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Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Karen Kidd News

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Tribune advises voters to 'break up' with Madigan, vote out his crew

By Karen Kidd | Nov 2, 2016

Over the weekend, the Chicago Tribune's editorial board urged readers, particularly those voters in state districts where Democratic state legislators face strong Republican challengers, to break off their long relationship with House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

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Naperville litigation result of too many jurisdictions statewide

By Karen Kidd | Nov 2, 2016

The legal tussle between Naperville Township and the Naperville Township Road District is emblematic of the problems caused in Illinois, a state with almost 7,000 units of local government, a writer for a Chicago-based conservative think tank said in a recent article.

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Liberty Principles PAC gives more than $2.9 million to state legislature candidates

By Karen Kidd | Oct 24, 2016

Liberty Principles PAC recently released its campaign donation amounts, totaling more than $2.9 million in support of 19 candidates in state races that the PAC endorsed this campaign season.

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'My Home is in Illinois' campaign supports many political newcomers in state races

By Karen Kidd | Oct 24, 2016

A new ad campaign is encouraging voters to choose political newcomers for the state legislature when they go to the polls for the general election next month.

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Illinois Chamber: Rigid status-quo mindset impedes workers' comp reform

By Karen Kidd | Oct 23, 2016

Illinois' greatest obstacle to workers' compensation reform are those most interested in maintaining the status quo, Illinois Chamber of Commerce Employment Law Council Executive Director Jay Shattuck said.

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Analyst: Low credit rating leaves state vulnerable if bond holders panic, cash out

By Karen Kidd | Oct 23, 2016

State lawmakers and union officials must compromise in light of recent decisions by credit-rating agencies to downgrade Illinois’ bond rating to near-junk status, and they had better do it before another economic downturn, an industry consultant said during a recent interview.

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Manufacturing group CEO: State has become its worst enemy

By Karen Kidd | Oct 16, 2016

Illinois needs to get its fiscal house in order, undergo regulatory reform, overhaul its tax code and retool its education system to save the middle class, Illinois Manufacturers' Association President and CEO Greg Baise said during a recent news conference at the state Capitol in Springfield.

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Study linking legislator pay to fundraising may prompt calls for pay cuts

By Karen Kidd | Oct 16, 2016

A newly released study that indicates higher-paid legislators spend more time fundraising than legislating prompted a conservative think-tank founder to ponder whether Illinois voters should consider reducing legislator pay.

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State's credit, bond ratings will continue to tumble next year, consultant says

By Karen Kidd | Oct 10, 2016

Recent decisions by credit rating agencies to downgrade Illinois’ bond rating to near-junk status amounts to a pause before the general election after which the situation will get even worse, an industry consultant said.

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State's pension-debt crisis lingers as solutions seem to remain elusive

By Karen Kidd | Oct 3, 2016

Illinois' public pension crisis has been bumped out of the headlines by the Nov. 8 presidential election and other attention-grabbers, but the crisis hasn't gone away, the vice president of a Chicago-based conservative think tank said in a recent article.

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Illinois, Chicago should declare bankruptcy to fix fiscal woes, ex-FDIC chief says

By Karen Kidd | Sep 17, 2016

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago should seek bankruptcy protection to stop the fiscal bleeding and get back untracked, William Isaac, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said in a recently published opinion piece.

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Illinois newspapers lash out against entrenched Springfield establishment

By Karen Kidd | Sep 6, 2016

This summer has been long and hard for Illinois residents and lawmakers amid a budget impasse and calls for redistricting and term-limits reform.

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Illinois Teachers Retirement System's latest return-rate projections costs taxpayers $420 million

By Karen Kidd | Sep 6, 2016

Illinois taxpayers are left with a bill for another $420 million paid into the state's underfunded pension account following a recent vote by the board of Illinois' largest public-pension fund to accept a lower rate of return on investments.

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Rauner urges Assembly to put redistricting reform back on ballot

By Karen Kidd | Sep 6, 2016

Now that the Illinois Supreme Court has kept redistricting reform, also known as "free maps," off of the November ballot, Gov. Bruce Rauner said he wants the General Assembly to put it back on the ballot.

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Attorney says 'ghost pensioners' drain state coffers, calls for reforms

By Karen Kidd | Sep 5, 2016

Illinois taxpayers cannot afford "ghost pensioners" a Chicago attorney said.

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Rauner urges Illinois voters to demand redistricting reform, term limits

By Karen Kidd | Sep 3, 2016

Illinois voters, regardless of party affiliation, need to have a stern conversation with their state legislators to revive redistricting after the Illinois Supreme Court decision last week that took free maps off the November ballot, Gov. Bruce Rauner said during a recent interview.

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Amid talk of strike, rhetoric between AFSCME, state officials heats up

By Karen Kidd | Aug 29, 2016

While whispers of "strike" continue to be heard among the membership of the state's largest public sector union, the on-and-off negotiations with the governor reveal the power of that union, the president of a nonpartisan public-interest litigation center said in a recent article.

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State lawmaker calls on Assembly to meet monthly until budget impasse solved

By Karen Kidd | Aug 29, 2016

The Illinois General Assembly should be in session every month until lawmakers get the budget right, a state legislator from Leland Grove said in a recent op-ed piece.

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GOP blames Madigan for keeping redistricting off November ballot

By Karen Kidd | Aug 25, 2016

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Independent Map Amendment should be kept off the November ballot.

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Report: Michigan still outpacing Illinois in manufacturing jobs

By Karen Kidd | Aug 25, 2016

Michigan continues to outpace Illinois in manufacturing, adding thousands of jobs last summer, while Illinois has lost thousands, according to a recent report released by a Chicago-based think tank.