Free Republic

Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is expecting a baby in December, is being denied a request to vote by proxy in the House Democratic Caucus leadership and committee member elections next week—even though her doctor advises she can't travel to Washington in the late stages of her pregnancy. The Iraq War veteran, who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, made the request in a letter to fellow Democrats. Her letter was read during a closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting on Thursday. But objections were raised, and the request was denied, with opponents including Democratic Steering...

Chicago desperately needs a real leader in the fight to get illegal guns off our blood-stained streets. Nothing is more important to our city’s future. We believe that leader can and must be Bruce Rauner. That may seem counter-intuitive. Rauner is a Republican who ran for governor as a strong defender of the Second Amendment, against an incumbent Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, with a long record in support of gun control. But it is precisely because Rauner is a Republican and a staunch defender of legal gun rights — and because he now faces the prospect of finding common ground...

Longtime Illinois Congressman Phillip Crane, a northwest suburban Republican who championed conservative principles and once ran for president, died Saturday in Maryland, according to family.. Crane, who suffered from congestive heart failure and lung cancer, died of respiratory failure in a daughter's home in Jefferson, Md., according to another daughter, Catherine Hott, of Berryville, Va.

"His accomplishments, and his lifelong pursuit of conservative principles, will have a lasting effect for generations to come: from his work on the Ways and Means Committee and the Republican Study Committee, to his work founding the Heritage Foundation and leading the American Conservative Union. He fought for lower taxes, a simplified tax code, free-market principles, and free trade."

GARY — The Internal Revenue Service is seeking $6.78 million in unpaid payroll taxes from Gary Community School Corp. The IRS has filed two liens in the Lake County Recorder’s Office against the school district. One lien, filed Sept. 3, seeks payment of $5,270,467 for payroll taxes in 2013. The other lien, filed June 24, says the district owes $1,514,529 for part of 2012 and 2013. IRS spokesman Luis Garcia said the agency doesn’t comment on specific taxpayers. “The public document has to speak for itself,” he said. The documents state the IRS is giving notice that taxes, including interest...

Dems Realize “War on Coal” Cost Them Coal Country by Daniel Greenfield People are funny that way. They cling to their bibles and guns. And then if you declare war on them, they don’t want to vote for you. Coal-heavy districts in West Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois that had been steadily moving away from Democrats in recent elections appear to have completed that shift Tuesday, when they overwhelmingly backed Republicans who vowed to oppose what they call President Barack Obama’s “war on coal.”In West Virginia, once a long-time Democratic stronghold, Republicans will take control of both houses of the state...

Illinois residents who enroll in Obamacare on the whole will pay higher premiums than last year for the most popular plans, but they'll have many more options to choose from, according to 2015 plan information released Friday. Premiums for the lowest-cost options in the most popular group of plans will rise 2.6 percent on average statewide, although rates for those so-called silver plans will vary widely, from a decrease of 5 percent to an increase of 12 percent, the Illinois Department of Insurance announced Friday. Rates for the lowest-cost plans, called bronze, will increase 11 percent on average. While Illinois...

Almost since the start of Barack Obama’s presidency, people who have actual, real duties in the West Wing of the White House—the working, executive part of the government, that is—have been urging him to do something about Valerie Jarrett. Push her into the East Wing, where she can hang out with Michelle Obama and the White House social secretary, or give her an ambassadorship—or something—but for Pete’s sake get her out of the way of the hard work of governing that needs to be done. Now it’s really time to do it. Let’s stipulate right away that it would be...

With Bruce Rauner’s election in Illinois, the Republican Governor’s Association has checked this bluer-than-blue state off its Democrat tick list. It must feel good—but I’m less than sanguine. For the better part of a year, powerful Chicago Democrats have been whispering in my ear, extolling Rauner’s virtues. I heard similar insider political “chatter” about Barack Obama from these same Democrats long before he ran for U.S. Senate. Even the left-leaning Chicago Sun-Times suddenly changed its no-endorsement policy to back Rauner — and only Rauner — without even the basic formality of a candidate questionnaire or interview.

While Chicago has been portrayed as a city that has been overwhelmed with violence in the Black community, a group of protesters gathered in front of the Chicago police headquarters on Wednesday night to charge that in fact the Chicago police department is systematically targeting African Americans in the city, leaving far too many dead at the hands of Chicago police officers. A group of noteworthy attendees at the rally was the families of young people killed by the police, who publicly recounted the circumstances of their deaths and described how they have been trying to get answers and justice...

(CBS) – If you have to be 21 to buy a drink, do you need to be the same age to buy cigarettes? One community in Illinois thinks so. Health experts are hoping Evanston won’t be the last. CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley reports. At this Evanston grocery store, signs warn you can’t buy tobacco under age 18. Starting Saturday, the age limit goes up to 21, when a new ordinance takes effect. “You’re going to have some customers that are going to be upset, but the law’s the law,” says Kosta Douvikas of D and D Finer Foods.

Demonize coal. Keep the poor in the dark. And, above all, keep pushing the fantasy that U.S. government action (with or without the approval of Congress) is essential to dealing with climate change. That — in a nutshell — is the climate-change strategy of the Obama administration and its environmentalist allies. Evidence of the third point can be found by looking at the “Clean Power Plan” — the 645-page set of rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency last June that, if it withstands legal challenges, will effectively outlaw the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States....

'They came from nearby North Lawndale and as far away as Oceania to witness a landmark rugby game Saturday at Soldier Field.. Both curious and committed fans crowded into the lakefront arena as New Zealand's All Blacks — the world's top team — opened a 43-6 first-half lead and beat the USA Eagles 74-6 on a crisp, sunny afternoon. The All Blacks never trailed, but results were almost beside the point. Saturday's game celebrated both community and an emerging sport that returns to the Olympics in 2016 after a more than 90-year absence. The sellout crowd of 61,500 was the...

MSNBC’s political panel on Election Night was shocked by the Republican Party’s victory in the Illinois Governor race on Tuesday, with Andrea Mitchell declaring it “a real blow” to the president. Chris Matthews described GOP candidate Bruce Rauner’s victory as “unbelievable” and “amazing.” And host Andrea Mitchell added “it's also a real blow to president obama. There’s no way you can’t call it a blow to the president. Because he campaigned for him [Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn]. That was one race that the president really did want to win.” Al Sharpton added that Republicans did a better job turning out...

barrage of automated phone calls offering false instructions to scores of election judges was "a serious attempt to disrupt" Chicago voting operations in the run-up to Tuesday’s vote, election officials said. Between Friday and Monday, an unknown number of judges — the paid partisan employees tasked with operating polling stations — received the misleading robocalls, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. “Given the level of response that we received, we suspect it was a large number of people — we don’t know how large,” Jim Allen, board spokesman, said Monday. Some of the judges received calls informing them...

Illinois is the worst-governed state in the nation. It has high unemployment, poor economic performance, billions in unfunded pension liabilities, billions in unpaid bills, failing schools, the worst credit rating in the country, and rampant corruption and cronyism. According to a recent Gallup poll, a whopping 50 percent of respondents would even choose to move out of state if they had the chance. For these reasons, voters in The Prairie State have chosen to pass on re-electing Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, or the “failure,” as Republican challenger Bruce Rauner pegged him on the campaign trail. Instead, they’re taking a chance...

CHICAGO (CBS) — According to the latest expanded exit polls from CBS 2, Bruce Rauner is gaining the advantage in the razor thin race for Illinois governor.

Fox calls it for Rauner.

Are you feeling a sudden burst of inspiration and want to vote on Tuesday, but aren't sure where to start? Let's get you sorted out. Not registered? You're in luck! 2014 is the first year Illinois offers same-day registration after a bill was signed into law earlier this summer. You will be able to register and vote at select locations if you are 18, an American citizen, and present two forms of identification, one of which shows your current address. Acceptable forms include a driver's license, a state ID card, a passport, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government...

This is Election Day, and I'm proud to cast my vote against the assorted utopians, finaglers and totally self-involved who are running Illinois and America into the ground. It's no coincidence that most of those who are getting the back of my hand are incumbents. And Democrats. I mean, look at what they've done, in Illinois and America. A potted plant could do better. Not that some of the challengers are better than potted plants, but you can't blame them for a state and a federal government that are circling the drain. The Affordable Care Act, proudly marked by President...