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I received a brochure with a young woman on the cover and the statement, “When victims of sexual assault had no place to turn … state Rep. Brent Hassert listened and took action.” This was to inform me that he voted for legislation requiring hospitals to provide information about emergency contraception for sexual assault victims, but that is not what I learned. Instead, I learned that Hassert is willing to exploit the victims of rape for political gain, and he apparently thinks that women are stupid enough to believe he’s an advocate for

Meridian Bank, Eldred, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation-Division of Banking, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC approved the assumption of all the deposits of Meridian Bank by National Bank, Hillsboro, Illinois. All depositors of Meridian Bank, including any with deposits in excess of the FDIC's insurance limits, will automatically become depositors of National Bank, and they will continue to have uninterrupted access to their money. Depositors will still be insured with the new institution. Therefore, there is no need for customers to change...

For most of my life I've been told that the government was to protect our rights and freedoms in the United States, how is it doing these days? Not well as I see it and here's why: Socialist government now is to raise us all from cradle to grave so we can all be equally unhappy. Government now knows best what to do with your money; you are too ignorant! Do you really want this government to run your health care? They tried to run the mortgage industry, see where that got us - $800 trillion in debt and no...

The mainstream media thought that the membership of Todd Palin, who is not a candidate for any office, in the Alaska Independence Party important enough to report in such outlets as the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, and the New York Times, among others. So now that Barack Obama's membership in the far left New Party has been unearthed, will they report his membership in that Socialist organization? Proof of Obama's membership in the New Party was discovered by the Politically Drunk On Power blog: In June sources released information that during his campaign for the State Senate in Illinois, Barack...

As Barack Obama and John McCain prepared for their debate on Tuesday, Illinois Gov. Rod "The Unreformer" Blagojevich broke out with a severe case of creeping feditis. He mentioned Sen. Obama and convicted political influence peddler Tony Rezko at least four times. Maybe five. Or was it six? I stopped counting, but I'm sure Obama didn't like hearing the name of his own real estate fairy on the lips of a governor with a profound federal infection. Obama and Blagojevich are Chicago politicians, well versed in the Chicago Way and the Democratic political machine. Each has been nurtured, fed and...

The Most Clueless Man in Chicago By Mark Finkelstein (Bio | Archive) October 7, 2008 - 10:12 ET Update | Hail Halperin: See incredible video at foot. Pressed by Mark Halperin, Robert Gibbs admits Obama continued to associate with Ayers after learning his past. H/t Melody N. An Obama spokesman adamantly insists that in 1995 Barack Obama was the most clueless man in Chicago. Andrea Mitchell thinks talk of Barack Obama's ties to an unrepentant terrorist is a "distraction." Rudy Giuliani doesn't. Mitchell is happy to take the New York Times's word for the fact that Obama and William Ayers...

I agree with many of the comments and concerns of the bloggers on both sides of the aisle regarding this Larry Walsh issue. But this is happening everywhere. The newspaper selects the questions they want to ask, politicians claim “no comment” or “I don’t know much about this or that but an investigation is underway”, running politicians start slinging mud because they cant hack it in the real world and need to take on ego trip. And when they get elected its business as usual just with different faces. Now, everyone one of the bloggers here have great ambitions, passions...

His political opponents think Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's acquaintance with former Weatherman William Ayers is a weak spot worthy of attack, as certain Republican presidential nominee John McCain did again Sunday on a TV talk show. But here in Chicago, home to both men, the charge that Obama has been friendly with the former political radical has gone nowhere. Ayers' extremist past has "has never bothered anyone in Chicago," Chicago Sun-Times political columnist Lynn Sweet wrote after Obama was questioned about his relationship with Ayers in last week's debate with Hillary Clinton. "That's why back in the day when Obama...

Every Illinois voter who goes to the polls next month must be notified of misleading language on the ballot, a judge ruled Friday. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Nathaniel Howse Jr. ordered state election officials to print notices directing voters to disregard the false information, which deals with a referendum on whether Illinois should hold a constitutional convention. Howse acknowledged the notices might not be the best solution, but said it was the only one available in time for the Nov. 4 election and early voting. Even though Howse is a Cook County judge, Quinn has said his decision is...

Kuroda vs. Harden. First pitch, 9:07 CDT.

Islam convert gets 35 years in plot to attack mall The Associated Press - 30 Sep 2008 CHICAGO (AP) — A 24-year-old convert to Islam has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for plotting to set off hand grenades in a crowded shopping mall ... Man gets 35 years in '06 terror plot Chicago Tribune

5:37 CDT first pitch at Wrigley Field in Chicago! Dempster vs. Lowe. Line-ups will be announced soon.

Jose Herrera said he came to the United States when he was 7. Arrested at an Immigration raid recently and detained for three months in Cook County Jail, he has a court case pending in which he's trying to gain permanent residency. "I have a 7-year-old child to support," said Herrera, 25. "These raids don't do any good. They just separate families." He joined more than 100 people Wednesday night who marched and held a candlelight vigil in the western suburbs in an effort to halt raids, address inhuman conditions at Immigration detention centers and urge enactment of a state...

All of the information below is from an editorial post on the website http://discoverthenetworks.org _________________________________________________________ A notable attendee at the [Bll]Ayers/Dohrn-hosted political gatherings [in Chicago in the early to mid-1990s] was Democratic state senator Alice J. Palmer (of Illinois' 13th District), who soon developed a friendly relationship with Obama. Prior to her stint in politics, Palmer had worked for the Black Press Institute and was editor of the Black Press Review. During the Cold War, she supported the Soviet Union and spoke against the United States. In the 1980s she served as an executive board member of the U.S. Peace...

CHICAGO, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. federal agents say they have enough evidence to indict Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for fraud and conspiracy, WBBM-TV, Chicago, reported Thursday. The CBS-owned station also said an indictment of Blagojevich, the first Democrat elected to Illinois' governorship in 30 years, was "not imminent." Neither the FBI, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald nor Blagojevich's office had any immediate comment on the report. Fitzgerald's office said June 30, 2006, it was looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has yet to solicit Ozzie Guillen's help or advice in relation to fulfilling his ongoing quest of bringing the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. Not unlike the shoot-from-the-lip manner Guillen has operated under since taking over the White Sox in 2004, the opinionated manager recently offered up his own solution to clinch the bid. It involves the Cubs and White Sox and a special postseason meeting that has not taken place since 1906, which astonishingly also marks the last time both teams qualified for the playoffs during the same season. "Like I said two...

For those of you who still cling to the fantasy that Barack Obama is "about change," you should note how he, or his minions, want nothing to do with reforming politics in Illinois, perhaps the most corrupt state in the Union. "Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has fought for open and honest government," proclaims his campaign Web site. Apparently, no longer. When the Democratic presidential candidate—now his party's industrial-strength voice for our deliverance from political corruption everywhere—was asked by a reformer if he would help get his political mentor back home to get off the dime and move the...

WAUKEGAN -- Anti-gun forces counterattacked last month's proposal to the Lake County Board to support Second Amendment rights. The inalienable right to live a safe life trumps the right of any individual to own any and every kind of weapon, the speakers fired back in public comments to the board Tuesday. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down local gun bans also stated that with the right to bear arms comes the responsibility to "keep guns out of the hands of criminals and insane individuals who will do harm and destruction on our communities," said Tom Vandenberg of...

A Marine who dropped off his German shepherd at PAWS when he was deployed in February has been reunited with his dog. Marine returns, reunites with pup September 14, 2008 BY DONNA VICKROY, Staff Writer Call it fate. Call it destiny. Call it, simply, a happy ending. On a cold day this past February, a young Marine said farewell to his best friend, knowing he might never see him again. Bound for a second tour of duty in Iraq, the Marine had no one to care for his German shepherd pup. His family was scattered across the country and...

In her game-changing convention speech, Sarah Palin took a swipe at Obama for having been nothing more in his life than a ‘community organiser’. This prompted the Obama campaign to issue a pained defence of community organisation as a way of promoting social change ‘from the bottom up’. The impression is that community organising is a worthy if woolly and ultimately ineffectual grassroots activity. This is to miss something of the greatest importance: that in the world of Barack Obama, community organisers are a key strategy in a different game altogether; and the name of that game is revolutionary Marxism....

Good thing he has that Community Organizer thing on his resume, otherwise people might start wondering if he ever had a real job before coming to the U.S. Senate. Obama’s Illinois Senate job was a pretty good part-time gig. One would have plenty of extra time to nurture nascent Hope and Change. A Hillary supporter did some digging at the height of the primary battle and found out how often the Illinois Senate convened during Obama’s tenure. Not only that, a local Chicago reporter also has reported that, though Obama spent 7 years in the state senate, he built his...

One of the first bills Obama wrote in the Illinois General Assemby was a declaration that 1 Nov 1997 would be Islamic Day. It did not pass Interesting isn’t it? 90th General Assembly Summary of SR0110 Senate Sponsors: OBAMA. Short description: 11/1/97-ISLAMIC DAY Synopsis of Bill as introduced: Declares November 1, 1997 to be South Shore Islamic Day. Last action on Bill: SESSION SINE DIE Last action date: 99-01-12 Location: Senate

Please see the previous threads detailing Barack Obama's failed efforts in the 90th and 91st General Assemblies of the Illinois Legislature: Barack Obama's failed "accomplishments" in the 90th GA of the Illinois Legislature (1997-1998) Barack Obama learns to "get help" - and fails in the 91st GA of the Illinois Legislature (1999-2000) Barack Obama decided to spend his last two years in the Illinois Senate going after peoples guns. Its interesting how he was willing to do this, but thought it was okie dokie for his best bud Bill Ayers to have bombs and explosives. Anyways, here is a link...

Please see the previous thread detailing Barack Obama's failed efforts in the 90th General Assembly of the Illinois Legislature: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075119/posts Here are the bills that Mr. Obama was associated with during the 91st General Assembly of the Illinois Legislature: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/legisnet91/sponsor/OBAMA.html Mr. "Community Organizer" quickly learned, after his disastrous first two years in the Illinois legislature, that he needed to "join hands" with other comrades if he was going to write (and pass) a successful bill. Barack Obama wrote and introduced 36 bills during the 91st General Assembly (1999-2000). Of these, 33 bills were failures, and 3 became law. The first...

Barack Obama is one heck of a community organizer - that is, if you count organizing a directory of Community College graduating students. This was Barack's sum total of TWO YEARS spent in the Illinois Senate. Here is a link to Mr. Obama's activity during the 90th General Assembly (1997-1998): http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/legisnet90/sponsor/OBAMA.html You can see from the link that Barack Obama sponsored (wrote and introduced) 31 bills over the two year period. Of these, 28 died on the vine - leaving only 3. The first, SB0574, provided that "a municipality may provide for a system of administrative adjudication of violations of...

Illinois employers eliminated a total of 9,700 jobs statewide during the month of July, state officials said today, pushing the Illinois unemployment rate leaped from 6.8 percent to 7.3 percent -- the state's highest jobless level in almost 15 years. The national unemployment rate was 5.6 percent.

While Illinois' Senators, Obamis and Durbin, prepared for the party at Barackopolis; while Senator Obama's friend and mentors, Gover Rod Blagojevich and Emil Jones prepared for the party at the Barackopolis; state agencies in Illinois announce the layoff of ...

<p>I spent the morning trying to convince a wet-behind-the-ears local county prosecutor that this was a major crock of shit . . . despite patiently trying to explain the law and logic to her, I got nowhere.</p> <p>I figured I'd post this: 1) to see your reactions; and 2) because you guys think I'm some crazy liberal . . . btw, I was asked by members of this poor woman's church to intervene because she's on a fixed income (she's raising two of her grandkids), couldn't afford to hire an attorney, and it had been suggested at her initial appearance that she should waive her rights, proceed without counsel, and plead.</p>

Election '08: The Obama camp tries to suppress a campaign ad and university archives linking the candidate to a '60s terrorist who hosted his first campaign fundraiser. Is he being "swiftboated," or is this a cover-up?When Obama's association with William Ayers was raised at a Democratic debate this year, Obama replied: "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood. . . . He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis." Tuesday's release of papers from a Chicago school reform project known as the Annenberg Challenge shows once again Barack Obama has a problem with the...

CHICAGO (CBS) ― In a bombshell announcement in the world of sports journalism, star columnist Jay Mariotti has abruptly resigned from the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times says Mariotti left to "pursue other opportunities." But Mariotti told the Chicago Tribune he decided to quit after covering the Olympics in Beijing because newspapers are in serious trouble, and he did not want to go down with the ship. "I'm a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete," he said in the Tribune story. "Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers. "To see what has happened in...

The University of Illinois said Friday it is releasing records of Barack Obama's service to a nonprofit organization linked to former 1960s radical William Ayers. Supporters of John McCain have been trying to exploit the tie between Obama and Ayers, with a conservative group spending $2.8 million on an ad focusing on Ayers. Ayers' Weatherman group took credit for bombings that included nonfatal blasts at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago. The records of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an organization that Obama chaired and that Ayers co-founded, will be made available to the public Tuesday, the University of...

These annoying journalists are at it again, trying to poke around into papers in the background of candidates' lives. This time it involves freshman Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, his friend and former radical activist William Ayers and the University of Illinois. The university has refused to release records related to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's past service for a nonprofit educational project that put him in contact with activist Ayers, a 1960s-era radical who helped found an organization advWilliam Ayers former 60s radical activist and friend of Senator Barack Obama posed for this photo for Chicago Magazine in 2001 to...

CHICAGO (WBBM) ― Robbers invaded a Southwest Side jewelry store on Wednesday, triggering a gun fight. Four people, including the alleged robbers, were injured in the shootout. It was a wild scene near the corner of 63rd Street and Kedzie Avenue Wednesday evening when a pair of robbers pretending to be customers walked into Sergio V. Jewelry. But the robbers picked on the wrong guy. The store owner, Sergio Vasquez, is known around the neighborhood to be a man who doesn't put up with any nonsense at his shop. He was behind the counter when the robbers walked in. Chicago...

MELROSE PARK, Ill. - In a yellow-brick building by the railroad tracks, the Illinois Welcoming Center is the crown jewel of a broad state initiative to help immigrants blend into mainstream America. Yet the center is also an example of the initiative's disappointments. Illinois's ambitious effort to lend immigrants a hand as they navigate their new homeland is being held up as a model for Massachusetts, but it has fallen far short of its expectations because of lack of state money. Now Illinois's program also stands as a warning as Massachusetts embarks on its own effort this year - with...

In case anyone thought that we were on the cusp of a thoughtful discussion about education in Illinois, enter Al Sharpton. Thanks to a confused Chicago press corps that has mistaken him for a "civil rights leader", Sharpton is now enjoying local airplay for piggy-backing onto State Senator James Meeks' Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student boycott scheduled for day one of the school year. By allowing himself to be cast with Sharpton and other professional liars, Meeks is frittering away his breakthrough opportunity for low income families whose children are unfairly locked into failing schools. While I disagree with some...

To make good on his offer to help Chicago combat violence, Gov. Blagojevich envisions putting speed cameras on interstates across Illinois -- and using the revenue to form an "elite tactical team" that would operate in Chicago and other cities. The idea is in its infancy, with no budget and no timetable. About 50 Illinois State Police employees have been assigned to work with Chicago Police on everything from tracking down illegal gun buyers to hunting for criminals on Chicago's expressways, Guerrero said. "I want to be judged not by the number of people we provide, but by the results...

WASHINGTON (AP) — An attorney who volunteered to help Barack Obama improve his relationship with Muslim and Arab-Americans has resigned from the campaign amid questions about his connection to a fundamentalist imam.

Howard Kurtz has dug up a lot of information about Obama and his writings while he was in Illinois. This stuff is awesome. It is a very long article and well worth the entire read. I've got a few choice quotes here and as I go through there will be updates below. Bottom line: Danger

ontrairiMarie of Illinois has written the following letter to Dan White, Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Elections. >Dan White, Executive Director Illinois Board of Elections 1020 S. Spring St. Springfield, Illinois 62704 Dear Mr. White, I am writing to respectfully demand the Board investigate the qualifications of Barack H. Obama. In light of the Certificate of Live Birth posted at the Campaign's internet site, I feel there needs to be a full investigation of his citizenship status. Illinois statutes require that he be a citizen, and I challenge that his claim is valid. The Certificate posted has been...

-Throughout the 2008 campaign, Obama has made a point of refusing the liberal label. While running for Congress against Bobby Rush in late 1999 and early 2000, however, Obama showed no such compunction. At a November 1999 candidate forum, the Hyde Park Herald reported that "there was little to distinguish" the candidates, who "struggled to differentiate themselves" ideologically. Acknowledged Obama, "[W]e're all on the liberal wing of the Democratic party." -The most interesting characterization came from Obama himself, who laid out his U.S. Senate campaign strategy for the Defender in 2003: "[A]s you combine a strong African-American base with progressive...

The Chicago Tribune posted a story in the July 30 edition that highlights the often absurd hyperbole all too common in the language of environmentalists and eco-watchers. The story detailed the findings of scientists studying Lake Michigan and the ecology of the Great Lakes, one of them saying it is in "catastrophic" shape. Native fish and vegetation are being crowded out by new species and the "Great Lakes are at a tipping point" the Trib warns. It's all presented as some major disaster that should alarm us all, as if Mother Nature is being ruined, presumably by man. But a...

Illinois should go to a military strongman form of government. Instead of the pretense of representative democracy, we should submit to one of those charismatic, totalitarian dictators with the Captain Kangaroo get-up who makes people disappear. After all, isn't that what the "Chicago 9" are doing? The Chicago 9 are the nine Chicago Democrats who live within about five squares miles of one another and who control more than $70 billion worth of government and more than 125,000 public sector jobs in Illinois. [The 9: Daley, Blagojevich, (Lisa) Madigan, White, Hynes, Giannoulias, Jones, (Mike) Madigan, Stroger] It was reported last...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Village of Morton Grove to Repeal Gun Ban Friday, July 18, 2008 Fairfax, VA. – Today the Village of Morton Grove moved to avoid imminent legal action by the National Rifle Association by amending its Village Code to remove the current handgun ban and incorporate sections of the Illinois Criminal Code. “We are pleased that the Village of Morton Grove took steps to repeal its draconian gun ban,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. “Finally Village residents can exercise the same constitutionally-protected rights that the rest of the country enjoys.” Final...

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Illinois Senate Bill 1093 Introduced February 22, 2001 Amended in Judiciary Committee March 27, 2001 Passed by the state Senate on March 30, 2001 - - - - - 92_SB1093eng SB1093 Engrossed LRB9207891WHtm 1 AN ACT concerning abortion. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 is amended 5 by changing Section 6 as follows: 6 (720 ILCS 510/6) (from Ch. 38, par. 81-26) 7 Sec. 6. (1) (a) Any physician who intentionally performs 8 an abortion when, in his medical...

Reason Number 64,112 as to why Republicans in Illinois lose: opposition to their own party platform. Here's the setup for latest skit in the Illinois GOP's long-running burlesque show: At the quadrennial Republican State Convention in Decatur last month, Illinois Republicans adopted the following plank in their party platform, "We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to balance the state budget and provide for a responsible capital development program without resorting to the expansion of gambling..." (page 3 of the "2008 Platform", bullet point #6 for those scoring at home). That plank was proposed and ratified by Republican...

Ties to Illinois governor threaten DemBy JOSH KRAUSHAAR | 7/8/08 6:49 PM EST While Barack Obama figures to be an unalloyed asset to down-ballot Illinois Democrats this fall, another statewide politician is threatening to become an equally significant drag on one of the Democrats’ leading congressional recruits. Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich is proving so politically toxic that he has become a central issue in the campaign to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Jerry Weller. Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson and Republican concrete magnate Martin Ozinga III are each accusing the other of having closer ties to the two-term governor,...

1 shot to death, 1 injured in South Side drive-by Tribune staff report 7:54 AM CDT, July 5, 2008 A second man shot as he sat in a vehicle on Chicago's South Side late Thursday has died. Martin Hoard, 29, of the 6000 block of South Indiana Ave., died at Stroger Hospital following the shooting. He was parked in the 6700 block of South State Street when a car pulled up about 10:50 p.m. and fired shots into their vehicle, said Officer Amina Greer, a police spokeswoman. John Duncan, 22, of the 8000 block of South Paulina Street, was pronounced...

New Push To Prevent Gas Gouging At Illinois PumpsReporting Dorothy Tucker Jul 3, 2008 6:27 pm US/Central CHICAGO (CBS) With the price of gas well over $4 a gallon, consumers want every drop they pay for. But sometimes Pamela Smith wondered if the gas was flowing when she was pumping. "While I'm pumping the nozzle is clicking and it's going on and off and I'm not certain if the gas is going into the vehicle," Smith said. She is among the hundreds who have registered their concerns with the state. The state has had 700 complaints since January, compared to...