Michael Madigan

Quinn, Democrats roll out more tax-and-spend legislative initiatives

By Jane McEnaney
03/29/2014
Just hours after the 2014 gubernatorial primary results were made final, Gov. Pat Quinn and his allies launched a series of class warfare attack ads, which were aimed at playing politics rather than implementing good policy. His administration took no time following suit, unleashing a series of legislative initiatives that, if enacted, would have a...

Madigan’s broken pension promise

03/26/2014
When House Speaker Michael Madigan pitched his Illinois pension bill late last year, he got pushback for promoting legislation that hadn’t been officially scored by an independent actuary. That pushback was fair game. Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pensions and an unfunded liability of $101.5 billion. With the number of failed pension fixes this state...

Millions that migrate

By Michael Lucci
03/26/2014
House Speaker Mike Madigan has proposed an extra tax on million-dollar incomes. His proposed legislation, HJRCA51, would amend the Illinois Constitution to impose an additional tax of 3 percent on income over $1 million. This tax won’t touch any millionaires who don’t want to pay it. They’ll simply leave, and they are well-equipped to do so. The middle...

TAGS: millionaire tax, progressive income tax

Madigan’s Chicago bailout

03/25/2014
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is calling for another big tax hike – one that conveniently funnels hundreds of millions of dollars each year to his home district of Chicago. He and his legislative colleagues will have collected more than $31 billion in new tax revenues by the time the temporary tax hike sunsets in...

TAGS: income tax, Mike Madigan, millionaire tax

Illinois legislators try to repeal the First Amendment

03/22/2014
Incumbent politicians hate to be criticized, and in Illinois some of them have decided to do something about it – not by correcting the behavior for which people criticize them, but by trying to repeal the First Amendment. That may sound outrageous, but it’s true. On Thursday, the Illinois Senate’s Executive Committee passed a resolution...

What Madigan won’t tell you about education spending

03/22/2014
When House Speaker Michael Madigan issued a press release about his new tax proposal yesterday – which levies a 3 percent surcharge on income over $1 million, which Madigan said will provide funding for schools – he highlighted the struggles of districts across the state to balance their books. Unfortunately, he neglected to mention these...

TAGS: education

Madigan bill would appropriate $100M for Obama library

By Jane McEnaney
03/05/2014
House Speaker Michael Madigan just introduced a bill to the Illinois General Assembly that appropriates $100 million to build a presidential library and museum “dedicated to the legacy of President Barack Obama.” Illinois is sitting on $7.6 billion in unpaid bills. The state’s credit rating has been downgraded five times since the largest tax hike...

TAGS: Mike Madigan, Obama presidential library

Capitol update: Week one

By Jane McEnaney
02/08/2014
The official business of Illinois’ 98th General Assembly began this week, with both chambers in session for the first week of the 2014 spring legislative season. The beginning of session typically is a slower time of year, with legislative language being tweaked, and with final touches and chief sponsors being courted. This is especially the...

TAGS: outmigration

Madigan’s Illinois pension fix: $15B less in savings, more gimmicks

01/28/2014
Not unlike ObamaCare, a bill Congress had to pass “to find out what’s in it,” Illinois’ General Assembly passed a pension fix in December 2013 without an official scoring of the bill. During floor debates, House Leader Mike Madigan and proponents of Senate Bill 1 promised $160 billion in savings over 30 years. Many opponents...

TAGS: pensions, Senate Bill 1

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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016