Congratulations to Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias on winning the nomination for the United States Senate seat held by President Barack Obama!
Giannoulias won comfortably.
I’m sure dirty ads from the Republicans have already begun.
Year: 2010
17-Year-Old Ramone Washington Shot By Coward In West Humboldt Park
A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed this afternoon in the city’s West Humboldt Park neighborhood,Chicago police said.
Police believe the teen’s killers chased him down before shooting him, authorities said.
Killed was Ramone Washington, of the 700 block of South Karlov Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
A neighbor called police to report screaming followed by shooting near the 1100 block of North Keystone Avenue just after 1:40 p.m., police said.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ramone Washington.
Turns Out President Obama Never Forgot His Promise to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
President Obama and top Pentagon officials met repeatedly over the past year about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that bans openly gay members of the military.
But it was in Oval Office strategy sessions to review court cases challenging the ban — ones that could reach the Supreme Court — that Mr. Obama faced the fact that if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced to defend publicly the constitutionality of a law he had long opposed.
As a participant recounted one of the sessions, Mr. Obama told Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, that the law was “just wrong.” Mr. Obama told them, the participant said, that he had delayed acting on repeal because the military was stretched in two wars and he did not want another polarizing debate in 2009 to distract from his health care fight.
But in 2010, he told them, this would be a priority. He got no objections.
On Tuesday, in the first Congressional hearing on the issue in 17 years, Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen will unveil the Pentagon’s initial plans for carrying out a repeal, which requires an act of Congress. Gay rights leaders say they expect Mr. Gates to announce in the interim that the Defense Department will not take action to discharge service members whose sexual orientation is revealed by third parties or jilted partners, one of the most onerous aspects of the law. Pentagon officials had no comment.
Gay rights groups are calling the hearing historic even as they question how quickly the administration is prepared to act. But Republicans are already signaling that they are not eager to take up the issue.
I hope that our friends in these gay rights groups start to understand that the president was actually working on repealing the ban on gays in the military almost non-stop since taking office, meeting "repeatedly" with top Pentagon officials, in addition to talking about the wars the previous president started.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s more involved in being President of the United States than viewing everything through the lenses of one issue?
The ban should be repealed, and I hope it is soon.
I’m near the end of Frank Schaeffer’s Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism)
When I was a child (to paraphrase St. Paul), I did not trust the military. Now that I am a man, I have an incredible respect for those who serve this country in uniform. Some liberals really go overboard slamming the military, and they should not. These men and women learn to move beyond preoccupation with the self. They think of the other, the platoon, the United States of America, before they think of themselves. Those in uniform are worthy of our respect and support.
Gays and lesbians are more than capable of serving openly, thinking of others first, the platoon, the United States of America, before they think of themselves. Gay and lesbian soldiers serve openly in the military of other countries every day.
Gay and lesbian soldiers have been serving the United States of America in the military for centuries. Let them finally and proudly serve openly.
Tearing Down the Reagan Myth
This Friday marks the 99th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth. You’re going to be hearing a lot about the Gipper this week, and you’re going to be hearing a lot about him for the next 12 months. Already, a Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission — signed into law by President Obama last June, at a ceremony attended by Nancy Reagan — is busy planning a slew of Feb. 6, 2011, events that may take the nation one step closer toward Reagan’s political canonization. Meanwhile, day in and day out, the legacy of the 40th president still looms large over the national conversation, some 21 years after he left the Oval Office and nearly six years after his death — thanks in part to a deliberate campaign of distortion by modern conservatives, a Reagan myth has been used to justify disastrous spending policies at home and disastrous militarism abroad .
This week also marks the new paperback release of my book, now slightly retitled: "Tear Down This Myth: The Right Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy." When I was working on the book in 2008 in preparation for the original hardcover version, I did worry somewhat whether the likely election of a center-left Democratic president would render as moot the power of the Reagan myth. As it turned out, the inauguration of Barack Obama and the arrival of a large Democratic majority in Congress instead showed the limits of government in the face of this powerful philosophy that is loosely based on Reagan’s 1980s presidency but distorts or exaggerates the reality of much of what happened in those years.
The Reagan banner as carried by today’s conservatives involves deep and unrelenting mistrust of the government to solve any problems, even as crises from joblessness and unsound fiscal policies and a lack of a serious approach to energy and global warming fester from a lack of… problem solving. Reagan’s predecessor, Jimmy Carter, captured the White House in the election after Watergate by promising "a government as good as the people," but when Carter stumbled for a host of reasons, Reagan was elected with a much different message. In his 1981 inauguration, he said: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems — government is the problem."
Little remembered is that in the same speech, Reagan also said: "Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work—work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back." But is the first message — that there is no government solution to any problem, no matter how complex — that has been hammered home by the powerful right-wing infrastructure, most notably talk radio and now the highly rated Fox News Channel on TV, that has endured and grown since Reagan’s tenure in office.
Buy Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future
eNews Park Forest Editors Endorse John C. Griffin for Judge in the 15th Subcircuit
Our pick for judge in the 15th Subcircuit, Phelan vacancy, is Judge John C. Griffin of Palos Heights. Griffin has four opponents, and was appointed to the bench in 2008. He sits in the Chancery Division.
Judge Griffin is a true Democrat. One of his opponents in the Democratic Primary is a life-long Republican who is seeking election in 2010 as a Democrat. This opponent has stated that he recognizes that it’s impossible to be elected from this region as a Republican. This opponent has been Republican supervisor in Bloom Township for several years (having defeated now State Senator Toi Hutchinson when she ran as the Democratic candidate for supervisor in 2005).
When endorsing judges, we rely on the experts, especially experts who belong to bar associations.
The Chicago Council of Lawyers found Judge Griffin qualified, writing:
Judge Griffin was admitted to practice in 1976. For 31 years he was in private practice
primarily handling real estate, zoning and development-related matters. In March 2008, he was
appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to a judicial vacancy. He has served in Traffic Court
and currently presides over mortgage foreclosure matters in the Foreclosure/Mechanic’s Lien
Section. Judge Griffin is reported to have good legal ability and an excellent temperament. He
had a good reputation as a hard-working and knowledgeable attorney and is praised for his
courtroom management skills and for being well-prepared. The Council finds him Qualified for
the Circuit Court.In addition, Judge Griffin has been found qualified or recommended (per each organization’s policies) by all associations performing review:
- The Chicago Bar Association – Qualified
- Illinois State Bar Association – Qualified
- Cook County Bar Association – Recommended
- Chicago Council of Lawyers – Qualified
- Women’s Bar Association of Illinois – Recommended
- Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago – Recommended
- Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois – Highly Qualified
- The Decalogue Society of Lawyers – Recommended
- Asian American Bar Association – Recommended
- Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois – Recommended
- Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. – Recommended
We give Judge John C. Griffin our highest recommendation, and encourage all in the 15th Subcircuit to vote for him.
I’m quoting the entire endorsement — with permission — but I want to focus on one point in particular.
What, indeed is a Democrat? What, indeed, is a Republican?
One of John Griffin’s opponents was a Republican who ran as a Republican against Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr.; and he was the unsuccessful Republican candidate against Democratic Judge Anna Demacopoulos in 2008.
Sole Openly-Gay Candidate to Pull Out of IL Senate Race, Support Giannoulias
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is scheduled to get a big boost Sunday when Jacob Meister withdraws from the Democratic primary. Meister is expected to endorse Giannoulias.
Attorney Jacob Meister will pull out of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Sunday and throw his support to State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Meister said tonight.
“Alexi is well ahead in the polls,’ Meister said. “He’s going be our party’s nominee and I think we need to come together around him.”
At recent debates Meister frequently tore into challenger David Hoffman but had few cross words for Giannoulias.a
But Meister called ‘preposterous” the suggestion that he was a Giannoulias pinch-hitter from the start.
The Sun-Times says Miester is the only openly gay candidate in the race, but Meister says he is satisfied that Giannoulias is committed to the causes Meister supports.
I voted for Alexi. I hope he wins the seat. We need another good, thinking liberal in the United States Senate.
Remember, “Liberal” is a good word, especially in this case. Giannoulias is a banker, and bankers are notoriously conservative … when it comes to money. Good bankers are fiscally conservative. Giannoulias is socially liberal.
And that’s a good mix. Something no Republican understands.
More on my thoughts on today’s Republicans later. I finally have them figured out. Really. Finally.
Vote for Alexi Giannoulias. And then vote for him again in the general election.
Weekly Address: President Obama Pledges to Rein in Budget Deficits (Video and Text)
Washington, D.C.–January 30, 2010.
At this time last year, amidst headlines about banks on the verge of collapse and job losses of 700,000 a month, we received another troubling piece of news about our economy. Our economy was shrinking at an alarming rate – the largest six-month decline in 50 years. Our factories and farms were producing less; our businesses were selling less; and more job losses were on the horizon.
One year later, according to numbers released this past week, this trend has reversed itself. For the past six months, our economy has been growing again. And last quarter, it grew more quickly than at any time in the past six years.
This is a sign of progress. And it’s an affirmation of the difficult decisions we made last year to pull our financial system back from the brink and get our economy moving again.
But when so many people are still struggling – when one in ten Americans still can’t find work, and millions more are working harder and longer for less – our mission isn’t just to grow the economy. It’s to grow jobs for folks who want them, and ensure wages are rising for those who have them. It’s not just about improvements we see in quarterly statistics, but ones people feel in their daily lives – a bigger paycheck; more security; the ability to give your kids a decent shot in life and still have enough to retire one day yourself.
That’s why job creation will be our number one focus in 2010. We’ll put more Americans back to work rebuilding our infrastructure all across the country. And since the true engines of job creation are America’s businesses, I’ve proposed tax credits to help them hire new workers, raise wages, and invest in new plants and equipment. I also want to eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment, and help small businesses get the loans they need to open their doors and expand their operations.
But as we work to create jobs, it is critical that we rein in the budget deficits we’ve been accumulating for far too long – deficits that won’t just burden our children and grandchildren, but could damage our markets, drive up our interest rates, and jeopardize our recovery right now.
There are certain core principles our families and businesses follow when they sit down to do their own budgets. They accept that they can’t get everything they want and focus on what they really need. They make tough decisions and sacrifice for their kids. They don’t spend what they don’t have, and they make do with what they’ve got.
It’s time their government did the same. That’s why I’m pleased that the Senate has just restored the pay-as-you-go law that was in place back in the 1990s. It’s no coincidence that we ended that decade with a $236 billion surplus. But then we did away with PAYGO – and we ended the next decade with a $1.3 trillion deficit. Reinstating this law will help get us back on track, ensuring that every time we spend, we find somewhere else to cut.
I’ve also proposed a spending freeze, so that as we increase investments in things we need, like job creation and middle class tax cuts – we cut spending on those we don’t, like tax cuts for oil companies and investment fund managers, and programs that are redundant, obsolete, or simply ineffective. Spending related to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected – and neither will national security – but all other discretionary government programs will.
Finally, I’ve called for a bi-partisan Fiscal Commission – a panel of Democrats and Republicans who would sit down and hammer out concrete deficit-reduction proposals by a certain deadline. Because we’ve heard plenty of talk and a lot of yelling on TV about deficits, and it’s now time to come together and make the painful choices we need to eliminate those deficits.
This past week, 53 Democrats and Republicans voted for this commission in the Senate. But it failed when seven Republicans who had co-sponsored this idea in the first place suddenly decided to vote against it.
Now, it’s one thing to have an honest difference of opinion about something. I will always respect those who take a principled stand for what they believe, even if I disagree with them.
But what I won’t accept is changing positions because it’s good politics. What I won’t accept is opposition for opposition’s sake. We cannot have a serious discussion and take meaningful action to create jobs and control our deficits if politicians just do what’s necessary to win the next election instead of what’s best for the next generation.
I’m ready and eager to work with anyone who’s serious about solving the real problems facing our people and our country. I welcome anyone who comes to the table in good faith to help get our economy moving again and fulfill this country’s promise. That’s why we were elected in the first place. That’s what the American people expect and deserve. And that’s what we must deliver.
Thank you.
Source: whitehouse.gov
Alert: Police Locate Vehicle of Missing Park Forest Woman
From ENEWSPF:
Deputy Chief Mike McNamara said in a statement Friday that the vehicle driven by Dana Hayes, who is missing from her Park Forest home, was located by members of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force in Harvey last night. The vehicle was unoccupied and there were no signs of foul play. However, Ms. Hayes has not contacted her family since Monday morning.
She is considered a missing/endangered person, McNamara said in the statement.
Related: Police and South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force Seek Missing Park Forest Woman
The related story is from eNews Park Forest.
Could ‘Fast Eddie’ Vrdolyak Be Heading for Prison?
Saying the sentencing of former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak to probation for fraud involved "egregious error," the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday reversed the judge who made the controversial decision and took the case away from him.
A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to reverse the sentence handed down last February by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur, a development that could mean Vrdolyak, 71, winds up serving a prison sentence for his role in a rigged Gold Coast real estate deal.
Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of three-and-a-half years in prison for Vrdolyak, who pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to secretly split a $1.5 million finder’s fee when Rosalind Franklin University sold a building. Corrupt political insider Stuart Levine was on the school’s real estate committee and conspired with Vrdolyak to steer the sale to a developer that would pay the hidden fee.
The panel’s decision didn’t come as a surprise after influential Judge Richard Posner at oral argument last month signaled he had serious issues with Vrdolyak’s sentence of five years’ probation. At the time, Posner even asked the prosecution if it wanted a different judge to re-sentence Vrdolyak, saying, "You’re not going to get anywhere with Judge Shadur, because he’s made up his mind."
Friday’s sharply worded opinion, written by Posner, took Shadur to task for what were described as mistakes and suggested Vrdolyak’s sentence was too lenient.
Years ago, I shared a classroom with Ed Vrdolyak’s son at the University of Notre Dame. I never got to know the young lad — he was my age — but I remember the day the lad told the professor, Samuel Shapiro, his name, and I remember Dr. Shapiro’s reaction.
He was shocked. And probably changed his lecture on the spot.
It would appear that Dad, "Fast-Eddie" Vrdolyak, may be facing some prison time.
I’ll be watching this one closely.
Should a 12-Year-Old Child Face Porn Charges for Sexting?
There’s a legal situation brewing in Northwest Indiana that should give us all pause regarding the purpose of the law.
A 12-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl from Northwest Indiana are accused of "sexting" each other, officials said.
Each could be charged with child exploitation and possession of child pornography for allegedly sending nude photos of themselves over their cell phones, officials said.
Earlier today, I wrote about 12-year-old Jordan Brown who was 11 when he was charged as an adult with two counts of homicide for the shotgun shooting of Kenzie Houk, 26, and her unborn child in February. As of this writing, Judge Dominick Motto has not yet ruled on whether Jordan will be tried as an adult or a juvenile. Now, we have two young children possibly being charged with child exploitation and possession of child pornography for allegedly sending nude photos of themselves over their cell phones.
What the hell are we doing? Is the purpose of law to punish, or to assist society to move to a higher place? A better place?
I know the two cases are very different. On the one hand, we have a child charged as an adult in a double homicide case. On the other hand, we have two kids sending nude pictures of themselves over their cell phones. However, in both cases, we have the potential for very adult charges against children.
Ask yourself this: if the person arrested for "sexting" nude pictures of 12 and 13-year-old children was 50, would you be more angry at the alleged murderer (if he was an adult), or the guy or gal sending JPEGs of children?
I would be furious with the 50-year-old dude sending out pics of kids. Given the number of murders committed by adults in the Chicagoland area every year, I’m afraid to say, I don’t know if I would even read that story. That’s not necessarily right. That’s just where I am, I guess.
What is the purpose of our legal system? Is it better to punish a child — a child — for life, or should we help that child move to responsible adulthood? Would you want your child charged with pornography for doing something stupid children might do because we give them the phones, and therefore the means, to do so? What would you have done with that technology as a 12-year-old? How responsible would you have been?
Do we really want a legal system that forces our children — our children — to become registered sex offenders for life … at age 12?