SJ-R Opinion Page

05/19/2017

Day three of the SJ-R editorial board's eight-day special report Sounding the Alarm looks at the need to overhaul funding of public education in Illinois

Editor's note: Illinois is the only state in America without a budget, a failure that digs it deeper into debt each day. But the lack of a budget is not

05/19/2017

Day Two of the SJ-R editorial page's eight-day special report Sounding the Alarm looks at the need for pension reform - and it doesn't start with changing benefits.

Editor's note: Illinois is the only state in America without a budget, a failure that digs it deeper into debt each day. But the lack of a budget is not

05/18/2017

ICYMI: Day one of the SJ-R's editorial page eight-day special report Sounding the Alarm compared Illinois to other Midwest states in various areas to see how the Land of Lincoln stacks up. Visit http://tinyurl.com/las7q7s to explore this graphic in more detail.

05/16/2017

And Gov. Bruce Rauner has a message for Senate President John Cullerton

Everyone seems to have a powerful lobbyist in Springfield but you, the taxpayers. That's why you elected me. I'm here to fight for you and stop career

05/16/2017

ICYMI: Senate President John Cullerton has a message for Gov. Bruce Rauner

As you read this, it’s May 15, which leaves 16 days until the General Assembly’s constitutional deadline for action.Illinois hasn’t

04/21/2017

SJ-R Edit Board: It’s worth taking a moment to point out the millions that will be spent in an election that’s still 18 months away will buy a whole of talk — talk likely to involve a lot of nasty finger-pointing that will do nothing to fix our broken state.

There is no disputing that residents — or candidates themselves — have the right to give money to politicians they feel can make a

04/20/2017

Bernie also takes a look at where some campaign war chests stand for congressional candidates

U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville, is questioning why former U.S. Rep. JESSE JACKSON JR., D-Chicago, who served time in prison for personal use of

03/27/2017

As Illinois state lawmakers go about spending their paychecks, we hope they stop for a minute to think about who isn't getting paid. Social service

03/24/2017

Who else is tired of this?

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza are taking the only sport that matters in Illinois politics — scoring

03/07/2017

We hope they're still committed to getting a budget passed

If it were up to us, we probably would not have called the “grand bargain” introduced in the Illinois Senate “grand” or a

03/02/2017

Political activist, talk-show host and now publisher DAN PROFT has been using some of his publications to display a story that talks about potential voter

03/02/2017

SJ-R Editorial Board: Governments rarely should be competing with area vendors — but if they do, it must be done on a level playing field

As the home of Lincoln’s Tomb and the second most-visited cemetery in the country Oak Ridge Cemetery needs enough funding for its upkeep. It is why

03/01/2017

SJ-R Editorial Board: A strike would be detrimental to not only the state employees, but the entire Springfield area. Our hometown company is Illinois government, and the local economy depends on state employees working.

No one should want nearly 30,000 Illinois state employees to go on strike.A strike would be detrimental to not only the state employees, but the entire

03/01/2017

Irv Smith remembers former Congressman Bob Michel

I am one of the many residents of Central Illinois who mourns the loss of a great citizen and a dear friend, Bob Michel.Before my first days as chairman

02/27/2017

Statehouse Insider: The cost isn't the issue. It's the perception. Mendoza's been around long enough to know that and avoid it.

Comptroller SUSANA MENDOZA got a good lesson in optics last week, whether she needed one or not.It involved her office’s purchase of a used Ford

02/27/2017

Col. RANDY SIKOWSKI, 52, of Riverton, the downstate director, said he's in the process of retiring from the military after 33 years.

U.S. Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH’s downstate director — based in her new office at 8 South Old State Capitol Plaza — is somebody she learned

02/27/2017

When the calendar flips to March, Illinois will head into its 21st month without a state budget.

The state’s unpaid bills total topped $12 billion last week. It seems outrageous, but it was just mid-December when that total reached $11 billion.

02/24/2017

The SJ-R Editorial Board offers this week's Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

Each week, the SJ-R Opinion Page awards its thumbs up and thumbs down on recent news headlines.Thumbs Down: To state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City,

02/23/2017

SJ-R Editorial Board: The issue at hand isn't if those are noble projects. The question is if they fulfill the intent of a TIF.

Springfield city officials seem to think that TIF now stands for “Take It Freely” given the way they keep proposing less-than-ideal ways to

02/23/2017

Duckworth did not mince words in her address.

New U.S. Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH not only delivered the Democratic weekly address last weekend, but she also sent out a political email afterward

02/19/2017

The city council could vote Tuesday on next year's budget

Paying an extra quarter for a $100 purchase seems like a bargain if it means services remain stable in Springfield.That's what Mayor Jim Langfelder's

02/16/2017

The campaign of U.S. Rep. RODNEY DAVIS, R-Taylorville, this month returned $1,000 to the congressman’s father because he had donated more than is

02/16/2017

Can the governor, legislative leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers muster political courage — without worrying about future elections — to accomplish a spending plan that will get Illinois onto a more sustainable path? That is indeed the question.

The reaction to one sentence spoken by Gov. Bruce Rauner during his budget address Wednesday will determine the next chapter of Illinois' fiscal future.

02/12/2017

Statehouse Insider on this week's action at the Capitol

* Another week, another message from the Rauner administration to state workers. After all of the rancor over union negotiations, it’s got to give

02/09/2017

SJ-R Editorial Board: Higher education is an economic engine, especially for local communities that host public or private universities or colleges.

When it comes to ideas on how to shore up the state’s precarious finances, there’s pretty much unanimous agreement that it can't be done without improving the economy.

02/09/2017

Asked at a State Journal-Register editorial board meeting about state government's relations with the White House, the governor said, as he had before, that he doesn't really know the president, but had called to congratulate him after the election and looks forward to a "cordial working relationship." Then he spoke of his better connections.

Gov. BRUCE RAUNER has close connections to some members of the administration of President DONALD TRUMP.

02/05/2017

SJ-R Edit Board: we didn't need another report to tell us what we already knew

Tell us something we don’t know.Illinois’ funding formula for K-12 public education needs to be revamped. That’s nothing new. The

02/05/2017

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan explains in this op-ed on the motion she had filed regarding pay for state employees

Everyone knows the state of Illinois is in a terrible crisis. As we enter the 19th month without a fully funded budget in place, the impact of the

02/03/2017

It is very important to understand the facts surrounding an issue prior to offering an opinion on it.Today we see too much of the opposite: People sell

02/02/2017

According to the Washington Post, Rauner was one of three Republican governors to attend a three-day Koch donor summit in California, joining Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Doug Ducey of Arizona.

The fact that Gov. BRUCE RAUNER spent recent days in California at a Koch network summit of donors has drawn a raised eyebrow or two.“While

02/02/2017

SJ-R Editorial Board: Elected officials that truly have the best interests of their constituents at heart will not demand to be the owners of information but stewards of it on behalf of those they represent.

We are not concerned for ourselves.When we hear about the Trump administration imposing media blackouts on some federal departments, it’s not the

02/01/2017

We hope to see you there tomorrow

Giving without expecting anything in return is the hallmark of volunteerism. But the truth is, those who donate their time and talents do get something in

01/30/2017

My entire adult life has been dedicated to agriculture and public service. That is why I am extremely honored to join the Department of Agriculture in a

01/29/2017

The SJ-R Editorial Board: The filing came as there was finally hope for a budget compromise in the Senate.

Unnecessary.That is the only way to describe Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s action Thursday afternoon, when she asked St. Clair County Court to

01/26/2017

The speech came as the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen's Association is conducting an online straw poll asking people to choose from among nine potential candidates to run for governor next year. The poll began Monday and runs through midnight Sunday.

Gov. BRUCE RAUNER didn’t mention the 2018 election in which he is expected to seek another term as he delivered his State of the State address