Illinois

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Obama's Republican Pal Gets Grief
Obama's Republican Pal Gets Grief
Jul 18, 2008 1:25 PM CDT

Obama's Republican Pal Gets Grief

Appearance in campaign ad costly for Ill. senate colleague

(Newser) - Kirk Dillard is a lot like many Obama supporters. He came to respect and admire Obama, and he appeared in an early primary ad saying so. But the Illinois legislator also happens to be a Republican—and a delegate for John McCain. Now that Obama is the nominee, Dillard’s...

Illinois Man Calls Home a Church, Saves $80K in Taxes

Locals suspicious of religious conversion

(Newser) - An Illinois man has declared his home a church, knocking $80K off his property taxes in the bargain, the Chicago Tribune reports. George Michael says he got an online pastor's degree and transformed his $3 million lakefront estate into a house of worship so his disabled wife and daughter could...

MillerCoors Taps Chicago for New Headquarters

Conglomerate to merge operations from Denver, Milwaukee

(Newser) - Chicago will be home to the new corporate headquarters of beer conglomerate MillerCoors, the Tribune reports. The Windy City edged out Dallas to serve as a neutral location for the nerve center of Denver-based Molson Coors and Milwaukee-based Miller. Chicago attracted MillerCoors because it has "access to an attractive...

The Games Candidates Play, Casino Edition
The Games Candidates Play, Casino Edition
ANALYSIS
Jul 3, 2008 1:16 PM CDT

The Games Candidates Play, Casino Edition

Poker pegs Obama as deep thinker; McCain's flash evident in craps

(Newser) - The presidential contenders are both gambling men, and long ago picked poisons—flashy craps for McCain, backroom poker for Obama—that reflect strikingly different competitive natures. McCain, whom aides recently had to drag from the tables, loves the “thrill seeker’s” game, Time notes: He heartily plays for thousands...

Ex-Con Suspected in 8 Murders Captured in Ill.

Nicholas Sheley recognized in a bar

(Newser) - An exhaustive, two-state manhunt for an ex-convict suspected in eight grisly slayings ended with the man quietly arrested last night outside a bar known as a police hangout. Police knew from a number of witness reports that Nicholas T. Sheley, 28, was in the area, said the police chief in...

Fish Toxin Buyer Linked to Murder Plot

Man after puffer fish poison was seeking hit man

(Newser) - An Illinois man busted trying to buy enough puffer fish toxin to kill dozens of people had been seeking to hire a hit man on the internet to kill a mystery woman, reports the Chicago Tribune. The financial planner sent emails to people offering $8,000 for the murder, authorities...

Illinois to Sue Countrywide, CEO Over Foreclosure Fiasco

State blames company for foreclosures

(Newser) - The state of Illinois will sue Countrywide and its CEO today for "unfair and deceptive practices" in the first suit related to the current mortgage crisis. The company is accused of pushing loans on homeowners even if they couldn't repay them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Illinois' attorney general...

Ragtag Levees Leave Midwest Soaking

Locals and towns run disorganized barrier system

(Newser) - As the Midwest battles massive flooding, the New York Times looks at the region's patchwork of homemade levees—which fail to meet federal standards and tend to spring unexpected leaks. Bill Clinton's White House advised a uniform levy system 15 years ago, but the report was read and forgotten. “...

19 Levees Now Breached
 19 Levees Now Breached 
UPDATED
Jun 18, 2008 1:20 PM CDT

19 Levees Now Breached

More failures in Ill., Mo., swamp farmland

(Newser) - More levee breaks in Missouri and Illinois today put at 19 the number that have failed along the cresting Mississippi, Reuters reports, further swamping farmland. "They were lower level agricultural levees," said an Army Corps of Engineers spokesman. "We're also watching another seven levees that may overtop...

Levees Crumbling, Midwest Struggles to Stem Tide

Aging infrastructure is barely coping with severe weather

(Newser) - The worst flooding in 15 years has exposed some serious vulnerabilities in the Midwest's aging infrastructure, the Chicago Tribune reports. Levees, bridges, and dams, some a century old, are barely coping with severe storms—while some are collapsing completely. Dikes and levees broke in several states last week after torrential...

Midwest Storms Threaten Worst Flooding in 15 Years

Communities work to repair damage from weekend waters

(Newser) - As climbing rivers knocked out an Iowa bridge and flooded Illinois farms, communities along the Mississippi River are bracing for what could be its biggest overflow in 15 years, the AP reports. The National Weather Service warned of crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next...

Rezko Guilty on 16 Counts of Fraud, Corruption

Obama has links to Chicago developer, but trouble worse for Ill. Gov. Blagojevich

(Newser) - Chicago developer Tony Rezko was found guilty today of 16 federal counts, including wire fraud, mail fraud, corrupt solicitation and money laundering, WLS-TV reports. Rezko, whose links to Barack Obama have brought the Democrat some controversy, also has fundraising ties to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich; witnesses said Blagojevich OK'd giving...

Calm and Collected, Obama Makes History
 Calm and Collected,
 Obama Makes History 
ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2008 4:22 AM CDT

Calm and Collected, Obama Makes History

Obama has played it cool throughout his career

(Newser) - Barack Obama is not merely the first black presumptive presidential nominee of a major party—he's also only 46, having entered the Illinois state Senate just 11 years ago. He's also a brilliant, imperfect, unstoppably ambitious man with an astounding ability to remain calm throughout a manic campaign, writes the...

Obama's Campaign Manager Denies Being a Lobbyist

Does David Axelrod qualify for the title?

(Newser) - As John McCain struggles to purge his campaign staff of lobbyists, Barack Obama’s campaign manager is denying he fits the bill, too. "I've never lobbied anybody in my life," says David Axelrod, who is the senior partner at a consulting firm that has done what Newsweek calls...

Wreck Flattens Oreos; No Trace of Girl Scouts

10 tons carpet Illinois freeway in early-morning crash

(Newser) - An Illinois freeway got an unscheduled repaving this morning when a truck crash dumped 20,000 pounds of Oreos onto I-80, the Chicago Tribune reports. Police are still investigating what caused the big rig to hit a median, so no word on whether the driver (who was unhurt) had eaten...

Lucky Alaska First to Hit $4 Gas
 Lucky Alaska First to Hit $4 Gas 
May 15, 2008 11:03 AM CDT

Lucky Alaska First to Hit $4 Gas

Others could join '$4 club' after Memorial Day

(Newser) - It's here. Alaska has the painful distinction of becoming the first state where gas is selling for an average of $4 a gallon, Reuters reports. The average for the rest of the US is hovering at $3.76, but Connecticut, California, New York, and Illinois could all join Alaska in...

Obama's Pragmatism Rooted in Hyde Park

Dem learned to pay his due on Chicago's South Side

(Newser) - Barack Obama was once a no-name politico on Chicago’s South Side with an Ivy League degree and few supporters, the New York Times reports. But he found allies by courting opposing groups, a balancing act that has proven effective on a national scale. “He’s looking for ways...

How Obama Won Blue Collars in Wisconsin
How Obama Won Blue Collars in Wisconsin
ANALYSIS
May 1, 2008 7:52 PM CDT

How Obama Won Blue Collars in Wisconsin

Repeat in Indiana could wrap things up

(Newser) - Given Barack Obama’s much-ballyhooed problems with white, working-class voters, it's instructive to remember that he clobbered Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by 17 points in February, notes Mike Madden in Salon. If he can reconnect with those voters in Indiana—another state close to his Illinois home—he could wrap...

Peterson Offers $25K Reward for Wife's Return

Murder suspect should collect it himself, says family

(Newser) - Suspected wife killer Drew Peterson is offering a $25,000 reward for information about his wife's disappearance, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Illinois ex-cop said he believes his fourth wife, Stacy, left with another man when she vanished six months ago. Stacy's relatives slammed the offer as a publicity stunt...

Rezko Pal, Rove Tried to Oust US Attorney, Witness Says

They deny allegations about Patrick Fitzgerald

(Newser) - One of Tony Rezko's associates conspired with Karl Rove to try to get US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald fired to quash a federal investigation of Rezko, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prosecutors hope a judge will allow testimony to that effect in Rezko's corruption trial. Rove denies the allegations, as does the...

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