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Chicago Tribune: Breaking up with House Speaker Michael Madigan
Drive about 30 minutes east of Carbondale and you’ll end up in Marion, a charming southern Illinois town where you can park downtown for free and a rib-eye dinner costs $15.
Politics in this part of the state gets complicated. Many households depend on unionized government jobs — colleges, schools and prisons — and tend to support Democrats. But socially conservative principles also galvanize them to support Republicans.
The contrast puts lawmakers like Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, in a vise. He describes himself as a “southern Illinois boy,” born and raised in a part of the state where lifestyle and philosophy don’t always mesh with Chicago’s. Yet he serves on House Speaker Michael Madigan‘s leadership team as an assistant majority leader. So he’s expected to support Madigan’s Chicago-centric agenda.
Sun-Times: Proposal on November ballot an insult to Illinois voters
You won’t get a chance to vote on term limits for elected officials in Illinois in November or have an opportunity to reduce the power of state lawmakers to draw their own legislative districts.
But there is an amendment on the ballot to change the Illinois Constitution so that all money collected from the motor fuel tax, car registrations, licenses and on the toll roads must be spent on transportation projects.
Bond Buyer: Moody's Frowns on Potential Illinois Pension Payment Delays
Any delays in Illinois’ monthly contributions pose a negative credit risk to the state, Moody’s Investors Service said Friday.
News-Gazette: Map amendment opposition group's backers revealed
All summer long one of the mysteries of Illinois politics was who was bankrolling The People’s Map, the rather opaque group that waged the legal fight to keep a legislative redistricting issue off the Nov. 8 ballot.
The redistricting question, supported by Gov. Bruce Rauner and the signatures of about 600,000 Illinoisans, was knocked off the ballot in a court ruling last summer.
And until last week no one knew who was putting up the money to pay Chicago elections lawyer and expert Michael Kasper for his work.