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Barack Obama
PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:14pm
Wed Dec 17, 2008
276 comments

"Ray LaHood? Really?" (UPDATED)

Transportation

I think I just ruined Jacky Grimshaw’s morning.

“Ray
Lahood? Really?!?” That was the reaction from the
transportation and community development coordinator at the
Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology when I relayed the news that the retiring seven-term ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
1:00pm
Wed Dec 17, 2008

Lahood Being Considered For Transit Secretary

Transportation

The Hill is reporting that a certain retiring Republican congressman from Illinois may be President-elect Barack Obama's pick for Transportation Secretary:

Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) is in discussions with the Obama
administration to take a Cabinet-level post — most ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
6:07pm
Mon Dec 15, 2008

NYT: Obama Picks Duncan As Education Chief

Education

The New York Times has the scoop:

President-elect Barack Obama will name Arne Duncan,
the superintendent of schools in Chicago, to be his Secretary of
Education, a senior Democratic official and a second person close to
the decision said. [...]

...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:02am
Fri Dec 12, 2008

Kass Gone Wild

Barack Obama

Not surprisingly, Tribune columnist John Kass -- like many veteran political observers here in Illinois -- is as worked up as ever about this week's Blagojevich developments. Due to the scandal, he's also been enjoying a good deal of national media attention.  For instance, ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
6:16pm
Thu Dec 11, 2008

Obama Asks Online Supporters To Lobby For Health Care

Barack Obama

At a press conference in Chicago this morning, President-elect Barack Obama announced that former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) will run the Department of Health and Human Services in his administration. Ezra Klein noted last month that the appointment of Daschle was a sign ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
12:54pm
Wed Dec 10, 2008

Obama: Blagojevich Should Go

Jesse Jackson Jr.

Like so many other Illinois pols, President-elect Barack Obama joined the resignation chorus this morning. The Washington Post has the Obama team's statement:

"The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others," said Robert Gibbs,
the ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:47am
Wed Dec 10, 2008
5 comments

McKenna Reignites Fitzgerald Fearmongering

Illinois GOP

It started back in September, when former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald predicted on local radio that, if Barack Obama was elected president, "one of the first things that would happen is that they would
remove Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago."  Days before the election, ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
1:04pm
Tue Nov 25, 2008

Andy Shaw Asks Obama About Aid For States And Local Governments

Barack Obama

During the question-and-answer portion of his press conference in Chicago today, Barack Obama asked, "Where's Andy Shaw?  We're going local here."  ABC 7's Shaw quickly popped up and inquired about how the president-elect's stimulus plan would address struggling ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:24am
Tue Nov 25, 2008
5 comments

Obama Campaign Finance Mythiness

Campaign finance

This morning, the Beachwood Reporter's Steve Rhodes posted a press release from the Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) with a "sigh."  The underlying study found that, while the number of small contributions (less than $200) received by Barack Obama was unprecedented, ...