BUDGET Fitch Ratings issues watch report on Illinois’ fiscal stability.  The credit rating agency identified Illinois as one of three states that should be closely scrutinized by debt investors in…

BUDGET COGFA reports on November State tax revenues.  The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA), the General Assembly’s nonpartisan budget-forecasting arm, constantly monitors Illinois State tax cash flows.  Public…

With Thanksgiving behind us and the Christmas Season fast approaching, family draws near as we celebrate the most glorious gift given us by God. As I reflect on the past…

EDUCATION Outcry against misuse of “seclusion rooms” by schools across Illinois; State takes action.  Many school districts use “seclusion rooms” and “isolation rooms” as places where students whom an educator…

Illinois Democrats had a moment during the final week of legislative session in 2019.  Some might say a rare moment; others may say a moment they can choose to take…

ETHICS REFORM House Republicans call for passage of sweeping ethics reform package. In the wake of even more federal corruption investigations entangling multiple layers of Illinois government, House Republicans continued…

State Representative Andrew Chesney criticized Democrat legislators for only making a “half-hearted ethics punt” during the Fall Veto Session. “There is so much low-hanging fruit on reform that the tree…

Happy Veteran’s Day! Thank you to all those who have served and all those who honor their service here at home. We are a grateful nation, humbled by your fight…

ETHICS REFORM House Republicans Introduce Sweeping Ethics Reform Package in Response to Federal Investigations.  Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin along with members of the House Republican caucus have announced…

Four weeks ago, I called on Senator Marty Sandoval (D-Chicago) to resign from Chairmanship of the Senate Transportation Committee, after he became ensnared in a federal investigation.  Later that day,…