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Ten Senate Democrats warned the White House in a letter Tuesday that they will support legislation imposing new sanctions on Iran if a framework to roll back the country’s nuclear program isn’t reached within two months. "In acknowledgement of your concern regarding congressional action on legislation at this moment, we will not vote for this legislation on the Senate floor before March 24," said the letter, led by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who is the co-author of Iran sanctions legislation. "After March 24, we will only vote for this legislation on the Senate floor if Iran fails to reach agreement...

U.N. gives mixed signals on Tehran cooperation as nuclear talks intensifySenate Democrats on Tuesday backed away from a bipartisan push for immediate new sanctions on Iran, bowing to President Obama’s call not to undercut international talks to get Tehran to curb its nuclear programs in the coming weeks. The shift, announced Tuesday by Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat and one of the party’s outspoken hawks on Iran, came amid a series of mixed signals from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency over the question of whether Tehran was honoring promises to put its suspect nuclear programs on hold as...

Everyone involved seems to be trying to put the best face on it, but Barack Obama went so far as to suggest senior Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who take a hard line on Iran, are doing so purely to appease their donors. Obama said that as a former senator himself, he understood how outside forces — like special interests and donors — can influence senators to act, one of the senators recounted.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A heated exchanged between President Barack Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) broke out Thursday over whether the U.S. should reimpose sanctions on Iran amid ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, according to two senators who were in the room. Menendez, the leading Democrat pushing for additional sanctions against Iran, forcefully pressed Obama on the need for additional sanctions during a meeting in which Obama urged Menendez and other senators to drop their efforts to pass sanctions legislation. Additional sanctions, Obama argued, could torpedo ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The unusually sharp exchange, between...

Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran 'Sound like Talking Points Straight out of Tehran'

One of the left-wing groups pushing for an Elizabeth Warren presidency is no fan of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Democracy for America (DFA) announced this week that it will be supporting seven progressive Chicago Aldermen that the group says Emanuel, President Obama’s former White House chief of staff, has attacked. The DFA’s effort highlights the ever-more apparent rift in the Democratic Party between the progressive so-called Warren-wing of the party and more establishment Democrats.

Unless there is any doubt, the vast majority of Democrats value partisan support for a failed president over support for our own national security and for that of Israel. Hence, they want to delay once again a vote on the Menendez-Kirk bill imposing sanctions on Iran unless it agrees to an acceptable final deal. The bill was introduced more than a year ago. The timing just isn’t right, you see. Will it ever be? A letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) signed onto by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.),...

The 7th Circuit federal court of appeals will hear a case against a local ban on some common rifles, handguns, shotguns, and magazines.  The city of Highland Park, notorious for its anti-second amendment laws, passed an ordinance that requires residents to turn in, modify or remove the banned items from the city.   Ordinance 136(pdf) deals with "Assault Weapons".  The ordinance includes very broad boilerplate language.   Some claim that the ordinance was lifted from the City of Chicago. The definitions are broad and cover most semi-automatic rifles, and a fair number of pistols and shotguns.   Highland Park has a...

(STMW) — A mother and daughter upset that their teenage relative was disciplined at a South Side elementary school are charged with allegedly beating and stabbing two Chicago Public Schools employees and a teen boy at the school. Authorities say the attack took place on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Bond Elementary School in the 7000 block of South May Street, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

Perhaps the most astounding aspect of the shoddy care of abortion clinics is the claim they all make to provide quality health care for women. A recent example of the hypocrisy in Illinois is not only disgusting, but also dangerous to the women it purports to serve. The study from Illinois Right to Life revealed: 63% of licensed Illinois women’s clinics have not received a health and sanitary inspection in between two and three-and-a-half-years. The failure of the Department of Public Health to conduct regular health and sanitary inspections leaves women open to the prospect of unsterile surgical tools, dirty...

President Obama used his State of the Union address to urge Americans not to fear terrorists: “We lead best, when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents.” But his words reached Americans when the Gallup Poll notes that 40 percent of Americans are very or somewhat worried that they will become a victim of terrorism — a higher percentage than when Obama took office in 2009. They have reason for concern. From Day One, this administration has downplayed the terrorist threat from Islamic extremists. It declared the terrorist attack at Fort Hood,...

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California says that inviting Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Congress during an Israeli election period is “highly inappropriate” and that imposing new sanctions on Iran at this time is “reckless and dangerous.” Feinstein’s statement to Haaretz comes against the backdrop of the growing backlash against Netanyahu’s upcoming March 3 speech to Congress, which is already causing some Democratic lawmakers to rethink their support for the Iran sanctions bill proposed by Democratic Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey and Republican Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois. According to journalist Laura Rozen of Al-Monitor, Menendez is trying to...

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 Rauner picks Planned Parenthood Vice-Chair to head Healthcare and Family Services SPRINGFIELD, IL - Last week Governor Rauner announced a number of additional appointments, including those he wants to head the Department of Revenue, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Public Health and Illinois Commerce Commission.One appointment raising social conservatives' eyebrows is Felicia Norwood, who was named by the governor to be the new Director of Illinois' Department Healthcare and Family Services. Norwood, who will lead the state's agency focused on caring for Illinoisans' health, is also...

New York Times reporter, Julie Bosman who along with her colleague, Campbell Robertson, thought is was perfectly okay to write an article revealing the town and street where former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson lives. This act of complete obliviousness to the safety of officer Wilson caused quite an uproar including from Sean Hannity who blasted the Times for revealing this personal information about Wilson's home address. One result of this backlash was the publication on the Web of the home addressses of both Bosman and Robertson so they could experience a bit of karmatic kickback. Apparently this was a...

It is a crime spree and viral internet sensation that started in Chicago last May and is spreading across the country like wildfire. […] It's called “Put ’Em In A Coffin,” and it was created by a rap musician named VonMar, who has posted dozens of videos of himself doing it. He's even been arrested for it. Just what is “Put ’Em In A Coffin”? James McHugh, 28, lives in the Fifth Ward, and he can tell you exactly what it is, because it happened to him this past weekend. “A group of young idiots, just out for laughs, to...

An Illinois pro-life group is calling for lawmakers to correct a wrong related to abortion clinics. Though state law requires the health department to inspect abortion mills anytime it deems necessary, Emily Zender of Illinois Right to Life tells OneNewsNow it is "appalling how the Illinois Department of Public Health can look the other way while Illinois' abortion clinics are providing substandard medical care." "We have found that on average, 40 percent of the clinics in Illinois have gone between 14 and 17 years without a health inspection," she reports. "And abortion clinics in Illinois are only being inspected an...

Not what it appears to be: the Archaic Mark LONDON. A clever bit of detective work by US scholars and scientists has proven that one of the jewels of the University of Chicago’s manuscript collection is, in fact, a skilled late 19th- or early 20th-century forgery. Although speculation as to the authenticity of the Archaic Mark codex has been rife for more than 60 years, prior to this definitive research many believed it was an early record (possibly as early as the 14th century) of the Gospel of Mark and the closest of any extant manuscript to the world’s oldest...

As subzero temperatures hit Chicago, the violence continues. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening one was killed and six others were shot in the Windy City. Thus far this year, in the 17 short days of the first month of 2015, 70 have been shot. Thirteen of those were fatalities.

Brad Sweeney did not know what to expect when concealed-carry of firearms became law in Illinois last year. The Decatur police chief said he and his officers were hopeful that it would not cause any problems, though the thought of Decatur turning into a “wild, wild west” of gun violence did cross his mind. . . . Concerns raised by critics as Illinois became the last state to allow concealed-carry for citizens have dissipated as officials said the roll-out has been as smooth as possible. While some estimated that upward of 400,000 people would file for permits in the first...