Results tagged “dickdurbin”

     

The plan to house and put some Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial on the U.S. mainland has predictably generated a flurry of debate, both nationally and locally. On the national level, politicians and pundits alike are up in arms over the decision to bring accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices to trial. Right here in Illinois, the controversy surrounds the potential transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Thomson Correctional Center in Thompson, Illinois.

While the House narrowly passed health care reform over the weekend, both the president and Senate Democrats were looking ahead to the next round. And while it appears that there will be at least a cursory fight over abortion funding in the Senate version of the bill, there seems to be a real concern over the ability of lining up 60 votes to pass the bill.

              

Today wrapped up the “Showdown in Chicago,” a three day long protest aimed at the American Bankers Association conference at the Sheraton Hotel this week. The umbrella organization sharing the “showdown” moniker staged several rallies and actions throughout the loop beginning with a rally on Sunday at the Hyatt. Senator Dick Durbin called out bankers at the rally, saying “We need to ensure that the robber barons that are responsible for this recession don't get away with creating it and then declaring themselves a dividend."

• According to the Trib, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is accompanying President Obama on the quick trip to Copenhagen. We're guessing they sneaked out before Sen. Burris knew they were gone.
• Speaking of Obama, once tomorrow's Olympic announcement is out of the way, he'll send Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to follow up on the Derrion Albert attack.
• We're not the only ones going all-in on the 2016 announcement; our pals at The Reader have a lot of great coverage of their own.

Despite any existing ideological feelings about the existence and efforts of ACORN (what's that stand for, anyways? Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, that's what) any organization that is documented as doing anything to game the system should be bounced, and bounced fast. We live in a society that's got rules, whether we like it or not, and no organization on either side of the political fence gets to play outside the sandbox. Sometimes a few bad apples do get to ruin the whole damn bunch.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced earlier this week that the Chicago Fire Department was the recipient of a $779,520 grant courtesy of the United States Fire Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Said Durbin, "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens. As these brave men and women put themselves in harms way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today's grant will go a long way toward meeting that goal." [WBBM 780 AM]

While opponents rallied and Democrats sweated, the debate over health care reform hasn't gone away. Over the weekend, Wyoming Republican Senator Michael Enzi, one of the leading GOP negotiators on the issue said that unless reform means lower medical costs without increasing the national debt, it's a nonstarter. "The bills introduced by congressional Democrats fail to meet these standards," he said. Nevertheless, congressional Democrats are readying to redouble their efforts to pass what may be the landmark social legislation of this administration. “You’ll see a groundswell once it’s here, and you’ll see we aren’t trying to ram this down anyone’s throats,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina. He told Politico that Democrats will be focusing on negotiations and compromise will be key to passing the bill. And the White House is getting into the act as well, with Vice President Joe Biden appearing in a YouTube video to explain the importance of reforming the nation's health care system.

While the national news has been chock-full of stories of angry anti-health care reform activists storming town hall meetings with congressmen, the local news won't be carrying any of those stories soon, at least not starring U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and 19th District Congressman John Shimkus. “I won’t be doing sucker-punch town hall meetings,” Democrat and Senate Majority Whip Durbin said. “They can do all the political theater they want, but I don’t have to supply the stage for them.”

Today the Associated Press is reporting that a few weeks before his arrest, then-governor Rod Blagojevich considered giving the then-vacant U.S. Senate seat to Attorney General Lisa Madigan "in return for concessions on his pet projects." The information came from two aides to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaking on the condition of anonymity.

• Amid the latest controversy for Sen. Roland Burris comes word his counterpart, Sen. Dick Durbin, will not support Burris in the 2010 election.
• A judge ruled that residents near Grant Park who oppose the new Children's Museum were given proper notice of the new plans.
• Strange story out of Gary where four bodies were found in a vacant funeral home that was recently sold at a tax sale.

When he's not smack-talking Sen. Durbin, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is apparently planning on sticking around at his current gig. In an interview with ABC 7's Charles Thomas, Burris said - albeit in a round-a-bout way - that he plans for running to keep his seat in 2010.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Evanston Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky announced in a joint press release that they will re-introduce the Patriot Employers Act in Congress this week. The legislation, which then-Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored in 2007, would grant a a tax credit equal to one percent of taxable income to employers that meet the following requirements:

Amtrak in Illinois is receiving a good bundle of stimulus cash: $80 million, actually. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin made the announcement yesterday, saying the money was part of the state of Illinois' $1.3 billion stimulus package. The cash will be used for station upgrades, handicap accessibility, and increased security. $90 million will be distributed across the country - including Illinois - to refurbish train cars as well. [NBC 5]

The long-rumored CTA Circle Line is one step closer to reality this morning after the U.S. Congress passed the omnibus spending package yesterday; the bill includes a $6 million earmark for the line. The bill counted Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin among its sponsors and Durbin considers the Circle Line key to the city's 2016 Olympic bid. Using new and existing tracks, the Circle Line would connect all existing CTA lines as well as Metra lines (read the CTA's 2002 report on it here). The Circle Line isn't the only earmark for Chicago transit, though. It also includes around $250,000 for both the Red and Yellow Lines to extend (a drop in the bucket) and $30 million for upgrades to the Brown Line, which is what we thought has been going on for the past year and a half. [WBEZ]

As if the pressure on Roland Burris couldn't get any more intense, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, met with embattled Senator Roland Burris yesterday afternoon. After the 59-minute meeting, Durbin told the press that he advised Burris to resign. "I told him that under the circumstances, I would consider resigning if I were in his shoes," Durbin told reporters. "He said he would not resign, and that was his conclusion." Burris tried to avoid the media on his way out, telling the press that he was "under orders not to say anything." When pressed, he said that advice came from his attorneys. "I asked him if he would be a candidate in 2010 and he said he had not made up his mind," Durbin said. "I told him I thought it would be extremely difficult for him to be successful in a primary or a general election under the circumstances."

"It's sickening. Short of Roland Burris resigning or resolving this issue — if he can, and I don't know if he can — I don't know what will stop it. I'm tired of this Blagojevich burlesque that's been going on for so long. The people of our state should be spared this." -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin

In the wake of many revelations regarding Sen. Roland Burris, Sen. Dick Durbin has finally spoken but he didn't say a whole lot. Durbin, currently traveling in Greece, said, "The public statements made by Mr. Burris to this point have raised questions which need to be looked at very carefully. His sworn testimony in Springfield did not satisfy our requirement in that it was not complete and we need to have the complete story before the final conclusion that we reach." Meanwhile, the investigation against Burris continues.

And here we thought the Saga of The Lord's Senator™ was all played out. But yesterday came the revelation that then-Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother had asked Roland Burris for a campaign contribution. The incident occurred prior to Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, but Burris failed to mention the incident while testifying under oath to the state house committee investigating Blagojevich for impeachment. And now that Burris has changed his story (again), he finds himself facing calls for a perjury investigation against him.

President Obama takes to the airwaves tonight to pitch the current stimulus plan to the American people but locally lawmakers are eagerly anticipating the possible cash influx. If the $800 billion package passes, Illinois could get a decent-sized chunk of that. According to Sen. Dick Durbin:

It's a busy start to his first full week as governor for Pat Quinn. He met yesterday with Mayor Daley here in Chicago and pledged his full support to the Chicago 2016 cause, saying, "We want to have the greenest Olympics ever held." At issue was the $150 million ex-gov Rod Blagojevich had promised to the $1.15 billion financial package to help Chicago in its bid. All indications are that Quinn will back that money as well, saying, "I support whatever is necessary...The General Assembly will have to act on that, and it's an opportunity that I think will happen in the next couple of months."

Now that the unpleasantness has been taken care of, it's safe for President Barack Obama to return to Springfield without too much of a fear of taint. Obama will be in Springfield next Thursday, February 12, to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday. From announcing his candidacy on the steps of the state capitol (exactly where Lincoln delivered his famed House Divided speech), to the concert at the Lincoln Memorial, to replicating the Lincoln's at his inaugural luncheon, Obama has been a very vocal fan and studier of Honest Abe, so his birthday visit surprises absolutely no one. According to Sen. Dick Durbin's office, President Obama will be attending the Abraham Lincoln Association's annual Lincoln birthday banquet. In a statement, Sen. Durbin said, "Last week, our state proudly looked to Washington once again as another son of Illinois took the presidential oath of office. As our country's economic challenges grow, President Barack Obama will be called on to show leadership and courage similar to that shown by Lincoln during one of the most difficult periods in our history." In case you missed it, check out yesterday's interview of President Obama with NBC's Matt Lauer from the Super Bowl pre-game show.

According to the state's senior U.S. senator Dick Durbin, it looks unlikely that outgoing President George W. Bush will commute the sentence of former Illinois governor George Ryan. Durbin had requested the commutation for Ryan, but the Blagojevich scandal likely derailed any chances of that happening. According to Durbin, speaking at a pre-inauguration coffee, “It was very clear to me that scandal had an impact on President Bush’s decision. And I think it is highly unlikely that a pardon will be issued for former Gov. Ryan before George Bush leaves office. I think the atmosphere and environment of scandal and corruption makes it more difficult for President Bush to consider." Earlier, President Bush issued a commutation of sentences for two border guards in a move called "his final acts of clemency."

U.S. Senate lawyers relented this afternoon and declared that Roland Burris's credentials met the chamber's rules and could be seated as the junior senator from Illinois. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin issued a joint statement, saying: "Barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week...We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect."

The ongoing drama to appoint The Lord's Senate Appointee™ Roland Burris as the junior senator from Illinois may finally be resolved this week. Burris has stayed behind in Chicago while his attorneys have traveled to Washington, D.C. to clear up the "paperwork issue" that has prevented Burris from officially being seated. While senior Illinois senator Dick Durbin said it's likely Burris would be seated this week, with a decision possibly by this afternoon, but he also added, "This thing changes by the day." Well, that's the kind of certainty we like to hear from our elected officials. On yesterday's edition of CBS's Face The Nation, Durbin tried to put to rest rumors of efforts by members of the Senate to delay the appointment until Gov. Blaogjevich's impeachment trial concluded with a possible removal from office, thereby allowing an appointment by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Said Durbin, "To wait until Gov. Blagojevich is removed could be a matter of weeks. I think Roland Burris' future and fate will be decided before then."

Senator Dick Durbin (of our great state of Illinois) has announced Roland Burris won't be seated without the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. This proclamation comes in spite of the assertion from both White and the Illinois Supreme Court that White's signature is symbolic and not necessary to seat Burris in the U.S. Senate. Durbin maintains that while the situation as is may meet state standards, it doesn't meet the standards of the U.S. Senate. He added, "I think it's best to suspend activities the filling of that vacancy, until this impeachment trial in the Illinois state senate is concluded."

Painting by our own talented Lauri Apple