By Rich Miller Four distinct attacks have been launched against Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic legislators in the past couple of weeks. “The Scream”: If you watch Chicago TV, you likely saw a striking TV ad called “The Scream.” The ad featured surveillance camera video of a white woman being mugged in broad daylight by…

By Ray Hanania Jeremiah Joyce was always a complicated but brilliant and astute politician. I had the privilege as a community and City Hall reporter of getting to know him during a tumultuous political time in Chicago’s history. So I always saw him as a factor influencing the political events that swirled around the city…

By Rich Miller I was looking for something else recently on Scott Kennedy’s Illinois Election Data website and noticed he had voter turnout numbers from statewide races since 1990. We all know that Downstate has lost a significant amount of its political importance, but the numbers really help illustrate this decline. In 1990, 42% of…

By Rich Miller Way back in 1996, I spent a few minutes walking around the Chicago-based Democratic National Convention with then-House Minority Leader Michael Madigan. Madigan at the time was working to regain his chamber’s majority after the 1994 national Republican wave combined with the Republican-drawn legislative district maps to knock the Speaker’s gavel out…

By Marty Walsh On Labor Day we honor the achievements of America’s workers, and in 2022 we have a historic victory to celebrate. Our nation’s working people have come all the way back from the depths of a global pandemic, regaining every job lost and more. This milestone seemed impossible to reach on Labor Day…

By Ray Hanania President Biden announced that he will provide college tuition relief estimated to be between $300 billion and $985 billion, depending on how many people apply. Why only waive debt for students? Why not waive mortgage debt for homeowners? Why not waive credit card debt? Why not waive hospital healthcare debt for people…

By Rich Miller Back in early July, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. JB Pritzker and the two Democratic legislative leaders, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, issued a joint statement, which in part said: “We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to…

By Rich Miller The two days of partisan political events during the Illinois State Fair are like miniature, stripped-down, informal versions of national political conventions. They serve as a sort of kickoff to our fall campaign season, so they are usually closely watched by reporters who cover campaigns and by insiders. The speeches and organized…

By Ray Hanania The headlines were encouraging for Republicans back in July. The Cook County GOP organized one of its largest candidate slates to challenge Democrats in November. It all sounded good on paper, and came at the right time, as the Republican Party was coming apart not just in Cook County in recent years…

By Ray Hanania When I was younger, my dad would always talk about how beautiful the city where he grew up was, but how grateful he was to be able to come to and settle in Chicago. Of course, he was talking about Jerusalem, which long before his country, Palestine, was torn by war, was…