Search query: Illinois

There is big news for the Libertarian Party: It can add one more state where it has official party status and ballot access for the 2018 midterms. Ballot Access News reported Monday that the LP's petition for party status was validated by the Arkansas secretary of state on July 7. This means the Libertarian Party has ballot access in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia for some or all races in the midterm elections. RELATED ARTICLE: Libertarian Takeover: More Lawmakers Are Ditching The Ma

A survey of attendees at the 2017 People’s Summit in Chicago -- conducted by members of Independent Voting’s national network -- probed: 1. Whether concern over the process by which the 2016 presidential elections were conducted had faded; 2. Whether the American people could directly engage the issue of political power; and 3. If the Democratic Party could be a vehicle to effect empowerment for the American people, or if partisan interests would prevent it from doing so. The 20-question su

For the first time in history, a state might file for bankruptcy protection. That's what happens when you operate three years without a budget. Illinois has a full-fledged financial crisis on its hands. Not even the lottery is safe. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner went so far to say Illinois is entering "banana republic" territory. With billions in unpaid bills and pension obligations, the state has a cash crunch, the likes of which has never been seen. Rauner has called for a special session

Much can be made from former Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson's House Intelligence Committee testimony on alleged Russian meddling as well as Illinois election officials' testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the same subject. As it relates to Johnson's testimony, we are left with at least two very important questions: 1. Why was DHS not given access to the DNC servers after the hack into John Podesta and Hillary Clinton's emails? If in fact this was a case of Russian inter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5czwUzzLlM SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, May 29, 2017 -- The Illinois House unanimously passed Senate Bill 1933 to create automatic voter registration (AVR) on Monday, to applause from backers in the Just Democracy Illinois coalition of civic and voting rights groups. “We are thrilled that automatic voter registration passed the House today with broad, bipartisan support,” said Andy Kang, Legal Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, and a Co-Coordinato

Ballot Access News reported Wednesday that the Oregon State House passed a bill that would add Oregon to the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC). The plan is simple: Each state that joins the NPVC commits to giving all of their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Here are some facts you need to know: * The NPVC is law in 10 states, plus the District of Columbia: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont,

This week the New York Times published an op-ed by David Brooks titled, "When the World Is Led by a Child." In it the NYTs columnist begins by saying that President Donald Trump is not a budding authoritarian and rabble-rousing populist, neither a corrupt Nixon-type politician, nor a big business corporatist. Instead, Brooks claims, one can tell by the way Trump answers questions in long interviews that he's basically just a big baby. (Brooks used the term "infantalist," by which he meant "a bi

Recording Votes: Fixing the Electoral College Our Electoral College (EC) is out of date. Powerful coalitions exist to push for its effective abolishment and a switch to a popular vote, but the support for this movement is not as strong as proponents had hoped. Constitutionally speaking, it will be easier to update the EC and improve it. In this section, I discuss three proposed methods for use of the EC: Winner-Take-All, District Plan, and Proportional Plan. Winner-Take-All method for the Elec

Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

On Wednesday, March 1, a nonpartisan, top-two bill proposed by Illinois state State Rep. Sara Jimenez (R) was assigned to Election and Campaign Finance Committee. The bill, HB3655, was originally introduced on February 10, and would make Illinois the third state to adopt a top-two primary system for statewide elections. IVN reported in January on another bill, HB0285, introduced by state Rep. Mike Fortner (R) that would reform state primary elections the same way. Fortner's bill was also assign