12 Oct 2026

Speaker Welch’s Personal Jet-Propulsion System for Getting Stuff Done Appears to Run Entirely on Vapors

By Rich Miller

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch raised some eyebrows after he attended a meeting in suburban River Forest to talk about the proposed O’Hare Flyer project, which would run express commuter trains back and forth from Downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport. Speaker Welch told attendees he could prevent two state agency budgets from moving forward if he didn’t get what he wanted out of the project for towns in and around his district.

05 Oct 2026

Can Football Help Illinois Progressives Achieve Their Policy Goals? What Does the Magic 8 Ball Say?

By Rich Miller

More than a year ago, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget was projecting a $3.2 billion deficit for what is now the current fiscal year.

28 Sep 2026

It Is Now Not Enough That Speaker Welch Apologizes – He Must Apologize Better

By Rich Miller

Last month, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley during an interview, “I’m going to apologize for making her feel uncomfortable.”

21 Sep 2026

When State Dems and Speaker Welch Offer Differing Accounts on Fundraising, It’s Time to Call in the Shinto Mediums

By Rich Miller

My associate Isabel Miller and I told subscribers earlier this month that Democrats for the Illinois House had been suddenly cut off from the Democratic Party of Illinois’ lucrative postage-discount program, which can save as much as one-third to half of campaign postage costs.

14 Sep 2026

Michael McCuskey Did Not Feel Your Pain Points. His Tenure Shows He Treated Them as Seriously as You’d Expect

By Rich Miller

You may know that embattled Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey has agreed to resign his post by the end of September. But this sorry saga shouldn’t end there. The Legislative Ethics Commission should immediately launch an investigation into why so many women over the years have said they were mistreated, belittled, and dismissed by McCuskey. They could also ask McCuskey’s replacement to revisit the cases.

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.

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