Is David McSweeney Bill Part of Jack Franks’ Plan to Cripple Two Female Elected Officials?

Thinking through the unintended and/or intended consequences of State Rep. David McSweeney’s bill to provide McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks with line item veto power, I’ve come up with come up with another possibility. Remember how Franks wanted to … Continue reading

Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Make It Harder for School Districts to Get Rid of Unfunded Mandates

Here’s the veto message from Governor Bruce Rauner on House Bill 1262 sponsored by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie and Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant: Today I veto House Bill 1262 from the 100th General Assembly, which walks back the progress that was … Continue reading

House Fails to Override Governor’s Veto on Collective Bargaining Bill

The Illinois State Senate voted to override Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of Senate HB 1905. It would have provided misdemeanor criminal penalties to elected municipal officials who passed local collective bargaining regulations. Two of McHenry County’s three State Senators–Pam Althoff … Continue reading

Governor Vetoes Non-Referendum Annexation Power for Fire Protection Districts

In years past the Village of Lakewood was provided fire protection services by the Woodstock Fire Protection District. At that time, if Lakewood residents passed a referendum, its properties could have been annexed to the Woodstock FPD. This past legislative … Continue reading

GOP Legislators Urge Rauner to Veto Sanctuary State Bill

From the follwoing Republican legislators: Representative Allen Skillicorn, Representative David Allen Welter, Representative John Cabello, Representative Tom Morrison, Senator Kyle McCarter, and Senator Jim Oberweis all urge Governor Bruce Rauner to veto the Sanctuary State Bill, Senate Bill 31. Governor … Continue reading

Illinois Review Spreads Potential Rauner Property Tax Hike Signature Statewide

has picked up the information that Woodstock’s Susan Handelsman found about the bill that would allow school districts to raise real estate taxes without a referendum. It would legalize (still again) the transfer of money from Transportation Funds to districts’ … Continue reading

“The cowardice of voting present in the Illinois legislature”

That’s the headline in the State Journal-Register out of Springfield. That newspaper editorial was aiming at its local Republican State Representatives. Here’s a paragraph from the editorial: “They punted – plain and simple – on an important vote that would … Continue reading

Is Madigan or Franks Telling the Truth?

On his blog Illinoyances, Steve Reick, the man who ran against State Rep. Jack Franks last year asks the following questino: Who do you believe? Reick quotes what Franks told the Northwest Herald–sort of a “pox on both sides” to … Continue reading

Mike Tryon on SB 1229

At Wednesday morning’s House Revenue & Finance Committee meeting, Representative Mike Tryon questioned officials from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget about the financial consequences that could result from SB 1229’s veto override. The bill would unilaterally allow AFSCME … Continue reading

Tribune Ad Targets Sente

A full-page ad on the back page of Sunday’s Chicago Tribune tries to convince people to call State Rep. Carol Sente to urge her to vote against Senate Bill 1229, the legislation that would strip Governor Bruce Rauner of collective … Continue reading