According to the Illinois Policy Institute, state Senator James Meeks has proposed SB2494, a bill to bring vouchers to some students in Illinois. Meeks was the keynote speaker at an education summit sponsored by the Illinois Policy Institute. He explained why it is he thinks so many legislators have been against the voucher [...]
First Lady Michelle Obama is leading "a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity," says the presidential memo President Obama signed Tuesday morning. Her kick off event is at noon eastern time, but the web site associated with the drive is already live: letsmove.gov
[...]
The Illinois Policy Institute, along with Citizens Against Government Waste have released the 2010 Illinois Piglet Book, which profiles over $350 million in wasteful spending. Highlights include:
$6,500 for a tub of live bass. The state paid for fishing seminars and demonstrations using a 4,000 gallon, [...]
by Mark Silva
The billboard sitting along I-35 near Wyoming, Minn., displaying a photo of former president George W. Bush and this question: "Miss Me Yet?" apparently is a sign in search of an author.
At National Public Radio[...]
by Mark Silva
The billboard sitting along I-35 near Wyoming, Minn., displaying a photo of former president George W. Bush and this question: "Miss Me Yet?" apparently is a sign in search of an author.
At National Public Radio[...]
The snowstorms that have already dumped over two feet of snow on the nation's Capitol and that are threatening to dump another 12 to 16 inches, have ground the legislative process to a halt. But that might not be such a bad thing. Senate Democrats had hoped they could pass [...]
In California, the belly-up state, what will they blank up next? At least the whole country isn't stuck with this kind of care. Yet. The Sacramento Bee:
The Department of Health Care Services said Monday it has breached the privacy of 49,352 people who receive adult day-care' [...]
Another big snow storm - do you have your camera with you? Here in Chicago we might get up to 15 inches of global warming falling on us by noon tomorrow. Send us one or two of your best snow photos today. We can accept the [...]
The State Journal-Register's Chris Wetterich makes an interesting point in a new blog post: "[Scott Lee] Cohen ought to be livid at whomever was advising him for letting him think, apparently from the start, that he could weather such a storm." Those advisers would be the consulting firm Grainger Terry. [...]
In 2004, Republican U.S. Senate primary nominee Jack Ryan was "forced" off the ballot when it became clear to him and party officials that his candidacy was badly compromised by information that had come out about him after the election-- information about his sexual predilections that was far less disquieting [...]
by Ghost of John Brown
Earlier in the week, I wrote a post about the possibility of the Republicans taking control of the US Senate. I thought it would be a hopeful piece and encourage fellow conservatives to feel better about voting for Mark Kirk. I think [...]
by Mark Silva
The "party of no'' is sounding today like the party of maybe - or maybe not.
With the White House planning a Feb. 25 summit of bipartisan congressional leaders to discuss health-care legislation, the House's Republican leaders have warned the administration that they may not be able to'" [...]
Over the past decade, Illinois has gradually shifted more of the cost of caring for the elderly, disabled, and vulnerable onto non-profit agencies. But when the going got tough for these social service providers, there was often room to appeal to local lawmakers for a little extra support. Since the [...]
The storm is dumping snow in the Midwest is headed to Washington. Amidst of this meteorological mayhem, the Washington Times is reporting that the White House will create a new office, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Service. THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 9, 2010
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Oval Office
9:16 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I am so proud of the work that the First Lady, along with [...]
Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reports today that Gov. Quinn wants former Illinois veterans chief Tammy Duckworth to join him on the gubernatorial ticket. Duckworth is currently serving as the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans [...]
Capitol Fax is reporting (subscriber only) that Illinois' public institutions of higher education are considering selling bonds to fix short-term cash flow problems caused by the State not providing their funding on time (or at all). The plan is to use the promised revenue as the security for the' [...]
This week the General Assembly will attempt to address the state's egregious backlog of DNA "rape kits" through a bill introduced at the behest of Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The measure would require police to turn evidence of sexual assault over to' [...]
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and a union representing some of the agency's employees have reached a tentative agreement that will keep 38 maintenance workers on the job in exchange for concessions. ' [...]
A judge removed one of the final impediments to an expansion of O'Hare International Airport by awarding the City of Chicago possession of a 161-year-old cemetery that lies in the path of a future runway. Yesterday's ruling clears the way for [...]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2010
DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
In the morning, the President will sign a memorandum on childhood obesity in the Oval Office as part of the First Lady's nationwide campaign to combat childhood obesity. [...]
From my inbox:
Date: February 9, 2010
Released by: Alma Brown, Communications Manager
Subject: CITY CREW UPDATE
City crews continue to plow primary streets and maintain primary hills with salt. The same type of maintenance is expected to continue during the day today with additional snow in the forecast. Residential [...]
by Mark Silva and updated at 9:35 am EST
The first lady has embarked on a cause, as anyone near a television set today will see: Michelle Obama will appear on Good Morning America and a run of other shows through PBS' Newshour tonight with a wake-up call for' [...]
by Mark Rhoads
Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) told the Los Angeles Times on Monday that the Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial "glorified violence against women."
"I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it," she said. "That's what comes across to me'" [...]
Mayor Richard Daley today proposed expanding the powers of the city's inspector general to include investigating aldermen -- an idea long opposed by City Council -- as well as taking away the [...]
The “Tea Party” types (really just the conservative cranks who think that “real America” means only people just like themselves) had themselves a convention this past weekend, and so much of the attention went to the fact that keynote speaker Sarah Palin had notes scrawled on [...]
Chris Muir scores!:)
I’m trying to figure out if Alexi Giannoulias is truly as naïve as he appears to be with the way he has been responding to questions about the financial dealings involving the bank his family controls. Because if he’s truly this gullible, then we have to [...]
Get a load of this anecdote by a past professor at Tougaloo College courtesy of The Volokh Conspiracy:
This weekend Sarah Palin was caught, which some liberals view as scandalous, with a crib note on her hand. Attention assignment editors and media pundits: Can we PLEASE stop wasting column inches and air time discussing Super Bowl commercials?
It’s giving free publicity to corporations rich enough to afford air time during the Super Bowl. It’s a stupid news media cliche, like articles about Krispy Kreme grand openings and [...]
The Politico's getting a little fed up. Obama the scold:
The White House says Obama’s admonitions, whether to the Supreme Court about campaign finance law or to Congress about pork-barrel spending, are simply part of his drive to change the ways of the capital.
“A central' [...]
I don”t want to hear ANYONE who has defended waterboarding to me to express anything other than indifference to this:
An Army sergeant who served in Iraq for 15 months has been restricted to his Washington military base after being accused of waterboarding his 4-year-old daughter because she refused to [...]
UNREAL: DHS Collected Information on Wisconsin Pro-Life Activists Even Though They Posed No Security Threat, Attempted to Destroy Copies of Report...Earlier: `Curious George,' darkly reinterpreted' [...]
After spending several days complaining that the only way to be informed is through the alternative press and going online, I got an email about former Springfield reporter R. L. Nave becoming editor of the revived FOCUS/Midwest. Cool!
The future of good reporting will come from outlets who remember [...]
Who is Alexi Giannoulias? Find out in this cool video.From my inbox:
Date: February 8, 2010
Released by: Alma Brown, Communications Manager, 494-8554
Subject: CITY CREW UPDATE
City crews are maintaining primary intersections with a sand/salt mix, and primary hills with straight salt. Plowing operations will begin with accumulations over (2) inches. Expect a slow morning rush with snow [...]
Amanda Eneman — Scott Lee Cohen’s former live-in girlfriend who claimed that he once held a knife to her throat — said this afternoon through her lawyer that she might have been “the final straw” that caused Cohen to withdraw as Gov. Quinn’s running mate.
NOTE: Cohen has yet to file [...]
from the Illinois Republican Party
“If I’m fortunate enough to make it out of the primary, we can have that conversation.” - Alexi Giannoulias, Associated Press, 1/29/10
"Asked prior to last Tuesday’s primary election about the bank’s questionable loans, Giannoulias said he would discuss the matter after the election. But Giannoulias said" [...]
Here is today's must read article--Michael Barone writes about the threat of public-sector unions such as SEIU and AFSCME in the Washingon Examiner.This is wholly and easily believable. From Fox News Sunday regarding this controversy:
CHRIS WALLACE (host): OK, but, Rush Limbaugh weighed in this week, and he said this: "Our politically correct society is acting like some giant insult's taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards."
[...]
by Ghost of John Brown
One of the weirdest Super Bowl Commercials was the "Green Police". I couldn't help but wonder if that was Representative Bill Foster at 0:33. It certainly reflects his views on life. Enjoy!
' [...]How did Scott Lee Cohen survive the Illinois Democratic lieutenant governor primary without one prominent party official raising hay about his sordid past? That's a question Democratic operatives and activists are trying to wrap their heads around this week. And a good deal of blame is being cast at House Speaker' [...]
Reader Marsha Niazman writes:
As a longtime Democrat who has devoted a lot of money and time to the party, I was outraged that Scott Cohen was forced to give up a position to which he was legitimately elected.Initially his background dismayed me, but as I reflected upon [...]
Video. ‘We Weren’t Told’: Hoekstra Fires Back at Claim GOP Knew Christmas Bomber was MirandizedThe best local news-chat podcast that I'm aware of is Bill Cameron's "Connected to Chicago" that features Cameron, WLS news anchor John Dempsey, Greg Hinz and my colleague Ray Long.
Criticisms: It's too short. And it doesn't seem to have a subscription feed, so you have to download it [...]
To find out more about the process of replacing Scott Lee Cohen as the lieutenant governor nominee, we dug into the Democratic State Central Committee bylaws (PDF) today. We also caught up with Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward), who is a 4th Congressional District committeeman, and former state legislator William Marowitz, [...]
For years, the City Council, including Ald. Shiller, have opposed the Inspector General poking his nose into their affairs. Ald. Shiller has called support of the IG's expanded powers "a stunt" and a "political move" and "thinks it’s a bad idea to give the office the" [...]
by Mark Silva
Rep. John Murtha, decorated Marine and powerful veteran of Capitol Hill, was the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress, a force to be reckoned with in the House, and he was, when all is said and done, an imperfect and longtime servant.
Murtha, a "tough-as-nails'' Democratic hawk" [...]
Following a meeting at the White House today, federal and state officials have unveiled a five-point, $78.5 million plan to prevent Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan.
Today, Mayor Daley introduced an ordinance that would transfer hiring oversight from the ethics compliance office to the city inspector general. Under the proposal, the inspector general would also gain authority to investigate aldermen -- an idea long opposed by City Council. [...]
Since Toni Preckwinkle won the Democratic nomination for county board president last week, I’ve heard lots of people saying it represents the return of the Washington coalition—a band of independent-minded African-Americans, Latinos, and whites who want to whip local government into shape.
There are a couple of problems with [...]
I suppose the IG will have less time to pester the Mayor–unless he is also going to increase the IG’s budget…
[...]
The
little locavore delved into political activism last night, writing his
first letter to a political official. I guess I shouldn't be surprised
that the issue that piqued his ire was food-related.
As many of you have already heard, Chicago's health [...]
