Illinois News

Lieutenant Gov. Pat Quinn says he wants Gov. Rod Blagojevich to investigate the firing of 20 people -- including 17 veterans --- from security jobs at National Guard armories. via Quad-City Times

“I wouldn't be confident on either side”

Supreme Court justices usually have track records that make predicting their rulings on many topics more than a mere guess. via News Observer

An openly lesbian church leader is 1 of 8 candidates vying to become the new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, as fellow Anglicans continue to demand that the church bar gay bishops. via KWQC-TV Davenport

“You don't run for elective office if you don't have a significant ego ... (and) legacy is important from the standpoint of ego satisfaction”

A day after proclaiming his innocence, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan's final act as a free man last week was to switch cars en route from Chicago to Wisconsin, then slip in the back way to a federal prison ... via NWI Times

“That is the option that I will be pushing forward.”

Democrat Barack Obama said Sunday that if elected he will push to increase the amount of income that currently is taxed to provide monthly Social Security benefits.

Obama and other Democratic presidential candidates previously have signaled support for this idea.

But during an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Obama said subjecting more of a person's income to the payroll tax is the option he would push for if elected president.

He objected to benefit cuts or a higher retirement age. Read more

“That's all I can say at this time.”

Illinois State Police have reopened an investigation into whether a fundraiser illegally pressured a pharmacy owner to donate $25,000 to the campaign fund of Gov. via Southern Illinoisan

The sign war is well underway inside and outside Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the site of this evening's Jefferson Jackson dinner. via The Swamp

“We'd be honoured to have Brad's support. The only problem with having Brad Pitt be a part of our campaign would be that the staff would fight over who would get to staff him!”

US Senator Barack Obama has denied that his camp had advised him not to accept Brad Pitts support for his presidential campaign. via AndhraNews

“My guess is that it will be prohibited”

' Gov. Rod Blagojevich's latest effort to expand health care to poor Illinoisans may hit another roadblock Tuesday. via Pantagraph

“This is like a civil commitment where he's not allowed to walk free because he is a severe risk to reoffend”

A McHenry County judge has ruled a man convicted in 1973 of killing a Harvard girl should remain in state custody even though he has completed his prison sentence. via Chicago Tribune

“Does it mean it's going to happen? I don't know”

Tom Cross finds himself playing the role of peacemaker and diplomat these days, trying to end a bitter logjam and resolve key issues. via Courier-News

“Our air quality, our health and our environment are too important to delay any longer, and it is not just the people of California who are waiting. Those states that want to follow our lead cannot do so until federal permission is granted”

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on California's tailpipe emissions waiver request. via People's Daily

“This is not the time to give these people on the job training as executives.”

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani mocked his Democratic rivals as impractical, billing himself as a realist on foreign policy with experience at the negotiating table.

Giuliani described Democrats as 'falling all over themselves' to negotiate quickly and without preconditions with hostile foreign leaders _ a reference to sparring between Democratic candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over how best to deal with Iran.

'It's a spectacle of almost begging your enemy to negotiate with you,' Giuliani said late Thursday in a speech to donors at a Las Vegas casino. 'Democrats don't get it ... I think the big difference in voting for me is you will have as president of the United States a realist who has experience negotiating.' Read more

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is reversing course and has begun taking steps to enforce a 1993 law that's intended to make it easier for poor minorities to register to vote. via The Miami Herald

“Four years of that steady work and four years of knowing we're going to be producing it really meant a lot to folks here in the plant”

United Auto Workers locals in Michigan and Illinois overwhelmingly have approved a new contract with Ford Motor Co., the local union presidents said Friday. via Journal-Gazette

“It works hand in hand with the new driver's safety laws”

State officials say plans are on track to offer parents a new way to check on how their kids are driving. via Bettendorf News

While she traveled the world with the Navy, 27-year-old Stephanie Felten said she carefully considered the food and consumer products she bought, figuring other countries didn't have the safety regulations she ... via WFIE-TV Evansville

“This time, when you let the tax cuts for upper-income people expire, it'll create a pool of money that wasn't there last time”

Former President Clinton said Thursday that he is to blame for his administration's failed health care plan, not his wife, who spearheaded the effort. via Newsday.com

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton greets people after speaking about energy at a town hall meeting in Peterborough, N.H. Wednesday Nov. via Kansas.com

“He felt that he could not make that pronouncement without placing people at risk to be sued or perhaps even criminally prosecuted”

The Senate moved to confirm Michael Mukasey as the nation's newest attorney general Thursday despite differences over his position on the legality of harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects. via Lubbock Avalanche