03 Feb 2020

Unsafe at Any Speed: Ex-State Senator Martin Sandoval

By Rich Miller

"It's hard for me to swallow how [people] make so much off of you. Right? And I gotta do the work."

That's from the July 31, 2018 federal surveillance of now-former state Senator Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) complaining, according to media reports, to one of the founders of the red-light camera company SafeSpeed. Sandoval was bemoaning how he was killing and passing bills on the company's behalf while watching other people make bank off the red-light-cam industry.

27 Jan 2020

Harmon Retains Cullerton’s Shipmates and Perhaps Avoids Mutiny

By Rich Miller

Give new Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) some credit. He's made a few very solid moves since January 18, when he was elected to his chamber's top job.

20 Jan 2020

Reflecting (and Deflecting) with Governor JB Pritzker, One Year In

By Rich Miller

Governor JB Pritzker regularly deflects questions about House Speaker Michael Madigan's future by saying he wants to let the investigative process work.

But during an interview with me to mark his one-year anniversary in office, the governor pointed to his reaction after Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) was indicted, now-former Senator Martin Sandoval's (D-Chicago) Statehouse office was raided, and now-former Representative Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was arrested. In every instance, he said, he called on the legislators to step aside or resign.

13 Jan 2020

Meet Mike McClain, ComEd Lobbyist and House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Morally Myopic Guy Friday

By Rich Miller

"He has kept his mouth shut on Jones' ghost workers, the rape in Champaign, and other items. He is loyal to the Administration."

That's from an e-mail sent at 2:04PM on July 31, 2012, by House Speaker Michael Madigan's consigliere and ultimate Statehouse insider Mike McClain to then-Governor Pat Quinn's chief legislative liaison, Gary Hannig, and Quinn's former chief of staff, Jerry Stermer. The message came to light after WBEZ reporters Tony Arnold and Dave McKinney filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for all e-mails between McClain and e-mail addresses for all gubernatorial chiefs-of-staff during the last ten years.

23 Dec 2019

Ability to Raise Funds, Attract Party Allies Seen as Key Feats in Senate Presidential Intramurals

By Rich Miller

Senator Steve Landek (D-Bridgeview) and other Senate Democrats have been meeting since the 2018 session as part of a loosely-affiliated group that calls itself the "X Caucus." They apparently didn't know what to call themselves, so "X" filled in the blank.

16 Dec 2019

When Rich Anti-Tax Donors Flee for Mars, Republican Candidates are Left to Flail Alone on Earth

By Rich Miller

Republican Lawrence Oliver of Dorsey has filed to run against Representative Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) in the March primary. Oliver has not yet reported raising any money, but his main issue appears to be Representative Bourne's vote for the 19-cents-per-gallon gas tax-hike to fund infrastructure projects during the past spring legislative session.

09 Dec 2019

Mike Madigan and Chuy Garcia Play Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison Amid Intra-Party Power-Plays

By Rich Miller

The oddest political couple in the state's Democratic Party is teaming up again.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is backing yet another young protégé of progressive US Representative Chuy Garcia (D-Chicago) for the Illinois House at a time when other people appear to be distancing themselves from or even challenging the powerful House Speaker.

01 Dec 2019

Goodbye to Chief of Staff Tim Mapes’ Pantomimes of Power

By Rich Miller

Another relic of Tim Mapes' days as House Speaker Michael Madigan's chief of staff has passed into history.

25 Nov 2019

Blind Copy: The Magic Spreadsheet That Doesn’t Raise Contributions for Speaker Michael Madigan’s Party — and Doesn’t Exist

By Rich Miller

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Mike McClain, the most prominent insider connected to House Speaker Michael Madigan, sent a blind-copied e-mail to what he called the "Most Trusted of the Trusted" asking for help raising money in the closing weeks of the 2018 campaign.

18 Nov 2019

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s Looming Retirement Creates a Vacuum into Which State Senators are Diving

By Rich Miller

Much will change at the Statehouse when Senate President John Cullerton retires in January, a year before his term expires.

Unlike his House counterpart, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Cullerton always wanted to find ways to get things done — and he got a lot done.

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