In the News
Joliet City Councilman Jim McFarland wants to hear firsthand – and publicly – what Corrections Corp. of America plans to do if it builds an immigration detention center in Joliet.
McFarland, who called for a public meeting to learn about what has been discussed privately with city officials, was one of several community leaders at a news conference Thursday to speak against a controversial proposal to build a for-profit immigrant detention center in Joliet.
Some suburban lawmakers are demanding an explanation of why the U.S. Department of Justice aggressively pursued phone records of Associated Press journalists while investigating the release of classified information to the media about a failed al-Qaida plot last year.
Illinois Republicans and Democrats alike joined the chorus of outrage Tuesday.
"I am very concerned whenever I hear of any government secretly monitoring the press," said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Evanston Democrat. "When it's our government, I want to know exactly how and why this happened."
WASHINGTON--Gov. Pat Quinn formally requested federal flood assistance on Thursday, unleashing a bi-partisan push from the entire Illinois congressional delegation for President Barack Obama to declare 11 Illinois counties in need of disaster relief following torrential April downpours.
An United States Air Force Captain killed in Afghanistan is being honored by Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) and Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) Wednesday.
Foster and Hultgren issued a joint statement to honor Captain Brandon Cyr's life, service, and sacrifice.
Captain Cyr was from Oswego and was a member of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron. He grew up in a military family and knew at a young age he wanted to serve his country. He was killed when the aircraft he was in crashed in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan on April 27, 2013.
AURORA — The hope is that the project will be a cornerstone of the rebirth of downtown.
"You take a look at RiverEdge Park, Waubonsee Community College, the Paramount, SciTech — downtown is truly becoming a destination point for culture and entertainment for the entire community and we're really pleased to be part of that," Library Board President John Savage said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new downtown main library Wednesday.
On March 20, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) introduced The National Fab Lab Network Act of 2013 (H.R. 1289), which would create a federal charter for a non-profit organization called "The National Fab Lab Network" (NFLN). NFLN would act as a public-private partnership whose purpose is to facilitate the creation of a national network of fab labs and serve as a resource to assist stakeholders with their effective operation.
BOLINGBROOK – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Bill Foster announced Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has made a $680,000 investment in the Bolingbrook Fire Department for vehicle acquisition.
The funding will help support and improve the capability of the department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies, according to a press release.
The construction permit for 1418 North Capitol St. was issued in October 1884 to a man named Henry Keller. He wanted the building to be two stories tall, tin-roofed, 24 feet wide and 60 feet deep, large for what he planned to use it for, which was a blacksmith shop. The most useful of useful trades — an occupation built on making things, on skill.
Over the course of a few years, Henry expanded the shop. He had 11 children, only two of whom made it to adulthood, one of whom also became a blacksmith, and he had retired by the time the 1920 Census rolled around.
And then:
It's been a busy three months for Bill Foster.
The representative for the recently redrawn 11th U.S. Congressional District has a constituency that stretches from North Aurora to New Lenox, Shorewood to Woodridge. Its border cuts a jagged diagonal across Naperville, the southwest half of which also lies in the 11th.
Women have been working for free from December 31 until today, speakers at an equal pay rally in Chicago said.
That's because April 9 marked the day when a typical woman worker's salary finally caught up with a man's from 2012.
"I am not happy that here in the 21st century we still have to have a rally because women are not getting equal pay for equal work," said Attorney General Lisa Madigan at today's event.