Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing legislation to provide property tax relief to millions of Illinoisans by preserving the $20,000 homeowner exemption, which will otherwise drop to $6,000 this year.
According to Steve Brown, spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan, former Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Scott Lee
Cohen told the speaker last weekend that he will run for governor as an independent.
Catalyst's John Myers reports that State Sen. James Meeks' (D-Chicago) controversial school voucher bill (SB 2494)
will likely face a hearing Thursday in the House Executive Committee.
Rep. Will Davis (D-Chicago) is the House sponsor. While opposition
is solidifying from an array of education stakeholders -- teachers
unions, special education advocates, and some charter school supporters
-- the bill's committee placementhints that House Speaker Michael
Madigan (D-Chicago) supports the legislation. Even if it eventually
passes, Gov. Pat Quinn could still issue a veto.
Gov. Pat Quinn says
he is "in discussion and dialogue" with House Speaker Michael Madigan about whether the legislative leader will call a tax hike
bill for a vote in his chamber.
Following-up on our initial coverage from late last month, the Tribune reported today that House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is serious about pursuing legislation
that would place a $1,000 fee on any foreclosure sale in Illinois and funnel
those proceeds into mediation programs. Modeled after a recent ordinance
in Cook County, such a law would likely have generated about $40 million to
bolster mediation programs last year, according to Business and Professional People for the Public Interest. As one housing advocate
pointed out at a rally of Chicago community organizations this morning,
"It's just pennies for the banks."
Even with Madigan's support, passage is not assured, in part because of the strength
of the banking lobby in Springfield. But those lawmakers that decide to push the measure will find themselves with plenty of grassroots support. Check
out some footage from the protest today outside the downtown Thompson Center, which featured State Sen.
Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Andre Thapedi (D-Chicago):
House Speaker Michael Madigan is readying legislation that seeks to slow the number of foreclosures
by generating funding for mediation programs that assist struggling homeowners.
After hearing testimony from union leaders and contractors, House Speaker Michael Madigan says he's looking into privatizing the public authority that runs McCormick Place.
Following the drawn-out selection of a new Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is standing behind his proposal to do away with
the office in 2015.
With the spring session deadline just a month away, advocates are
growing concerned that House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) may
try to ram through yet another set of eleventh-hour "reforms" that fail to protect nursing homes residents. As negotiations continue, they're playing a wait-and-see game over how legislative reforms will take shape.
