House Redistricting Hearings Underway Around State

From the office of Tom Cross, Ill. GOP leader…

A series of public hearings on the redrawing of Illinois House district boundaries are underway this week, including today in Aurora, East St. Louis and Elgin (see below for a list of locations, dates and times). The hearings will provide residents with a platform to provide testimony about the map’s impact on their community. If you are unable to attend, Twitter and Facebook updates from the hearing will be available through the U-Map IL Facebook page.

Illinois State

We are also making our mapmaking software, computer, census data and staff available for the public to draw their own maps. Call 312-814-2053 to set up an appointment.
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House Redistricting Hearings Underway Around State”


CBS’ Bob Schieffer, Class Warrior: Hey, I know. Let’s Soak the Rich!

-By Warner Todd Huston

If there was any doubt about how hostile the Old Media is toward tax cuts, spending cuts, and making government accountable and Constitutionally justifiable, CBS’ Bob Schieffer is happy to dispel that doubt. On the April 17 episode of Face the Nation, Schieffer asked Congressman Paul Ryan (R, WS) why we can’t just soak the rich to solve our budget problems.

In a discussion with Rep. Ryan, the GOP’s go-to budget guy, Schieffer expressed his shock that government doesn’t just tax the bejeebus out of “the wealthiest Americans.” Schieffer was aghast at how the GOP is “reducing the amount of taxes that the richest people in the country pay” and asked Ryan if he, Schieffer, is “misinformed” about the whole tax cut issue.

Ryan was kind not to point out that Schieffer is, indeed, “misinformed”… as usual.

But, perhaps Schieffer isn’t merely misinformed. Perhaps he is ideologically blinded? His comments seem to prove that he is.
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CBS’ Bob Schieffer, Class Warrior: Hey, I know. Let’s Soak the Rich!”


14-Year-Old Girl’s Tea Party Speech Drowned Out By Leftist Agitators

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ann Althouse has a great report showing how, once again, the uncivil left doesn’t care about free speech.

… A man with a guitar is performing — amplified — on the stage, but we can barely hear him over the crowd noise. There is incessant ringing of cowbells. Then, we can hear that a young woman is speaking from the stage to the Tea Party crowd as the protesters do what they can to drown her out. She finishes — “God bless America” — and the tea partiers cheer but the protesters overwhelm them with boos. The emcee comes to the mike and we hear that the speaker was only 14 years old

Althouse has been doing yeoman’s work covering the hate-spewing left in Wisconsin this year. Check her Latest out.
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14-Year-Old Girl’s Tea Party Speech Drowned Out By Leftist Agitators”


Roskam Statement on S&P’s Downgrading U.S. Credit Outlook‏

Congressman Peter Roskam (R, ILL), Chief Deputy Whip, issued the following statement after the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the United States long-term credit outlook from stable to negative:

“Today’s S&P change in its outlook for the U.S. to negative is the latest ominous warning that we can’t wait any longer to fundamentally address Washington’s spending and debt. While President Obama is advocating for the Washington status-quo, S&P’s warning is clear: the cost of waiting will have grave consequences for our economy and our kids’ futures. There is a way out of this. House Republicans have already passed a fact-based budget that would fundamentally lower spending, save crucial programs, and create a debt-free future for generations to come. Imagine what we could pass on to our kids and grandkids: a future free of crushing taxes and indebtedness to China. The urgency for action could not be clearer. I urge the White House and Washington Democrats to eschew the status-quo and to join us in meaningfully reducing our spending and debt.”


Remarks from the 2011 Chicago Tea Party Tax Day Rally

-By Dan Proft

Snow in Chicago in April. Some might view this as simply the unpredictability of Chicago weather. Others might attribute it to climate change. I, however, believe this to be a prophecy foretold: Rahm Emanuel has been elected Mayor of Chicago and Hell is freezing over.

Welcome tea partiers. To paraphrase our President, you are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration and the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan, two Illinois sons who forever changed the world and our understanding of it with their simple but unyielding commitment to the idea that liberty is the birthright of every human being.

The leadership emanating from Illinois more recently hasn’t been quite to that standard. This is also the year we take note of House Speaker Mike Madigan’s 40th year of driving business and jobs out of Illinois. And this year is the 14th anniversary of Barack Obama’s first “present” vote in the Illinois State Senate.

But I have hope for change.
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Remarks from the 2011 Chicago Tea Party Tax Day Rally”


VIDEO: Prosser Finally Declares Victory in Wisconsin

-By Warner Todd Huston

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser has at last declared victory in the Wisc. Court race. He had a great quote, too:

“I presume this is my last campaign and that my fifteen minutes of celebrity will soon be over. Greta has stopped calling.”

Good one.

Prosser’s opponent, the union-backed Joanne Kloppenburg has until Wednesday to file for a recount.

This is a great victory for the people of Wisconsin fighting to get their state budget under control. Unions hardest hit.
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VIDEO: Prosser Finally Declares Victory in Wisconsin”


Obama’s Media Passover: Rep. Walsh Takes it To The Media

-By Warner Todd Huston

Joe Walsh (R, 8th District), a Tea Party backed Congressman from Illinois, slams the Old Media on why Obama has been allowed to present not one, but two budgets without the media saying a word about it.

Exactly right, Joe. If any Republican president had issued a budget that failed to win any support and then was forced to make a second run at it, the media would be talking about nothing else but “the president’s first failed budget plan.” The media would be repeating this drumbeat over and over until even the second budget would be DOA because the president would have been so undermined.

But in this case, Obama failed miserably with his first budget offering and has come back to the table with a second one and the media has been wholly silent on the first failure, giving Obama a total pass on the debacle and treated as if his second proposal is the only one he’s ever presented.
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Obama’s Media Passover: Rep. Walsh Takes it To The Media”


Judge Prosser Declared Winner, Left Loses BIG In Wisconsin Union Fight

-By Warner Todd Huston


A county canvas of votes for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice is finished and the result shows that Judge David Prosser, a 12-year veteran of the courts, won reelection over his union-backed opponent.

Judge David Prosser’s total now officially stands at 752,323 votes to challenger Joanne F. Kloppenburg’s 745,007. This spread represents a 0.488% margin and at less than .5% state law provides for a recount effort that does not require a filing fee.

Prosser’s campaign issued a press release saying they were all “very excited” over the results. His challenger said that she will fall back and try to make a decision if they will bother to file for a recount.
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Judge Prosser Declared Winner, Left Loses BIG In Wisconsin Union Fight”


One Last Word About Boehner’s Budget Deal of Last Week…

-By Warner Todd Huston

I know, I know, I know… many conservatives are mad at the whole thing. It was too small, it was too timid, Boehner caved on Planned Parenthood, etc., etc., etc. But, can I just point out one other thing in Boehner’s favor, just for a little perspective?

The goal of party politics is to get as many of your guys to vote for your policies as possible, of course. But a secondary goal is to split off as many of the other party as possible and inducing them to vote with you.

Boehner was successful in doing that with the vote on HR 1473. The Speaker successfully got 81 Democrats to vote in favor of the budget deal and in an extremely contentious and partisan debate, at that. In contrast he only lost 59 votes from his own side and those votes were not lost over the essence of the bill but over only particulars.
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One Last Word About Boehner’s Budget Deal of Last Week…”


Was Lincoln REALLY a Secret Atheist?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here we go again. This sort of nonsense that passes for journalism rehashing our history, and badly at that, always comes up when there’s some sort of anniversary in the offing. This time it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War which gave Discovery News an excuse to cast Lincoln as the new atheist hero all based on a “rediscovered letter.”

This “rediscovered letter” is, as Discovery News and Emily Sohn claim, “raises questions about Abraham Lincoln’s views on religion.” Sohn tries to lead readers into imagining that Lincoln was a closet atheist because the letter claims that Lincoln’s religious views were “driven not by faith, but by politics.”

The letter in question was written by Lincoln’s law partner and close friend — at least a close friend before he became president — William Herndon. Herndon made a cottage industry for himself out of being Lincoln’s close friend after the president’s assassination styling himself as Lincoln’s official biographer. He spent years traveling around the country talking to people who knew Lincoln in order to write the definitive biography of the president.
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Was Lincoln REALLY a Secret Atheist?”


Kinzinger Statement on House Republicans’ FY 2012 Budget

From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R,IL)…

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) today issued the following statement in support of H.Con.Res 34, the House Republicans’ “Path to Prosperity” plan:

“America stands at a critical crossroads – Should Washington wade deeper in the red and follow the President’s budget proposal? Or, should we chart a new way forward under the House Republicans’ budget resolution?

“It’s no secret that we cannot continue down this reckless trajectory. Our nation’s total debt has already hit an all-time high of more than $14.2 trillion and is alarmingly close to reaching the federal debt ceiling. We’ve kicked the can down the road for too long and now, there’s no more road left.
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Kinzinger Statement on House Republicans’ FY 2012 Budget”


Roskam Floor Speech on GOP Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06), Chief Deputy Whip, made the following speech on the House floor this afternoon in support of the GOP’s budget, The Path to Prosperity. The House just passed the budget, 235 – 193.

ROSKAM: … “We can choose a historic plan that brings a brightness to the economy, that creates jobs and opportunity, that doesn’t mortgage our children’s future to China, and ultimately puts the U.S. on a global competitive basis the likes of which the world will have never seen.”

http://roskam.house.gov/


Tax Freedom Day – Action Alert‏

From the office of GOP Minority Leader Tom Cross…

Congratulations! Today is the first day of 2011 that earnings you make can start going towards meeting the needs of you and your family. That’s right – we’ve worked the first 105 days of the year just to pay our federal, state, and local tax obligations for the year, more than a quarter of the way through 2011.

In recognition of this sobering fact, today is Tax Freedom Day in Illinois; a reminder of just how much we must pay in taxes each year before our hard-earned dollars can finally start working for us.
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Tax Freedom Day – Action Alert‏”


Auto Recall: When The Wheels Come Off Government Motors… Literally

-By Warner Todd Huston

GM, Obama’s favorite federally owned car company, was thrilled to report in March that sales figures for the Chevy Cruze helped put the company on the fast track to success but it wasn’t the best news when the wheels began to literally fall off the Cruze causing a recall of GM’s “success” story.

As we will remember, last November Obama proclaimed GM a great success story, one that justified his raging fever for bailouts. This March GM buttressed Obama’s glowing account by reporting rosy sales figures in which the Chevy Cruze made a big appearance. Then GM reported that the Cruze and the Malibu accounted for “98,950 sales – roughly one of every four Chevrolets sold in the first quarter.”

But let’s not break out the champagne too soon because only weeks after GM celebrated sales of the Cruze, at least one steering wheel popped off in transit. It’s a literal case of the wheels coming off GMs success story.
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Auto Recall: When The Wheels Come Off Government Motors… Literally”


Kinzinger Statement on Cutting Nearly $40 Billion in Spending

From the office of Representative Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th)…

Washington, DC – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) released the following statement on today’s House vote on H.R. 1473, which would cut nearly $80 billion below the President’s 2011 budget proposal.

“In January, President Obama stood before our country, asking for a partial spending freeze, which translates to no spending cuts. In just a matter of months House Republicans, who only control one-half of one-third of government, managed to negotiate spending cuts of almost $40 billion through the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year.

“The spending cuts are free of any earmarks and tax increases, and removes the Administration’s license to spend tens of billions of dollars over the next five and a half months, which results in $315 billion in deficit savings over the next ten years.
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Kinzinger Statement on Cutting Nearly $40 Billion in Spending”


Kane County Taxpayer Tea Party scheduled for April 15

“It’s Your Government—Get Informed, Get Involved” is the theme of this year’s Kane County Taxpayer Tea Party on Friday, April 15, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kane County Government Plaza at the intersection of Route 31 and Third Street in Geneva.

This year’s program focuses on local, state, national and international issues. Scheduled speakers include radio host Teri O’Brien, John Tillman of the Illinois Policy Institute, Jim Komaniecki of Restore American Liberty, local businessman Mike Olesen, and Bob McQuillan of TaxFacts, among others. Jeff Danklefsen will emcee.

This family-friendly educational event will also offer patriotic sing-alongs, information tables, and a Voice of the People segment in which attendees will be able to sign up for one to two minutes at the microphone.
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Kane County Taxpayer Tea Party scheduled for April 15″


Kinzinger: We Need an ‘All of the Above Energy Policy’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier this week I participated in a media call-in with Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th District) on which he discussed the budget and other issues.

Unfortunately, I missed the fist few minutes because one of the other journalists must not have muted his phone and his noise was so loud that I could not hear the first few minutes.

In any case I asked the Congressman a question about how conservatives were taking the the budget deal that Speaker Boehner negotiated with the Senate and the President and the congressman said that it was only the beginning. He pledged that he and the other freshmen would continue to push hard on more cuts and noted that this was a good beginning.
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Kinzinger: We Need an ‘All of the Above Energy Policy’”


Roskam Statement On President’s Debt Speech

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (IL, 6th)…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chief Deputy Whip, issued the following statement after President Obama’s speech on America’s debt crisis.

“I’m glad President Obama has finally joined the conversation about reducing our skyrocketing and unsustainable debt, even if it took leadership by congressional Republicans to spur it. Regrettably, his speech was largely more of the same from his widely-panned budget, failing to address the real driver of our debt while embracing trillions in new job-crushing tax increases. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and our Path to Prosperity proves it – we pay off our debt by lowering tax rates and returning government to historical spending levels.

“Americans are experiencing a painful reminder this week of just how much they pay in taxes and just how complex and outdated our tax system is. We need fundamental tax reform that encourages job-growth and increases revenue by broadening the tax base – not the same tired plan of more taxes for job creators while ignoring the fiscal elephant in the room. House Republicans look forward to passing our Path to Prosperity that reforms the tax system, saves Medicare and allows future generations to inherit a debt-free future.”

http://roskam.house.gov/


Rep. Walsh Introduces H.R. 1501 to Stop U.N. Bias Against Israel

From the office of Rep. Joe Walsh (R, 8th District)…

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-08) introduced H.R. 1501 to withhold U.S. contributions to the regularly assessed U.N. biennial budget until it officially retracts the Goldstone Report, a 2009 U.N. report that accused Israel of war crimes. This bill is a response to last week’s Washington Post Op-Ed by the report’s author, Dr. Richard Goldstone, in which he recanted the entire report. He wrote that the report’s central accusation—that Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians during its invasion of Gaza—is false. Goldstone has now concluded that “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone report would have been a different document”.

“This is just another example of the United Nations’ long-time bias against Israel,” said Walsh. “I find it outrageous that the United Nations has yet to distance itself from a report that even its author has discredited and disavowed.”
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Rep. Walsh Introduces H.R. 1501 to Stop U.N. Bias Against Israel”


Mr. President Cut Trillions Not Billions – The 800 Pound Gorilla

Remember when Obama said, “It is essential that we learn the lessons from this crisis so we don’t doom ourselves to repeat it”?

… Or how about Nancy “Read My Lips” Pelosi pledging, “Pay as you go – NO new deficit spending!”

And of course Sheriff Joey Biden explaining, “We gotta go spend money to keep from going bankrupt.”

In this year’s budget, how much of your money can an 800 pound gorilla spend? As much as it wants to. $14,000,000,000,000 National Debt.

Courtesy of Citizens United.


Rep. Peter Roskam: Did you hear about Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity?‏

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (Ill, 6th District)…

When House Republicans released our 2012 budget last week, newspapers called it the “most comprehensive and most courageous budget reform proposal any of us have seen in our lifetimes,” “a welcome blast of truth-telling among the grown-ups,” and “what real leaders do.”

It comes in very stark contrast to the White House’s failed budget, which heaps $1.5 trillion in new job-crushing taxes and allows both Medicare and Social Security to go bankrupt — so they wouldn’t be around for future generations.

Our fact-based budget puts our country on a path to prosperity, spurring job creation, saving crucial programs for future generations, and relieving the crushing burden of our national debt. Read more from Budget Chairman Paul Ryan in the Wall Street Journal.
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Rep. Peter Roskam: Did you hear about Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity?‏”


The IRS Running Amok: Forcing Americans Banks to Put Foreign Tax Law Above U.S. Tax Law

Dan Mitchell of the CATO Institute gives us another great video, this one on the obscenity that is new move by the IRS to force American banks to put foreign tax law above American tax laws.


Report: The 4th Annual Sammies

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Friday, April 8, I attended the 4th Annual Sammies Awards, a yearly event that brings together reform-minded folks from across the country to celebrate the best of America. The winners are all recognized for their engagement as watchdogs, reformers, messengers, and strategists and rightfully so.

This year’s keynote speaker was Fox Business Network’s John Stossel. Other featured speakers were such luminaries as Andrew Breitbart, The New York Times bestselling novelist Brad Thor, Jack Fowler, publisher of The National Review, and more. Also in attendance was John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, and dozens of Chicago area notables.

The event was sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance, a free market and liberty minded policy organization based in Chicago. The group’s stated goal is to engage in the battle to restore self-government to America.

“Once again, the Sammies brought together the freedom lovers and freedom fighters who love their country and, in their way, engage to advance our freedom,” said Yvonne Ralsky, executive director of SAM. “The winners tonight would make Sam Adams proud. They are creative, strategic, impactful, and tenacious.”

This year’s event was held in the great hall of Chicago’s historic Union Station and what a beautiful presentation it was.

With purple as the theme color, the event was well furnished with some excellent settings and centerpieces. You might remember this setting as that from the 1987 movie The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro… though not nearly as much blood was spilled in the making of the 2011 Sammies, to be sure.
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Report: The 4th Annual Sammies”


House Votes to Curb FCC’s Internet Power Grab

-By Warner Todd Huston

We’ve been writing about Obama’s attempt to take over control of the Internet for some time, now, and there is at last a bit of good news on that front. The House of Representatives has passed Congressional Resolution, H.J. Res. 37 aimed at preventing the FCC’s wild, unconstitutional powergrab.

Chief Deputy Whip Congressman Peter Roskam was in favor of this move and released a statement that said:

The FCC’s decision to prohibit America’s Internet providers from managing content on their own networks is a colossal mistake that will hurt job creation and innovation in one of our most vibrant industries. These new regulations are a solution in search of a problem. America’s Internet companies – from large enterprises to tiny garage start-ups – are examples of what can happen when government stays out of the way. The Internet is an engine of innovation and economic growth essential to America maintaining its qualitative edge. Net Neutrality rules will only stifle competition, hurt job creation and provide huge disincentives to innovate – so I urge the FCC to rescind these rules immediately.

Likewise, Congressman Adam Kinzinger voted yes on the resolution.
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House Votes to Curb FCC’s Internet Power Grab”


Whoopi’s Most Excellent Question – The Ridiculously Simple Answer

-By Rev Michael Bresciani‏

News sources are pulsing with reverberations about Donald Trump’s remarks on Obama’s eligibility and great and mysterious unseen long form birth certificate. Liberally biased media is showing signs of the nervous jitters with their usual “why don’t they just shut up” response.

Whether you think Mr. Trump should take a run at the presidency or not, he has to be credited for taking on the question that others are only skirting in abject fear of being labeled a conspiracy theorist, a kook or something much worse. (Can’t mention those names in this article) One thing can be safely concluded from Trump’s head on confrontational kind of approach, he’s got some guts!

In the same week that Hillary Clinton began to call Syria’s President Assad a reformer; should we be at all surprised that Donald Trump is saying that Obama may be a fraud? Which claim seems more ridiculous is not the question. The only real question is which one has more tangible proof. It is here that Mr. Obama would come up short.
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Whoopi’s Most Excellent Question – The Ridiculously Simple Answer”


Budget Victory: All Right, Tea Partiers, Time to Stop Whining and Learn Politics

-By Warner Todd Huston

Sorry Tea Partiers, but the GOP won this budget battle despite that you didn’t get all you wanted, this was a major GOP win. In fact, treating it otherwise endangers further cuts and bigger budget wins. If the drive to cut the budget stops now, it might be YOUR fault!

What is that you say? Gosh, we only got a paltry $38.5 billion in cuts? You say this is a loss because we were promised $100 billion and even that is a drop in the bucket with a budget trillions overspent?

Yes, your laments are all true to a degree. And here’s the “but” you know is coming…

…but it’s time for you Tea Partiers to grow up and learn a little something about reality and politics. Oh, you can scrunch your face up all you want over that dirty word, “politics.” But you’d better come to learn, it, live it, and love it if you really want to keep your influence and continue pushing the government down this new path to the budget cuts.
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Budget Victory: All Right, Tea Partiers, Time to Stop Whining and Learn Politics”


Kinzinger Statement on FY 2011 Spending Cuts

From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, IL, 11th District)…

Washington, DC – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) issued the following statement on the agreement to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year 2011 while cutting $78.5 billion below the President’s 2011 budget proposal.

“Our country has come a long way since the President asked Congress two and a half months ago for a spending freeze, which translates to no spending cuts. In just a matter of months, we negotiated historic cuts of $38.5 billion through the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year.
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Kinzinger Statement on FY 2011 Spending Cuts”


IL House Repubs: Pay Cuts, Murder Registry and More‏

From GOP House Minority Leader Tom Cross…

10 % Pay Cut for Lawmakers Clears House

House Republicans this week helped pass legislation requiring lawmakers to take a 10 percent pay cut in Fiscal Year 2012 – a $1.2 million savings for taxpayers, said House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

“We must lead by example. We have been pushing tirelessly for state government to live within its means—when looking at reductions in our budget, we must look at ourselves-first,” said Cross.

Illinois state representatives and senators receive the fifth highest paid salary in the country. Only California, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan pay their legislators more than Illinois. The current annual salary for an Illinois legislator is $67,836; if HB 2891 becomes law, the annual salary will be $61,052.
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IL House Repubs: Pay Cuts, Murder Registry and More‏”


Drunken Pawlenty Worker At Iowa Family’s Door at 3AM

-By Warner Todd Huston

For some unexplained reason a drunken campaign worker for the Tim Pawlenty Presidential Exploratory Committee was found at a Polk County, Iowa Family’s back door at 3AM on Wednesday morning.

Ben Foster was arrested and ended up in the Polk County jail after the Steward family called police about a drunken intruder trying to get into their back door. Foster was charged with public intoxication and trespassing.

An Iowa consultant for the Pawlenty campaign confirms that Foster was an employee of the Tim Pawlenty Presidential Exploratory Committee.
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Drunken Pawlenty Worker At Iowa Family’s Door at 3AM”


Ill. Reps. Roskam and Kinzinger on Troop Funding Bill

Two of Illinois’ Congressmen have released statements on the Troop Funding issue that has arisen with this looming government shutdown. The White House has claimed that our soldiers — many of whom are currently at war — won’t get paid.

Congressman Peter Roskam, 6th District Representative and the Chief Deputy Whip of The House Republicans, and Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, he of the 11th District, have each released a statement on the paying of our troops.

Congressman Peter Roskam

“A full 47 days after the House first passed H.R. 1 – and a year after House Democrats failed to even introduce a budget – the House has once again acted to keep the government open, cut spending, and fund the troops for the rest of the year. It is astonishing that President Obama is threatening to veto a bill to fund our troops – without stating a single policy objection – particularly when our troops are now in three different foreign conflicts. I’m disheartened the White House and Senate Democrats are putting politics ahead of funding our troops and keeping the government open. We owe it to our troops to make sure they are getting paid when in harm’s way.”

http://roskam.house.gov/

Congressman Adam Kinzinger

Today, on the 47th day since the House passed H.R. 1, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) spoke out in support of the Troop Funding Bill which would fund the Department of Defense through the remainder of FY2011, while cutting $12 billion in federal spending and keeping the government running for one week so a long-term solution will be reached, avoiding a government shutdown.

“As a military pilot, I have friends serving our country who are wondering if they’re going to get paid if the government does shutdown. I say, ‘Ask Harry Reid; we’ve tried to make sure you continue to get paid.’

“I’m disappointed by the news that our Commander-in-Chief has threatened to veto this legislation that would ensure members of the military receive their paychecks and avoids a government shutdown. I urge the Senate to stand up for the men and women who put their lives on the line and make certain they receive funding while making real spending cuts.

“I was sent here to cut spending and make government efficient and effective, not just in the short term, but in the long run for our children and grandchildren. I don’t think it’s any secret that we cannot continue down this reckless trajectory. We’ve kicked the can down the road for too long and now, there’s no more road left.

“It’s time to tackle the spending to ensure the fiscal soundness of this country for future generations.”

http://kinzinger.house.gov/