News from the last 30 days
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August 10, 2010
Durbin demands FutureGen answer from Mattoon
Bloomington Pantagraph
CHAMPAIGN -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin demanded Monday that officials in an eastern Illinois town decide by Friday whether they still want it to be part of a futuristic clean-coal project despite radical changes that scrap plans to build an experimental power plant. A representative for U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, meanwhile, said his request for a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu to discuss a... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Still no verdict at Blagojevich trial
Bloomington Pantagraph
CHICAGO -- Jurors have gone home after their ninth day of deliberations at the corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. There's still no word about whether jurors might be any closer to reaching a verdict. Observers can often glean something about jury deliberations via notes they send to a judge. But it's been more than a week since Blagojevich jurors sent Judge James Za... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Fewer politicians could mean shorter parade
Carbondale Southern Illinoisan
SPRINGFIELD - The parade that kicks off the Illinois State Fair could be a bit shorter this year. The reason: Organizers are giving politicians the boot. In an effort to reduce the length of Thursday's Twilight Parade, officials said all but a few select politicians will be barred from participating. The move means this year's event - which starts at 6 pm - has 78 entries, down from 16... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
State awaits House vote on federal funding
Carbondale Southern Illinoisan
SPRINGFIELD - A vote in Congress as early as Tuesday could put the cash-strapped state a step closer to getting nearly $1 billion from the federal government. Although the possible influx of federal dollars will do little to erase the state's mountain of debt, the money could help school districts avoid further teacher layoffs, as well as assure the state can continue to pay its Medicaid b... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Now you see it, and now you don't
Carbondale Southern Illinoisan
llinoisans were left reeling earlier this month when the federal government disappointed central Illinois and the hundreds of people who fought to bring FutureGen to the Land of Lincoln. The plan to build a state-of-the-art, coal-fired power plant designed to sequester carbon dioxide underground has been killed and resurrected more times than a daytime soap opera character since the project ... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
COLUMN: Road to FutureGen takes a U-turn
Charleston Times Courier/Mattoon Daily Journal
This past Thursday, for the second time in just a few short years, federal officials in the nation's capital told the citizens of central Illinois that despite all their dedicated efforts, the FutureGen project would not become a reality. As a native of Mattoon and State Senator for this area, I was again deeply disappointed in Washington's second chapter of the "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Pension check may not be in the mail
Chicago Tribune
Illinois public employees who think the state constitution guarantees that they'll get all their pension benefits may have another think coming. Politicians' and public labor unions' assurances aside, there's another, not-well-publicized school of thought that says if the pension funds go bust, the state has no obligation to step in to pay the benefits. This runs contrary to the popular view... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Blagojevich jury deliberates for 9th day No verdict, no questions
Chicago Tribune
It was the start of a new week but the same result Monday for jurors weighing the fate of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich as they deliberated quietly for the ninth day without reaching a verdict. It was the sixth straight day without any communication from the six-woman, six-man jury. The jury, which began deliberations July 28, has been working Monday through Friday. The jury's only question... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Lack of jobs leave many teachers wondering about future Teaching no longer applies as a stable career choice, experts say
Chicago Tribune
Four years ago, Peter Robertson thought he was leaving the uncertainty of a freelance writing career for the stability of teaching. He'd always wanted his own classroom, and the 52-year-old was pretty sure he'd get hired -- schools were eager for male teachers with life experience. But that was in 2006, when he was completing his teacher training. A lot has happened to the profession sinc... <read more> -
August 10, 2010
Blagojevich case: Putting fact and fiction in a blender
Chicago Tribune
Rod Blagojevich, in the months leading up to his trial, embraced the present-day media landscape, hopping on Donald Trump's reality television coattails and grabbing every daytime talk show gig he could get. During his prosecution, as his freedom hung in the balance, the former governor glammed for the cameras and penned autographs for fans who reacted as though the smiling man's guilt or inno... <read more>