By coming to terms on a deal to keep the federal government running for the next six months and avoiding a shutdown, both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner declared victory over the weekend. Obama because he avoided an potentially embarrassing government shutdown with minutes to spare; Boehner because he showed a knack for the Art of the Deal in getting Democrats to agree to more cuts than they wanted. But the deal was merely a temporary respite and sets the stage for a larger budget battle looming in the fall, the implications of which will certainly affect the 2012 elections. more ›

President Obama used the congressional recess to appoint six people to government positions yesterday. Among the six recess appointments was James Cole as deputy Attorney General. more ›

Illinois has the 10th-lowest percentage of federal-owned land of any state, with only 1.8 percent of state territory owned by the federal government. Compare that to 84.5 percent of Nevada or 69.1 percent of Alaska. Wow. The federal government controls about 30 percent of the country's total territory. more ›

Normally, this would be Kevin's territory, and he covered the reasons we're weighing in today at length yesterday. As we sit in front of a computer terminal in Wisconsin fresh from a bike ride to New Glarus, the sights of yellow "support our troops" ribbons, flags and jingoistic bumper stickers every quarter-mile along the route fresh in our mind, we felt the need to write. more ›

We previously wrote on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (UCIS) updated test questions and increase in prices for the citizenship exam. One company, First Hospitality Groups, is taking steps to reduce some of the burden on those looking to become legal in the country. As the Sun-Times reports, the hotel chain, which has 12 hotels in the Chicago area, is offering a reimbursement of the $400 it costs for the naturalization process and gives workers a day off. more ›