois needs a governor who “understands those day-to-day challenges that we all face” and who will “stand up to the entrenched special interest groups that have done so much damage to our state.”

While Schimpf tied himself to popular Republican icon Reagan, Illinois Democrats quickly sought to tie Schimpf to Trump and Rauner, a one-term governor who presided over a two-year budget impasse that saw the state’s backlog of unpaid bills balloon to over $16 billion. […]

“Schimpf was a consistent vote for Bruce Rauner’s catastrophic agenda, even going along with his attempts to continue the historic budget crisis that resulted in Illinois going 736 days without a budget,” [Mary Morrissey, executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois] said. “He supported Donald Trump’s re-election, even after the former President failed at his central task of keeping Americans safe by lying about the dangers of the coronavirus and instead promoting conspiracy theories.”

Schimpf’s biography touted his vote against the compromise budget that raised the state’s flat income tax and ended the two-year budget impasse in 2017.

* SJ-R

Kristina Zahorik, president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, in a statement, said Schimpf built a facade of being pro-labor and moderate.

“When given the opportunity to prove that during his short time in the Illinois Senate, he opposed key labor issues like supporting increasing the minimum wage,” Zahorik said. “He also consistently voted to extend the (Gov. Bruce) Rauner budget crisis that crippled our state.

“We rejected Bruce Rauner and we’ll reject Paul Schimpf.”

* Illinois Review

Yet one more Downstate Republican reportedly will announce his 2022 gubernatorial bid- state Senator Darren Bailey of Xenia, IL.

Bailey, who legally challenged Governor JB Pritzker’s executive orders concerning COVID, is circulating an evite to a live gathering in Effingham Illinois next Monday night where he will be providing details.

* Back to Maxwell…


He also had a bit of trouble answering a question yesterday about how he would’ve handled the state’s COVID-19 response differently than Pritzker, saying he’d have wanted more legislative oversight (yeah, all governors want that) and then saying he didn’t have enough time to fully answer the question, which I think was only the third question.

  63 Comments      


Black Businesses Still Need Help!

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Please, slow down and move over

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

On Feb. 15, 2021, at approximately 11:46 a.m. Illinois State Police (ISP) officials investigated a two-vehicle traffic crash on Interstate 55 northbound near Illinois Route 30 in Will County, involving an ISP Trooper.

On the above date an ISP Trooper responded to a traffic crash that occurred near the above location. The Trooper pulled behind the wrecked vehicles in the left lane and had the emergency lights activated in order to assist with directing traffic to the right. At approximately 11:46 a.m., while the Trooper was in his squad car, a 2010 black Cadillac crashed into the rear of the Trooper’s squad car causing injury to the Trooper. The Trooper was airlifted to a local area hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Cadillac, 20-year-old Angel M. Casillas from Joliet, IL was also transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. The vehicles from the initial crash were not involved.

This crash marks the sixth ISP Scott’s Law related crash year-to-date in 2021 and the second in two days. Interstate 55 at IL Route 30 was closed until approximately 3:45 p.m. for the traffic crash investigation. As soon as information becomes available, we will be sure to provide an update.

* The squad car…

* Meanwhile…

* Task force delivers recommendations on Move Over Law

* State Task Force Calling For Harsher Penalties For Distracted Drivers In Illinois

* ISP move over task force proposes new ways to keep drivers safe

*** UPDATE *** Press release…

On Feb. 16. 2021, at approximately 8:15 a.m. Illinois State Police (ISP) officials investigated a two-vehicle personal injury traffic crash on Interstate 80 eastbound over Interstate 55 in Will County, involving a District 5 ISP Trooper.

On the above date, a District 5 Trooper was on Interstate 80 over Interstate 55 at the scene of a motor vehicle crash. The Trooper was inside of the stationary squad car, positioned behind the crash scene in the right lane with the emergency lights activated. The driver of a Gold Chevrolet, traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 approaching the Trooper’s location, lost control of the vehicle causing the Chevrolet to spin. The rear end of the Chevrolet crashed into the rear end of the squad car.

The Trooper sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local area hospital for treatment; the Trooper has since been released. The driver of the Chevrolet, Michael J. Ryan, a 43-year-old male of Joliet, IL did not sustain any injuries. Ryan was cited for a violation of Scott’s Law, Driving Too Fast for Conditions/Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident, and Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle.

The ISP would like to urge the public to obey the requirements of Scott’s Law, otherwise known as the “Move Over” law. When approaching an emergency vehicle, or any vehicle with their hazard lights activated, drivers are required to slow down and change lanes when it is safe to do so. A person who violates Scott’s Law, commits a business offense and faces a fine of no less than $250 or more than $10,000 for a first offense. If the violation results in injury to another person, the violator’s driver’s license will be suspended for a mandatory period of anywhere between six months and two years.

“This is the second crash, in less than twenty-four hours, that has resulted in a Trooper being injured and it is unacceptable,” stated Interim District 5 Commander, Lieutenant David Keltner. “When roadway conditions are unfavorable, our Troopers remain on the roadways to assist motorists who need help; I am pleading with everyone to pay attention while you drive, move over for them, and slow down on our roadways so these men and women make it home to their families,” added Lieutenant Keltner.

  22 Comments      


This is a bigger change than some are claiming

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column

While the House Republicans made some decent points last week when arguing against the chamber’s new rules, they all but dismissed some pretty darned historic changes.

For years, decades even, the House Republicans have argued for leadership term limits. House Speaker Michael Madigan rebuffed them at every single turn. Heck, Madigan retaliated against members of his own party who dared broach the subject.

Remember in 2018 when labor union leaders loyal to Madigan revolted against then-Senate President John Cullerton when he aired TV ads for four suburban candidates who argued for leader term limits, including limits on the House Speaker? Cullerton was threatened so strongly with financial retribution that he had to pull down the ads and agree not to ever do that again.

The Senate Democrats have been all but completely shut out of the significant postage discount provided by Madigan’s Democratic Party of Illinois the last couple of election cycles because their mailers often referenced their candidates’ support for leader term limits (without even mentioning Madigan). That DPI rebuke has cost the SDems a small fortune.

The new rule for leader term limits is, therefore, big. And, yes, a chamber’s rules can be fairly easily changed, but it’s a start and a constitutional change couldn’t take effect until 2023 at the earliest anyway.

The new rules also mean House committees will be allowed to meet virtually as long as the House isn’t in session. That’s a good step during the pandemic, but I’m not sure it’s something they should be doing after this nightmare is finally over.

The Republicans have demanded a rule requiring up or down committee votes on all bills. Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) made a hypothetical argument during debate that a bill could be co-sponsored by every member of a committee and still not get a vote. But such a thing is unheard of in the real world. And if a bill did reach even close to such a milestone and didn’t get a hearing, it would likely be because the co-sponsors only signed on for a press pop and had no intention of ever moving it.

The demand is also a clear and open invitation to parliamentary mischief. Republicans could easily flood the zone with bills and bog down every single committee in perpetuity. They did it many years ago and paralyzed the House with hundreds of floor amendments, before those rules were tightened up.

Not to mention the national upheaval’s impact on the state. Two weeks ago, Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) called the governor’s pandemic-related executive orders and emergency rules “COVID fascism,” according to WCIA-TV’s Mark Maxwell. Last month, the FBI warned that “Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols,” so Gov. Pritzker, like many others, called in the National Guard. Last week, Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) called the governor’s response “a political agenda.”

Most Republican legislators here are not that far “out there,” but empowering folks who say things like that just ain’t going to be very high on the Democrats’ agenda. Those characters could be ignored or even laughed at before the violent Jan. 6 insurrection. No longer.

All that being said, the Republicans made decent points about the use of shelled-out bills as vehicles for last-minute legislation, or for requiring more time to review important legislation before it can be passed. But Majority Leader Greg Harris was unapologetic, saying if using these parliamentary maneuvers helped pass bills that he and his caucus strongly supports, then so be it.

But Leader Harris did say that the working group in charge of rule changes would continue to meet at the request of Republicans. The vote, he said, was only a first step. He said items like notice for consideration of legislation, selection of committee chairs, debate times and other items would be up for consideration. We’ll see if that ever happens.

After the debate, Harris gave me a copy of my Capitol Fax newsletter from 20 years ago which was published the day after a similarly contentious floor debate on the House rules. The biggest difference between then and now, though, is that some rank-and file House Democrats, including some anti-Madigan folks like Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview), were allowed input on the new rules and spoke in favor of the resolution’s passage. That would’ve been completely out of the question in 2001.

So, while the Republicans, reform advocates, newspaper editorial boards and even I aren’t totally pleased, there was progress. And that’s not the norm. Keep at it.

  14 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* NY Times

Former Gov. Bruce Rauner, the last Republican to win statewide office in Illinois, in 2014, said Mr. Kinzinger could find himself a casualty of the bitter schism dividing the party. “The only winners in the war between Trump and Republicans will be Democrats,” Mr. Rauner said. “For some voters, character matters. For most, it doesn’t.”

  35 Comments      


Open thread

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* There’s just so much of it…


  14 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


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« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Governor Pritzker meets with the family of Sonya Massey (Updated)
* It’s just a bill
* Showcasing the Retailers Who Make Illinois Work
* Pritzker hasn’t received VP vetting materials from Harris, but doesn’t shut down speculations that he’s interested
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Your moment of zen
* Yesterday's stories

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