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 …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Evanston Congresswoman calls Dold’s recent proposal on women’s health a political ploy. He accuses her of partisanship.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) accused Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) Tuesday of introducing legislation merely to cast himself as a political moderate, while Dold replied Schakowsky is unwilling to act in a bipartisan fashion. Schakowsky made her remarks during a telephone news conference Tuesday with Deerfield management consultant Brad Schneider, Dold’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 6 general election, to explain why Dold’s record on women’s issues is unsatisfactory. Earlier: Dold Proposal Would Help Women’s Health Schakowsky was particularly critical of a bill Dold introduced last week prohibiting discrimination against health care providers participating in certain government programs from excluding services like contraception …
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood was purchased during an auction at the Westin Hotel in Chicago on Friday. The winning bidders are based out of Skokie and paid $8.3 million for the 8.5-acre property.
The 'purple' eyesore at 4500 Touhy Ave. has a new owner that has plans to revive the hotel back to its glory days. As of Friday, the Purple Hotel and surrounding property now belong to North Capital Group and Weiss Properties Inc., both of Skokie. The developers purchased the 8.5-acre property for $8.3 million during an auction at the Westin Hotel in Chicago last week. The developers have said in the past that they want to turn the property into a mixed-use development, which would include commercial shopping, a banquet hall and possible gut rehab for the interior of the hotel. Weiss Properties is working with architect Jackie Koo. The Lincolnwood Review reported that Koo’s most popular and recognizable design is the Wit Hotel in Chicago…
Sunday, May 13, 2012
President Barack Obama said that he supported gay marriage this week, while Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Gay marriage came to the forefront of the 2012 presidential campaign this week. President Barack Obama said on ABC's Good Morning America that he personally supported gay marriage. "You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently," Obama said in the interview with ABC. Obama's support for gay marriage came one day after North Carolina passed an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the Huffington Post Reported. Republican …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The new Super Walmart, XSport Fitness, are said to bring in about 600 plus jobs. Construction permits are also on the rise, something that hasn't been scene since the recession hit in 2007.
Walmart’s arrival in Skokie may be attracting much of the publicity, yet other factors are at work to prompt the first job boom in the village since the recession’s onset in 2007. In addition to the expected 350 jobs generated by Walmart on the far southeast side of Skokie, another 200-plus jobs could arrive in the same vicinity if XSport fitness is approved for a 24-hour health club operation at 3448 W. Touhy Ave., said Peter Peyer, Skokie’s community development director. More companies ranging from downtown restaurants to a trucking booking firm to retailers at Fashion Square have been adding jobs from the several-dozen to hundreds in the last few years, starting to reverse the effect of large layoffs. “I think there’s definitely an …
42.017302
-87.760746
Command Transportation
7500 Frontage Rd, Skokie, IL
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42.02634
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Village of Skokie
5127 Oakton St, Skokie, IL
/articles/wal-mart-has-plenty-of-help-as-skokie-enjoys-job-boomlet
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Senator releases video thanking citizens and showing his rehab effort.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park) released a video Tuesday thanking the citizens of Illinois in his own voice for their support during his rehabilitation from a stroke suffered Jan. 21 and three resulting surgeries. Kirk left the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Friday to continue his recovery from the stroke at the home of family members. Earlier: Kirk Heads Home From Rehab Center “I want to thank everyone especially for the patience they have given me to recover from a big stroke," said Kirk. "(And also) to the people of Illinois for granting me the honor to represent them in the United States Senate. I cannot wait to get back to work to vote to spend less, borrow less and tax less to fix our economy." Kirk made it clear in the video …
Monday, May 7, 2012
The new CTA Oakton Stop on Skokie Boulevard is said to bring in new business. That theory may already be coming into play as this local resident is looking to bring downtown Skokie it's first true coffee shop.
For nearly a decade downtown Skokie has wanted two things: A new CTA station at Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard and a coffee shop. While the above is a slight exaggeration, it does paint a bigger picture of what’s being done to transform downtown Skokie into an attractive destination not only for shoppers and diners, but also for new coffee drinking commuters. With the train already in place, the village sought after two major coffee sellers– Starbucks and Caribou – but never reached an agreement on the location. Both businesses wanted to build their stores at the traffic circle where the ‘kiss-n-ride’ drop off / pick up currently sits. It would have been similar to the Starbucks at the Skokie Swift. Now, 40-year-old Craig Hahn is …
42.026295
-87.75013
4904 Oakton St, Skokie, IL
/articles/is-downtown-skokie-getting-a-coffee-shop
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Congresswoman stresses the power of women voters in the 2012 elections at political event.
More than 1,500 women and a long list of elected officials attended U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky's Ultimate Women's Power Lunch Friday at the Hilton Chicago. The 9th District Democrat, whose district includes much of the northern suburbs, held the event to mobiize women for the upcoming fall election. The elected officials attending included Governor Pat Quinn, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Democratic Congressional candidates Tammy Duckworth, Brad Schneider, Cheri Bustos, Bill Foster, David Gill, Dennis Anderson and Leslie Coolidge. In introducing the seven Democratic candidates for Congress in Illinois, Schakowsky said, "Illinois is ground-zero for putting the Speaker's gavel back in the hand of Nancy Pelosi. We have many great …
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Chicago is considering a tax on soda as a way to raise revenue and combat obesity.
Chicago held hearings this week on whether to tax soda to fight obesity. Alderman George Cardenas proposed a tax of 15 to 35 cents on sugary drinks. Cardenas proposed the tax as a way to fight child obesity rates. The tax also would raise about $129 million in revenue. Childhood obesity in the U.S. has more than tripled in the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC states that in 2008, a third of U.S. children were overweight or obese. The percentage of children 6 to 11 defined as obese rose from 7 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2008. “We know that taxing at the right level can reduce consumption of sugary drinks and that reducing consumption will help reduce the prevalence of obesity,” Fox Chicago …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Will continue out-patient therapy.
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk is headed to the home of a family member today (May 3) to continue his recovery from a stroke he suffered more than three months ago, according to a statement by his family as reported by the website Politico.com. According to Politico, the family's statement read, “We are happy to say that after suffering a stroke in January, Mark has progressed to the point where he can move home with his family. He will continue to work on his recovery as an out-patient at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He has begun a rigorous walking study program to further his mobility and independence while maintaining his schedule with staff. We are grateful for the wonderful doctors and personnel at the RIC for their care of …
Earl Weiss
2:24 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
If you feel gambling is immoral, that's fine with me, so long as you don't try to impose your feelings on me and others who do not share in that feeling. more ›