•April 11, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

I feel compelled by the recent Illinois primary election to revisit the topic of “Can Illinois be saved?” Of course, it can be saved (returned to stability, growth). Whether it will be saved is a different question.

In Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrat J. B. Pritzker, Illinois voters nominated two uninspiring candidates. The election apparently provided impetus for friends of mine to renew with vigor their drumbeat of despair about the future of our state.

I fear many of my friends have shifted their assessment of our state’s future from, “It won’t be saved” to “It can’t be saved.” That is tragic, and incorrect.

I admit that Illinois has excruciating problems. Billions in unpaid bills; worst credit rating in the nation, and public pension liabilities so great that we have been stealing from fundamental functions like our school and colleges to meet these obligations. And political dysfunction: Three recent annual legislative sessions without a state budget. Read More

•April 4, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

The November election contest between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker is shaping up to be largely a classic conflict between capital and labor.

Mushy moderate that I am, I wonder if there is any constructive middle ground on this topic for Illinois in the foreseeable future.

Rauner made his money as a private equity investor. His company borrows money to buy companies, pumps them up and sells them for a big profit. Doing so requires a hard-nose approach to employees.

Rauner’s disdain for labor unions is well known. He initiated efforts that have resulted in a present case before the U.S. Supreme Court that will likely strip public employee unions of the capacity to require non-union employees to pay union dues. Read More

FILE - In this May 24, 2013 file photo, traffic begins to thicken as motorists getting an early jump to Memorial Day destinations in Indiana and Michigan travel an interstate freeway through Chicago. Auto club AAA on Friday, May 16, 2014 said it expects a total of 36.1 million people to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day Weekend. If that estimate holds true, it would be the largest amount of people traveling during the holiday weekend since 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

•March 28, 2018•

By Shane Nicholson
Of the Rock River Times

Its neighbor to the east may claim “The Crossroads of America” title, but by nearly any measure, Illinois is the heart of the U.S. Interstate system.

Illinois has the third highest total of Interstate routes and mileage. Only New York and California have more I-designated roadways, with 7- and 25-million more residents, respectively. Only Texas and California routes cover more mileage, though those states are 5- and 3-times larger by territory.

And the importance of the routes — many of which were designed to pass through or near Chicago, with its access to the global economy — further spell out the importance of Illinois as a hub of trans-U.S. travel. The two longest treks of the Interstate system, I-90 and I-80, pass through Illinois on their coast-to-coast journeys. And two key connections to the Gulf States, I-55 and I-65, reach their nadir in the Chicago area. Add in I-57, I-64, I-70 and I-94 and an Illinois driver can reach almost every population center in the nation by navigating one interchange. Read More

•March 21 2018•

By John Carpenter
Chicago Sun-Times

About 20 years before a certain territory along the eastern banks of the upper Mississippi became a state, a man named Maurice Daly tied his ass and cart to a fence in the little Irish town of Dungarvan and set off for America. He added an “e” to his last name along the way — and the die was cast for the most powerful political brand in Illinois’ 200-year history.

The Daleys of Chicago ran the state’s largest city for more than 40 years, watching from the fifth floor of City Hall as the city grew from a thriving but unpolished Midwest railroad hub to a sprawling global metropolis.

Whether it’s the skyscrapers that Richard J. Daley so dearly loved, or the wrought-iron fences and European-style greenery pushed by his son, the legacy of the city’s two longest-serving mayors is impossible to avoid. Read More

•March 14, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Whenever kicked out of Illinois government and politics (frequently), I have taken refuge as a visiting professor at several Illinois colleges and universities, primarily the University of Illinois. And I admit a soft spot for the sector.

Yet, higher education across the country is out of favor at present, especially so in Illinois. Since 1978 (when I was Gov. Thompson’s assistant for education), state appropriations for higher education shrank from 10 percent of the total state budget to just 3 percent in 2014.

Excluding state funding for university pension programs, Illinois has lost, in real terms, one-third of its state funding for higher education in the period.

Consider also that many citizens are also upset with colleges for, on some campuses, blocking conservative speakers, and for creating “safe zones” for students who feel harmed by controversial statements. Read More