House Speaker Michael Madigan used his absolute power over the legislative process to move legislation to the floor on Friday that exchanges Illinois’ constitutionally mandated flat income tax with a progressive tax.

Governor Rauner and his hand-picked state GOP Chairman Timothy Schneider are declaring victory in Southern Illinois. But did they actually win?

State Rep. David Reis (R-Willow Hill) had plenty to say on the House floor in October 2015 about his resolution endorsing former Rep. Frank Mautino, a Democrat, for auditor general. But he has nothing to say – at least to SE Illinois News – about Mautino’s ongoing troubles in the courts over questionable expenditures by his now-defunct House campaign.