ETHICS
As Republicans Push for Subpoenas and Testimony, SIC Democrats Shut Down Madigan Investigation. House Democrats from the Special Investigating Committee (SIC) looking into the ethical conduct of Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan were successful in shutting down the committee’s work on Monday by refusing to call additional witnesses or to issue subpoenas to Madigan and others with intimate knowledge of a nine-year bribery scheme between Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and the Speaker. After truncating the committee’s work, Democrats voted that the Speaker did not engage in conduct unbecoming of a legislator which constituted a breach of the public trust. The federal investigation into political corruption and Michael J. Madigan continues. 

For many years Illinoisans and most other Americans have taken advantage of mail-order shopping, particularly around the holidays. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic making many of us shy about visiting retail establishments in person, the whole idea of being able to shop online or via catalog has taken on a whole new appeal.

But it isn’t a new idea. In fact, the concept of mail order shopping got a big boost right here in Illinois almost 150 years ago when a young man named Richard Sears found a unique way to promote his business selling watches.

BUDGET
Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission members share concerns with Governor Pritzker’s borrowing scheme. State Representatives Tom Bennett, Dan Caulkins, and Mike Murphy shared their concerns with Governor Pritzker’s controversial plan to borrow another $2 billion from the federal government.

“The State of Illinois borrowed $1.2 billion earlier this year to compensate for the federal government pushing back the income tax filing from April 15 to July 15,” said Rep. Caulkins. “The filing deadline has long since passed and the Pritzker administration failed to pay back the loan as promised. Now he wants to borrow from the federal government again? This is irresponsible. The governor’s solution to put the taxpayers deeper in debt is more borrowing and higher taxes with no path to pay back what has already been borrowed.” 

The history and the legends of the old American West are filled with tales of shootouts on dusty streets. Probably the most well-known of these is the famous Shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881. While it has gone down in history as a seminal moment of Old West lore, its most famed protagonist was not a southwesterner, but was born an Illinoisan, and first drew his gun in an Illinois town.

Last month voters resoundingly rejected Governor JB Pritzker's referendum for an overarching Democratic tax increase. 

Just a little over 30 days later, Mike Madigan ignored the will of the voters by promising House Democrats an income tax increase in exchange for their votes to retain him as Speaker for his 20th term.

Sign the petition to tell Mike Madigan Illinois cannot afford more taxes.

Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement following Mike Madigan’s pitch for Speaker including an income tax increase on Illinoisans:

“Fresh off the indictment of his confidant and gatekeeper Mike McClain, Michael Madigan is selling his candidacy for Speaker with the promise of another tax increase. It was just over one month ago when Illinois taxpayers resoundingly rejected the graduated tax and sent a message that everyone heard but the Democratic Party. It is time for Governor Pritzker and Illinois Democrats to take a hint from the November election: don’t go back to the taxpayers and job creators to solve the self-inflicted troubles facing our state.”

ETHICS
Leader Durkin calls for Speaker Madigan’s resignation from the House. On Tuesday, the same day that Madigan insider Mike McClain was arraigned in federal court on charges related to Commonwealth Edison’s admitted bribery and influence peddling scheme, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin called for Speaker Michael J. Madigan’s resignation from the Illinois House of Representatives.

House Republicans to Pritzker: Stop Pointing Fingers and Start Providing Solutions

With identity fraud tied to unemployment claims in Illinois at an all-time high, Illinois State Representatives Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City), Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro), and Mike Murphy (R-Springfield) held a press conference Friday and said Governor Pritzker needs to stop pointing fingers and start proposing solutions.

What did you have for breakfast this morning? If, like a lot of Illinoisans, you consumed a bowl of cereal or a cup of coffee, you probably enjoyed a brand which got its start under an early 20th century Illinois businesswoman named Marjorie Merriweather Post.

Born in Springfield on March 15, 1887, Marjorie Merriweather Post inherited the Postum Cereal Company from her father at age 27 and proceeded to turn it into a global powerhouse. She had been involved in the company from an early age, one of the few women of her time to regularly participate in corporate board meetings.