Tom Cross

Editorial: Lawmakers are sinking Illinois. Example: Sen. Linda Holmes

2013-06-14 00:00:00

At a meeting this week, House Speaker Michael Madigan urged Gov. Pat Quinn to help get pension reform out of the Senate. "Let me say it again: The best pension bill passed so far, and the one that does the most cost savings, is the House bill, and that'...

Madigan goes against Quinn on pension reform

2013-06-12 17:40:00

SPRINGFIELD — House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday tried to increase the pressure on fellow Democrats in the Senate to get behind his version of pension reform and abandon their own as they head into Gov. Pat Quinn’s special session next...

GOP lawmakers visit Naperville to tout tax breaks for college

2013-06-12 13:43:00

Republican state lawmakers made a stop in Naperville Wednesday during a statewide tour to promote a "college affordability package." The proposal calls for a tax credit of up to $1,000 a year for Illinois residents attending a public or private school...

Editorial: Cullerton, Madigan and the culture of failure

2013-06-12 00:00:00

Gov. Pat Quinn breathed new life into a bad idea this week when he suggested the way to pension reform could be to marry competing bills in the House and Senate. He sold this as a bid for compromise. It is not. It is a gimmick. Such a hybrid bill...

Editorial: Speaker Madigan, work your House pension bill in the Senate

2013-05-29 00:00:00

Dear House Speaker Michael Madigan, May we call you Mike? Mike — we know you are aware of Wednesday's date, May 29. Friday marks the scheduled end of the Illinois legislature's spring session. Three workdays. As you know, we support your...

Hot-button issues pile up for Springfield finale

2013-05-31 05:28:00

— Five months of debate, negotiation and procrastination among lawmakers led to a high stakes Friday adjournment showdown that could decide the fate of the state's most controversial and contentious issues —public pension reform, gun control,...

Democrats forge $35 billion state budget

2013-05-29 05:09:00

— The Democrats who run state government forged an estimated $35 billion spending plan Tuesday that would keep education funding flat, pay for promised state worker raises and cut programs for seniors. As the state budget headed toward approval...

Kirk plays the Ikea card

2013-05-31 16:32:47

Lawmakers override Quinn on ComEd veto

2013-05-23 00:00:00

— Lawmakers on Wednesday rejected Gov. Pat Quinn's effort to block ComEd from raising rates in exchange for promises to digitize the electrical grid. The House voted 71-44 to override Quinn's veto of the original legislation, which would allow the...

Savings from Senate pension plan cut by half

2013-05-22 04:25:00

— Senate President John Cullerton's pension reform proposal would slice only about half of what he estimated it would immediately cut from the state's nearly $100 billion retirement system debt, a development that could boost chances for the rival...

Sandy Hook parents help Illinois high-capacity magazine ban

2013-05-20 18:19:00

— Grieving parents of children killed at a Connecticut elementary school gave haunting testimony about their lost sons Monday as they tried to persuade the Illinois Senate to approve a ban on the sale of high-capacity gun magazines in Illinois....

Illinois pension overhaul aims to stop outsider access

2013-05-05 00:00:00

Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), center, presents the pension reform bill along with co-sponsor Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook), left, and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego), right, to the House Personnel & Pensions Committee today in Springfield.

2013-01-07 00:00:00

House Republican Leader Tom Cross takes the stage during Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

2012-08-16 00:00:00

Carla Margis, left, Alma Toedter, and Susan Thorton cheer House Republican Leader Tom Cross during Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

2012-08-16 00:00:00