Illinois News

Governor Rod Blagojevich is seeking federal help for victims of last month's flooding in 15 southern Illinois counties. via Journal Star

“It's not enough that you're registered. It's not enough that you're fired up and ready to go”

More than four times as many blacks have registered to vote in North Carolina during the first few months of 2008 as four years ago, a sign that bodes well for Sen. via KansasCity.com

Governor Rod Blagojevich has threatened to withhold $18 million from the University of Illinois Extension Service, putting 450 jobs around the state in danger. via WQAD-TV Moline

Illinois Republicans who have already lost one high-profile congressional seat won't be competing for the seat held by Democratic Congressman Phil Hare of Rock Island. via KWQC-TV Davenport

With just over six weeks to go until votes are counted in Oregon's May 20 primary, U.S. Senate Democratic hopeful Jeff Merkley has launched the first major TV ad buy of the campaign, hoping to raise his still-scanty name recognition among voters.

His leading opponent for the chance to challenge Republican incumbent Gordon Smith, Portland lawyer and activist Steve Novick, has not yet made widespread ad purchases, though several witty YouTube ads for his campaign have generated online buzz among party activists. Read more

“The findings of Families USA underscores how serious the consequences are if we don't do something to make sure people get affordable health coverage”

More than 18 working-age Illinoisans die each week due to a lack of health insurance, according to a report released Tuesday by a health care advocacy group. via WLS-TV Chicago

“This latest issue with Mark Penn really hurts her credibility”

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton emphasized her opposition to a proposed free trade agreement with Colombia, two days after her chief campaign strategist was demoted for his role in supporting the deal. via Topeka Capital-Journal

“Obama has outspent Hillary Clinton three to one just on television advertising in Pennsylvania. He spent more than $3 million trying to get his name out and his message out to Hillary Clinton's $1 million”

Sen. Barack Obama continues to chip away at Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, a new Quinnipiac poll out Tuesday showed. via CNN

COMIC legend John Cleese is to offer his services as a speechwriter to Barack Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination to become US president, he told a British newspaper. via News.com.au

A former Oklahoma governor could play a key role in deciding a Democratic Party flap over delegates from Florida and Michigan. via KSWO

Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn is urging Illinois residents to push for putting a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow for the recall of elected officials

And in pushing for the proposal he has long supported, Quinn said yesterday in Chicago that Governor Rod Blagojevich would almost certainly be the target of a recall attempt if the amendment passes.

But Quinn stopped short of saying whether Blagojevich should be recalled.

Quinn made the comment at a news conference to urge support of the recall bill coming up for a final vote in the Illinois House early this week. Read more

“By signing this law, we in Illinois are making it clear that we believe every voter has an equal voice in electing our nation's leaders”

Illinois is officially ready to bypass the Electoral College in choosing the country's president, but dozens more states would have to join the effort before it could take effect. via Daily Journal/Sunday Journal

Dave Matthews plays a packed house at Indiana University in support of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid. via ClipSyndicate

“It's a country where ... I've seen ordinary Americans find justice, where I've seen progress made for working families who need leaders who are willing to stand up and fight for them. That is the country I love.”

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at the Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner at the Civic Center in Butte, Mont., Saturday, April 5, 2008. via WBT-AM Charlotte

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will begin a three-day "Road to Change" bus tour of Indiana Wednesday evening. via Herald-Bulletin

A state senator from Chicago says the University of Illinois might consider placing caps on numbers of international students it accepts.

Ed Maloney broached the possibility after one institute found Illinois' 41,000-student Urbana-Champaign campus has more than 5,000 foreign students.

That's more than any other public U.S. university.

The Democrat -- who chairs the Senate's Higher Education Committee -- cites projections that Illinois high schools will graduate more students in coming years. Read more

“We elect a president of the United States, as we learned in 2000, by the electoral college, and no Democrat can win the electoral college without carrying three of the four big states -- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Michigan”

Posted on 04/06/2008 1:27:10 PM PDT by mdittmar Two of Pennsylvania's top politicians are split on whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be the stronger Democratic presidential candidate this fall. via Free Republic

“He was Clarence (the angel in 'It's a Wonderful Life') and Blagojevich was Jimmy Stewart.”

Richard Mell is a 69-year-old, backslapping Chicago politician with a long history of getting his way and clearing the decks for friends and family looking for a leg up. He also happens to be the father-in-law of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and the two don't get along.

The squabble, which has simmered for years, has gone from barstool tale to the front page, thanks to the ongoing federal fraud trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- the fundraiser best known for his history with presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and ties to the governor. Read more

“It wouldn't be fair for me to have to go into that building again”

PRINGFIELD, Ill. - Yellow police tape and wooden barricades no longer block the entrance to Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall, but it remains empty nearly two months after a gunman killed five students ... via Boston Herald

America has had much to reflect upon during the approach of the related 40th anniversaries of the final report of the Kerner Commission, the assassination of the Rev. via SouthCoastToday.com