Metering is ON

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Rich Miller biography

Rich Miller has been writing about Illinois politics since 1990. He began publishing Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, in 1993. He is recognized as …

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Those ‘low-info voters’ smartly dumped a fraud

‘I love the fact Obama obviously has a thin skin,” Tom Swiss wrote in 2010. “His four years are going to be torture for him.” Less than two years later, Swiss, the former executive director of the Cook County Republican Party, mailed a campaign flier …

Downstate and Chicago, brothers in arms — or not

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in Peoria earlier this week talking about how Chicago and Downstate politicians need to stop fighting so much. “The politics of the past where we used to play Chicago versus downstate is over. It doesn’t serve the people of Illinois,” Emanuel …

Let’s hope Quinn sticks to his guns on budget

Yes, Illinois is worth saving, and it’s time to get started already. I think if you listened carefully to both of Gov. Pat Quinn’s major public speeches this month, his State of the State address and his annual budget address, that’s the message you’re left …

Legalizing society’s vices is best way to hurt Outfit

Outfit crime boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week. Sarno ordered the bombing of a business that was encroaching on his illegal video poker racket. I’m glad that Sarno’s going to prison. I’m also happy that Illinois …

Roast me now, at 50, while I’m still around

‘Old timer, old timer, too late to die young now.” I’m turning 50 soon, so I’ve been planning a big party in Chicago on March 31 to distract myself from my own mortality. As Todd Snider confides in his song Age Like Wine, “I thought …

Legislature’s best: State gets a bipartisan lift from Millner, Sullivan, Saviano, Bradley and Mautino

Every year, commenters at my website (CapitolFax.com) vote on something we call the “Golden Horseshoe Awards.” I started the contest as a tongue-in-cheek lark, so I jokingly named it after Springfield’s most infamous culinary offering. People took the contest seriously, though, and, unfortunately, the name …

  • Wannabe gangster Blago — all flash and swagger

    There’s no real mystery to understanding Rod Blagojevich. He was, and still is, a failed wannabe gangster. Not a real gangster who pops caps in people’s behinds. Blagojevich tried to model himself on movie gangsters. The guy even quoted a character from “The Godfather, Part …Read More

  • Quinn’s OK a must for more gaming

    The last two decades give us a pretty simple Illinois history lesson: Unless all four state legislative leaders and the governor are pulling hard in the same direction, no gaming expansion bill can ever become law. The last significant gaming bill passed a few months …Read More

  • Two weeks of nothing  in our messed up state

    The second and final week of the annual state legislative veto session was a disappointing dud. Just about nothing came together, except that one tiny part of the massive state budget problem was solved. Sort of. And only for a year. Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed …Read More

    • Corporate tax break bidding war heats up

    An expensive bidding war is escalating at the Illinois Statehouse and it needs to be slowed down. Gov. Pat Quinn met with the four legislative leaders Thursday morning. Much of the discussion centered around CME Group’s threat to leave Illinois unless it gets a tax …

    State Dems in trouble if ‘Obamallac Man’ bailing

    History doesn’t necessarily repeat itself. Lots of Illinois Democrats believed after the 2010 national Republican landslide that the worst had passed. They harkened back to 1996, when President Bill Clinton rallied from humiliating midterm losses and decisively won re-election. The Illinois House had been taken …

    Obama thinks like a legislator — and that doesn’t cut it

    It’s generally considered a rule of thumb that politicians with mainly legislative backgrounds do not make particularly effective chief executives. The two worlds, and their required mind-sets, are vastly different. And, for the most part, our state’s better governors and our country’s most effective presidents …

    Drama queen Quinn spreads the blame

    Our state’s reigning drama queen has struck yet again. As you know by now, Gov. Pat Quinn held a news conference Thursday to blame the General Assembly for forcing him to close seven state facilities and lay off almost 2,000 employees. The Legislature, Quinn said, …

    Corporate tax break bidding war heats up

    An expensive bidding war is escalating at the Illinois Statehouse and it needs to be slowed down. Gov. Pat Quinn met with the four legislative leaders Thursday morning. Much of the discussion centered around CME Group’s threat to leave Illinois unless it gets a tax …

    Hoping Jobs’ exit spurs flexibility, innovation at Apple

    RICH MILLER: I feel almost the same about Steve Jobs retiring from Apple as I felt when Mayor Richard M. Daley announced he’d had enough. I truly appreciate his many years of service, but I’m happy to see him leave.

    Stop thinking, gov. Put people to work

    ‘I think you want a governor who’s thoughtful and thinks of everything before deciding an important matter.” That’s Gov. Pat Quinn, speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon in Chicago. Yes, that’s the same governor who seems to be best known for his policy flip-flops and his …

    Pat Quinn’s a union man — until he’s not

    Maybe now would be a good time for Gov. Pat Quinn to pay off his bet with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. After all, according to AFSCME, they’re practically soul brothers these days. Quinn bet Walker way back in January that the Bears would beat the …

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