“Michael Madigan” on The Daily Caller

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn defended a massive increase in state income taxes passed by lawmakers Wednesday and promised to quickly sign the measure to help heal the state’s ailing finances. (more)

As if Illinois weren’t already steadily chasing businesses and citizens away with policies of economic destruction, Illinois lawmakers are poised to raise taxes by as much as 75%, effectively wiping out the benefits of Obama’s recent extension of the Bush tax cuts for citizens of his home state. What’s more, Chicago machine boss and Democrat House Speaker Michael Madigan is pushing a faux TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) to give his members and on-the-fence Republicans cover to pass this job-killing, prosperity-stifling plan. My colleague Kristina Rasmussen was lined up to testify against this bill at a hearing this past week but the only testimony allowed was by the Speaker himself. I suppose it was a hearing in a way — Illinois lawmakers heard marching orders from the powerful Speaker. (more)

While many Chicago parents took formal routes to land their children in the best schools, the well-connected also sought help through a shadowy appeals system created in recent years under former schools chief Arne Duncan. (more)

Scott Lee Cohen came seemingly out of nowhere last week to win the Democratic party’s nomination for lieutenant governor in Illinois, after funding his campaign with $2 million of his own money. Within hours it emerged that Cohen, a pawnbroker, had once been charged with holding a knife to the throat of his girlfriend, a former prostitute. Cohen pointed out that he had divulged his past at the start of his campaign and was surprised the attacks came only after he won. According to Cohen’s ex-wife, the newly minted nominee also had a history of missing child support payments, taking illegal steroids and bursting into fits of uncontrolled rage. (more)

Democratic Party leaders began the delicate dance of picking a new running mate for Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday, while emphasizing there was no horse-trading involved to get a scandal-ridden Chicago pawnbroker to abandon the primary nomination for lieutenant governor. (more)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Rod Blagojevich apologized Monday for saying he’s “blacker than Barack Obama,” but the disgraced former Illinois governor said he probably won’t try to make amends directly to the president. (more)