31 Aug 2026

Crime Doesn’t Pay, Unless You’re an Illinois Education Reformer – in Which Case, It Doesn’t Not Pay

By Rich Miller

Hours after the social media giant Meta agreed last Wednesday to settle a case brought by 47 state attorneys general and implement reforms to protect children from social media harms, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) issued a demand that all of Illinois’ portion of the $17.1 billion settlement – $768 million – be designated “to address the funding crisis for school districts across the state.”

24 Aug 2026

Can the Tabloid Veneer of the Allegations Against Rep Amy Briel Up-End Her Re-Election Chances?

By Rich Miller

Yet another sexual harassment allegation has been made against an Illinois House Democrat. But this time, the House speaker’s operation is fully supporting its incumbent.

17 Aug 2026

A Ten-Year Term Limit for Illinois Speakers Can Feel Like a Long Time If the Speaker Is a Very Tedious Person

By Rich Miller

After Michael J Madigan’s 36 years as Illinois House Speaker, a ten-year term limit on current and future speakers doesn’t seem like a lot of time in the big chair. Except it is.

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.

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