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Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
11:40am
Fri Feb 15

Advocates Call On Lawmakers To Have A Heart When It Comes To Federal Budget Cuts (VIDEO)

As the deadline looms for Congress to agree on a budget plan that would avoid an automatic series of spending cuts, a coalition of worker rights', veteran and anti-poverty advocates convened at Federal Plaza Thursday to voice their concerns over the potential negative impact such a move would have for the most vulnerable Americans.

More than $1 trillion in cuts over the next decade, known as sequestration, are set to go into effect March 1. According to a report released last September by the White House Office of Management and Budget, reductions would be made across the board, impacting more than 1,200 agencies and programs.

Singing such tunes as “Stop in the Name of Love”, some 40 to 50 protesters stood in the cold to give what organizers described as a “Valentine’s Day message” to both Illinois Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk to preserve funding for the country’s social safety net.

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PI Original
by Bob Skolnik
12:38pm
Tue Feb 12

Breaking Down The Obama Win With 2012 Election Campaign Strategists

Politics

The top strategists of the Obama and Romney campaigns shared a stage last week at the University of Chicago to discuss the 2012 presidential campaign. The talk was sponsored by the university’s new Institute of Politics, which is run by David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s former chief strategist. The discussion kicked off an intensive five-week examination of the 2012 campaign at the Institute of Politics.

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
8:42pm
Mon Feb 4

Odds Of Thomson Prison Opening Look Good

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says there is continued commitment to open Thomson Correctional Center in Northwest Illinois, a prison that has sat mostly vacant since it was built in 2001.

Durbin sat down with Charles Samuels, director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons, last week and was assured the process of opening Thomson was moving forward. U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-17) joined the meeting by phone.

A timeline for the opening of Thomson has not been released yet, though. Funding for the necessary updates for the prison to meet federal standards is contingent on the president’s FY 2014 budget, which has not yet been submitted.

“When President Obama releases his budget in the next few weeks, it should include funding for prison activation,” said Durbin in a press release. “Over the next few months, I will be working with Congresswoman Bustos to ensure that opening Thomson prison – and bringing jobs and economic activity to Northwest Illinois communities – remains a priority.”

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