One hundred and sixty-two years ago Nov. 19, Abraham Lincoln delivered his incomparable Gettysburg Address at the dedication of Gettysburg National Cemetery. In the years before, the designer of the cemetery had left his imprint on Illinois.

The number of living veterans has generally decreased yearly, but again Illinois account for about 3.2% of the nation’s 14.2 million veterans.

That failure contradicts the General Assembly’s reputation as a place where powerful Democrats always get what they want and subverts the expectation of the veto session as a setting for ramming through transformative legislation on deadline in dark of night.

Proficiency rates “would have increased if we had kept the same cut scores. However, we changed the cut scores, so we can’t tell you what they would have been. But we know they would have improved.”

Political influence has moved from reasonable policy setting into operational micromanagement, and that shift is corroding public safety, Tom Weitzel argues in his Roll Call column

SB 2111 doesn’t represent a comprehensive, statewide solution and its passage puts the onus back on those dissatisfied with the status quo to push lawmakers to keep working on the challenges even without an imminent financial disaster.

The Budget Reserve for Immediate Disbursements and Governmental Emergencies is only $100 million. Democrats created the pool by sweeping money from 57 other funds in anticipation of federal decisions with negative fiscal implications for Illinois.

Clearly $20 is significant to someone counting every penny, but as a yearly figure it won’t sway anyone’s vote. The loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits is a different story, with an average of about $184 per beneficiary each month.

It is simply too late. Candidates have expended considerable time and resources gathering petition signatures, the filing deadline is Nov. 3 and any alteration now costs money the state doesn’t have while inviting legal exposure that could exponentially increase fiscal liability.