The Doings Weekly

Radogno questions “sham” medical marijuana bill

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:51:44 -0500

Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno opposed passage of the medical marijuana bill, but said it calls for further frank discussion. “At the end of the day we’re kidding ourselves if we just think we’ve approved the medical use of marijuana,” said Radogno, whose 41st District includes portions of Western Springs, La Grange and Burr Ridge. The Senate bill approved by a 35-21 vote May 17 already passed the House and awaits Gov. Quinn’s signature. The bill allows those suffering from 42 diseases to obtain a doctor’s prescription for up to 10 joints a day, Radogno said. The measure provides …

Biggert, Foster face off in new district that include Burr Ridge

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:42:00 -0500

BURR RIDGE — U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert is not your typical conservative Republican. She supports abortion rights, winning her praise from Planned Parenthood. She also supports 2nd Amendment rights, earning her an A rating from the National Rifle Association’s political arm for her “pro-gun voting record.” The 75-year-old grandmother styles herself a moderate, a badge she wears proudly. “We lost a lot of moderates, I lost a lot of my friends,” in 2008 and 2010 elections, she said. “The problem we’re facing now is we’re moving to the right, and we’re moving to the left. I work from the center …

Lipinski’s call for debt reduction meets with approval at Chamber

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:49:02 -0500

COUNTRYSIDE — A problem-solving, bipartisan approach to debt reduction and job creation is key to the nation’s future, U. S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-3rd, from Western Springs, told business and community leaders Monday. Lipinski said he was disappointed the Simpson-Bowles budget, developed by leaders of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, drew little support in March for a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases to slash the federal deficit by $4 trillion during the next decade. “Out of 435 members in the House, it got only 38 votes,” he said. “It was attacked from both the left …

County commissioners give preliminary OK to new district map

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:26:16 -0500

A proposed map redrawing boundaries for the Cook County Board of Commissioners districts received overwhelming preliminary approval Friday. Fifteen of the 17 commissioners signed off on the plan, which is slated for a final vote Tuesday. The lone dissenting vote came from Commissioner Earlean Collins (1st District), who has voiced concerns that population shifts could result in the African-American community losing one of its five seats on the board, which has a total of 17 commissioners. Collins did not return calls seeking comment on Friday. Commissioner William Beavers (4th) did not vote on the proposal. If approved on Tuesday, the …

Tragedy tests Cook County Hospital cops

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 08:15:47 -0500

The police force assigned to patrol Cook County’s hospital system doesn’t have the best reputation in town. In recent years, officers with the Cook County Hospital Police have been accused of inappropriately roughing up an elderly visitor, slamming a county employee against a wall while asking to see her visitor’s pass and arresting a reporter who was covering a protest by homeless advocates. Now there are questions about whether officers responded properly during a tragic event last week in which Stroger Hospital employee Ramon Washington took a hammer to another hospital worker he reportedly used to date. Washington savagely beat …

Crack down on property tax cheats, assessor says

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:28:53 -0500

Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios wants to crack down on tax cheats. He’s lobbying Springfield to pass a law penalizing property owners who, for example, claim homestead exemptions on multiple properties rather than just the one they live in full time. “They’re people with vacation homes, various rental properties or people claiming exemptions of homes where people have been dead for years,” Berrios said this week. His office has logged 30,000 such property owners. Falsely claiming an exemption could potentially save a homeowner as much of tens of thousands of dollars per year, officials said. Right now, Berrios says he …

State GOP chair: Wisconsin on right track

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 01:33:28 -0500

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said this week’s speech at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce meeting in Springfield by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker highlights that Wisconsin is headed in the right direction, while Illinois continues to be one of the worst states in the nation financially. “Instead of protesting Governor Walker’s speech, Illinois Democrats should be taking notes,” said Brady. “Illinoisans filed their IL-1040s for the first time with a 75 percent increase in the state’s income tax rate,” said Brady. “Taxes in Illinois are going up while taxes in Wisconsin are going down.” Brady also noted that Moody’s …

GOP Senators worried about pension, Medicaid funding

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:31:46 -0500

If some DuPage Republican Senators have their way, the state won’t be pushing its responsibility to fund teacher’s pensions off on local school districts, said three of the party’s leaders April 5. Sens. Kirk Dillard, R-24th of Hinsdale, Matt Murphy , R-28th of Palatine and Carole Pankau, R-23rd of Bloomingdale, took turns lambasting their Democratic colleagues. The Teacher’s Retirement System, one of five public sector pension systems administered by the state, is unfunded to the tune of $43 million, about half of the state’s total unfunded liabilities. Illinois Senate Bill 512 seeks to alleviate the pension shortfall by imposing a …

Biggert: Business efforts paying off

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:12:59 -0500

U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-13th District) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate last month ticked down a tenth of a percent, to 8.2 percent, with the addition of 120,000 jobs in March: “At the Aurora Chamber of Commerce this week, I met with small business leaders who are working overtime each and every day to innovate and grow. These efforts are paying off and that means jobs for local families who have struggled too long with financial uncertainty. But we need to tear down the barriers that make it harder …

Biggert blasts Democrats on Medicare scare tactics

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:32:43 -0500

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th District) conducted a town hall meeting Friday with seniors at the Lake Hinsdale Village Senior Community to discuss her efforts to safeguard, improve and strengthen Social Security and Medicare for current and future retirees. She issued the following statement: “I’ve always believed that a promise made is a promise kept. And I have no intention of letting the federal government break its promise on Social Security and Medicare. “We have to face facts. Without action, Social Security is expected to go bankrupt by 2036 and Medicare by 2024. We can’t continue to expect systems created …

Foster, other Democratic congressional hopefuls denounce GOP budget

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:26:58 -0500

Three Democratic candidates for Congress from the suburbs, including Bill Foster, looking to represent Burr Ridge, held a joint news conference Thursday to denounce a Congressional Republican budget plan that would “end Medicare as we know it.” “This is a clear moment where all three of our opponents have to stand up and say whether they support seniors or whether they support [anti-tax activist] Grover Norquist and the pledge they have taken not to raise taxes by one dime for any millionaire in this country,” said Foster, running against Republican Judy Biggert in the west suburban 11th Congressional District. “Everybody …

Biggert pushes Path to Prosperity

Mon, 21 May 2012 01:48:35 -0500

Biggert pushes Path to Prosperity …

Hickey proposes fixes for the housing market

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:48:29 -0500

Jim Hickey, Democratic candidate in the 11th Congressional District, says he has more experience than either of his opponents in housing issues since he has been a licensed mortgage originator and a licensed Realtor for over a decade. “The stimulus and bailout did not work; and my opponent (Bill Foster) voted for stimulus,” Hickey said. “I would have never voted for the trickle-down stimulus package. Until all of the foreclosures are cleansed through the system, the market will not recover.” Hickey’s plan has three steps: Federal Housing Administration guidelines, underwater homeowners and modifications. “First of all, we need to reform …

Democrats in 11th District target education, economy

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:15:56 -0500

Three Democrats running for election in the U.S. 11th Congressional District agree on at least one thing: the country needs more jobs. “When people are out of work, it hurts everybody,” said Jim Hickey, candidate from Orland Park. Hickey himself was out of work after his business fell victim to the economy a few years ago. He said he knows the problems of the middle class and is ready to represent them in Congress. “I’m running because we need to have common, working-class people representing us in Congress,” he said. Hickey favors a “bottom up” approach to economic recovery, starting …

Early voters lock in on police station

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:15:53 -0500

As of Monday afternoon, 447 people had cast ballots at the Burr Ridge police station, 7700 County Line Road. One of nine Early Voting polling places in DuPage County, the Burr Ridge location is open to all eligible voters living within DuPage. Election judge John Michalski of Burr Ridge said most of the people who have voted at the police station live nearby. “It’s primarily Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and Hinsdale,” he said. He and fellow election judge Mike Ryan of Westmont both have served during prior Early Voting periods. They agreed that this year’s turnout is about average as compared …