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PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:32am
Fri May 16, 2008

Moore: Foie Gras Vote Reminiscent Of Daley Sr.

Chicago City Council

The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman called Mayor Daley's handling of the Chicago City Council's foie gras vote a "legislative end-run that set a new standard for violating protocol and rolling over the opposition." Via Division Street comes Ald. Joe Moore's (49th Ward) ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
10:44am
Fri May 16, 2008

Resituating The Pontiac Prison Decision

Prisons

While she doesn't dig into the politicking, Pam Adams' column yesterday in the Peoria Journal-Star nicely situates Gov. Blagojevich's decision to close Pontiac Correctional Center in the broader debate of justice reform and fiscal responsibility:

When prison towns ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
9:29am
Fri May 16, 2008

The Sinking Republican Brand

Panic is spreading among Republican operatives in the nation's capital after Mississippi Democrat Travis Childer's special election win on Tuesday. Robert M. Duncan, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said "this was a real wake-up call for us." ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
9:19am
Fri May 16, 2008

Will CA Ruling Boost IL Civil Unions Bill?

Gay Rights

So hopes the sponsor of that legislation, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago).

His civil unions measure would give same-sex couples in Illinois equal rights and access to benefits. He has previously said he's confident he can garner enough support in the House to pass the ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
3:31pm
Thu May 15, 2008

Unions Boost Workers' Wages

Wages

Via David Sirota comes this new study (pdf) by the Center for Economic and Policy Research documenting what most progressives already know: unionization benefits low-wage workers.

"Using national data for 2003 through 2007, we estimate that unionization raises ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:56pm
Thu May 15, 2008

House Committee Rejects Proposed Illinois Voter ID Law

State Legislature

Good news coming out of Springfield today. According to the Daily Herald, the House Elections & Campaign Reform Committee rejected a proposed voter ID measure modeled after the recently upheld Indiana law. All five Democrats on the committee stood in opposition.

...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
2:46pm
Thu May 15, 2008
3 comments

Schakowsky Moves To Strip Blackwater Funding

Congress

Yesterday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky put forth an amendment to strip funding for the security contractor Blackwater Worldwide from the Iraq supplemental funding bill. From her House floor statement on the measure:

Everyone knows about the horrible incidents involving ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
1:04pm
Thu May 15, 2008

Edwards Delegates, Uncommitted Superdels Jump To Obama

Endorsements

What does John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama mean with regards to the former senator's pledged delegates? Technically, the endorsement is meaningless, as pledged delegates can vote for any candidate they choose at any time. Politically, it's a different story...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
12:55pm
Thu May 15, 2008

When Bill First Met Barack

Barack Obama

In Time's new article on Barack Obama's early political career, Bill Clinton makes an unexpected appearance in the retelling of Obama's unsuccessful 2000 primary challenge against Rep. Bobby Rush:

It fell to Bill Clinton to deliver the coup de grace. The President ...