Madness on the Prairie
Hon. John Bradley, Natasha Korecki, Tim Nuding, and Amanda Vinicky
Monday, Nov 2, 2015
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Speakers
John Bradley
State Representative John Bradley is serving his seventh term in the Illinois House of Representatives after being appointed to represent the 117th District in June 2003. In addition to serving as Assistant Majority Leader in House Democratic leadership, Rep. Bradley also serves as chair of the Revenue & Finance Committee. As Chairman, Rep. Bradley is considered one of the leading experts on state finance and in the budget process. As chairman, Rep. Bradley helped lead the fight against former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s plan to increase taxes on businesses by over $9 billion. In 2011, John worked to reform worker’s compensation and prevents future abuse of the system, which has saved billions for business owners and the state from fraudulent claims. In 2015, Rep. Bradley served as Chairman of the 911 Advisory Board, working to draft a successful 911 overhaul for the state of Illinois, ensuring emergency services for all residents. Rep. Bradley has worked closely with local economic development leaders to retain jobs and attract businesses to his district, as well as with local community leaders to develop the Franklin County Regional Economic Development Corporation (FREDCO) and the Southern Illinois Economic Development Authority. Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, John graduated from Southeastern Illinois College before earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Government from the University of Texas. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois Law School in 1996 and returned to Southern Illinois. He resides in Marion with his wife, Michelle, and their three sons, Austin, Jackson and Gabriel.
Natasha Korecki
Natasha Korecki is the Chicago-based senior political reporter for Politico, the authoritative source for coverage of politics and government. She recently joined Politico where she will write the daily Politico Playbook on Illinois politics. She most recently worked as chief political writer at the Chicago Sun-Times, covering state, national and city political news. She also wrote a reporting-based Sunday political column. Before that, she covered federal courts in Chicago during a golden age of political corruption prosecutions. Korecki covered the criminal trials of two consecutive governors – George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. She created The Blago Blog, which drew a national following. She is the author of Only in Chicago (Agate) based on the Blagojevich probe and trials.
Tim Nuding
Tim Nuding has spent almost 26 years working in state government. He currently serves as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Prior to joining Governor Rauner’s Administration, Tim’s entire career was spent working on the Illinois Senate Republican Staff most recently serving as Chief of Staff to Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno. Most of his tenure in the Senate was spent focusing on state fiscal issues through the Senate Appropriations Committee both as a budget analyst and as the Director of the Senate Appropriations Staff. Tim’s experience working in the legislature has given him a unique perspective and understanding of the budget problems facing Illinois. He is widely respected in the State Capitol and has established a solid network of relationships with executive agency staff, stakeholders and key legislators and legislative staff from both political parties. Tim graduated from Illinois State University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. He and his family reside in Rochester, Illinois.
Amanda Vinicky
Amanda Vinicky is Statehouse Bureau Chief for the Illinois Public Radio network and WUIS, Springfield's NPR affiliate. She follows the machinations of the General Assembly from the state capitol (feel free to drop by her office in the statehouse basement with story ideas and tips), though she’s also often in Chicago, checking out what politicians are doing to ensure the “Windy City” nickname remains on point. She finds pretty much everything interesting, as is evidenced by her broadcast portfolio – from stories on healthy state fair food (which garnered a first place award from the Illinois Associated Press) to electric deregulation (that grabbed top honors from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors), and Illinois pensions, to name a few. Career highlights include covering the historic impeachment and removal from office of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, shadowing Illinois' delegation at presidential conventions, and visiting Arenzville’s burgoo (if you don’t know what that is, Google her story and take a listen). Amanda has long been focused on journalism and government; she has degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and she graduated from the University of Illinois Springfield’s Public Affairs Reporting program. Amanda is a frequent guest on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” and WUIS’ own “State Week in Review”. She is a co-host of WSEC-TV’s “Capitol View.
