Sen. Tom Coburn has emerged as a one-man gridlock machine. The Oklahoma Republican single-handedly blocked or slowed more than 90 bills in 2007, driving lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to distraction
Read More...If Illinois state government had a nickel for every time an elected official claimed he or she was “willing to make the tough choices” needed to move the state forward, it probably wouldn’t be facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit today. Heck, in all likelihood, the state would have a huge surplus. Too frequently, however, this tough rhetoric is not followed up with action—especially when it comes to politically charged issues, like fiscal policy. This is problematic because, while the “tough decision” rhetoric is rarely translated to policy reality, the state’s fiscal mess is all too real.
Which is not to say the General Assembly is void of leadership—far from it. This past year, during the height of political sniping between the two parties, and notably, among the Democrats, a bipartisan group of legislators passed a major bill out of committee—HB750—that would have delivered numerous, long-term, comprehensive and sorely needed ... Read More...
Can you remember when a Governor Moonbeam held office in California rather than Illinois? Our zany adolescent masquerading as a fifty-one year old has hit upon a new scheme to bolster his sagging popularity with the electorate: Blagojevich is reported to be considering purchasing venerable Wrigley field and assigning its operations to the habitually inept Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
Since the State of Illinois cannot attend to its most basic responsibilities, Blagojevich feels that an afternoon at the ballpark is just the cure for what ails us. Moreover, state ownership of the ninety-five year old stadium will help keep the team in Chicago rather than moving to the suburbs. As an added benefit, the deal may aid the Sam Zell’s purchase of the Tribune Corporation. Zell has indicated that he will sell the Cubs franchise and the associated real estate separately to pay for his purchase of the media conglomerate.
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