Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Democratic National Convention is set for tonight in Charlotte, N.C. Among those speaking tonight include California's Barbara lee, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Massachusetts' Joe Kennedy, among others.
A slew of political powerhouses 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 toward 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. 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 to a downgraded credit rating. Quinn has also been at a stalemate with Mayor Emanuel regarding …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) responded to Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of the Illinois Gaming Expansion bill today. The bill was vetoed by the governor yesterday and is said to create some 90,000 jobs, according to Lang.
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." Yesterday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will work "relentlessly " to pass a bill that would …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
After morning chat with Oak Park fourth graders, 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."
- GOVERNMENT
-
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Appearing at Oak Park's Longfellow School on Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a gambling expansion plan that would've 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. Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued the following statement on Quinn's decision: " ... Chicago loses $20 million a month…
Monday, August 20, 2012
A special legislative session in Springfield last week made no progress. Here, Patch rounds up reactions from local politicians and residents.
No one ever said getting the pension issues in line in Illinois would be easy. State lawmakers have certainly proven that to be the case by the action – or rather inaction – last week in Springfield. In a turn of events that had all the surprise of say, the sun rising in the east, the Illinois General Assembly failed to act at the special session Friday on the matter of the pension debt that is estimated to be anywhere from $80 - $90 billion. So the issue will not be acted upon until after the November election at the earliest. The cost to the taxpayers was $40,000 for the session. The only vote taken was in the House on Legislators curbing their own pensions. That measure received 54 yes votes as opposed to 53 against, but it was still …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Funding for schools will remain flat.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Skokie's longtime state representative, Lou Lang, is stymied in attempt to get gaming expanded in Illinois.
State Rep. Lou Lang has talked repeatedly of trying to get gambling expanded in Illinois for 20 years. If the veteran Skokie lawmaker wants to achieve that goal, he still has a lot of work ahead of him. With Governor Pat Quinn as an adversary, Lang was thwarted in his recent attempt to get a new gambling bill passed in the veto session in the state capital. A scaled back version of a gaming legislation passed earlier this year (both bills were sponsored by Lang), but received only 58 votes of the 60 needed to get through the House last week. The bill was never called for a vote in the Senate leaving its future unclear. The failure of this particular legislation marks another twist in a drama that has been ongoing since May when the …
Monday, October 24, 2011
School consolidation, taxes and teacher performance were among the subjects discussed at a recent forum hosted by Skokie Voice.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Skokie has a population of 64,784 people. At the same time, the village touches on seven different school districts. To some residents, that’s too many. Last week representatives of all seven districts gathered to answer questions in a forum hosted by upstart community group Skokie Voice. While there were many topics at hand, the subject of combining some of the districts was certainly an emotional one. “Thanks to all of you for coming, but there are too many of you,” said 25-year Skokie resident Norman Frankel. “We need to consolidate districts. People are walking away from their houses, we need to think creatively.” Read more: Skokie Schools Ranked Among the Best Consolidation is not something under …
Monday, July 18, 2011
With signing of bill, state's imprint in the debate over undocumented immigrants will be felt.
Thrusting the state into the middle of the heated immigration debate, Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign in the coming weeks the Illinois DREAM Act that offers as many as 95,000 undocumented youths better access to higher education. A source told Skokie Patch that Quinn would sign the legislation on Aug. 1, making Illinois the first state in the country to create a privately funded scholarship program for undocumented high school graduates who want to attend college. The bill--formally SB 2185--passed with bipartisan support in the state House and Senate. In a rare development, the Catholic church and the state's top political leaders--who do not always see eye-to-eye on many social issues--joined forces to push for passage of the …
howard kirschner
10:04 pm on Thursday, August 30, 2012
interesting that the tribune agreed with the governor more ›