Illinois
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11:12 a.m.
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Nine years ago, Chicagoan Mark Emerson left his job with a large company that offered group health coverage to pursue the American dream and start his own business. He did not know that this would begin an ordeal in which he was "charged back into the stone age” as a customer of the private health insurance market. Mark and his wife now pay more in health care costs than they do on thei...
Progress Illinois - 10:35 a.m.
In her Southtown Star column today, Kristen McQueary picks up on 11th District GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga's recent comments -- originally flagged by Progress Illinois -- that there "are very few people nowadays that have no health service at all." And let's just say she hits it out of the park: Not only are hospitals and physicians demanding government i...
Progress Illinois - 9:40 a.m. - 2 clicks 
Obama Arrives in Germany Barack Obama is trying to downplay expectations about a speech he is set to deliver tonight in Berlin's Tiergarten park. As many as a million people are likely to attend the speech in which Obama will ask Europe to do more in global conflict zones like Afghanistan. State Senators Will Not Meet Before the Fall, Jones Blames Madigan For Cuts Senate ...
Progress Illinois - 9:40 a.m.
...from the other day's Democratic Strategist : Walking Maliki Back If the subject weren't so serious, it would be pretty funny. Reports this weekend that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had more or less endorsed Barack Obama's redeployment plan for U.S. combat troops in his country produced all sorts of hysteria in the White House, which is now trying to claim Maliki and Bush are in...
Naperville Democrats - 7:00 a.m. - 3 clicks
Yesterday's "Tuesday Commentary" on WTTW's Chicago Tonight went to Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice, who voiced her hope that Chicago police will "step up" in the face of the city's rising violence without resorting to brutality. She also took aim at Mayor Richard Daley's ridiculous statement last week that fear of unfair media coverage has made officers timid, cal...
Progress Illinois - Wed 8:40 p.m. - 6 clicks
It goes without saying that many Chicagoans -- particulary from low-income brackets -- are distrustful of a city police force that repeatedly abused citizens over the past few decades with little repercussion. The most notorious example is the widespread torture of suspects under Commander Jon Burge (pictured right). In a well-reported article published on AlterNet today, Chicago-based jo...
Progress Illinois - Wed 8:40 p.m. - 6 clicks
As you might remember, efforts in the General Assembly to crack down on predatory "payday" lenders were unsuccessful during the spring legislative session. With such broad measures shelved until the fall, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is doing its part to improve oversight on one element of this industry: car title loans, in which a bo...
Progress Illinois - Wed 8:40 p.m. - 5 clicks
Beck is one of the few artists whose new album I'll buy without hearing a single song on it first. Even a bad Beck album will be better than most of what's released in any given year. Especially right now. Maybe the problem is that Springfield radio never plays anything new and interesting (I haven't even heard Beck's new single on the so-called "alternative" station that should be the perf...
Will Reynolds - Wed 1:11 p.m. - 7 clicks
At the same time America is slowly moving towards its date with destiny on November 4, America is also moving towards a new era in race relations. The era of Jesse Jackson being the voice of African-Americans will have been......
49th Ward - Wed 10:05 a.m. - 9 clicks
The Obama campaign isn't worrying about Illinois. They're sending people from different congressional districts to different states. The 9th CD, on the eastern edge of IL, is assigned to Iowa, over the western edge. On Saturday, Northside DFA drove from Chicago to Dubuque to canvass. As of Friday morning, we expected three canvassers and no cars. In the event we had six canvassers and a pote...
Prairie State Blue - Wed 9:04 a.m. - 3 clicks
Longtime independent Bob Bartell, who previously served 4 terms over a decade ago as state chair of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization , a/k/a IVI-IPO, has reportedly won the state chairmanship, after a vigorous contest whose balloting concluded today. Bartell, recently active in Northside DFA , and a frequent contributor to local Democratic blogs, boosted the m...
Prairie State Blue - Tue 9:34 p.m. - 11 clicks
The comparison of Ronald Reagan's speech in West Berlin with John Kennedy's speech 25 years earlier is ahistorical and completely bogus. It's a complete rightwing fabrication that's swallowed whole by the MSM. NPR Host, Melissa Block brings up the myth in this evening's 'All Things Considered' only to be swathed down by SUNY Buffalo Prof. Andreas Daum who actually knows something about the t...
IllinoisDemNet - Tue 7:40 p.m. - 13 clicks
MillerCoors is about to get $18 million from the state in tax incentives and $2.5 to $5 million in TIF money (you know, the stuff that is supposed to go to "blighted areas") from the City of Chicago. This is being done to entice them to move their headquarters here, an action that will bring with it 300 to 400 new jobs and a " symbolic victory " for Illinois. That $23 million works out to abou...
Prairie State Blue - Tue 1:42 p.m. - 9 clicks
On the anticipated reception of Obama in Europe: It's not only Obama's youth, eloquence and energy that have stolen hearts across the Atlantic. For Europeans, there have always been two Americas: one of cynicism, big business and bullying aggression, another of freedom, fairness and nothing-is-impossible dynamism. If President Bush has been seen as the embodiment of that first America, Obama...
IllinoisDemNet - Tue 9:12 a.m. - 12 clicks
[ Note to the uninitiated: This is satire . Thanks for the laugh, Hiram. ] Obama Leads McCain 76%-23% In National Poll - Obama Still Can Catch Up From the AP news wires today: Booneville, Ky - “Senator Barack Obama often commands large crowds of young people, college graduates and women at speeches and campaign rallies. But the central front in his war for the White House wi...
Naperville Democrats - Mon 11:31 p.m. - 5 clicks
From the AP news wires today: Booneville, Ky - “Senator Barack Obama often commands large crowds of young people, college graduates and women at speeches and campaign rallies. But the central front in his war for the White House with Senator John McCain remains hardscrabble Appalachian communities like Owsley County, Kentucky (population 4,858), where Senator McCain [...]...
WurfWhile - Mon 10:37 p.m. - 13 clicks
Per Jeff W.'s remonstration here's a headsup that I am in DC. Jumped over from Netroots Nation to the 50th Anniversary Congress of Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze, formerly the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy). More on that later. Staying over a day to try and lobby Illinoisans on Iraq, Iran, and nuclear abolition. We'll see how that turns out. My rep's staff will see me; Obama's was ...
Prairie State Blue - Mon 12:33 p.m. - 12 clicks
From what I've read about the state budget cuts, this picture best sums up what's in store for workers at IDNR, IDOT and other agencies. The Governor already put Springfield's economy on shaky ground by moving and eliminating so many state jobs. Maybe after this next round of budget cuts Springfield will qualify as an economically depressed region too and we can get some of those j...
Will Reynolds - Sun 3:08 p.m. - 17 clicks
Dan Johnson Weinburger makes the case for a ConCon but I remain unconvinced. As he portrays it, it's all upside and no downside. If there are any doubts, Dan argues, it's ultimately "we the citizens" who are in the driver's seat. I think Dan is wrong. I don't think it's "we the citizens" who'll be in the driver's seat. I think it'll just be that tiny minority of our population who get of...
IllinoisDemNet - Sun 8:37 a.m. - 16 clicks
the weather could have been better. but not the company. and the dupage democrats showed that they could tackle a big festival. the candidates sure got their money's worth! more importantly, people were enjoying themselves. it seems everyone wore their political wear, although the dominant outfit was the theme of the day: the dupage dem's spiffy new "dupage for obama"...
Prairie State Blue - Sat 8:34 p.m. - 15 clicks
A while ago I posted that Republican Aaron Schock is bringing in President Bush for a 500 dollar a plate fundraiser. Colleen Callahan decided to hold a competing event on the same day: a family friendly $15.00 a plate fish fry. More below the fold: Remember Aaron Schock's 500 dollar a plate fundraiser with The Decider ? On the same day (July 25), Colleen Callahan is having a fish fry ...
Prairie State Blue - Fri 5:09 p.m. - 22 clicks
[Hat tip David Zetland] In New Mexico journalist John Fleck writes about a court ruling limiting future well drilling for new residents: “A state court this week threw out New Mexicans’ longstanding legal right to drill a domestic water well without having to worry about whether it would leave less water for their neighbors. The ruling is a [...]...
WurfWhile - Fri 3:36 a.m. - 12 clicks
The guy's got talent. From Marc Ambinder : Obama, who never managed so much as a newsstand, has turned out to be a fairly remarkable leader of a what's becoming a billion dollar enterprise. read more ...
IllinoisDemNet - Fri 12:00 a.m. - 14 clicks
The Obama Campaign has asked Democrats across the country to hold “Platform Meetings.” Ordinary people are asked to discuss issues and share their input to help shape the Democratic Party platform at this year’s national convention in August. Locally, Democrats from Southwestern Illinois, including Madison and St. Clair counties, are holding a “Platform Meeting” Tuesday, July 22, at Knights of ...
Blog St. Clair - Thu 8:04 p.m. - 17 clicks
The title of Scott McClellan's recent confessional referred to the "culture of deception" in Washington. Liberals took great joy in this, but McClellan was not referring only to this administration and Iraq. Chief among the deceptions practiced as a bipartisan matter of course, in government at all levels, is ignoring the elephant in the room. Playing "never mind the man behind the curtain." I.e.,...
Prairie State Blue - Thu 7:32 p.m. - 20 clicks
DuPage Democratic Party Blue Fest, “A Family Day of Fun,” is being held at the Arabian Knights Farm in Willowbrook, Illinois [Click For Directions], this Saturday, July 19, 2008 from 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM. The event will feature four bands, ranging from a Beatles cover band to “Agents of Change,” a progressive rock [...]...
WurfWhile - Thu 12:35 p.m. - 11 clicks
Still a work in progress, but congratulations to the Lisle team lead by Troy in putting this new Lisle Township Democrats website together! ...
WurfWhile - Thu 12:35 p.m. - 8 clicks
Thanks to Jean Kaczmarek of the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project for pointing me to this Bill Mego editorial from today's Naperville Sun : Election commission is challenged to explain voting machine accuracy July 17, 2008 "With all the mechanical improvements they have in the way of adding machines, and counting machines, they can't seem to invent anything to take the place of ...
Naperville Democrats - Jul 17 - 14 clicks
In 2004, Democrats conducted five regional hearings (strangely, all in "swing states") in preparation for the Democratic platform. But this year, the Democratic party and the Barack Obama campaign are busting the platform process wide open. They want to hear from you. In fact, they are pretty much challenging you to write your own plank! This approach pretty much skips a gener...
Prairie State Blue - Jul 17 - 14 clicks
Second quarter filing deadline is up, and below is a handy chart of fundraising courtesy of James at SSP: Roskam is crushing Morgenthaler. Bean is sitting on a pile of cash. Kirk is outraising Seals and also sitting on a pile of cash. Ozinga had a really good quarter but Halvorson is still ahead in cash on hand. Harper and Biggert had similar quarters, but Biggert is winning the CoH race. Fo...
Prairie State Blue - Jul 16 - 12 clicks
Where are all these wonderful people coming from? Yet again we had a great Saloon Democrats Session with political opinions running all over the map. All I can say is more of the same next week! Saloon Democrats of Chicago ...
IllinoisDemNet - Jul 16 - 9 clicks
First-time candidate Democrat Scott Harper has gone toe-to-toe in fundraising this year with established incumbent Republican Congresswoman Judy Biggert in the 13th District. The fundraising picture is largely summarized by grassroots support, special interest PAC money and total receipts. Grassroots Support Democrat Scott Harper as a first-time candidate has done well with small dollar [...]...
WurfWhile - Jul 16 - 3 clicks
It's one thing to say advertising is down but was that the best moment to lay another $13 billion in debt on the thing? You don't throw an anchor to a man barely threading water. Maybe the corporate model is no longer right for local media. It seems like everyone is just cashing out and leaving behind a bunch of smoking wrecks. Maybe it's back to mom-and-pop. ...
IllinoisDemNet - Jul 15 - 9 clicks
This story from the Daily Herald is a few weeks old but I doubt I'm the only one who missed it. Gurnee Illinois is considering becoming a Cool City and they're starting to examine action items by forming a citizens environmental committee. Village Administrator James Hayner said converting lawnmowers in the municipal fleet from gas to propane power already is under consideration. Officials ...
Will Reynolds - Jul 14 - 8 clicks
If you're like me, you've just about had it with how Dems are portrayed in the Media. The closer we get to the election, the more of a feeding frenzy this is going to become. Since none of us are ever likely to go out and buy our own media/broadcast/radio/tv/newspaper company, it's important to develop ways of responding that give us at least a chance of being heard. That's precisely what t...
IllinoisDemNet - Jul 14 - 7 clicks
[Hat tip Progress Illinois] Yesterday preceding a discussion of universal health care I wrote, “one of the things to keep an eye on in the coming year(s) are advocacy movements seeking major policy changes in areas of obvious national neglect like health care, the environment, energy, water rights/distribution, etc.” As if on cue Crain’s reports [...]...
WurfWhile - Jul 10 - 4 clicks
The company that provides Springfield with wind power is building a new photovoltaic solar plant in less time than it takes to build a coal plant. Unlike most large-scale solar plants, which use big mirrors to concentrate sunlight, the SunPower project will use the same solar panels that homeowners install on their rooftops. It will be built in Florida's DeSoto County and will generate up to...
Will Reynolds - Jul 10 - 9 clicks
While I’ll have more thoughts about this later, one of the things to keep an eye on in the coming year(s) are advocacy movements seeking major policy changes in areas of obvious national neglect like health care, the environment, energy, water rights/distribution, etc. The reason is that I take (future President) Barack Obama at [...]...
WurfWhile - Jul 9 - 2 clicks
Lisle Township Democratic Vice Chair Aileen Eilert gets coverage for “Going Green in the ‘Burbs” at Chicago Public Radio’s Chicago Matters: Growing Forward. Congrats Aileen! ...
WurfWhile - Jul 9 - 5 clicks
There were two professors at Southern Illinois University whose classes I took every chance I got. One was Senator Paul Simon. The other was John Y. Simon, who died yesterday . I already knew who John Y. Simon was when I started classes at Carbondale thanks to my mom dragging me to civil war battlefields on family vacations. What made his courses so appealing was that, besides being a nation...
Will Reynolds - Jul 9 - 9 clicks
The recent federal tax rebate for economic stimulus cost $168 billion - but we’ve already lost the money to higher gas prices according to a recent analysis of American household spending by Illinois PIRG called “Squandering The Stimulus” (pdf). The same study says that the average annual federal spending for new public transportation over [...]...
WurfWhile - Jul 8 - 3 clicks
