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Rich Miller biography

@capitolfax

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

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Tipping the scales against Illinois

While watching White Sox players embarrass themselves yet again this week, my sad eyes turned to a private club behind home plate. The slogan “You got a guy” was plastered all over the front of the club, which is run by a Chicago ticket broker. …

Quinn’s payroll stunt dangerous

Pretty much everybody is cheering Gov. Pat Quinn for vetoing state legislators’ salaries out of the Illinois budget this week. Quinn vetoed lawmaker salaries because, he said, he was tired of waiting year after year for legislators to pass a comprehensive pension reform plan. Probably …

Whom not to boo at Pride Parade

If you’re heading to the Pride Parade this weekend, you might be tempted to boo some of the state politicians who’ll be marching. If you want to boo them for screwing up the state’s finances, then go right ahead. But don’t jeer because the marriage …

Travel state, then run for governor

Several months ago, I offered Bill Daley some unsolicited advice. Before you decide whether to run for governor, I suggested to Daley during a phone call, you should take some time off and drive around Illinois. Cairo, in deep Southern Illinois, is 370 miles from …

If Gov. Pat Quinn’s a leader, it’s from behind

How can you be a leader if nobody is following you? This week on my blog (CapitolFax.com) I wrote that Gov. Pat Quinn is honest, but “no leader.” His press secretary fired off an angry retort: “Give me a break. “Real leadership requires honesty and …

Pension problem began long ago

Lawmakers are human beings, and like most human beings they don’t make any major changes until it’s clear that something absolutely has to be done. Pension reform is a good case in point. It’s been obvious since just after World War II that Illinois’ pension …

Illinois GOP is out of step with changing electorate

Not all that long ago, DuPage County was about as reliably Republican and rock-ribbed conservative as they came. Things are changing For one, it’s not nearly as Republican. Back in the 1998 governor’s race, Republican George Ryan defeated Democrat Glenn Poshard by 104,000 votes in …

Black pastors hit gay marriage

There was a time at the Illinois Statehouse when using African-American ministers as political props was all the rage. ComEd touted support from black preachers to pass a bill to raise its rates. AT&T did the same when it passed a major piece of legislation. …

It’s Cullerton vs. crowd on pensions

What we have in Springfield right now is an epic legislative stalemate over an issue of absolute importance. On one side we have the Senate president, John Cullerton, who says he wants to make sure that any pension reform legislation has a chance of being …

Fracking could be Illinois’ savior

Before “fracking” and horizontal oil drilling was tried in North Dakota, the state was producing about 80,000 barrels of the sticky black stuff a day, not much more than Illinois. Last December, North Dakota pumped out almost 800,000 barrels a day, making it the second-largest …

Gay marriage won’t ruin Illinois

For well over 30 years, whenever the subject of gay rights came up in the Illinois General Assembly, legislators ran away in droves. The excuses were always the same. Homosexuality is immoral, so religious businesses owners shouldn’t have to hire a gay person, or serve …

Gov. Quinn is short on ideas for more jobs

I spent Thursday afternoon looking at some numbers and discovered some good news that you probably don’t know. For the first seven months of the fiscal year (through the end of January), Illinois tax revenues grew by about a billion dollars. That’s almost a 7 …

Miller: There’s no viable center in state gun debate

If you want to understand why little to no progress will likely be made on gun control here in Illinois or nationally, just look at the abortion issue. Abortion is a hugely emotional and divisive issue in this country. At the heart of the matter …

It’s wise guy or schnook for Gov. Pat Quinn

At the end of the movie “Goodfellas,” mobster-turned-informant Henry Hill laments that he’s out of the business. “Today everything is different. There’s no action. Have to wait around like everyone else. Can’t even get decent food. Right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti …

Concealed Carry will not do us in

I’ve long subscribed to the belief that if someone’s behavior isn’t hurting anybody else, then the government ought to leave them alone. Legalizing marijuana certainly falls into that belief structure. If somebody wants to get high and eat Cheetos all day, then I don’t think …

Beware, Illinois GOP: Get smart or die

The challenges facing the Republican Party in this state are simply enormous. For the first time in 20 years, more Illinoisans identified themselves to exit pollsters as independents than Republicans. Latinos made up 12 percent of the Election Day voting population this year, a 50 …

To return to relevance in Illinois, GOP must change

For the first time in at least 20 years, more independents voted in Illinois last Tuesday than Republicans. I spent part of Thursday afternoon going through some exit polling data to see if I could find anything to cheer up my Republican friends. I really …

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