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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
3:34pm
Thu Jul 14, 2016
4 comments

Controversy Over Joe Walsh's Threatening Tweet Spills Over Into 66th House District Race

Controversy over former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh's incendiary tweets posted last Thursday after the deadly sniper attack on Dallas police officers has spilled over into the state's 66th House District race.

The Democrat in the race, Nancy Zettler, is calling on her Republican opponent, Allen Skillicorn, to disavow Walsh's "hate-filled statements."

Walsh has faced backlash for a now-deleted tweet that threatened "war" on President Barack Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
7:11pm
Tue Jun 30, 2015

CTU, Allies Protest Outside Municipal Bond Conference, Call For Progressive Revenue Options (VIDEO) (UPDATED)

While the Bond Buyer's Midwest Municipal Market Conference was being held Tuesday at the InterContinental Chicago hotel on Michigan Avenue, over a dozen Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members and their allies protested outside the event this morning.

Holding signs reading, "CPS: Broke on Purpose," the education activists were there to highlight controversial financial deals the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has with banks and to call for fair-share revenue options to help tackle the school district's pressing fiscal issues.

Those at the protest, spearheaded by the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE), marched in a circle chanting, "Fat cats profit and kids come last. Who pays taxes? The working class."

"There's been numerous long-term financial deals, bond deals, swap deals that have put CPS under a heavy burden of debt," explained CTU organizer Martin Ritter. "They've got bad financial advisers. Many of them are at this conference."  

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
10:08pm
Thu May 28, 2015

Community Activists, Elected Officials Decry Cuts In Rauner's Budget Proposal (VIDEO)

Carrying sings that read, "Rauner's Cuts Hurt Women" a group of community activists and Chicago-area elected officials staged a demonstration in the Loop on Thursday, pushing back against budget cuts outlined in Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's 2016 budget proposal.

"If all we do is cut, cut, cut, all we get is blood, blood, blood. We will have the blood of innocent people running down the streets," said Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st).

Boykin was one of roughly 50 participants in the press conference and demonstration "Rauner Says"--mimicked after the game "Simon Says"--outside the Thompson Center. The game attempted to demonstrate how Rauner's proposed budget cuts would negatively impact women and low-income Illinoisans.

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
7:02pm
Wed Feb 18, 2015
128 comments

Critics Slam Rauner's Budget Over 'Morally Reprehensible' Cuts

Illinois Budget

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for massive cuts to health care, education and other vital services as part of his budget blueprint to "turnaround" Illinois. Progress Illinois rounds up some of the praise and outrage that has poured in following Rauner's first budget address.

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
6:03pm
Wed Nov 5, 2014

Illinoisans Overwhelmingly Back Statewide Advisory Ballot Questions — Now What?

Election 2014

Progress Illinois chats with political scientists about the likelihood of Springfield lawmakers taking up the three statewide voter-backed advisory ballot questions.

Quick Hit
by Bob Skolnik
6:10pm
Tue Nov 4, 2014

Voters Offer Dueling Views On Governor's Race In Southwestern Suburbs

How one voted in the governor's race is not an infallible indication of how someone voted on the non-binding referendum to raise the minimum wage. At least that's the case at the polling place at the Crest Hill branch of the White Oak Library District, where subdivisions meet cornfields on the outskirts of Lockport and Joliet in Will County.

Michael Arbanas, a semi-retired iron worker and antiques dealer from Crest Hill, voted for Bruce Rauner for governor, but also voted in favor of raising the minimum wage.

"I believe that Pat Quinn, by raising taxes on big business, he drove business out of the state and I think it's time for a change," Arbanas said.

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