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A "violent struggle" that took place during the slayings of five members of a central Illinois family may have left the suspect or suspects injured, authorities said Saturday as they sought the public's help. "There is a possibility that the person or persons responsible may be injured themselves," Logan County Sheriff Steven Nichols said in a statement Saturday. "I am asking the public to look at everyone they know ... or may encounter that have recent injuries especially to their arms, head and upper body." Police have declined to say whether they are seeking one or more suspects in the...

A man who idolized American born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh and a Jordanian national who frequented extremist Web sites are charged in unrelated cases after attempting to detonate what they thought were bombs outside an Illinois courthouse and a Texas skyscraper, federal officials said. Federal officials said Thursday that the cases are not connected to each other or the major terrorism investigation under way in Colorado and New York. Michael C. Finton, 29, who also went by the name Talib Islam, was arrested Wednesday in Springfield, Ill., after federal officials said he attempted to set off explosives in a...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been arrested on charges that he allegedly planned to bomb a federal courthouse in Illinois and kill employees there. Federal officials say the case has no connections with the major terrorism investigation under way in Colorado and New York.

In his new book, "Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage," Best-selling celebrity journalist, Christopher Andersen, has blown a huge hole in the Obama genius myth without intending to do so. Relying on inside sources, quite possibly Michelle Obama herself, Andersen describes how Dreams came to be published -- just as I had envisioned it in my articles on the authorship of Dreams.  With the deadline pressing, Michelle recommended that Barack seek advice from "his friend and Hyde Park neighbor Bill Ayers." To flesh out his family history, Obama had taped interviews with various family members. Andersen writes, "These...

Must see this young man, a local HERO, an airforce pilot & a conservative running for congress in Illinos! Let's take Illinois back!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrjL_fxAJug&feature=related Adam the hero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TvCyQasadw&feature=related His campaign site: http://www.electadam.com/ PASS this on to people in ILLINOIS!

With twenty states now investigating ACORN/SEIU and the vast majority of US House and US Senate members voting to end all federal tax dollars going to the ACORN/SEIU organizations, it's notable that Illinois -- where ACORN and the employee union local it founded -- Service Employees International Union Local 880 -- is one of the only states where no such investigation is known to be ongoing. Perhaps there's a very good reason why ACORN/SEIU isn't being investigated here. It may be that Illinois is unique in that ACORN/SEIU has not been involved in illegal activities or affiliation. Or it may...

Five members of a family were found slain in their Beason, Illinois, home, authorities said Tuesday, and they urged people in the area to be cautious until the killer is found. "This was a brutal homicide against an entire family and we are determined to identify and arrest those responsible," Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols said in a news conference. He said authorities received a 911 call about a possible shooting at the home shortly before 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. ET) Monday. When law enforcement officials arrived, they discovered the five bodies, Nichols said. He identified the dead as Raymond...

Featuring: Laughs, Congrats and Some Disapproving Stares (See end of report for the controversy) This morning I attended the first Illinois Republican Central Committee meeting chaired by new party chief Pat Brady held at the Double Tree Hotel, Oakbrook, Illinois (Cook County, West of Chicago). Over all, the public portion of the meeting was brisk and convivial as chaired by Brady. The new GOP head seemed comfortable in the role and appeared to be well liked and respected by the committee members in attendance. Whatever behind the scenes deals that may or may not have been struck at the State...

On Friday the Department of Corrections and Governor Quinn released the framework of an early release program the Governor claims is necessary due to the State's budgetary crisis. According to the Department of Corrections, the State will release approximately 1,000 "low level, non-violent" prisoners over the course of the next several months...

SNIPPET: At about 12:20 a.m., a train was delayed at the Harrison stop at 608 S. State Street after an unidentified man got on the CTA intercom at the station and said he had left a bomb on the train, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro." SNIPPET: "All trains, northbound and southbound on the Red Line tracks were stopped while police investigated, Alfaro said. Police swept the train and found no device, Alfaro said. As of 2:10 a.m., all services had been restored, Alfaro said."

22 governors sent a letter to President Obama pushing for an extension in unemployment benefits this week. This article explains why the administration is ignoring their requests due to the raise in the unemployment rate that would result from an extension...more of Obama's games http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21037-Illinois-Statehouse-Examiner~y2009m9d17-Tough-road-ahead-as-Quinn-lobbies-for-extension-of-unemployment-benefits

Here is video of Fox News' Megyn Kelly and a panel weighing in on the vicious beating of a student on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois. Kelly was very strong that the kids who beat the boy should be punished to the fullest extent of the juvenile laws, not just receive a suspension. She also felt the students on the bus who did nothing to help the boy should receive a stiff penalty as well. . . . (VIDEO)

Concerns to take to heart in health care and proposed reforms "The overwhelming preoccupation of our national political government and consequently of the captive media is the vexed and vexing question of health care reform. It is almost impossible to get reliable consistent figures as to the number of people who lack health care coverage in the United States. Each advocacy group inflates or minimizes the numbers to suit each groupÂ’s respective fantasies. If, for instance, the number of people who actually, at this moment, lack health care is estimated from a low of 18 million to a high of...

A Belleville West High School student was beaten aboard a bus on the way to school Monday, and a police spokesman said the beating could be racially motivated.The 17-year-old victim was white and the teen assailants were black. Police released a video of the beating, which shows the victim being punched repeatedly while other students on the bus gather to watch, some cheering. It doesn't appear that the victim did anything to provoke an attack and tried only to defend himself. Police said it all unfolded in a five-minute span. The victim was trying to find a seat and was...

Illinois' ongoing budget crisis and proposed income tax increases are taking a back seat as the "old" political habits of Illinois politicians re-emerge. According to statements made following a meeting with legislative leaders, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said that a proposed Illinois tax increase will not be taken up until after the February 2nd primaries. As a result, the State's budget will remain unconstitutionally unbalanced and the budgets of social services organizations relying upon state funds will remain in limbo. The Governor's decision to delay debate over a proposed income tax hike stems from two likely, yet purely political motives:...

The Chicago Sun-Times said that a group of local investors had made a bid to buy the ailing newspaper, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March. The Sun-Times said an investor group called STMG Holdings LLC had offered to buy the Sun-Times Media Group, which includes the flagship newspaper and its sister publications, in a deal worth about 25 million dollars. It said the deal, which would be subject to approval by a bankruptcy court judge, would include up to five million dollars in cash while the investors would take on about 20 million dollars in liabilities. It said the...

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald blasted lawmakers in a letter to Governor Quinn this week, calling state funding for probation services "dangerously inadequate". In a letter written to the Illinois Governor on September 1st, Fitzgerald wrote, "“The practical effect of diminishing appropriations is that probation officers must be laid off, criminal offenders sentenced to probation receive inadequate or no supervision, and the public safety is thereby severely compromised." As part of Governor Quinn's approved budget signed into law in July, appropriations to the Supreme Court for probation services were slashed by...

This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Alvarez v. Smith, a challenge to the state of Illinois' Drug Asset Forfeiture Procedure Act (DAFPA). (Disclosure: the Reason Foundation, publisher of Reason.com, joined in an amicus brief in the case.) The six petitioners in Alvarez each had property seized by police who suspected the property had been involved in a drug crime. Three had their cars seized, three had cash taken. None of the six were served with a warrant, none of the six were charged with the crime. All perfectly legal, at least until now. ...(snip)... In...

Traveling Tea Party draws thousands September 8, 2009 BY CASEY CORA Billed as a protest against taxes and government spending, the national Tea Party's stop in New Lenox became a gathering of local conservatives and a call to action on national political issues. "As much as we say the system failed us, maybe we failed the system as well," said Joliet resident Tim Kraulidis, who helped organize Monday's event. "We can't complain ... that our legislators are doing things we don't want them to do and then we don't engage the system." About 6,000 people packed the hillside venue at...

Though Illinoisans displayed a measure of pride when Barack Obama was elected to the presidency almost a year ago, rising unemployment and his push for a controversial health-care reform package have left fewer than six in 10 voters in his home state approving of the job he has done in the White House, a new Tribune/WGN poll found. The survey of 700 registered voters in Illinois showed 59 percent approved of the job the Democratic president has done in his nearly eight months in the Oval Office, while one-third disapproved of Obama's performance. Eight percent had no opinion in the...

On Tuesday, September 8th, The Hope Institute for Children and Families will open the doors to a innovative new Chicago contract school, the Hope Institute Learning Academy. The public-private partnership school brings The Hope Institute for Children and Families' Maximum Benefits Model into the public school system discarding the traditional cookie-cutter approach to education in an effort to help every child develop their maximum potential. The Hope Institute Learning academy, a 2010 Renaissance School, will initially offer enrollment for K-3 students. However, the school has plans to expand to a full kindergarten through twelfth grade program in the coming years....

On Tuesday, deposed Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, will release his memoirs "The Governor". The book is being billed as not only providing the impeached Governor's account of the political dealings that led to his arrest, but also an insider's perspective into the political landscape of Illinois, or more specifically, Chicago. In recent months, Blagojevich has become the symbol of the corruption and pay-to-play politics that embody the Chicago political machine. But don't necessarily count on The Governor to provide...

The Tea Party Express will be rallying in Bloomington, Indiana this morning at 11:00 am and in Bloomington, Illinois at 5:00 pm tonight!! Next rally stop: Joliet, IL tomorrow morning!! Woo hoo!! Thirty-five cities, thirty-five tea parties in sixteen days!! Be sure to check the tour schedule and join us when we get to a city near you: TeaPartyExpress.org!! And if you are going to DC for the big March on Washington and National Tea Party on 9/12, you won't want to miss our National Freeper Convention!! Click here to order your tickets today!! If you can't go to DC...

Republicans United Against Mark Kirk for US Senate, a blog to chronicle Representative Mark Kirk's record by folks not very happy with his record has been set up to argue against his candidacy. According to the opening main statement, the blog is set up to reveal Kirk's "departure from the GOP's state and national platforms." This blog is a response to US Rep. Mark Kirk's bid for the US Senate seat from Illinois. It will reveal Mark Kirk's voting record as a member of the US House of Reps. and address Kirk's departure from the GOP's state and national platforms....

Earlier this week, the Thomas More Society, a pro-life advocacy group filed a lawsuit with the Illinois Supreme Court to force state officials to begin enforcement of a 14 year old Parental Notification Law. In July, the Seventh District Court of Appeals dissolved a permanent injunction paving the way for the enforcement of the parental notification law only to have the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation grant a 90 day moratorium to allow abortion practitioners to "understand their obligation" under the law. In 1995, the Illinois legislature enacted the law requiring that the parents or guardian of minor...

... and nobody proofread it very carefullyThe timeline from impeachment to book release was an incredible seven months. How did former Illinois chief executive Rod Blagojevich manage to bang out “The Governor” so quickly? He wrote the first couple chapters longhand on a yellow legal pad, until his wife told him it was taking him too long, a source told the Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed. “So he dictated the rest of the book on his 12-year-old daughter Amy's pink dictating machine," the source told Sneed. Another reason for the quick turnaround: No one proofread it all that carefully. Blago’s lawyers reportedly...

It comes as know surprise after months of speculation that Dan Hynes, the long-time Illinois comptroller would announce his candidacy for Rod Blagojevich's former position. Hynes joins acting Governor Pat Quinn as the front-runners for the Democratic nomination for the Governors seat. As a result, the only thing more entertaining that the Rod Blagojevich commercials that are likely to plaster Illinois televisions next fall will be the battle royale by that is sure to ensue between the two Democratic nominees. Although both Democrats have at times openly opposed former Governor Blagojevich, both candidates will have plenty of opportunities to tout...

Senator Dick Durbin Tuesday defended President Obama’s health care proposals, accusing opponents of “deliberately misstating” what has been proposed and what the package would mean to the American people “to raise emotions.” “A lot of these people who are coming to town meetings to shove and shout, they don’t want a dialogue,” he said. “They don’t want questions answered. They are trying to create political theater for the press to report and for YouTube to provide for its followers. We need more. We need an honest debate about these issue, because it’s an important one.” One by one, Durbin ticked...

The cost of living just went up for Illinois residents, but not because of inflation or other economic conditions. Rather, today marks the effective date for increased taxes levied upon alcohol, candy, soft drinks and personal hygiene products. The taxes, part of the $31 billion capital bill, are designed to offset the costs of infrastructure spending across the state. Starting today a fifth of liquor in Illinois will now cost an additional 81 cents, reflecting a 90% increase in the excise tax on hard liquor. In addition, a 90% increase on the taxation of a bottle of wine and 24%...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Back in 2004, Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator, and an announced candidate for the US Senate. The future POTUS introduced a health care bill to revolutionize the health insurance industry in his state, kind of a proto-Obamacare bill. The Republican opposition realized the way the bill was written it was just a Trojan horse leading to a state-run insurance company that would put private insurers in Illinois out of business and eventually a single-payer system (sound familiar?) Just before the vote, Obama debated the bill with State Senator...

CHICAGO (AP) — Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says in a new book that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel wanted his help in arranging to leave the Obama administration after two years to reclaim his seat in Congress. Blagojevich writes in "The Governor" that Emanuel spoke with him about whether it was possible to appoint a "placeholder" to the congressional seat Emanuel was giving up so that he could win back the seat in 2010 and continue his efforts to become speaker some day.

Below, release from Kirk.... McCain to Endorse Kirk at Veterans Gathering in Glenview McCain: "The people of Illinois deserve a Senator who will restore honest government, strengthen our national security, fight for veterans and bring fiscal discipline to Washington. Mark Kirk has my strongest endorsement." Who: Congressman Mark Kirk Senator John McCain When: 4:00 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30 Where: Glenview Park Center, Lakeview A Room 2400 Chestnut Ave. Glenview, IL What: Senator John McCain will endorse Congressman Mark Kirk for U.S. Senate at a veterans gathering in Glenview on Sunday afternoon. Kirk, an early supporter of McCain's presidential bid during...

There may no longer be a need to travel to Alton, Chicago, Peoria, Joliet or Metropolis if you want to gamble in Illinois. Just head on down to the local truck stop. As first reported by the Pantagraph, a provision of Illinois' gaming laws aimed at funding the capital projects bill will likely lead the creation of mini-casinos within Illinois truck stops. The law that would allow an expansion of video gaming within Illinois bars and veteran's halls would also allow Illinois trucking facilities, occupying 3 acres with a separate fueling island for semis, the ability to install the gambling...

To sum up the state of the Republican Party in Illinois, just hours before the kickoff of "Republican Day" festivities at the Illinois State Fair, Andy Mckenna, the head to the state party resigned... Just 8 short years ago, the Republican Party in Illinois remained a force to be reckoned with. The party maintained control of a majority of municipality and county governments within the state, along with control of the Governor's office, several State Officers positions and the State Senate. But today, despite a golden opportunity to retake control of key State Offices due the Impeachment of Rod Blagojevich,...

Despite a severe budget shortfall, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has consistently allowed trustees at Chicago State University (CSU) to squander hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Turning a deaf ear to appeals from concerned faculty and students, Quinn gave the CSU board carte blanche to select a new University president. After spending $75,000 in tax dollars on a “national” search, the board, which has two vacancies and a trustee whose term has expired, hired then-City Colleges Chancellor Wayne Watson, a close friend of reputed Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley ally, board chairman Leon Finney, and personally known by other trustees.

COLUMBIA, Ill. - The parents of an autistic child are suing a southwestern Illinois school district they say won't let the 5-year-old boy bring his certified service dog to school. Melissa and Chris Kalbfleisch (KAHLB'-flysh) filed the lawsuit Monday in Monroe County against Columbia Community School Unit 4. The couple seeks an injunction that would let their son, Carter, bring the 11-month-old dog to school under a state law the family says allows it.

Republican hopeful Mark Kirk finds himself starting out even in a Senate race against his likeliest Democratic competitor, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Kirk, a member of the House from the northern suburbs of Chciago, with 41% of the vote while Giannoulias attracts 38%. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and 17% are not sure.

As Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel is arguably the second most powerful man in America. It's a job tailor-made for the unflappable—but that's not a description anyone would ever apply to Emanuel, not even when he was a political rookie raising money for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. If donors didn't agree to quintuple their normal contributions, Emanuel scolded them for their stinginess and hung up the phone. Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, who has known Emanuel for decades, contends the method displayed a level of chutzpah that "redefined the term." And it worked. Emanuel broke all fund-raising records....

CROMWELL, Conn. -- A Connecticut nuclear engineer is under investigation in a federal terrorism probe, but denies allegations he offered support to a militant Islamic Web site and said he's being targeted because he is Muslim. Syed R. Maswood, 41, confirmed that he is the unnamed Connecticut resident mentioned last week in a federal affidavit charging a British national with supporting terrorism. Federal agents raided Maswood's home March 17, seizing computer equipment and financial records, he said. Investigators discovered his e-mail address among files used to maintain a Web site that funneled money and equipment to terrorists, according to the...

COLLINSVILLE -- Human sacrifice! Victims buried alive! Read all about it in "Cahokia -- Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi." According to this new book by University of Illinois archaeologist and professor of anthropology Tim Pauketat, the mound builders were not always the idyllic, corn-growing, pottery-making, fishing-hunting gentle villagers depicted in various dioramas at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville. Pauketat said these long-vanished people practiced human sacrifice of women and men on a mass scale and weren't always careful to bury only the dead. Based on years of study of artifacts including many from the extensive...

This document alone raises a big question. It is his registration in the State of Illinois for his license to practice Law. The document has a space to list any other names that have been used. Even though he has used other names, this shows, “None”. The other names he has used, that we currently know are: Barack Hussein Obama, Barry Soetoro, Barry Obama, Barack Dunham and Barry Dunham.

Rod Blagojevich performed Elvis Presley's "Treat Me Nice" during a Chicago appearance, a publicist for the disgraced former Illinois governor says. Publicist Glenn Selig confirmed Blagojevich performed the song during a paid appearance Friday at the 14th annual block party for the Chicago company Optimus, the Chicago Tribune reported. Optimus President Tom Duff said Blagocevich, who faces federal charges after being removed from office in January amid corruption allegations, practiced with a backing track for days prior to his performance. "He was waffling between two different songs" before settling on 'Treat Me Nice,'" Duff told the Tribune. At least one...

President Barack Obama's former Indian-American campaign adviser Raja Krishnamoorthi will be running for the post of Illinois Comptroller, the State's chief fiscal officer, in the 2010 elections. Mr. Krishnamoorthi said he will "fight to restore trust in state government and bring more transparency and accountability" at a time when the State has been plagued with scandals like digging and selling of grave sites at the Burr Oak cemetery and admission irregularities at the University of Illinois. "As so often happens in our capital Springfield, the special interests have won and our state government is broken.It is time to fix it....

Recently in Illinois a scandal broke out regarding preferential admissions at Illinois public universities, notably the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Politicians were forwarding lists of applicants (who otherwise would not have been allowed to attend because they lacked the requisite credentials) and these “connected” applicants were accepted ahead of more qualified but “unconnected” residents.........

Note: The following text Snippet is a quote: Chicago Man Arrested for Interfering with Operation of CTA Trains and Busses Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was joined today by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in announcing the arrest of a Chicago man for making unauthorized radio transmissions over frequencies utilized by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). MARCEL CARTER, age 20, who resides at 235 West 37th Place in Chicago, was arrested late Friday evening, without incident, by Officers of the Chicago Police Department...

Well, not that Isaac Hayes, who died last year. Rep. Jackson's Republican challenger could have some fun with campaign slogans invoking his more famous namesake. Tired of getting the Shaft from Washington? Vote for Isaac Hayes. Or: Isaac Hayes -- finally, a Chef who won't spoil the broth. And maybe even: Vote for hot buttered soul.

At a speech on April 18, 2009 at a rally for healthcare reform in Chicago, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) admitted that a strategic objective of the Obama healthcare reform plan is to destroy the private health insurance industry.

Sorry for the radio silence this week — I'm knuckled down on a book deadline. But I came up for air to talk to our buddy Guy Benson about the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which wants to supplant our Constitution with shariah. The group, one of whose alumni is KSM, had its first national convention in Chicago last week — called "Fall of Capitalism, Rise of Islam."

Are there different types of birth records or certificates? Yes, the following three types of birth records are available: * A certified copy or "long form," the most readily recognizable birth record, is an exact copy of your birth certificate as prepared by the hospital. * A certification or "short form" is a computer abstract (summary) of your birth information in an 8 " X 7" size. The certification may include parent information depending on your year of birth. * A commemorative birth certificate is a beautiful 9" wide x 20" long document signed by the governor and state registrar...

SNIPPET: "While Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pro-jihadist group which met openly near Chicago last weekend, is surprisingly candid about its desire to re-establish an Islamic Caliphate, literature available at its conference shows the group also views Christians and Jews as untrustworthy enemies of God. More than a dozen issues of a Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) newsletter called The Shield were obtained from the conference by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. The publication repeatedly condemns interfaith "outreach initiatives" and shows HT believes in the death penalty for Muslims who leave the faith. HT pushes a radical ideology that is similar to Al Qaeda,...