'Pen pals' call truce
Thursday, February 9, 2006 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Dueling Senators Barack Obama and John McCain called themselves "pen pals" Wednesday as they worked together again on ethics and lobbying reform legislation.
| Discuss
McCain: Obama is insincere
Tuesday, February 7, 2006 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) received a dressing down Monday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who accused the freshman of using the ethics reform issue for "self-interested partisan posturing."
| Discuss
Alito: Judges must not use judicial activism
Thursday, December 1, 2005
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Chicago Sun-Times
| WASHINGTON-- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito told senators Wednesday that federal judges must constantly guard against slipping into judicial activism to get the results they want, especially when dealing with the nation's highest law, the U.S. Constitution.
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Dem leader sounds warning on Alito nomination
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said he has "significant concerns" about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, calling President Bush's latest choice one of the most conservative judges in the United States.
| Discuss
Abortion front and center for nominations
Sunday, November 13, 2005
AP's NANCY BENAC - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Abortion was the first question out of the box at John Roberts' Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Hand-wringing over the same issue was rife during Harriet Miers' short-lived nomination to the court.
Now abortion again is central to the debate over Samuel Alito, the latest nominee for the high court.
| Discuss
Azerbaijan president fires 2 governors
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
AP's Judith Ingram - - Chicago Sun-Times
| President Ilham Aliev fired two regional governors for interfering with the count from last weekend's parliamentary elections, his office said Wednesday after thousands of angry demonstrators crammed a square in Baku to protest alleged vote fraud.
| Discuss
High Court choice hurts GOP pitch to blacks
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
AP's Will Lester - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Only minutes after Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman asked blacks to consider supporting the GOP, NAACP President Bruce Gordon talked about his deep concerns about the Bush administration's nominee to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito.
| Discuss
Battle begins over nominee Alito
Monday, October 31, 2005
AP's RON FOURNIER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| President Bush nominated veteran judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court Monday, seeking to shift the judiciary to the right and mollify conservatives who derailed his previous pick. Ready-to-rumble Democrats said Alito may curb abortion rights and be "too radical for the American people."
| Discuss
At least 58 killed in New Delhi blasts
Sunday, October 30, 2005
AP's MATTHEW ROSENBERG - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Near-simultaneous explosions rocked the Indian capital Saturday evening, tearing through a bus and two markets crowded with people shopping for gifts for a Hindu festival. At least 58 people were killed and dozens wounded in the blasts, which the government blamed on terrorists.
| Discuss
Party's ad urges Bush to pull nomination
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Chicago Sun-Times
| A conservative group opposing Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers bought $250,000 of TV and radio time Tuesday to broadcast an advertisement nationwide calling for President Bush to withdraw her nomination.
| Discuss
Are scandals creating a lawyer shortage?
Monday, October 24, 2005 ABDON M. PALLASCH - - Chicago Sun-Times
| There's been no shortage of city workers ensnared in the federal government's ongoing Hired Truck investigation.
But as more and more folks get caught up in the scandal, could there be a shortage of seasoned attorneys to represent them?
| Discuss
Bean treads carefully on Iraq
Thursday, October 20, 2005
AP's MAURA KELLY LANNAN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Freshman U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean recently returned from a five-day trip to Iraq, where she spent time talking with soldiers to gather insight from inside the war zone.
But when it comes to Bean's own position on the war, the targeted Democrat remains tight-lipped.
| Discuss
D.C. rally picks up on mission of '95 march
Sunday, October 16, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Ten years ago, Craig Stevenson viewed the Million Man March -- the massive gathering of black men on the National Mall -- on television.
On Saturday, Stevenson, 27, who lives in Flossmoor, arrived here after a long bus ride from 63rd and Stony Island to witness in person the rally marking the 10th anniversary of the march, again organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
| Discuss
Conservatives fear Bush will tap Gonzales
Thursday, September 8, 2005
AP's DEB RIECHMANN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Maybe President Bush was just joking around to fuel speculation, but conservatives aren't laughing about the president's playful glance at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when he described the list of possible nominees for the second Supreme Court vacancy as wide open.
| Discuss
Clinton avoids politics in Chicago talk
Monday, August 8, 2005 JIM RITTER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Six female "icons of the legal profession" were honored at an American Bar Association banquet Sunday.
They included the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, a former assistant attorney general and a senior adviser of the National Partnership for Women and Families.
But the award winner who received the most applause was a woman who no longer practices law: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
| Discuss
Bush fit, lost 8 pounds
Sunday, July 31, 2005
AP's DEB RIECHMANN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| President Bush was pronounced "fit for duty" after an annual checkup Saturday that showed that the 59-year-old commander in chief, an avid mountain bike rider, has lost 8 pounds since his last physical exam in December.
| Discuss
Hispanic court pick could split Latinos
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The possibility of two Supreme Court vacancies -- following Sandra Day O'Connor's planned retirement and speculation surrounding Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- increases chances that President Bush will nominate the court's first Hispanic justice, observers say.
| Discuss
McDonald's lovin' hip-hop look for uniforms
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 ERIC HERMAN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Would you like fashion with your fries?
Ramping up its bid for a hipper, more youthful image, McDonald's plans to hire top designers to remake its uniforms. The Oak Brook-based hamburger giant recently hired a marketing whiz with ties to the hip-hop community and is contemplating deals with fashion figures ranging from Sean "P. Diddy" Combs to Tommy Hilfiger.
| Discuss
17 missing, feared lost in downed U.S. helicopter
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
AP's DANIEL COONEY - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Stormy weather Wednesday hampered a team trying to reach a U.S. special operations helicopter with 17 troops that crashed while pursuing al-Qaida militants in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The U.S. military said a rocket-propelled grenade probably brought down the MH-47.
| Discuss
Daley: Durbin should apologize for Gitmo remarks
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
AP's TARA BURGHART - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Mayor Richard Daley said Tuesday that even though U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is a good friend, the fellow Democrat should apologize for comments comparing the actions of American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis, Soviet gulags and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.
| Discuss
Gitmo remark makes Durbin easy prey
Sunday, June 19, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Six months ago, Senate Democrats picked Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to be their No. 2 leader because he is one of the most articulate and informed senators on his side of the aisle.
But Durbin lapsed this week and his punishment included providing fuel for the mighty right-wing political machine. That includes Rush Limbaugh and talk show hosts at Fox News, where bashing Durbin was the singular theme of Friday's "Fox & Friends" morning cablecast.
| Discuss
New benefit delay hits disabled vets
Sunday, June 19, 2005 CHERYL L. REED - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The most seriously disabled veterans will now have to wait for their claims to pass a second review before they can receive any disability pay from the federal Veterans Affairs Department, according to a new policy ordered last week.
| Discuss
Regrets? Durbin has one
Saturday, June 18, 2005
AP's REBECCA CARROLL - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Friday he regretted any misunderstandings caused by his comments earlier this week comparing American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis.
| Discuss
Toned-down Dean finds friendly audience at PUSH
Monday, June 13, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean paid homage to the House of Jackson on Sunday, making not one but TWO visits to friendly audiences at the Rainbow/PUSH headquarters, trying to tone down the rhetoric that has landed him in so much hot water lately.
| Discuss
2 GOP challengers hope to unseat Rep. Bean
Saturday, June 11, 2005 SCOTT FORNEK - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Democratic U.S. Rep Melissa Bean is picking up two challengers -- both wealthy Republicans willing to dip into their personal fortunes to try to regain the northwest suburban 8th District congressional seat for the GOP.
| Discuss
Senate confirms Brown, ends Pryor filibuster
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The Senate on Wednesday confirmed California judge Janice Rogers Brown for the federal appeals court, ending a two-year battle filled with accusations of racism and sexism and shadowed by a dispute over Democratic blocking tactics.
| Discuss
Dean defends his remarks about GOP
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
AP's PAULINE JELINEK - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday defended his recent harsh criticism of Republicans, including his observation that they are "pretty much a white, Christian party."
| Discuss
Greenspan can't explain rates divergence
Monday, June 6, 2005
AP's MARTIN CRUTSINGER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday he does not have a good explanation for why long-term interest rates have been falling at a time when he and his Fed colleagues have been raising short-term rates.
| Discuss
Bolton said to orchestrate 'unlawful' firing
Saturday, June 4, 2005
AP's CHARLES J. HANLEY - - Chicago Sun-Times
| John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved.
| Discuss
SEC chairman to quit
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
AP's MARTIN CRUTSINGER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson, installed by President Bush to restore confidence in a stock market shaken by a wave of corporate scandals, announced his resignation Wednesday.
| Discuss
House passes defense bill
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Chicago Sun-Times
| House Republicans abandoned their own plan Wednesday to curb the role of women in combat zones after it ran into opposition from the Pentagon and lawmakers from both parties.
| Discuss
Kirk to get vote on stem cell research, but there's a catch
Monday, May 23, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Here is the backstory to a vote expected Tuesday on a contentious House bill to allow more federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, the pivotal role played by Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.), and why he was forced to apologize for using a controversial tactic to advance his cause.
| Discuss
U.N. warns against linking dues to reform
Sunday, May 22, 2005
AP's NICK WADHAMS - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The United Nations on Friday warned that a proposed congressional bill linking U.N. reform with tens of millions of dollars in U.S. dues would be "counterproductive," especially as Secretary-General Kofi Annan pursues his own agenda to revamp the world body.
| Discuss
Dems say Bolton sought to punish dissenter
Thursday, May 19, 2005
AP's ANNE GEARAN and LOLITA BALDOR - - Chicago Sun-Times
| John R. Bolton planned to ask then-CIA Director George Tenet to help punish a government intelligence analyst who disagreed with Bolton, and then misled a Senate committee about the matter, says a Democratic draft report obtained by The Associated Press.
| Discuss
Dems try to delay vote on Bolton
Sunday, May 15, 2005
AP's BARRY SCHWEID - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Senate Democrats opposed to President Bush's nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador are trying to delay a Senate vote with a legislative maneuver that ultimately could lead to a filibuster.
| Discuss
More wives bringing home the bacon
Sunday, May 15, 2005 CHERYL L. REED - - Chicago Sun-Times
| More than 8.3 million wives are bringing home bigger bucks than their husbands.
That's one out of four dual-earning couples where the wife makes more moolah -- up 7 percentage points in the last 16 years, according to a report on women in the labor force released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Discuss
Father denied bond in 'slaughter'
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 DAN ROZEK and ANNIE SWEENEY - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Jerry Branton Hobbs III, charged with killing his 8-year-old daughter Laura and her best friend, stabbed his daughter about 20 times — including once in each eye and nine times in the neck, prosecutors said today.
| Discuss
Congress approves $82 billion for wars
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Congress approved an additional $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan and combating terrorism worldwide on Tuesday, boosting the cost of the global effort since 2001 to more than $300 billion.
| Discuss
Rush taps political fund to aid Englewood church he founded
Monday, May 9, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), pastor of Beloved Community Christian Church, is using his federal political war chest to help support the church he founded in Englewood. Since last June, Rush has donated $72,200 to the church in a series of checks, according to disclosures on Rush's Federal Election Commission reports.
| Discuss
Murders a crime 'against all of us'
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 DAN ROZEK, ART GOLAB, and FRANK MAIN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Bike rides, magic markers and swings kept the two buddies busy on a sunny Sunday. Krystal Tobias and Laura Hobbs were spotted tearing around their Zion neighborhood all afternoon, sharing the pure joy of being second-graders -- almost third -- and hanging out as best friends on a warm day.
| Discuss
Seeking answers in the murder of Emmett Till
Sunday, May 8, 2005 NATASHA KORECKI - - Chicago Sun-Times
| When Emmett Till's body is exhumed in the coming weeks, medical examiners have a good chance of identifying it through DNA.
If Till was shot, a bullet is likely to still be intact half a century later. And if Till was still breathing when he was thrown into the river, tiny, algaelike cells will still be in his bone marrow, experts say.
But even with the wealth of evidence bodies can hold after 50 years, determining Till's exact cause of death might be tricky, and investigators won't know what to expect until the very moment the 14-year-old's casket is opened.
| Discuss
War stress heavier on women
Sunday, May 8, 2005 CHERYL L. REED - - Chicago Sun-Times
| In a war marked by the most female troops ever to face daily combat, women service members appear to experience war differently from men, according to a Defense Department health questionnaire that tests the mental stability of half a million returning troops.
| Discuss
N. Korea nuke threat may be ruse
Saturday, May 7, 2005
AP's JOHN J. LUMPKIN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| U.S. spy satellites have detected what may be preparations for North Korea's first test of a nuclear weapon, although analysts think it could be a calculated ruse on Pyongyang's part, a U.S. defense official said Friday.
| Discuss
Ad blitz to back Bush on judicial nominees
Monday, May 2, 2005
AP's DAVID ESPO - - Chicago Sun-Times
| An organization with strong Republican ties intends to spend $1.5 million on television commercials over the next two weeks to help Senate GOP leaders in a showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees.
| Discuss
Where did all of Bush's political capital go?
Saturday, April 30, 2005
AP's TERENCE HUNT - - Chicago Sun-Times
| One hundred days into his second term, President Bush has lost much of the political muscle he boasted about after winning re-election. Gas prices are rising, his approval ratings are sagging and Americans are unhappy with his handling of the economy and Iraq.
| Discuss
House GOP plans Social Security draft
Friday, April 29, 2005
AP's DEB RIECHMANN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| House Republicans announced plans Friday to draft Social Security legislation by June as President Bush warned Democratic critics not to "play politics as usual" with his call for sweeping program changes including curtailment of some benefits.
| Discuss
Senate approves Negroponte
Thursday, April 21, 2005
AP's KATHERINE SHRADER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| John Negroponte won overwhelming approval by the Senate Thursday to become the nation's first national intelligence director, a job created last year to better coordinate the nation's spy agencies following the Sept. 11 attacks and other intelligence blunders.
| Discuss
Suit rips No Child Left Behind funding
Thursday, April 21, 2005 KATE N. GROSSMAN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The nation's largest teachers union and its Illinois affiliate filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the U.S. secretary of education of failing to fully fund the federal No Child Left Behind law by several billion dollars and forcing states to make up the difference by diverting funds from gifted programs, efforts to cut class size and other initiatives.
| Discuss
Health causing Hyde to step down
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| It's official. U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), the staunch conservative who is best known for leading President Bill Clinton's impeachment, announced Monday -- his 81st birthday -- that he will not seek another term.
| Discuss
Insiders like Roskam's chances of grabbing seat
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 SCOTT FORNEK - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Look for a stampede of Republicans to succeed Rep. Henry Hyde -- but when the dust clears, most political insiders expect state Sen. Peter Roskam to be in the lead. "I see Roskam walking into this," one DuPage Republican said.
| Discuss
Military spouses could get 30 days of leave
Saturday, April 16, 2005 CHERYL L. REED - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Spouses and parents of deployed Illinois National Guard and Reserve members could take up to 30 days of unpaid leave from work without losing their jobs under a bill passed unanimously by the state Senate and sent on to the House.
| Discuss
Obama's online pitch gives Byrd's campaign a big boost
Monday, April 11, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| In the first quarter of this year, freshman Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), once again demonstrating remarkable fund-raising ability, raised more than $1 million -- all for Democrat Senate colleagues who are up for re-election in 2006. The biggest beneficiary of Obama's assistance is Sen. Robert Byrd, the West Virginia Democrat elected to the Senate in 1958 who may be the No. 1 target of Republicans this cycle.
| Discuss
Burke wants living will forms at libraries
Monday, April 4, 2005 MICHAEL SNEED and BEN GOLDBERGER - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) has a plan to head off local instances of the heartache felt by Terri Schiavo's family.
Burke plans to introduce legislation at Wednesday's City Council meeting that would make living will forms available at every branch of the Chicago Public Library system, and allow them to be kept on file with the city clerk, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
| Discuss
Auto dealers arrested on racketeering conspiracy charges
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
AP's MAURA KELLY LANNAN - - Chicago Sun-Times
| U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced federal racketeering conspiracy charges Tuesday against four auto dealers accused of selling luxury cars to gang members and drug dealers and laundering millions of dollars of drug proceeds in phony sales and bank transactions.
| Discuss
Student gunman believed to have acted alone
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
AP's Joshua Freed - - Chicago Sun-Times
| The boy accused of killing nine people in a shooting spree first shot his grandfather and his companion, then donned the man's police-issue gunbelt and bulletproof vest before heading to the high school, where he shot students and teachers at random, authorities said Tuesday.
| Discuss
Senate votes to allow Arctic drilling
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
AP's H. JOSEF HEBERT - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Amid the backdrop of soaring oil and gasoline prices, a sharply divided Senate on Wednesday voted to open the ecologically rich Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, delivering a major energy policy win for President Bush.
| Discuss
The toughest SAT question
Saturday, March 12, 2005 DAVE NEWBART - - Chicago Sun-Times
| For $70, the College Board offers a new online course to help students prepare for the new SAT college entrance exam that more than 300,000 students will take today when, for the first time, they will have to write a short essay in 25 minutes.
But the College Board -- which administers the SAT -- has long maintained that taking prep courses does very little to boost a student's score on the test.
So why take the course? Good question.
| Discuss
Blagojevich vows to 'rock the system'
Tuesday, March 8, 2005 CHRIS FUSCO and DAVE MCKINNEY - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Gov. Blagojevich said Monday he'll push landmark campaign finance reform that "will rock the system in Springfield" and potentially move Illinois from "worst to first" on the issue -- though he denied any link between state contracts and contributions to his political war chest.
| Discuss
A cheaper route to a top degree
Sunday, March 6, 2005 DAVE NEWBART - - Chicago Sun-Times
| With even public schools like University of Illinois charging about $14,000 in tuition and living costs, many students who might have shunned community colleges in the past are now seeing them as a low-cost path to a college degree.
| Discuss
Social Security 'calculators' have biases
Monday, February 28, 2005 Laura Meckler - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Under President Bush's plan for Social Security, a 35-year-old woman earning $50,000 would see her benefits cut by $6,000 per year.
No, scratch that. Given a personal account, her annual take would jump by $63,000.
What?
| Discuss
Homeless ex-lawyer behind Ten Commandments suit
Monday, February 28, 2005 JIM VERTUNO - - Chicago Sun-Times
| As he strolls from the Texas Supreme Court to the state Capitol, Thomas Van Orden recounts the ominous e-mails that warn ''we're gonna get you'' and tell him to ''get the hell out'' if he can't support the American way of life.
| Discuss
Bush warns Europe on ending China embargo
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
AP's TERENCE HUNT - - Chicago Sun-Times
| President Bush and European leaders settled simmering differences about Iraq but plunged into a troublesome new dispute Tuesday over the lifting of an arms embargo against China. Bush warned Congress might retaliate if Europe revokes the 15-year ban.
| Discuss
Democratic leader rips 'boys at White House'
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
AP's DAVID ESPO - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid questioned President Bush's honesty on Tuesday and said he wanted ''the boys at the White House'' to know he wasn't losing any sleep over the Republican Party labeling him an obstructionist.
| Discuss
Hastert's 'partisanship' blast at Emanuel signals rift in delegation
Monday, February 7, 2005 Lynn Sweet - - Chicago Sun-Times
| Republican House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is taking aim at Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the new chairman of the Democratic House political arm, accusing his fellow Illinoisan of undue partisanship while highlighting the millions of dollars he made with a Wall Street firm before coming to Congress.
| Discuss
State Democrats endorse Dean to lead national party
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
AP's Will Lester - - Chicago Sun-Times
| State party leaders gave their backing Monday to Howard Dean in his bid to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee, putting the former presidential candidate in a strong position to win the election in about two weeks.
| Discuss
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