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Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Thursday called for a portrait of the late Illinois U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas in the Capitol’s House chamber to be removed and replaced with one of former President Barack Obama, whom he called “a more fitting representation of the modern-day Democratic Party.” Madigan also called for the removal of statues on the Illinois State Capitol grounds of both Douglas, a defender of slavery, and Pierre Menard, the first lieutenant governor and a slaveholder. The speaker’s call to take down the portrait and statues is part of a movement to remove memorials of historical figures...

CHICAGO (CBS) — Touting his response to the coronavirus, Illinois’ governor had sharp words for the federal government in its “failure” to hit the ground running and help states grapple with COVID-19 crisis. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was part of a virtual hearing to address the Congressional Committee on Homeland Security’s “Examining the National Response to the Worsening Coronavirus Pandemic.” Pritzker criticized the government for what he said how little it did as the pandemic unfolded.

Late last week, Illinois Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney of Clay County ruled in a lawsuit that “all citizens of Illinois” are free from Governor J.B. Pritzker‘s tyrannical orders. This comes after arguably unethical tactics by the Illinois Attorney General to delay the case by trying to remove it to federal court, and the United States Department of Justice filing a Statement of Interest in the case in support of the lawsuit.

It is more than a possibility, and slightly less than a likelihood, that Joe Biden will be elected president in November. Biden has made it clear that a woman will be his running mate. What is becoming equally apparent is that he may be cornered into choosing a socialist or progressive as that person. As he runs his campaign from his basement, allowing President Trump to stomp his feet and shout as he tries to mount a more traditional campaign, Biden has shown little inclination to take on his own foot-stomping base. Thus the socialist/progressive wing of the Democratic Party...

When Joe Biden pledged at the final Democratic primary debate to select a woman as his running mate, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth was rarely mentioned as a contender. But that is changing as Biden and his campaign move closer to a decision that is expected to come early next month. **SNIP** Biden's announcement that he would pick a woman in March was largely greeted with cheers, but the terms of an intra-party debate over representation at the top of the ticket have sharpened over the past few months. The question now -- one that has been amplified by more than...

All sports fans, and most everybody else, will get a kick out of this letter written to the Chicago Tribune. No matter which side you are on in the matter of renaming the Washington Redskins, this guy is hilarious. This is an e-mail sent to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune after an article he published concerning a name change for the Washington Redskins. Dear Mr. Page: I agree with our Native American population. I am highly jilted by the racially charged name of the Washington Redskins. One might argue that to name a professional football team after Native Americans...

CHICAGO (CBS) — If you’re heading out of town this 4th of July weekend, you might not be able to go where you want when you return. In a move similar to other cities and states throughout the country, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants anyone traveling into the city from experiencing COVID-19 surges to self-quarantine for 14 days when they return, starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday, July 6. People traveling from the following states, including Chicago residents returning from these states, are told to quarantine upon returning to Chicago: •Alabama •Arkansas •Arizona •California •Florida •Georgia •Idaho •Louisiana •Mississippi •North Carolina...

President Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore, has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus. Although amplifying racism and stoking culture wars have been mainstays of Trump’s public identity for decades, they have been particularly pronounced this summer as the president has reacted to the national reckoning over systemic discrimination by seeking to weaponize the anger and resentment of some white Americans for his...

Video at link. President Donald Trump's 4th of July speech at Mt. Rushmore Friday night focused on the United States' history and legacy in the world. He also addressed the issue with cancel culture advocates trying to completely shatter American history by pulling down monuments and statues. But, according to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the president's speech should have focused on the 130,000 Americans who died as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus and the bogus story about Russia putting a bounty on American troops' heads. "Where does it end? Should statues, for example, of George Washington, come down?" CNN's...

The crowd outside Nini’s Deli was starting to thin Sunday afternoon as Justin Starns watched his friend add more spray paint to the plywood boarding up the restaurant: “BLM,” in all caps, in baby blue. He was taken by surprise, he said, when a black woman walked up and demanded to know: “Oh, is that for me? Does my life matter?” (snip) an unusual confrontation took place in West Town: Two black women, who only identified themselves as Bevelyn and Edmee, denounced the Black Lives Matter movement as demonic and fraudulent before a group of mostly white and Latino demonstrators....

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced Thursday that she would block the promotions of 1,123 senior military officers until Defense Secretary Mark Esper promises that he will promote Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who is believed to have communicated with the “whistleblower” that sparked Trump’s impeachment. Her office called the move “unprecedented” but said it came in response to reports of “political interference in military matters” by Trump — the commander in chief.

CLAY COUNTY, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Governor J.B. Pritzker’s emergency powers to issue executive orders to close businesses or order people to stay at home expired 85 days ago on April 8th, 2020, a judge in Clay County Circuit Court ruled on Thursday afternoon. The ruling did not find the state has no power to forcibly close businesses or to restrict a citizen’s movements, but rather that those powers are derived from the Illinois Department of Public Health Act, not under the Illinois Emergency Management Act. Pritzker’s administration has at times cited both portions of state law to enforce his orders....

I cannot believe I missed my own anniversary. I joined FR 22 years ago, during the height of the Clinton Impeachment. So many great memories. Met Henry Hyde with some local Illinois Freepers, protested Clinton when he was here in Chicago (He turned around and looked at us when I yelled "How's Monica's throat?") and so much more. Hoping some fellow Class of '98'ers chime in and let me know they're still here.

Rep. Liz Cheney has suddenly become one of the most outspoken GOP critics of Donald Trump. Even more surprising: The Wyoming Republican hasn’t faced any serious blowback from the president. Criticizing Trump is not new for Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican. But she has increasingly called out Trump over his foreign policy decisions and leadership during the coronavirus crisis — a risky move in today’s GOP, where any break with Trump can fuel a primary challenge or nasty Twitter tirade from the president. But Cheney’s found a balancing act that few Republicans have been able to achieve. And as...

CHICAGO - Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, according to an internal email obtained by FOX 32, plans to drop most if not all charges against many of those arrested for curfew violations during protests earlier this month, including felony charges filed after police followed up. FOX 32 obtained the internal email last week from First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats, reading in part: "Cases are to be nolled (dismissed) where curfew violations or city disorderly conduct was the basis of a stop that led to a felony or misdemeanor case....(i)f there are misdemeanor disorderlies where the conduct that was...

CHICAGO - Four children were among 65 people shot across Chicago this weekend, 18 of them fatally. Three of the children were killed. The weekend gun violence brought Chicago past 300 homicides so far this year, the benchmark that Supt. David Brown challenged the police department to stay under in April. Last year, the city didn’t break 300 homicides until early August, according to Sun-Times data.

Whatever his wobbles, Joe Biden has, from the start of his presidential campaign, got one thing exactly right: The 2020 election is a battle for the soul of America. That’s not just a pretty slogan. It’s the stomach-knotting truth — and it’s the frame he should use for choosing his running mate. It’s why he should pick Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She’s a paragon of the values that Donald Trump, for all his practice as a performer, can’t even pantomime. She’s best described by words that are musty relics in his venal and vainglorious circle: “sacrifice,” “honour,” “humility.” More...

Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell joins "Life, Liberty & Levin" on Sunday night where he addresses his issues with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, saying the organization's motivation is money and calling them "profiteers." "This is why Black Lives Matter is basically, in my opinion, the Al Sharpton of the 21st century. They're profiteers. They are profiting on trying to give a narrative, a false narrative that is white racist cops, deaths destroying the black community," Terrell told host Mark Levin. "You point out Chicago. No [BLM] presence walking through the neighborhood protesting to stop black-on-black crime. Al Sharpton...

A toddler and a 10-year-old girl were among 14 people shot to death in Chicago in yet another weekend of gun violence that has rocked the city over the past month. Between Friday and Sunday morning, a total of 52 people were shot in Chicago, according to police department records. "As a mother, I am tired of the funerals. I am tired of burying our children," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted, adding that the city was in the throes of a "gun violence epidemic." The latest carnage in the Windy City comes just a week after more than 100 people...

10-year-old girl died from her injuries on Sunday after she was shot in the head by a stray bullet that came through the window of her Logan Square home Saturday night... Separately, a 20-month-old boy was fatally shot in the chest and his 22-year-old mother was grazed by a bullet while the two were driving home from the laundromat The mother was driving south on Halsted Street near 60th Street in Englewood with her toddler son in a child seat in the back of the car when a vehicle pulled up alongside their car and started shooting into it, Chicago...