Our local democracy is characterized by a corrupt brand of politics known as the Chicago Way. While blame certainly lies at the feet of elected officials who have betrayed the public trust, culpability also rests with an apathetic citizenry complacent with the endemic corruption that surrounds us. We the people...

One could argue that Governor Mitt Romney's rally to capture the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 rose from the ashes of his failed 2008 bid and the loss of his chief rival Senator John McCain to current president Barack Obama that November. In the interim, Romney has raised money prolifically...

State Senator Bill Brady, the Republican gubernatorial nominee-in-waiting, recently proposed five amendments to the Illinois Constitution. Four of them address fiscal and ethical matters, while the fifth would hereafter ban both gay marriage and civil unions in the state. Given the Illinois' $13 billion budget deficit...

In the last quarter-century, 24 lieutenant governors have been promoted to chief executives of their respective states, 14 on account of the career advancements of their predecessors (see Clinton, Bill, and Bush, George W.), 5 due to scandal-imposed resignations (see Blagojevich, Rod), and the other 5 death-related. Since statehood, 7...

It's perhaps fitting that the 2010 Illinois primary was held on Groundhog's Day given that the outcome in both parties' gubernatorial races remained uncertain through this morning with the prospect of mutual "do-overs." Acknowledging that neither the Democratic nor Republican Party produced clear winners, and that a number of absentee...

Last Monday, I spent Martin Luther King Day at the DuSable Museum of African American History on Chicago's South Side. While perusing the exhibits, I came across a lifelike, robotic Harold Washington seated in an office modeled after his city hall digs while he served as...

One year after President Barack Obama took the oath of office and pundits declared the beginning of Democratic ascendancy, the national political landscape has been dramatically transformed. Republican State Senator Scott Brown's stunning victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday in the Massachusetts special election to replace the...

It's newspaper endorsement season once more, and the rival Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune have cooked up different recipes for eager readers and recalcitrant voters. With the February 2 state primary in Illinois inching ever closer, these major dailies clearly feel obligated to weigh in on what to date has been...

During the mid-1980s, Chicago's city council evolved from a "rubber stamp" on mayoral priorities to an open battle that all but stymied African-American Mayor Harold Washington's reform agenda. He later co-opted former remnants of the machine constructed by a string of Irish-American mayors hailing from Bridgeport, and also fought for...

Seven more shopping days until Christmas, and a mere forty more until voters must make their Election Day decisions for who will represent the Democratic, Republican, and Green parties on the ballot next November in Illinois. Yesterday's attendees of the Union League Club's Democratic U.S. Senatorial Candidate Forum...

Via Twitter, Illinois Comptroller and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Hynes likes Notre Dame's hire of Brian Kelly as head football coach and hopes he brings the school their first national championship in more than two decades.

On his home page, State Senator Dan Rutherford and treasurer candidate just...

On Saturday, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate brought health care reform to the floor of the body with a strict party line vote, 60-39 -- the bare minimum to stave off a Republican-led filibuster. Unlike the House, a supermajority is often required to pass legislation in the Senate to invoke cloture...

The political climate in Illinois is nothing less than a national embarrassment. Last January, we impeached and removed our sitting governor from office. Come next June, he will face trial on charges that will likely lead to imprisonment, making him the fourth of the last seven Illinois governors to go...

This coming June, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's criminal trial resumes, and it is likely to lead him to a place that his predecessors have already frequented: prison. During the intervening months, both parties will hold primaries to select his successor, hoping for an alternative fate regardless of the victor....

On Thursday, Judge Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation as the 111th U.S. Supreme Court Justice, with the Senate voting 68 to 31 in her favor. The third woman and the first Latina to land on the High Court, Sotomayor's ascendancy can be attributed to a number of factors, including...

Those searching for a quick primer on the pay-to-play scandal starring former Governor Rod Blagojevich that continues to cripple the State of Illinois would be wise to pick up Elizabeth Brackett's Pay to Play. The 236-page tome paints a portrait of a corrupt city and state, where Rod Blagojevich...

The collapse of the economic model for print journalism has been well-documented here and elsewhere. Simply stated, readers have migrated online, and the advertising that subsidizes traditional reporting has failed to follow, at least on a proportionate scale. As Thomas Mitchell of the Las Vegas Review Journal often writes,...

On Monday, Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) ended months of speculation over whether or not he would seek a promotion from the House seat he has held for five terms to the lofty confines of the stately Senate. Before entering the race, Kirk waited for the field to clear and yield...

They're at it again. In the midst of a devastating economic recession, and on the heels of a budget-busting stimulus package and annual spending plan, our elected officials in Washington have decided to put national health care and cap and trade legislation on hold to deal with more pressing matters,...

The field for Cook County Board President is growing by the day. On Monday, seven term Congressman Danny Davis (D-Chicago) said that in "all likelihood" he would enter the Democratic primary set for next February. Fourth Ward Alderwoman Toni Preckwinkle has already declared, and Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy...