Today the Chicago Tribune published an op-ed by Nicolle Grasse, along with fellow legislators Kevin John Olickal and Rachel Ventura, “Donald Trump’s cuts broke Illinois’ budget. It’s time to make the wealthy pay to fix it.”  After a litany of complaints about the reduction in federal government aid to Illinois, they launch into a series…

All campaign supporters, their families and members of the public are invited to a rocket launch event. Please join us at Sunset Meadows at 2 pm on Saturday, June 13th (rain date: June 27th) for a family rocket launch. Families are invited to bring their own rockets (preassembled or easy-to-assemble rockets are readily available at…

Please join us for the Arlington Heights Memorial Day Parade — This is a great opportunity to honor our veterans and to show support for the campaign at the same time! The parade takes place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, starting at Village Hall and ending at Memorial Park, where a ceremony occurs just…

The more we learn about the shooting of two Chicago police officers in the line of duty on Saturday morning, the more outrageous the story becomes. John Bartholomew should not have died. Another officer should not be fighting for his life. The families of the remaining approximately 11,600 patrol officers should not now have added…

Earlier tonight, the State House voted 78 – 32 to pass the “Mega Project” bill, HB 910 Amendment 3, a bill which in its amended form was only released first thing this morning. If you take a look at my home page, you’ll see my three pillars: Fiscal responsibility, Organic job growth, and Rule of…

This coming week is a key week in the Springfield legislative calendar: all bills originating in the House, have to have been voted on in the House and sent to the Senate, by April 17th (with the exception of the budget, “shell bills” and other loopholes).  This means that last week was a busy week…

This coming week is a key week in the Springfield legislative calendar: all bills originating in the House, have to have been voted on in the House and sent to the Senate, by April 17th (with the exception of the budget, “shell bills” and other loopholes).  This means that last week was a busy week…

While the primary sucked a lot of air out of the room, more has been going on than simply that election, as the legislature in Springfield has once again proven its ineffectiveness.  We’re at what amounts to halftime in the Springfield calendar – while we won’t know what new taxes will come with the new…

In the first part of the Spring legislative session, State Representatives and Senators were busy introducing bills, and much of our attention was on the Bears and the primary.  Now there are an endless succession of hearings, and with each hearing comes witness slips, the one small way we can all register our opinion on…

The photograph you see here has no date on it. On the back is written, “Amelia Wittkoetter[‘s] mother and sister Anne”; that’s my grandmother’s handwriting, and the photo is of her grandmother, also named Amelia Wittkoetter, and aunt. It’s clear that they are not well-off; the girl’s dress is ill-fitting, the woman’s hands are gnarled…