Richard Durbin News

The story of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative-leaning organizations for special scrutiny in nonprofit status is one of the biggest scandals to hit Washington, D.C., in my lifetime.

Pete Sepp is Executive Vice President for the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union , a nonpartisan citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes and limited government at all levels.

Senate supporters of far-reaching immigration legislation accepted minor changes in public while negotiating over more sweeping alterations in private Monday as they drove toward expected Judiciary Committee approval by mid-week. In a long day of drafting, the panel voted to begin phasing in a requirement for foreigners to undergo fingerprinting ... (more)

One of the worst-kept secrets over the past few weeks is that House Republican Leader Tom Cross has been considering a run for Illinois attorney general.

As 79-year-old Gerald Lee slumped to the floor, he wondered why there were no chairs for patients at the registration desks in the Edward Hines Veterans Affairs clinic in Oak Lawn.

Why did the #IRA investigate Conservatives, Pro-lifers, and Tea Partiers; 'cause Progressives told them too.

Yesterday, on the Senate floor, Richard Durbin, the Illinois Democrat, gave a nine-minute speech about the continuing gun violence in the months since Newtown, and the Senate's inability to pass a universal background check bill.

Five U.S. Senators have introduced Senate Bill Number 826, which would increase the cigarette tax by $.94 per pack for a new federal rate of $1.95 per pack, and impose tax parity on other tobacco products.

Silicon Valley tech companies are aggressively seeking looser requirements to "hire American workers first" to fill tech jobs, potentially splitting the bipartisan Gang of Eight coalition that put together the huge immigration bill.

Sen. Orrin Hatch warned that tech companies may oppose immigration reform if the Senate Judiciary Committee doesn't change the bill to make it easier to import highly-trained workers from overseas.

The two amendments by Sen. Jeff Sessions would have required the Department of Homeland Security to establish a biometric identification system to track people entering and exiting the country at the nation's airports, seaports and border crossings and would have limited the number of legal immigrants who could enter the country with worker visas.

The U.S. Senate has passed, 69-27, the Internet Sales Tax bill, which would require online businesses to collect the sames sales taxes as their brick-and-mortar counterparts, according to congress.org. The bill now moves to the Republican-controlled U.S. House, where it would need to pass in order to become law, according to cnn.com. Niles Chamber ... (more)

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday that he thinks "more whistleblowers" will come forward with information on the deadly attack last year on a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

Below is a transcript of "Face the Nation" on May 12, 2013, hosted by CBS News' Bob Schieffer.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan said Saturday that none of the 300 amendments U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee members want included in the comprehensive immigration reform bill would change Section 2109-the CNMI-specific provision allowing long-term foreign workers to apply for improved status.

Louis Regional Airport, in Bethalto, and Southern Illinois Airport, in Carbondale, will remain open.

A U.S. senator wants the Air Force to prove it saved money by closing bases due to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.

In this April 18, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., center, and others Senators, participate in a news conference on immigration on Capitol Hill in Washington.

The tech industry is on guard against amendments to the Senate immigration bill that could chip away at provisions that would help their businesses employ more highly skilled foreign workers.

Democrats and Republicans alike are seeking alterations in the Senate immigration proposal that may imperil the bill as the Judiciary Committee begins considering as many as 300 amendments.