Active weather pattern setting up
The weather pattern turns active as the week comes to a close and continue into the weekend. On again off again showers possible from Friday night through Monday.
Category Archives: Illinois
Central Illinois Foodbank working to provide healthy food to low income individuals
"It's really hard especially this time of year because in the summer time things are in season, and they are cheaper but in the winter, it becomes harder to find those fresh options," says Elizabeth Shuff a dietitian with Crossing Healthcare. "We just wanted to provide a really easy free way to come get a bunch of produce that you can use for a couple weeks that's not going to go bad right away."
Bill observing Obama’s birthday fails to pass in Illinois
Illinois lawmakers failed to pass a measure in the legislature that would have made former President Barack Obama's birthday a statewide holiday, according to the Chicago Tribune. The bill would have observed August 4 as a legal holiday in his home state, but the Chicago Tribune said the proposal was six votes short of passing, where it would have next moved to the Illinois Senate.
Ill. House Votes to Make October ‘Zombie Preparedness Month’
The living-dead-legislation, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, encourages Illinoisans to learn about natural disasters and take steps toward stockpiling three days worth of emergency rations. "I am told that if you are prepared for zombies, then you would be prepared to deal with a natural disaster like tornadoes, blizzards, natural disasters of any kind," Welch said on the House floor in February.
Coffman and Gardner poised for greatness – or not
My high school history teacher in Brookfield, Wis., taught us that the history of the world is not marked so much by sweeping movements or dramatic conflicts, but by the actions of a handful of men. Some of them were psychopathic narcissists like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Illinois congressman objects to men purchasing prenatal care
Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus is under fire after comments he made Wednesday about prenatal requirements in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. During a 27-hour debate on House Republicans' health care plan in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Shimkus suggested men could be opposed to former President Barack Obama's signature health care law because under the law they are required to pay for prenatal care.
The Latest: Titans reportedly add Logan Ryan
Hawaii has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's new travel ban, saying the order will harm Muslims, tourism and foreign students. Hawaii has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's new travel ban, saying the order will harm Muslims, tourism and foreign students.
Male Illinois rep asks why men should have to pay for prenatal coverage
In the 27 hours the House Energy and Commerce Committee spent debating Republicans ' Affordable Care Act revision plan, a handful of moments stand out. At the start, Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle was talking with Republican Rep. John Shimkus about his objections to the Affordable Care Act's requirements for health-insurance plans.
Congressman compares town halls to cleansing by orientals
He compared the raucous events to 'struggle sessions' - a brutal practice carried out by the Chinese Communist Party under Chairman Mao Zedong 'You know the cleansing that the Orientals used to do where you'd put one person out in front and 900 people yell at them?' Bost said The government moved to stop using the terms 'oriental' and 'negro' after former President Barack Obama signed the change into law Rep. Mike Bost was discussing his poor attendance at raucous town hall events, which he described as counterproductive, when he used the racial slur. 'The amount of time that I have at home is minimal, I need to make sure that it's productive,' Bost told the editorial board.
Interview: Activist, educator and author Bill Ayers
Bill Ayers first achieved notoriety as a leading voice in 1960s radical-left groups such as Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground. Now 72, he's spent his life involved in activism, particularly eduction reform, while teaching at the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
SALMAGUNDI: Don’t settle for slogans, demand specifics
Scott T. Holland is a former associate editor of The Times who continues to contribute his column plus help with editing and writing. He can be reached at scotth@mywebtimes.com , facebook.com/salmagundi or twitter.com/sth749 .
GM accused of self-interested campaign in pushing for self-driving cars
In this photo provided by General Motors a self-driving car is seen in Detroit. General Motors is trying to persuade state lawmakers across the country to pass legislation that would clear the way for the automaker to make self-driving cars publicly available while potentially barring competitors from putting their own vehicles on the road.
Illinois state worker union members authorize strike if needed
Illinois' biggest labor union representing state workers said on Thursday that its members overwhelmingly voted in favor of what would be the first strike against the state in the union's history. Roberta Lynch, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said 81 percent of members voted in favor of allowing the union's bargaining committee to call a strike if "no other path forward can be found" in reaching a new contract with the state.
ISBE to vote on settling Urban League school funding lawsuit
Check out this item near the bottom I've put in calls to the State Board of Education, the Chicago Urban League and others and haven't heard back yet. The State Board of Education's chairman, James Meeks, hasn't returned two calls but did say "Yes" via text when I asked if the ISBE was settling the lawsuit.
Paul Kane:
It's a well-worn story now about how John Boehner, then House minority leader, joined a rising star in his caucus, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in April 2009 for one of the first major tea party protests in the California Republican's hometown of Bakersfield. A little more than six years later, after they surfed that wave into power, the movement consumed both of them.
Immigrants wait in fear after raids; Trump takes credit
Pastor Fred Morris looked out over his congregation Sunday as news ricocheted around the world that American authorities were rounding up immigrants in an enforcement surge that President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail. Parishioners did not smile as on any other Sunday morning.
Colleagues say judge in Dakota pipeline case is even-handed
The federal judge who will decide whether oil flows through the disputed Dakota Access pipeline has shown sympathy for the historical plight of American Indians, but has also made clear that he doesn't think that should play a role in judicial decisions. U.S. District Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg is overseeing a lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux that could be their last hope of stopping the $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.
“The man behind the fiscal fiasco in Illinois”
As speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan has outlasted five governors and is now on his sixth. This year, the Chicago Democrat will become longest-serving state or federal House speaker in the United States since at least the early 1800s.
Army to allow completion of Dakota Access oil pipeline
The Army said Tuesday that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, clearing the way for completion of the disputed four-state project. However, construction could still be delayed because the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has led opposition, said it would fight the latest development in court.
Proposed casino legislation dictates more bankruptcy, education losses for Illinois
In Illinois, Lincoln's essential premise of "government of the people, by the people and for the people" has been corrupted into "government of the casinos, by the casinos, and for the casinos"-as exemplified by the new casino legislation in Senate Bill 7. In 2015, U.S. Congressional hearings highlighted that much of the Illinois bankruptcy was precipitated by $35 billion to $100 billion in giveaways since 1990 to gambling interests - diverting funds particularly away from essential education funding. For example, the original 10 Illinois casino licenses worth $5 billion were given away for only $25,000 each to political insiders, including one insider who thereafter went to prison.