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Tag: U.S. House of Representatives
MAC-2012 football championship logo
Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) has initiated a friendly wager with Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH-17) on tonight’s Mid-American Conference Championship game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Hultgren represents No. 19-ranked Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Ill., and Ryan represents No. 18-ranked Kent State in Kent, Ohio. The NIU Huskies will face the Kent State...
Photo of a dollar bill inside a lock
In Springfield … The majority of activity in both the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives last week and again this week will involve trying to move substantive bills through committees The deadline to get bills out of committee is Friday, May 4. House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 49 (HJRCA 49), sponsored by Speaker...
Photo of a pair of scissors cutting a $1 bill
In Springfield … Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn released his plan for cutting the FY2013 Illinois Medicaid program by approximately $2.7 billion, the level of reductions he believes are needed to stabilize the Medicaid system in Illinois and prevent its collapse. There are three components to the governor’s plan: $2 billion (75 percent) reductions, a $1...
NIU representatives traveled this week to Washington, D.C., where they made a strong case for the importance of federal funding for research universities and national laboratories. “We made a lot of face-to-face contacts with our congressmen and their staffs and were able to drive home the point of how vital federal funding for research is...
State Pension & Budget Update
In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly finished its second week of the scheduled fall veto session Thursday, Nov. 10. However, the House of Representatives has been called back Tuesday, Nov. 29, to deal with some large, outstanding issues. We are uncertain at this time if the Senate also will be called back. Senate Bill 512,...
Congressman Joe Walsh
The NIU College Republicans invite students and the public to its November general meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the Stevenson North Fishbowl Room. Congressman Joe Walsh, a Republican from McHenry who represents the 8th District of Illinois, will speak at the event. Because of redistricting, Walsh faces a primary election run...
Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. Photo courtesy Illinois Board of Tourism.
In Springfield … The first week of the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session begins Tuesday, Oct. 25, and will run through Thursday, Oct. 27. It promises to be an interesting week, with many issues on the table. The House of Representatives Personnel and Pensions Committee has posted five pension reform bills for hearing –...
Photo of small chalkboard with simple math equations
In Washington, D.C. … Last week, the Senate rejected, by a vote of 50-49, President Obama’s jobs bill and the Senate Democrats are now working with the president to disassemble the $447 billion package into smaller bills that will deal with specific elements contained in the jobs bill. The Democrats will try to force the...
In Springfield … An arbitrator today issued a ruling stating that Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent announcement that he intended to close seven state-run facilities and layoff more than 1,900 state workers by the end of the year violates a collective bargaining agreement between the governor and the AFSCME union. This is the same arbitrator who...
Photo of a traffic light on "yellow"
In Washington, D.C. … Activities in Washington over the past week bring to mind a quote from that great sage, Yogi Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Once again, Congress found itself at a critical juncture to approve a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would allow the federal government to operate Saturday, Oct. 1, the...
In Springfield … Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference Thursday, Sept. 8, to discuss his Fiscal Year 2012 budget management strategy. Quinn contends that the FY2012 budget approved by the General Assembly has a shortfall of approximately $313.5 million in operations and personnel across all state agencies, with the most severe deficiencies at the...
In Springfield … The latest rumors in Springfield surround Gov. Quinn signaling his intention to issue layoff notices to thousands of state employees and closing several state facilities, including a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. While no specifics are being released by the governor’s office at this...
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