Opinion
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ comes to life in my living room
The movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” literally came to life in my living room last weekend. God worked a Christmas miracle through a cluster of my friends, who emptied their wallets to assist an Evergreen Park resident named, Angie Hernandez. If you haven’t seen this 1946 classic, or you’re finding the details a little fuzzy,…
Read MorePritzker points to ‘many victories’
By Rich Miller March 26, 2021 I’ve given Gov. JB Pritzker some grief for his failures during the past few months. His graduated income tax proposal went down in flames in November. He failed to pass his top priorities during January’s lame duck legislative session. His candidate for Democratic Party of Illinois chair lost…
Read MoreA ‘part-time’ salary of $150,000
By Ray Hanania March 26, 2021 How can a part-time mayor collect more than $150,000 a year in salary? That’s a question being asked in Orland Park, where Mayor Keith Pekau was elected in a voter backlash against raising the salary. Pekau is deceptively telling people he “lowered” the salary, but he is still taking…
Read MoreThe candidate who ‘forgot’
By Ray Hanania March 19, 2021 Last week, I broke a story about a young woman who is running for trustee in Orland Township. Like all big stories, someone tipped me off that there was an active warrant out for her arrest. As it turned out, the tip was accurate. It took…
Read MoreJB needs to get voters excited
By Rich Miller March 19, 2021 For the first year or so of his administration leading up to the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. JB Pritzker’s polling wasn’t exactly horrible, but it was still pretty darned underwhelming. But after some spectacular crisis-induced polling spikes last year, the governor has seemingly come back down to…
Read MoreJB on a losing streak with lawmakers
By Rich Miller March 12, 2021 When legal questions were raised about U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly’s campaign for state Democratic Party chair last week and Kelly only got stronger, that should tell you a couple of things. One, Kelly is a genuinely well-liked, well-known and trusted person within the Democratic Party, and…
Read MoreBalancing act ahead for Welch
By Rich Miller March 5, 2021 Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch gave his standard reply to a question about redistricting reform last week when queried at the Chicago Economic Club, saying different people have different opinions about what a “fair map” actually is. But then the new House Speaker leaned a bit harder…
Read MoreMadigan grew weary of ‘gardening’
By Rich Miller February 26, 2021 “The 22nd District is a garden,” then-House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters several years ago when asked about his House district. Some thought it was funny, but he was serious. And he’s most definitely the head gardener. I’ve often said that Madigan, who officially resigned from…
Read MoreHouse takes baby steps to reform
By Rich Miller February 19, 2021 While the House Republicans made some decent points last week when arguing against the chamber’s new rules, they all but dismissed some pretty darned historic changes. For years, decades even, the House Republicans have argued for leadership term limits. House Speaker Michael Madigan rebuffed them at…
Read MorePols’ vaccine spat is only that
By Rich Miller February 12, 2021 The immediate partisan reaction to the governor’s reversal on whether legislators should be allowed to be vaccinated during Phase 1B was fairly predictable. “Governor Pritzker is prioritizing young, healthy felons and Springfield politicians over high-risk adults,” the Illinois Republican Party seethed. However, no such press release was issued the…
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