By Ray Hanania Which issue is more important on Tuesday, Nov. 8: abortion or safety? That’s what it comes down to in the election if you listen to the Democrats and the Republicans. This is Illinois, and in this election you can’t do much about abortion. It won’t change no matter how much fear mongering Gov. JB Pritzker engages…

By Rich Miller When Emerson College unveiled its latest Illinois poll last week, its press release included three “Key Takeaways.” At the very top of its list was this: “Fifty-two percent (52%) majority of voters think things in Illinois are on the wrong track, while 48% think things are headed in the right direction.” The…

By Rich Miller House Speaker Chris Welch reported raising a whopping $14 million in the third quarter, with almost half of that, $6 million, coming from Gov. JB Pritzker. That gives Welch a huge cash advantage for the home stretch over his Republican counterpart. Welch’s personal campaign committee reported raising $7 million between July 1…

By Ray Hanania Seniors are the most important vote in Illinois and in the United States, and yet they are taken for granted, marginalized and misled by everyone. Seniors have been co-opted nationally and in Springfield by lobbyist lowlifes who determine policy by funding campaigns of elected officials. When an elected official leaves office, most…

By Alee Quick Editor’s Note: This op-ed was distributed by Capitol News Illinois on behalf of the News Literacy Project. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The world of Illinois politics is notoriously wild at times, and this year’s midterm election season is holding true to form. Disagreements on policy issues…

By Ray Hanania Some candidates just think voters are too stupid to think for themselves. So, they craft these messages that are exaggerated and filled with hot-button issues that target the emotions of voters just to get their votes. No wonder so many people hate to vote and vote numbers are always so low, when…

By Rich Miller The political action committee affiliated with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools is always well-funded, well-organized, well-run and often quite successful at electing legislative candidates who are supportive of their cause. But, unlike, say, Personal PAC, which focuses almost solely on the issue of abortion in its ubiquitous direct mailers, you don’t…

(This column was first published in The Regional News on Nov. 12, 2014.) By Ray Hanania It took 30 years, but I finally made it to the Regional News. I’ve covered Chicagoland since 1975, but it was in 1985 when I ended my eight years at the Daily Southtown and almost started work at the…

By Richard Guebert Jr. Many Illinois farmers, including myself, are eagerly waiting to see how this year’s crop turns out. That’s the name of the game when it comes to farming: You make the best management decisions you can, learn from previous harvests and look to improve next year’s results. Farmers use a similar approach…

By Rich Miller “If we didn’t pass something, we wouldn’t have gotten anything from law enforcement. We wouldn’t have gotten a serious conversation,” claimed Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) recently about why the SAFE-T Act was originally written and passed the way it was. Rep. Ford was speaking about the cash bail provisions within the…