10 Aug 2026

Speaker Welch’s “Informal Investigation” of Rep Benton a Nonfiction Novel of Congressional Procedure

By Rich Miller

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch sat down for interviews with selected reporters last week. He told most of them that his office had conducted an “informal investigation” into sexual harassment allegations against former Representative Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, in 2023.

03 Aug 2026

Against All Advice, Speaker Welch Stands Before a Mirror and Says “Michael Madigan” Three Times

By Rich Miller

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch promised the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) last week that he will “lead” the effort to send more state money to Chicago Public Schools during the upcoming fall veto session.

27 Jul 2026

Unchecked and Imbalanced: Speaker Welch’s Handling of Harassment Claims Draws Criticisms of Its Own

By Rich Miller

By now, you’ve probably read at least something about the scandals surrounding former state Representative Harry Benton, D-Plainfield. In a nutshell, a young female district office staffer alleged Representative Benton sexually harassed her in 2023.

20 Jul 2026

In Terms of Campaign Funds Raised, the Illinois GOP is Heeding That Paramount Virtue, Fiscal Restraint

By Rich Miller

The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223,000 in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101,000 higher than it had reported the day before. But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.

13 Jul 2026

Welch Turns Up the Heat on Some Indicted Dems to Resign and Turns on the Air Conditioner for Others

By Rich Miller

Representative Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, was arrested by the FBI on October 28, 2019, for attempting to bribe a state senator. House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was under investigation himself, called on Arroyo to resign that same day. The next day, Representative Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, was one of three House Democrats who signed a petition to automatically trigger the creation of a Special Investigating Committee. Welch and the two others included the sworn federal criminal complaint against Arroyo as evidence.

06 Jul 2026

Pritzker and Raoul Only Said Goodbye with Words – But There’s Just No Going Back to Flat

By Rich Miller

About a week after the state budget passed both chambers in the dark of night, Attorney General Kwame Raoul spoke to the City Club of Chicago to complain that his budget was cut by $10 million.

29 Jun 2026

“Sometimes the Best Move Is No Move at All” as a Political Strategy Doesn’t Work Well in Illinois

By Rich Miller

The news earlier this month that the Illinois AFL-CIO has “deferred” all decisions on legislative and statewide endorsements in the upcoming fall election generated quite a bit of headlines.

22 Jun 2026

“Legislative Add-Ons Returning to Normal Levels” Sounds a Lot Like “Cuts” When Factoring in Inflation

By Rich Miller

In response to a question last week from my associate Isabel Miller, Governor JB Pritzker said he didn’t think a group of progressive legislators could pass their progressive revenue bills through both chambers by the end of the spring session.

15 Jun 2026

Will Fumbling the Illinois Stadium Bill Cost Pritzker Any Ambitions He May Have for National Office?

By Rich Miller

Governor JB Pritzker last week squarely placed the responsibility for passing a Bears stadium bill on the team itself, and had some unsolicited lobbying advice for the Bears as he attempted to brush off his own session attendance issues.

08 Jun 2026

What Happens When Illinois Loses the Bears, and Why That Might Not Be the Worst Thing in the World

By Rich Miller

Six days before the last day of the spring state legislative session, Senator Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, gave me two big reasons why it was so difficult to push a Bears stadium bill across the finish line. Cunningham, as you know, is the chief sponsor of the Senate’s Bears bill.

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