Late last night, President Obama signed into law a temporary extension of the filing deadline for unemployment benefits. The bill (HR 4851) passed in the Senate on a 59-38 vote before the House approved the same legislation by a 289-112 margin. The $18 billion package will extend the deadline until June 2, retroactive to April 5 while also extending COBRA benefits for one month and fixing temporarily an unintended cut to reimbursement rates doctors serving Medicare patients. It will not, however, create a new tier of benefits for those who have already exhausted their full federal emergency allotment.

Rep. Peter Roskam was the only member of the Illinois congressional delegation to vote against the bill -- this despite recently complaining about the reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates.