While everyone is getting themselves in a tizzy over this Obama Birth Certificate issue, one of the major local political stories continues to be Sen. Durbin's (pictured right) letter to President Bush asking for a commutation of former Governor George Ryan's sentence. While Gov. Blagojevich has already come out in favor of Durbin's request (no surprise as he will probably be facing a similar fate to Ryan's very soon), earlier this week, U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk (Rep.) sent Pres. Bush a letter disputing Durbin's request and State Attorney General Lisa Madigan also said she was opposed to a commuting of Ryan's sentence. more ›

The White House has confirmed they received Sen. Dick Durbin's letter asking President Bush to commute the sentence of convicted former governor George Ryan but if they feel one way or the other about it, they're not letting on. Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "Well, I can tell you that we have received the request from Sen. Durbin, but I would not comment on the pardon process--except for to say that anyone who is eligible for a pardon can apply for one, and those requests go through our pardon attorney, which is at the Justice Department...I wouldn't be surprised if there were more before he leaves office, but I couldn't tell you how many and I certainly couldn't tell you who." For his part, President-Elect Obama said any comment from him on the matter, isn't "appropriate" at this point. more ›

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin sent a letter to President Bush today asking for Bush to commute former governor George Ryan's sentence. Ryan was convicted in 2006 of fraud, racketeering, and other corruption charges. So far, he has served a little over a year of a 6 and-a-half year sentence. Durbin has expressed concern for the health of the former governor and his wife. While prosecutors have come out against any pardon or commutation, Ryan has allegedly expressed remorse over his actions. In the letter to Bush, Durbin says:

George Ryan is 74 years old. He has lost his state pension benefits and a commutation will not restore them. He would emerge from prison facing economic uncertainty at an advanced stage of his life. more ›

We know, everyone is suffering from Obama-overload. But we thought this was pretty cool. The Secret Service has given the incoming first family their code names. The President-Elect is named "Renegade." Sasha as "Rosebud"? Someone in the Secret Service must be a Citizen Kane fan. And President Bush as "Tumbler" just makes us giggle. Biden as "Celtic" is interesting, and while he doesn't look anything like Larry Bird, we encourage Joe to look at growing a Bird-esque mustache. more ›

President Bush yesterday declared Chicago a disaster area, allowing people affected by the massive rain and flooding on September 13th to request financial assistance. Also eligible are residents in Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane, Grundy and LaSalle counties. Coordinated through FEMA, the assistance will include grants to pay for things like extensive home repairs and temporary housing -- although if you just had a flooded basement you're probably out of luck. [D-H] more ›

According to a new Sun-Times analysis of last Tuesday's county-wide primary races, those candidates that attempted character assassination of their rivals by associating them with unpopular Cook County Board President Todd Stroger lost, almost across the board. Stroger's approval ratings are basically in the same territory as President Bush's—somewhere between rock bottom and Herbert Hoover—so the prevailing logic was that if you could associate a candidate with Stroger, it would be like transferring his unpopularity onto them. Makes sense, right? more ›

Head to Daley Plaza this morning at 10:30 a.m. for a quick early voting rally for Mark Pera. Pera, the assistant Cook County State's Attorney who is running against Dan Lipinski for the 3rd Congressional District seat, is the first serious candidate to challenge Lipinski since he went to congress in 2004. Pera's campaign has attracted a lot of attention, both online and in the district. Online support has helped helped fund his campaign, but anger in the district at how the elder Lipinski handed his seat to his son has fueled the viability of his candidacy. Still, he's running against the full force and weight of Chicago's entrenched Democratic Machine. more ›

The CTA bailout passed, and now we can move on to that other chronic political problem: Governor Blagojevich. Just how much of Mr. Testicular Virility are Illinois residents willing to take? Judging by a new Chicago magazine article about the embattled gov, "Mr. Un-Popularity," not much. In that article, the Capital Fax Blog's Rich Miller suggests that Blago is the most unpopular governor in the country, with approval ratings that have sunk as low as 16 percent (which, Bernstein notes, is worse than President Bush polls in Illinois, one of the country's bluest states). more ›

Goose Gossage is the lone Hall of Fame inductee this year. He should also be inducted into the mustache HoF, dudes. [MLB.com] more ›

President Bush is in town today to celebrate the anniversary of No Child Left Behind, hobnob with Mayor Daley to talk Olympics, and give a speech about the economy to the Union League Club. And the Sun-Times makes him feel welcome with a front-page smackdown of NCLB. more ›

If you are willing to brave crappy weather with your "Bush was right" or "Bush is a dope" signs, get ready: he's coming to town on Monday. more ›

Today's big story--and no doubt one of the biggest stories in a long, long time--is that Benazir Bhutto, opposition leader and former prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated this morning in a bombing that killed at least 20 other people. International leaders, including President Bush, are condemning the attack. more ›

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Time to buy presents! Which means it's time for Chicagoist's annual gift guide. For 2007, we're looking at lots of Chicago-centric gifts (plus a few random goodies thrown in for fun). Tickets, memberships, art, decoration, kits, classes, clothes — we've got you covered.... more ›

Oprah is everywhere this week. She took her first campaign trip with Obama to Iowa where over 18,000 people came to hear Oprama speak. Oprah said, “Despite all the talk and speculation and the hype. I understand the difference between a book club and a free refrigerator -- that was a nice refrigerator." Okay good, we’re really happy Oprah explained herself because we weren’t sure if that was a nice refrigerator or not. Now we... more ›

If you've ever wandered past the ever-under-construction mass of steel and concrete at the corner of State & Kinzie, that's the Museum of Broadcast History, the same group that put out the list of Top 125 American Political Broadcast Moments earlier this week. And, being as that lists are made to be pulled apart, dissected, shredded and argued over, who are we to get in the way of such rich tradition? There are some entries... more ›

With his approval rating on par with President Bush and the state languishing without capital funding, Rod Blagojevich sent a letter (PDF) to the four legislative leaders yesterday, inviting them to a "leaders' meeting" in his office this morning. Referencing the mass transit band-aid issued last week, he urged lawmakers to put aside their differences and work with him to fix infrastructure and transit problems in the state. Although nobody believes much of anything Blago... more ›

Mark Pera, Democratic candidate for congress in the Third District, is launching his first TV ad today. Debuting on cable television around the area, the ad contrasts incumbent Dan Lipinski's supposed political affiliations with his actions in Congress. “The Iraq war is the defining issue in our campaign for Congress, and we’re giving voters a clear choice. I’m offering to voters real leadership in Congress to end this war and bring our troops home safely... more ›

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin more ›

Former Chicago resident and one-time member of the Maniac Latin Disciples Jose Padilla was convicted yesterday of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists, and providing material support for terrorists. Adham Amin Hassoun, a Lebanon-born Palestinian, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, a naturalized US citizen born in Jordan, were convicted as well in federal court. Although held for 3-1/2 years in military custody as an enemy combatant, his... more ›

NPR Host Peter Sagal — Again
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Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn more ›

This week, more than before, we have a veritable cornucopia of presidential news. After how many years of Southerners and Westerners in the White House, it seems only fitting that we dedicate this week's Hump Day Political News Roundup to all the cowboys that have ridden off into the sunset that is the Beltway. Let's take a look back: George W. Bush Is a Bad-Ass Cowboy. As his term dwindles away, his approval ratings circle... more ›

City Segway Tours Guide John Darey more ›

On Saturday an immigration rally at Federal Plaza marked the anniversary of the huge march a year ago. Organizers are gearing up for a two month onslaught of rallies leading up to another large march on May 1 through the Loop. The Chicago area has become a hotbed on the issue of immigration, taking part in the driving force that may one day force Congress to provide coherent legislation that doesn't allow for so much... more ›

The House on Thursday passed the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill designed to make the difficult process of forming a union easier for workers. The legislation, passed by a vote of 241-185, largely along party lines, was supported by nearly all of Illinois' Democratic delegation, and both senators Durbin and Obama have promised to guide this bill through the Senate. Barack Obama voiced his support of the bill, although he acknowledged that getting it... more ›

There was finally one thing we heard President Bush did that we could get behind: he signed a bill changing Daylight Saving* Time (DST) so that it was longer. We get so excited for Daylight Saving Time to come and start to relieve our S.A.D., that anything that would hasten this process sounded great to us. Under the new Daylight Saving Time, DST will start March 11, 2007, (holy early!) and end November 4, 2007.... more ›

One provision of President Bush's proposed budget could affect Chicagoans and city-dwellers all over the country. Bush is proposing a "congestion initiative" that would award federal grants to cities and states for building toll systems that charge drivers new or increased tolls for traveling in and out of cities during peak times. Congestion pricing could take the form of "cordon tolls," charges to enter the city proper, or monthly/annual fees for using High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)... more ›

Platteville, WI is planning a Chicago Bears training-camp museum. Thanks to a $200,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots field program, the grass football field at Lane Tech will be replaced with a synthetic playing service. People are loving this idea: For $150 you can get a customized South Side Irish St. Patrick's day parade street banner. They're green and have shamrocks and white lettering and you can put family names and memorial tributes on... more ›

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-a-verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is... more ›

Several months ago, you surely heard the story of Elvira Arellano, the illegal Mexican immigrant hunkered down in a West Side church in an attempt to avoid deportation. As hers is no longer a top story on the major news networks, maybe you thought this problem had been resolved. Perhaps Arellano had unexpectedly decided to comply, or maybe the feds had decided this was one battle not worth fighting. In fact, Arellano is still holed... more ›