Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Pretend interview with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel I’ve covered six Chicago Mayors since 1976 including Mayors Richard J. Daley, Michael A. Bilandic, Jane M. Byrne, Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley. But I have yet to get Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to allow me to interview him, despite numerous requests. What’s the excuse…
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Activists Vow to Continue Fight Against Illinois Voter Suppression Governor’s Veto Yet Another Reminder: Elections Matter Attention is now focused on the November elections and future legislation to secure elections and fight voter suppression, after Governor Rauner’s veto of SB 2273. The bill would have modified existing law to stop Illinois from sharing voter data…
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Governor vetos bill that would restrict interstate voting checks Veto of Bill No.: SB 2273. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner released the following statement in vetoing SB 2273 which would prohibit interstate checking of voter registration Today I veto Senate Bill 2273 from the 100th General Assembly, which would limit the State of Illinois to participation in…
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Term limits undermine the rights of voters to choose The push to impose term limits isn’t being done by the voters or the public. It’s being led by political candidates who just can’t seem to take control of government because they lack the support of the majority of voters. Term limits are wrong because it…
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Raoul brings campaign to people Whirlwind tour for attorney general candidate By Steve Metsch On a whirlwind tour of the suburbs, arranged by the Lyons Township Democratic Party, State Senator Kwame Raoul brought his campaign for Illinois Attorney General to a small church. There, at the La Grange Second Baptist Church, 26 Washington Ave., Raoul…
Former Federal Prosecutor to lead independent probe of legislator conduct Former Federal Prosecutor and Executive Inspector General Maggie Hickey to Lead Independent Investigation of the Illinois House of Representatives and charges of workpalce harassment and legislative conduct House Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced today that Maggie Hickey, a former federal prosecutor and former inspector general for…
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Lipinski hosts 3 events, Town Hall Meeting, Veterans Fair and Senior Fairs Over the next few weeks, Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting, a Veterans Fair, and two Senior Fairs in the Third Congressional District. At the Town Hall Meeting, area residents will be able to hear from Rep. Lipinski…
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Basham, Madigan bolster Human Resource staffing to change “Capitol Culture” House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and new chief of staff Jessica Basham announced they will begin conducting a thorough search to hire a human resources director and an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action officer to promote a fair, equitable, and unbiased work environment for the 200…
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Media hypocrisy over Roseanne Barr Roseanne Barr’s racist reference to Valerie Jarrett is irresistible and Barr rightly apologized. But was ABC TV’s decision to punish Roseanne by cancelling her hit TV series revival warranted? Or, is it the result of a double standard fueled by news media bias against Barr because of her open support…
A “teaching moment” on Roseanne Barr, the media and political hypocrisy Roseanne Barr said something stupidly racist about Valerie Jarrett and Jarrett responded saying we should take it as a “teaching moment.” But what kind of “teaching moment” can we have in an America that is deeply divided, caught in the middle between extremist politics…
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Rauner needs to block water rate increase bill The Illinois House and the Illinois Senate approved a new law, HB 4508, that would allow two major water companies to massively increase water rates on its customers to help them buy up smaller water companies so they can grow and profit. The sponsors used the confusing…
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Media bias against President Trump harms this country When President Trump complained that his campaign was being “wiretapped” by the Obama administration and Obama FBI, the mainstream news media howled against him saying that was ridiculous. Now, one year later, we learn that the FBI under Obama inserted an undercover agent into Trump’s campaign. Instead…
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LED to save money Township of Lyons to install new lighting at HQ By Steve Metsch The Lyons Township headquarters, 6404 Joliet Road, Countryside, is getting new lighting that is expected to save on electric bills. The building will have all LED lighting, Township Supervisor Christopher Getty said. “We had a free assessment from ComEd…
“Just Judy” tells Topinka’s story Son writes book about popular Illinois pol The son of the late Judy Baar Topinka is a hoping a book he’s written about this mother can teach valuable lessons to our youths. Joseph Baar Topinka, 50, who now lives in Texas and teaches employment law at Texas State University, has…
Rauner puts focus back on residents, not criminals Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is speaking out for the rights of crime victims, making them the priority and reversing a trend in which the focus has been placed on the criminals. Suspects convicted of mass murder or killing law enforcement officers deserve the death penalty. Rauner should…
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Destroying American history because of racial politics The wave of attacks against symbols of the civil war is undermining the history of this nation for political reasons and is driven by a form of reverse racism. Statues and markers recognizing icons of the South from the civil war are being targeted because of reverse racism…
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Orland Park Mayor disappointed in Trustees’ rejection of concert series plan The Orland Park Village board, still angry over the voter’s rejection of Dan McLaughlin as Mayor and the election of Keith Pekau, continue to block Pekau’s ideas and proposals. Critics have accused the new board of continuing to put politics over the best interests…
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Can Mayoral challengers step up to give Emanuel a run for his money? A new analysis by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform looks at how record spending is making it difficult to challenge incumbents who raise huge campaign war chests in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Can challengers in Chicago really challenge Mayor…
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