Democrats seek to avoid DACA’s isolation in budget negotiations

Democrats are facing a tightrope challenge to achieve their goal of protecting young undocumented immigrants this month: Keep attention on the issue, but don't let it get singled out. Already, both sides have begun messaging on the topic, with Republicans accusing Democrats of wanting to shut down the government over immigration and of being unreasonable, and Democrats maintaining they're fighting for a host of programs beneficial to Americans.

John Kelly leads WH immigration effort in congressional talks

President Donald Trump has tasked chief of staff John Kelly with shepherding his immigration proposals through Congress, several administration officials and others familiar with the situation say, in the hopes that the retired Marine general can help him fulfill core campaign promises ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Assigning the chief of staff to such a specific policy initiative is rare, given the top aide's duties in running White House operations and overseeing disparate factions in the West Wing.

Trump border plan could prompt gov’t shutdown, Democrat Durbin warns

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate Democratic whip, smiles as he heads for a weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. President Donald Trump's proposed border security measures are undermining bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill -- and could potentially lead to a government shutdown, a top Senate Democrat said Friday.

President Trump presses Congress for $18 billion to build border wall Source: Cox Media Group

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Merging of 2 tax measures next up

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., confer Friday on Capitol Hill before the late-night tax vote. Schumer noted that the effect of some last-minute revisions had yet to be analyzed by the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Letter to Cairo, IL residents questioned by Comptroller, 2 U.S. Senators

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is now weighing in on a letter that was reportedly sent to people in Cairo that said they have to move out of the Elmwood and McBride housing complexes by Dec. 1. When asked about the letter, Mendoza said, "We are aware of it I believe, but we're still trying to get to the bottom of it and so was they mayor yesterday actually." In a letter dated November 15, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin wrote to HUD Secretary Ben Carson asking for clarity on the relocation timeline.

Jim Dey: Death, taxes and confusion

In the aftermath of U.S. House passage of federal tax legislation last week, the partisan rhetoric escalated into overdrive. Republicans touted the legislation as a tax-cutting tonic for middle-income earners while Democrats argued the legislation will raise taxes for the same people.

Zinke says Democrats holding Interior nominees – hostage’

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says Senate Democrats are holding the department's nominees "hostage" to a political agenda that includes opposition to his review of presidentially designated monuments. In a sharply worded letter to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate's No.

Without DACA, area college student at risk of deportation

Salas was a freshman at Rauner College Prep in Chicago when she was granted temporary status in America under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by the Obama administration in 2012. "It was such a relief when I got it just because I knew I was safe for awhile," she said, seated outside a coffee shop at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois where she now is a junior.

Illinois Left panics over Graham-Cassidy; ignores state’s shrinking insurer numbers

Tossing control of federal health care dollars back to the states is something the Left stands firmly against - and exactly what the Republican U.S. Senate majority's latest attempt at reforming ObamaCare would do. Illinois' Left had nothing to fear from the state's two elected U.S. Senators.

Senators announce more than $6.5 million in federal funding to help at-risk youth find jobs

CHICAGO U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor awarded six local community colleges and non-profits in Illinois a total of $6,501,644 million through YouthBuild, a job-training and educational program for at-risk youth ages 16 to 24. Through YouthBuild, at-risk youth learn construction skills while constructing or rehabilitating affordable housing for low-income or homeless families in their own communities. Program participants split their time between the construction site and the classroom, where they earn their high school diploma or equivalency degree, learn to be community leaders, and prepare for college and other postsecondary training opportunities.

A storm is brewing for DACA this September

A suite of pressures on the policy that protects young undocumented immigrants is brewing -- and it could mean the program soon either becomes permanent or disappears entirely. Next month, the Trump administration faces both an ultimatum from challengers to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, and a potentially nasty government funding fight that could require an 11th hour deal to avert a shutdown.

7 Days In 60 Seconds: Healthcare To Trans Troops

It can seem impossible to keep up with all the news these days, so here's what happened this week in a New York minute. Earlier in the week, the Senate opened debate on healthcare legislation, but Republicans failed to pass a bill replacing Obamacare, one simply repealing much of it, and a "skinny repeal" bill.

COMMENTARY: How the DREAM Act divides families

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, of Illinois, have introduced a new DREAM Act. The lawmakers want to protect young undocumented immigrants who could lose their temporary legal status under Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals due to a court challenge from 10 states, led by Texas.

Poll: Do you think America relies too much on foreign labor?

Businesses will soon be able to apply to bring in up to 15,000 more foreigners for seasonal work, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday - prompting questions about whether the move fit in with the White House's "America First" posture. The Department of Homeland Security's announcement came as the White House kicked off its "Made in America" week, during which the administration is highlighting its efforts to increase domestic employment and investment.