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PI Original
by Adam Doster
5:23pm
Wed Dec 3, 2008

Illinois Fails In College Access

Education

Before long, dormitories and
libraries at Illinois’ institutions of higher learning could be lonely
places. In its biennial report on the U.S. higher education system released today
(PDF), the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has
given the Prairie ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
2:17pm
Wed Dec 3, 2008
3 comments

Chris Matthews Has No Idea What He's Talking About

Jesse Jackson Jr.

I don't expect D.C. media establishmentarians like Chris Matthews to have an expert handle on the ins and outs of Illinois politics.  But it's still fun to watch them attempt to cover the local scene.

For instance, yesterday on Hardball, Matthews seemed to suggest that ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
1:09pm
Wed Dec 3, 2008

Pinching Pension Waste

Alexi Giannoulias

State Treasurer Alexi
Giannoulias and a team of watchdogs didn’t mince words on Monday when
they lashed out at political insiders who have fed off the complexities
of the state’s pension systems for years. Along with some
good-government allies, the treasurer announced ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:55am
Wed Dec 3, 2008

Dan Swinney's Got A Plan

Labor

Amid all the twelve-figure bailouts and theoretical arguments about how to repair the American economy, I was so relieved to hear Dan Swinney's comments last Sunday as a guest on Bruce DuMont's Beyond The Beltway.  Swinney is a labor guy and, as such, has a very practical, on-...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:12am
Wed Dec 3, 2008

Giannoulias "Thinking About" Gubernatorial Run

IL-5

He didn’t commit fully, but the writing is on the wall. In an interview with the State Journal-Register
editorial board yesterday, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said he is
considering a 2010 gubernatorial run. “I’ve been thinking about it,” he
told the paper. “You see ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
3:24pm
Tue Dec 2, 2008

Growing Alliance Pushes Wind Power

Wind power

Add Hoffman Estates to the
list of Illinois municipal leaders throwing their support behind bringing
more wind power to the Prairie State, The Daily Herald reports today.

Officials
from the northwest suburban town have agreed to join the emerging Wind
Turbine ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:06pm
Tue Dec 2, 2008

Premium Hikes Doom Strapped Consumers

Health Care

Mickey Trznadel isn’t rich.
The 55-year old Brookfield resident earns about $25,000 a year
landscaping, painting homes, and plowing snow. But as someone with diabetes, high blood
pressure, and a history of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, health insurance is
an expense he can’t ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
12:33pm
Tue Dec 2, 2008
19 comments

Your Thoughts On Clemency For Ryan?

George Ryan

Last Wednesday, after Sen. Dick Durbin said he was considering whether to ask President Bush to commute former Gov. George Ryan's prison sentence, we provided a round-up of editorial board opinion on the subject (which was unanimous in opposition to the idea).  In the week ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:28am
Tue Dec 2, 2008

Kirk, The UAW, And Paid Leave

Labor

When we initially flagged
Rep. Mark Kirk’s misleading diatribe on the United Auto Workers, we
focused our energy on deflating his claim that General Motors’ hourly
labor cost was $78 per hour. But Kirk uttered a second deceptive
allegation worth debunking during the same ...