Chicago Daily Observer

To listen to Democrats, Congress can’t wait to crack down on all those greedy “speculators” who are driving up the price of oil. To listen to one Democrat in particular, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, is far more illuminating.

If the powerful majority whip is looking a little thin these days, it’s because he has been feeling the squeeze.

On his left is his party, wild to find a villain on whom to blame high gas prices, intent on deflecting attention away from its own antidrilling policies. It has settled on those unfortunate traders who deal daily in contracts for the world’s short supply of oil.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has been mentioned in past presidential election years as a possible candidate for vice president. But not this year.

“I’ve been approached before,” Durbin, who is assistant majority leader of the Senate, said last week. “I never knew how serious it was.”

Durbin made the comments in an interview about the search for a running mate by Illinois’ other U.S. senator, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

In years past, Durbin said, he’s meant it when he said no to vice-presidential overtures.

“The irony is, this time, I really want to help this guy,” Durbin said. “It’s a good thing that I’m out of the running, because I would be tempted. I think he has a chance to do some significant things for this country.”

The IMA (Illinois Manufacturers’ Association) is supporting the United States’ possible free-trade pact with Colombia and would like U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Geneva, to consider it as well.

“We want to keep free trade open, especially when huge operations like Caterpillar have struck in this part of the world,” he told the crowd.

“Rep. Foster hasn’t made up his mind on this, and Sen. Dick Durbin hasn’t said a word,” added Baise, a former transportation department secretary for Illinois in Gov. Jim Thompson’s administration, and a former Republican candidate for Illinois state treasurer.

You’ve got to hand it to Sen. Dick Durbin. When everyone is blasting the “earmarking” of federal funds for favored local projects, the Illinois Democrat defends the practice.

At least he’s honest about it, unlike so many others who say they oppose earmarks, while soaking them up like bread dabbed in gravy. Take our favorite son and presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, who says he’ll get rid of them—partially at least—yet he basks in the warm gratitude of Illinois interests that are the lucky recipients of the federal loot. Obama, on his campaign Web site, touts his promise to “slash earmarks to no greater than year 2001 levels.”

Bankruptcy judges would be allowed to come to the aid of homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure under a proposal pushed by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin.

The Senate’s second-highest ranking Democrat planned to put his bill in the spotlight Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that will include testimony from Nettie McGee, a 73-year-old Chicago woman threatened by foreclosure.

The mayor coughs up $40 Million in financial assistance for one of the most successful corporations in the country that has just finished a $12 Billion merger. The governor arranges for a $4 Million to be paid to a good friend of Karl Rove. In a time of record high gas prices, both senators arrange a 50 cent tax on imported ethanol to assist a local conglomerate, while using the same conglomerate’s private airplane to travel back and forth to Washington D.C.

The senator who extols the fact that he comes from a poor neighborhood campaigns for a public school monopoly, while neither he nor his children have attended a day of public school. The other senator campaigns for sugar tariffs, while 10,000 Teamster union workers are laid off because of high sugar prices. Such a combination of favors to business and the State enterprise monopolies in exchange for campaign ... Read More...

Today, businessman Jim Nalepa announced he would not seek the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, and instead is endorsing the campaign of Steve Sauerberg, M.D.

“After carefully looking at this race, and the candidates in the field, it became clear to me that Steve Sauerberg and I shared the same vision and goal – returning Illinois values to Washington by defeating far left-liberal Dick Durbin,” said Nalepa.

When does a dream become a nightmare? Possibly when the Congress repeatedly attempts to defy the wishes of the majority of the American people to pass a massive amnesty program that benefits millions of illegal aliens residing in the country.

Once again, large numbers of Americans jammed the Senate telephone switchboard and unloaded a blizzard of letters and faxes to remind their elected representatives that they oppose any legislation that offers amnesty to illegal aliens. Their efforts succeeded at derailing the Dream Act for the time being. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has vowed to try to revisit the issue in six weeks.

The Dream Act has been sponsored by our own Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). It was defeated prior to this week, but Durbin reintroduced the measure. He was confident that the bill would pass on this turn at bat. It was hoped that the Senate could pass ... Read More...

CHICAGO BRIEFING
September 2007

Cook County’s struggling health-care system; death of a lobbyist; hybrid cars for Chicago, and more…