2025 and Politically Illinois
A Promise to You, Reflecting on Last Year, Things to Keep An Eye On
Hello Dear Readers, Happy New Year!
Another year of Politically Illinois begins! I’m so excited for all the exciting political developments that will take place this year. Thank you again for your continued readership. I appreciate the feedback I receive and it motivates me to improve my writing and my voice.
With that being said, I’d like to get to my first point. I plan on writing more consistently this year which will mean at least one article to you per week. I also want to give myself more measures to hold myself accountable. So starting sometime around Spring of this year, I plan on introducing a paid tier for this substack. I will still have a free option that will get at least one monthly article but the other 3 will be reserved for paying customers. This will hopefully give me incentive to not only publish more consistently but also to improve the quality of my work to be worthy of money!
Let’s Look Back at How Wrong I Was!
Please return your attention to my previous two articles: 4 Priorities for the Illinois General Assembly and 4 Predictions for 2024.
In 4 Predictions, I did okay I think. 2.5/4?
Mike Madigan would be convicted, Illinois won’t have fixed the corruption issues.
Half right and wrong. Madigan remains a free man and so does the control over the flow of legislation the IL Speaker of the House has, which was a major font of Madigan’s power. And we never beefed up the legislative staffs nor ban the revolving door between lobbying and government work. No public finance of elections either, so we still see Illinois elections flooded with super PAC money.
Brandon Johnson will continue to grow more unpopular and be unable to right the ship for the Chicago Left through 2024.
Mayor Brandon Johnson suffered numerous historic defeats this past year. His property tax proposal was rejected 50-0. His budget was equally torn to shreds. While the CTU appears momentarily to be succeeding, both in pushing out Pedro Martinez and in acquiring a friendly Chicago School Board, its approval ratings have fallen alongside the Mayor’s. It’s desired financial support from the State and City won’t be happening. And the Bring Chicago Home referendum that the CTU heavily spent on failed by a comfortable margin. Ultimately, the Chicago Left ship remains in deep trouble is growing increasingly unpopular.
Illinois Democrats will hold all their current Congressional seats with ease.
:) Sorensen was closer than “with ease” but all incumbents were returned. I’ll give myself the win.
President Biden will be re-elected
:( Honestly should’ve taken the Consumer Confidence surveys, Right Track/Wrong Track, plus the various horrible polls of Biden and his handling of issues more seriously. So it goes. I really wish a more comprehensive and neutral account of his July post-debate Crisis existed. Also sheesh was I wrong about foreign policy. The war in Israel is now more than 1 year old and the Russo-Ukrainian War drags into year 3.
The State addressed 0 of the priories I suggested in 2024. I will concede that the Cannabis-Hemp is being addressed either in the lame duck or at the start of the 2025 General Assembly. But it will not solve the overregulation of cannabis, only go after the hemp market. I will also concede that transit saw a lot of “under the hood” work; public hearings, studies, etc. Otherwise, nothing!
Some things to keep an eye on for 2025.
Here are a few things for you to keep an eye on for 2025.
Dick Durbin’s future
Dick Durbin is 80 years old, has been in the Senate since 1997, and therefore may be considering retirement. Whether or not he does, the Senate seat is certainly up for grabs in 2026. That election will be very interesting to watch. Some potential candidates off the top of my head would include: IL-3rd Rep. Delia Ramirez, Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton, Governor JB Pritzker, IL-14th Rep. Lauren Underwood, and Evanston Mayor Dan Biss. I could see battle lines being drawn around standard progressive purity tests (BDS, Medicare for All, banning fossil fuel extraction) against candidates prioritizing a more centrist-liberal line that would be focused on standard Democratic issues (abortion, gun control, “Standing Up to Trump”).
The Illinois Budget Deficit
Among the biggest stories for Illinois in 2025 will be the projected approximate $3 billion budget deficit. This has the potential to derail the transit merger plan, places huge pressure on the State’s migrant and Medicaid for Undocumented programs, and could even impact the State’s Evidence-Based School Funding Formula. How Pritzker and the legislature respond will be very important to follow. The shadow of the 2020 Defeat of the Fair Tax looms large.
Trump’s 2nd Term
My disdain for the President-Elect is not a secret. Many new threats shall be posed by his administration alongside many of the battles of the last term. The economically destructive across the board tariffs, threats to cut funds for hospitals that provide trans healthcare, the ever expanding mass deportation criteria, and the threat to repeal the Affordable Care Act are all top of my mind. I’m also dreading the naked highway robbery of the people that will be his 2025 tax law. With his last set of cuts expiring, let’s see how much more money the top 10% can rake in.
However, don’t get too, too caught up in the daily drama. I recall the 2017-pre-covid 2020 period was awash with a lot of dumb palatial gossip. Reminder: Trump is evil because he wants to strip tens of millions of Americans of their healthcare and also is liable for sexually abuse. Not because of stupid social media antics or that he may wear diapers.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to forward this to a friend or colleague. Growing my readership and improving my writing will be a big goal for 2025. I can’t wait to learn more, grow my talents, and fall deeper in love with Illinois!
I’ll see you in the next one.