Emanuel to end scoop-and-toss borrowing one year early

Chicago will end the costly practice of scoop-and-toss borrowing in 2018 -- one year earlier than promised -- under a mayoral budget that pleased a taxpayers watchdog group, but not quite as much as Mayor Rahm Emanuel would hope. Scoop-and-toss is the dubious practice of refinancing existing debt in a way that saddles future generations of taxpayers with borrowing costs instead of paying off the principal.

Vietnam Veteran receives Long Overdue Bronze Star

October 19 - An honor long overdue was awarded to one Vietnam Veteran Thursday morning at the Illinois National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility at the Decatur Airport. From August 1971, to March 1972, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth Carlock served as an artillery forward observer, which from the very front lines, advised his commander on artillery fire support.

Cornell awarded $130,000 to study new pest that threatens onion crops

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney met with local officials and agricultural leaders Wednesday to celebrate the award of $130,000 in state and federal matching funds to further Cornell University's study of a new pest that is threatening the region's $40 million onion and allium crops.

Republican senator takes being a Trump apologist to new heights

In a bizarre defense of President Donald Trump's lack of grasp of public policy, Sen. Bill Cassidy suggested on Thursday that it does not matter if the president of the United States has any understanding at all of major legislation. His reasoning: a biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that he is reading currently noted that the 32nd president did not have a deep understanding of fiat money.

Weakening Medicaid From Within

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, has encouraged states to seek waivers that would undermine Medicaid's role as a safety net. rom its modest beginning in 1965, when it was passed as a little-noticed companion to Medicare, Medicaid has evolved into an indispensable public health program with broad bipartisan support.

When the Budget Resolution Isn’t About the Budget

Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue is teaming up with a Democratic colleague, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, on amendments to the budget resolution that declare the process is basically absurd. When Sen. John McCain removed the suspense by announcing he would vote for the budget resolution moving through the Senate, the Arizona Republican made clear the ridiculousness of the exercise.

Trump’s Fluid Views on Policy Drive Headaches in Senate

President Donald Trump, seen here Monday at the White House Rose Garden with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has rankled senators with his shifting policy views. Sens. Lamar Alexander  and Patty Murray  went to bed Tuesday evening thinking they had hit a home run.

Opinion: Working Around Trump on Issues That Matter

Sens. Charles E. Grassley and Richard J. Durbin sponsored a bipartisan bill that would reduce mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenders. The kiss-and-make-up press conference with President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was one of the most awkward dates in the history of, well, dates, as my Roll Call colleague Walter Shapiro pointed out.

How candidates might fare in 2020

We're still 1,112 days away from the next presidential election, but that isn't stopping your first look at what to expect in the New Hampshire primary. A new poll from the University of New Hampshire -- more than two years before the primary will take place -- at least starts to give a landscape of the status quo before candidates start declaring their bids.

Senator and veteran: Trump playing ‘sick political game’ with military deaths

A Democratic senator who received the Purple Heart after losing both her legs in the Iraq War lambasted President Donald Trump for playing a "sick political game" with the deaths of fallen US service members. During an interview on CNN's "Erin Burnett Outfront," Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said she had "utter disgust" for the way Trump has politicized his interactions with Gold Star soldiers.

Alaskan picked to lead regional EPA office

Gov. Bill Walker says Hladick will leave his state role Nov. 1. Mike Navarre, the outgoing mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, will succeed Hladick. In joining the EPA, Hladick will oversee a region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and about 270 tribes.

Lawmakers tour Miami-Dade juvenile lockup

Florida's Rep. David Richardson and Rep. Kionne McGhee talk to the media after they leave the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center after a surprise visit to inspect the facility, October 18, 2017. 14 employees fall ill in hazmat situation at Miami Springs Middle School.

Nation 38 mins ago 7:06 p.m.Trump didn’t know fallen soldier’s name, kept calling him ‘your guy,’a

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., adamantly stood by her characterization of President Donald Trump's phone call with the widow of a fallen soldier in an interview with ABC News today, calling his words "terrible" and adding that the president didn't even know the man's name. Wilson said she was with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt.

Washington’s misguided and small-minded response to the opioid epidemic

Heroin users prepare to shoot up on a street in the South Bronx area of New York City on Oct. 7. Rep. Tom Marino withdrew his name from consideration to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy on Tuesday. He did so in the wake of a Washington Post-"60 Minutes" investigation revealing that he was the prime mover behind legislation weakening the Drug Enforcement Administration's abilities to go after drug distributors even as deaths from prescription drug abuse continued to rise.