Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Illinois stars tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Among state and Chicago pols speaking are Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn and candidate Tammy Duckworth.
A slew of political powerhouses, many from Chicago and Illinois, are set to speak at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) today in Charlotte, N.C. at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Former White House Chief of Staff and now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will address delegates around 9 p.m. Emanuel has been under fire all summer as violence in Chicago's troubled neighborhoods reached an all time high. The spike in criminal activity landed the mayor on CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. Like Niles-Morton Grove Patch on Facebook and join the conversation Also slated to speak is Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The governor will be speaking between 6 and 7 p.m. Some have speculated that Quinn is responsible for the recent failure in pension reform that led…
Sunday, September 2, 2012
The state's credit rating recently was downgraded because of an unfunded pension liability of $83 billion.
Illinois' inability to deal with its pension problems led Standard & Poor to drop the state's bond rating this week, the Washington Post reported. The state's unfunded pension liability has surpassed $80 billion, WGN TV reported. The TV station reported that $12 million is added to that liability every day. The Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois has the second worst credit rating of any state in the country. Only California is worse and Standard & Poor believes that state is headed in the right direction. The Tribune reported that Illinois is not – noting that the unfunded pension liability is on track to hit $93 billion by next summer. The Tribune reported that Quinn has been pushing for reforms, but the legislature has been unable to…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) responded to Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of the Illinois Gaming Expansion bill by stressing the jobs impact. The bill was vetoed by the governor, who said it would foster corruption.
Just one day after Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed the Illinois Gaming Bill, State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) fired back in a video posted on YouTube. "The governor's view on gaming is very disappointing," Lang said. "This is the man who ran on the platform for being the jobs governor and yet a bill that would create a raise [of] 90,000 jobs in the state of Illinois is vetoed by the governor. "Perhaps he is not thinking clearly about the economic development in this bill," Lang added. "Perhaps it doesn't bother him that thousands of people go to Indiana from Illinois everyday to do something that is already a legal activity in the state of Illinois." Get local news in your email. It's free! Yesterday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will work "…
Gov. Pat Quinn vetoes a controversial casino expansion plan. The bill's biggest sponsor, State Rep. Lou Lang from Skokie, said the governor's decision was "predictable."
Appearing at Oak Park's Longfellow School on Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a gambling expansion plan that would have added five new casinos in the state and allowed slot machines at horse racing tracks. Full text of Senate Bill 1849. Quinn, flanked by reporters in the school's playground, said his main concerns were about integrity and ethics in regulatory oversight process. "I think I did the right thing. We're not going to have loopholes for mobsters in Illinois, and the bill that was on my desk was woefully deficient when it came to protecting integrity and honesty in the regulation of gambling in our state," he said. Get Niles and Morton Grove news in your email. It's free. Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued the following statement …
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Illinois lawmakers are again looking to expand gambling options in Illinois.
Illinois lawmakers are considering plans to add more casinos as the state continues to grapple with budget woes. The latest proposals would place casinos in Danville, Rockford and Waukegan. Another proposal would allow for slot machines to be operated at race tracks like Arlington Park, the Alton Daily News reported. The bills are sponsored by Terry Link (D-Waukegan) in the Senate and Lou Lang (D-Skokie) in the House. Gov. Pat Quinn has called the legislation to, once again, expand gambling in Illinois "a distraction." Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been pushing for a Chicago casino. A Chicago casino is something that officials in the city long have sought. As far back at 1993, Mayor Daley proposed an $800 …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Calling himself Illinois' 'marketer in chief,' governor says he had no legislative or other agenda, only to salute Coke for pursuing advanced environmental techniques in water conservation.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Though Gov. Quinn didn't pardon George Alpogianis in the latest round of clemency appeals, Alpogianis has a feeling it will happen.
George Alpogianis, owner of Kappy's Restaurant, was elected as a Niles trustee in 2009 but prevented from serving his term and is now hoping for a pardon from Gov. Pat Quinn. Earlier this month, Quinn pardoned 75 people and denied pardons to 131 others, but Alpogianis' name was not on either list. That most likely means the governor has not reviewed his case yet, Alpogianis said. Quinn is working through a backlog of requests. Alpogianis traveled to Springfield last January to request a pardon from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, the body which advises the governor on such matters. Niles Mayor Robert Callero, his brother Jim Callero and Rev. Chris Kerkeres of St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church went with Alpogianis to testify to his …
Friday, July 8, 2011
Chicagoland commuters should have a more seamless way to use the three transit agencies by 2015.
A universal fare card system for RTA, Metra and Pace transportation systems was signed into legislation by Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. The bill will "allow riders to use credit or debit cards or prepaid cards on all transit systems effective Jan. 1, 2015." "This is 21st century transit reform," Quinn said during the signing ceremony, according to The Chicago Tribune. “Now it's the law and everyone will work toward that date,” RTA deputy executive director of communications Diane Palmer told the Herald. “This is obviously a key priority for the RTA.” Additionally, the law calls for Metra to create a train tracking system that is similar to the Chicago Transit Authorities' Bus and Train Tracker programs, …
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Residents couldn't have asked for better weather Monday as families lined up and down the streets of Des Plaines for the annual 4th of July Parade. The theme was Des Plaines...You've Come A Long Way. They were also treated to a surprise visit from Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who marched in the parade alongside Mayor Marty Moylan and greeted residents and posed for photos. Parade marshalls this year were representatives of Schimka Auto Wreckers, Inc., a Des Plaines business celebrating its 75th anniversary. Other parade participants included the Des Plaines Fire Department, American Legion Post 36 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2992.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Rep. Schakowsky's 9th District will expand to Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth.
Proposed changes to the Congressional Districts in Illinois will hit home with voters in the 9th District, which includes Morton Grove. The plan was delivered to Gov. Pat Quinn's desk on Tuesday. Dubbed "gerrymandering" by Rep. Robert Dold (R-10), the new 9th District "includes a portion of Chicago’s lakefront and Evanston, Lincolnwood, Skokie, Morton Grove, Niles and Park Ridge," according to the Morton Grove Champion. It will expand to "all of Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth, including the 10th District home of conservative U.S. Rep. Robert Dold of Kenilworth." Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9) was re-elected as Representative for the 9th District last year. Reporter Karen Berkowitz continued, "Schakowsky has taken on some new …
Tony Kovacs
12:23 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012
To save you from the ordeal of having to watch, here are the most frequent themes you will hear at the DEM convention. 1. Spend more on education for the 21st century (as if two-thirds of our property taxes don't already go there and more fed funds too. Coincience that teacher unions support dems who give them more money so they can contribute even more to Dems? ) 2.Repair the crumbling … more ›