McConchie getting relief and Bailey-Plummer, with Bailey running statewide (at least for now) helps (for lack of a better description I guess) in looking at how the party might make “changes by the map” and re-establish some of the pre-Rauner/Trump mentality to party, winning, and viability all over the state.
It’s like growing pains, but by packing districts it allows some serious discussions, choices, and a fork in the road to who or what the party is and can be in these next 10 years.
Even if those districts do remove 2 or 3 of Eastern Bloc guys it doesn’t mean IL GOP will moderate itself. Party rank and file are strongly with Trump and will elect someone who represents their views. Times have changed. The Edgar, Thompson, and Topinka wing of party will find themselves at home with Dems.
Star Courier
The stars are aligned for Illinois to become a hot spot in the revival of manufacturing across our great American heartland. For example, I propose a really big, transformative, federal-state-private-sector partnership that would create a cutting-edge, computer chip manufacturing and research facility on Arsenal Island, which straddles the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities.
“But how are the stars aligned, Jim?” you might ask.
I respond: The Biden infrastructure plan includes $50 billion or more for a desperately needed American manufacturing and research renaissance. Illinois is a natural place for such a rebirth.
We have in the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and other research centers probably the greatest concentration of engineering and computer science firepower of any state, with perhaps the exception of Massachusetts and California.
How Illinois can jumpstart a heartland manufacturing revival
By Jim Nowlan
The stars are aligned for Illinois to become a hot spot in the revival of manufacturing across our great American heartland. For example, I propose a really big, transformative, federal-state-private-sector partnership that would create a cutting-edge, computer chip manufacturing and research facility on Arsenal Island, which straddles the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities.
“But how are the stars aligned, Jim?” you might ask.
I respond: The Biden infrastructure plan includes $50 billion or more for a desperately needed American manufacturing and research renaissance. Illinois is a natural place for such a rebirth.
Why Michael Madigan hasn t yet been indicted
Jim Nowlan
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Friends ask: “Why hasn’t Mike Madigan been indicted yet? After all, he has been under investigation for what must be a couple of years now.”
My answer: It’s because the federal prosecutor is not confident he can prove that the former Illinois House speaker personally did anything illegal.
I define public corruption as receiving unearned personal gain at taxpayer expense. There are obviously illegal forms of corruption as well as “legal corruption.” In the latter, there is political gain but not provable personal gain.
For example, several decades ago, there was passionate debate in Springfield over Illinois ratification of the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment (an effort which then failed narrowly in Illinois). As the debate raged, in the state Capitol and within earshot of others, a woman baldly offered a legislator $500 or so if he would vote for the ERA Amendment. That is clearly an act of p