Is Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie Lewis calling it quits?  Find out in this edition of “The Cheat Sheet”. Here’s what else is in this week’s edition… Playing with Federal Prosecutors Indy’s Smoking Ban Could Go Up in Flames Fishers Fishes for a Food & Beverage Tax SB 621 Almost Got Deep-Sixed And more. [...]

We’re joining the WIBC-FM family starting June 1.  Details to follow.  We hope you will tune in.

Governor pence signs legislation reforming marion county government from Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

One of the biggest laments that I will hear from lawmakers outside of Indianapolis is how they don’t like dealing with what they label “Marion County” legislation.  This session there were three major bills that fit that category, mass transit, financial assistance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Senate Bill 621 – known by supporters [...]

As I sat down and did my research on the late Governor Otis “Doc” Bowen, two things really fascinated me about his time in public service.  One was his frankness about sex when he was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the mid-1980s.  The other, which I would argue had just as much [...]

It is customary at the end of the legislative session to do a postmortem  and talk about how lawmakers did, or in some cases, didn’t do.  So as I join the list of political prognosticators, allow me to offer my opinion.  In this case, everyone won big, ironically by losing a little.  Let’s walk down [...]

When it comes to SB 621, Marion County Sheriff John Layton may have saved his own skin by cutting a deal with Republicans at the expense of his fellow Marion County Democrats. You can get that, and more in the latest daily installment of my political gossip column, the Cheat Sheet.  Here’s what else you’ll [...]

Indy connect now open letter to members of the indiana general assembly from Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

Although a lot of the focus in Senate Bill 621, the Marion County Government/Power Grab reform bill, has been on whether to eliminate the at-large City-County Council seats, the legislation includes much more substantive, far-reaching provisions that are, in my opinion, far more important than whether four politicians keep their part-time jobs. Part of SB [...]