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Rich Miller biography

Rich Miller has been writing about Illinois politics since 1990. He began publishing Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, in 1993. He is recognized as …

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To return to relevance in Illinois, GOP must change

For the first time in at least 20 years, more independents voted in Illinois last Tuesday than Republicans. I spent part of Thursday afternoon going through some exit polling data to see if I could find anything to cheer up my Republican friends. I really …

Money and jokes with SuperPACs

According to the Sunlight Foundation, independent expenditures on federal campaigns by so-called “superPACs” and others have just about reached the half-billion dollars mark. Yes, that’s billion with a “b.” About three-quarters of that money has been spent on negative attack ads. And about $14 million …

Ousted lawmaker Derrick Smith is a formidable foe

I first met Maze Jackson when he was running the Chicago and suburban ground game for Gov. Pat Quinn’s Democratic primary campaign. He’s brash, smart, funny, with a mind that can go a dozen directions at once. I couldn’t help but like the guy. And …

Foes of strike? Older white guys

A good friend e-mailed me after I published a poll in my “Capitol Fax” newsletter Thursday which revealed that 55.5 percent of Chicagoans approved of the Chicago teachers strike. My friend, a widely known pundit, wanted to tell me that he didn’t believe the poll, …

The real reasons why pension reform failed

There are a couple of stories the media isn’t telling you. Both are pretty important to understanding what’s happening in Springfield these days. Let’s start with Gov. Pat Quinn. The governor called a special legislative session last week that failed miserably. Quinn wanted pension reform …

Gov. Quinn’s budget scare tactic is bogus

Numbers are hard. People hate math. People really hate reading about numbers and math. This is why politicians are so successful at using numbers to confuse people. The media too often just accept the numbers and move right along. But there is a number sticking …

My Uncle Kenny is no state pension scammer

I spent some time at my Uncle Kenny’s house in Ashkum last weekend. We went to the Iroquois County Fair, which is like taking a step back in time. The fair hasn’t changed much at all since I was a kid. They still don’t allow …

Jesse Jackson Jr. story is a summery mystery

In the grand scheme of things, the disappearance of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. hardly matters at all. A minority party congressman drops out of sight, checks himself into some sort of treatment facility and won’t say where he is or for what, exactly, he’s …

I need a break from Illinois

Off and on for the past few years, I’ve tried to defend Illinois’ honor against the crazier attacks by outsiders while still candidly acknowledging that this state has some real problems which absolutely must be solved. That ain’t easy, to say the least. Ever since …

Take a fresh look at drug laws

I want to say right off the bat without any hesitation or equivocation whatsoever that I happen to like prosecutors and cops. I respect and honor their difficult jobs. I couldn’t do what they do, so I’m glad they’re there for me and everyone else. …

Weighing budget cuts vs. cigarette tax hike

‘Hey, Rich, is there any good news?” I must hear that question a half- dozen times a day at the Illinois Statehouse. So, I’ve developed a standard retort. “Man, there’s never any good news in this building.” Despite struggling the past year or so to …

What I told Rahm about how Springfield works

I had a chance to sit down for half an hour with Mayor Rahm Emanuel when he was in Springfield on Tuesday. Most of the conversation was off the record. Going off the record was my choice because Emanuel was sticking so tightly to his …

Gov. Quinn listens and learns and begins to lead

Gov. Pat Quinn’s job-approval ratings have at times fallen as low as 23 percent. And polls taken so far this year have pegged his rating at between 30 and 36 percent. He barely won his 2010 election, beating a weak, socially conservative Republican challenger by …

Those ‘low-info voters’ smartly dumped a fraud

‘I love the fact Obama obviously has a thin skin,” Tom Swiss wrote in 2010. “His four years are going to be torture for him.” Less than two years later, Swiss, the former executive director of the Cook County Republican Party, mailed a campaign flier …

Downstate and Chicago, brothers in arms — or not

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in Peoria earlier this week talking about how Chicago and Downstate politicians need to stop fighting so much. “The politics of the past where we used to play Chicago versus downstate is over. It doesn’t serve the people of Illinois,” Emanuel …

Let’s hope Quinn sticks to his guns on budget

Yes, Illinois is worth saving, and it’s time to get started already. I think if you listened carefully to both of Gov. Pat Quinn’s major public speeches this month, his State of the State address and his annual budget address, that’s the message you’re left …

Legalizing society’s vices is best way to hurt Outfit

Outfit crime boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week. Sarno ordered the bombing of a business that was encroaching on his illegal video poker racket. I’m glad that Sarno’s going to prison. I’m also happy that Illinois …

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