illinois

Public Notices & Eclipses

I have a couple of stories up this week at ilnews.org.

Check out this piece on Illinois possibly moving prevailing wage notices from newspapers to the web. It could be a first step toward digitizing a whole bunch of public notices that local governments are mandated to publish.

Then read here, especially if you’re heading to southern Illinois for the upcoming solar eclipse and are looking for a place to stay.

A Duct Tape Double Standard
ducttape

Personal PAC/Facebook

A joke about placing duct tape over the mouth of a politician is unacceptable speech and the language of a rape culture. Actually placing duct tape over the mouth of a politician in a web ad is a sharp way to get your point across.

These divergent points of view are brought you by Illinois Democrats, who less than a month ago were apoplectic about an effort at a bad joke by Chicago radio host Steve Cochran. While Governor Bruce Rauner was on the phone line as a guest on his show, Cochran referenced a Rauner ad featuring duct tape as a metaphor for short-term fixes in Springfield. (more…)

Rep. Randy Hultgren: Return to Patient-Focused Care

Illinois Congressman Randy Hultgren was first elected in the Tea Part wave of 2010 and has represented the 14th District well since that time. He’s one of the most earnest lawmakers I’ve had the pleasure of talking to and he’s always well-versed on almost any topic that comes up in the course of an interview.

Last week while filling in on “The Michael Koolidge Show,” I was joined by Hultgren to break down the new Republican health care bill. Clearly Hultgren does not believe this is a perfect measure and would like to see some improvements. But, all in all, he thinks it’s an improvement over the current situation we find ourselves in with Obamacare rules and  regulations. Here’s the audio:

Kristina Rasmussen: Illinois Residents Want Reforms

Living in Michigan for the past year has not meant I’ve forgotten about what is happening in Illinois. I followed politics in the state for years and years, so why would I stop now? Not to mention the fact virtually all of our extended families are still in the Land of Lincoln, and we travel back often. All of which is to say, I’m still invested in the future of the state and the budget talks happening at the moment.

Kristina Rasmussen from Illinois Policy joined me on The Michael Koolidge Show to discuss the results of a new survey of Illinois residents and the current state of the “Grand Bargain” in Springfield: