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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Beware, Illinois GOP: Get smart or die

The challenges facing the Republican Party in this state are simply enormous. For the first time in 20 years, more Illinoisans identified themselves to exit pollsters as independents than Republicans....

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Concealed Carry will not do us in

I’ve long subscribed to the belief that if someone’s behavior isn’t hurting anybody else, then the government ought to leave them alone. Legalizing marijuana certainly falls into that belief...

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It’s wise guy or schnook for Gov. Pat Quinn

At the end of the movie “Goodfellas,” mobster-turned-informant Henry Hill laments that he’s out of the business. “Today everything is different. There’s no action. Have to wait around like everyone...

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Miller: There’s no viable center in state gun debate

If you want to understand why little to no progress will likely be made on gun control here in Illinois or nationally, just look at the abortion issue. Abortion is a hugely emotional and divisive...

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Gov. Quinn is short on ideas for more jobs

I spent Thursday afternoon looking at some numbers and discovered some good news that you probably don’t know. For the first seven months of the fiscal year (through the end of January), Illinois tax...

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gay marriage won’t ruin Illinois

For well over 30 years, whenever the subject of gay rights came up in the Illinois General Assembly, legislators ran away in droves. The excuses were always the same. Homosexuality is immoral, so...

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