Trouble is, the governor committed to the House Speaker and Senate President not to spend that money until all three could agree what it would be spent on.

Whenever someone assures you that another person you’re both dealing with “understands” the “quid pro quo,” you’d be wise to run away as fast as you can and never look back.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s national victory and his losing margin dropping to 11 points in Illinois from 17 in two prior races, state legislative Democrats have different views on how their party should proceed.

The Democratic legislative leaders are still trying to figure out what their members want to do in the wake of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and whether that can be done.

As usual, plenty of false claims have been made during this state legislative election cycle.

One of the most important legislative debates next year will be about reforming, restructuring and finding a way to fund northeast Illinois’ public transportation system.

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon continues piling up campaign money. His latest quarterly report for his personal campaign committee showed Harmon had $13.4 million in the bank, up almost $2 million from the previous quarter.

“Some of the same individuals who claim to support an elected representative school board only got the gospel once I became mayor of Chicago,” Mayor Johnson told reporters during one of the most combative and counter-productive press conferences I have ever seen.

This year, the state Democratic Party claims it is pushing 80 countywide and county board candidates in 19 counties where they think they can flip seats to their side.