54% in Illinois Say No To Abolishing Death Penalty

Illinois death penalty gains traction as Bill Brady surges, voters approve
(Chicago, IL) October 4, 2010 . With a growing likelihood that Illinois GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Brady , a death penalty proponent who favors lifting the existing Moratorium, will win the November General Election over rival Governor Pat Quinn and that a recent poll shows that a majority of Illinois voters favor of maintaining Capital Punishment, the issue has been thrust into the electoral scrum. Jeremy Schroeder , Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the...

Justice Stevens says he only regrets vote to uphold death penalty
Former Supreme Court j ustice John Paul Stevens , who was not on the bench this morning for the new term for the first time in 35 years, says the only vote he would change from all his years on the High Court was the one to uphold the death penalty. In a wide-ranging interview with NPR's Nina Totenberg, the 90-year-old Stevens says he thought at the time that the universe of defendants eligible for Capital Punishment was so narrow that "you can be confident that the death penalty was...

IL-Gov, IL-Sen: Signs of Life From Quinn?
Suffolk University (9/30-10/3, Likely Voters, no trendlines): Pat Quinn (D-inc) : 43 Bill Brady (R) : 37 Scott Lee Cohen (I) : 6 Rich Whitney (G) : 3 Lex Green (L) : 1 Undecided : 8 (MoE: 4.4%) Market Shares Corp. for the Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV (9/24-28, Likely Voters, 8/28-9/1 in parens): Pat Quinn (D-inc) : 39 (32) Bill Brady (R) : 38 (37) Scott Lee Cohen (I) : 4 (4) Rich Whitney (G) : 3 (2) Lex Green (L) : 2 (2) Undecided : 12 (23) (MoE: 4%) Suffolk University weighs...

Quinn Opens Up Lead for Illinois Governor
A new Suffolk poll in Illinois finds Gov. Pat Quinn (D) has opened up a 6 point lead over challenger Bill Brady (R), 43% to 37%, Scott Lee Cohen (I) pulling 7% support and 8% still Undecided. Said pollster David Paleologos: "Pat Quinn's TV ads have put Bill Brady under a microscope and are shifting voters' focus away from Quinn's slow progress in dealing with the mess he inherited from Governor Rod Blagojevich. Quinn's efforts to focus voters on Brady's negatives are designed to make Quinn...

No, the Supreme Court is not 'pro-business', contrary to Dahlia Lithwick's claim
Slate s Dahlia Lithwick has falsely claimed that in the Supreme Court, Big Business always prevails, Environmentalists are always buried, female and elderly workers go unprotected, death row inmates get the needle, and criminal defendants are shown thedoor. That false claim is utterly inconsistent with reality. Over the last dozen years, the death penalty has been dramatically cut back in cases like Roper v. Simmons (2005), as the Supreme Court has invalidated the death penalty...

Republican Rep. Joseph Cao reaps the rewards of bipartisanship; Obama thanks him the Chicago way
Remember all that intriguing 2008 talk about revising the harsh political tone of Washington, how so many in that swamp put themselves and their own selfish interests ahead of what's best for the nation? And how what this country really needs is a renewed sense of Bipartisanship? Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao apparently bought into all that nonsense. Having defeated Democratic Rep. William "Doesn't Everybody Keep $90,000 in Their Household Freezer?" Jefferson for...

Tidal wave of outside money swamping 2010 elections
WASHINGTON — Half a Billion dollars from independent groups with strong but unofficial connections to Republicans and Democrats is Flooding into congressional Campaigns across the country this year, according to a study released Monday. The Center For Public Integrity found that Republican-allied groups are likely to outspend their Democratic-oriented rivals by 3 to 2, and maybe even by 2 to 1. The center is a respected nonprofit, nonpartisan source of Investigative Journalism devoted to...

AFP-Illinois Chairman Ron Gidwitz in the Chicago Tribune: Political attacks by Obama camp endanger opportunity
"Right now all around this country there are groups with harmless-sounding names like Americans for Prosperity, who are running millions of dollars of ads against Democratic Candidates all across the country," the president told Democratic Donors in Texas last month. His advisers have followed his lead. "Americans for Prosperity is funded by Billionaire oil men, David and Charles Koch, to promote Republican Candidates who support their Right-wing agenda and Corporate Interests," Obama's senior...

A Compendium of Corrupt Illinois Governors
By WILLIAM Spain Chicago -- At a Press Conference here Tuesday announcing federal Corruption charges against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, FBI Special Agent Robert Grant said that "if [Illinois] isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it is one hell of a competitor." History of Corruption Governors in trouble are not new for Illinois. Review the cases. View Slideshow Associated Press The arrest of Gov. Blagojevich is one more chapter in a long, Bipartisan history of Corruption...

Red Herring Politics
In an election year, this is the time for an "October surprise"-- some sensational, and usually irrelevant, revelation to distract the voters from serious issues. This year, there are October surprises from coast to coast. There are a lot of Incumbents who don't want to discuss serious issues-- especially their own track records. This year's October surprise that is getting the biggest play in the media is the revelation that California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman once employed a...

Manchin
Description Search … Earmarks." Democrats deny these measures are on the agenda for the Lame Duck. West Virginia's popular Democratic Governor , Joe Manchin , who is now in a "toss up" race for the Senate seat against wealthy businessman John Raese, according to Cook … Title:

U.S. Senate • Chicago Tribune Election Center
Senate Candidates shore up bases as Election nears Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk started the one-month sprint to Election Day in their U.S. Senate contest by rallying their bases with the same message: that their financial prosperity hinges on the results. More ... Issue of trust for Giannoulias, Kirk

Emanuel Hits Chicago Streets, Makes Case for Mayor
Monday, October 04, 2010 By Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel takes a seat to chat and have breakfast with William Morris, left, and Paul Bryson center, at Izola's Restaurant as he embarks on a 'listening tour', Monday, Oct. 4, 2010, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) Chicago (AP) - Last week, Afghanistan. This week, parents protesting the proposed demolition of a park field House. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm...

It's STILL the Social Issues, Stupid
Its the Social Issues, stupid. With the growing list of Republican leaders wanting to throw Social Conservatism Under the Bus, I must harken back to the affinity of President Bill Clinton s 1992 campaign catch phrase. Okay, I know that the line then was, "It's The Economy, stupid." And its still easy to think about that when, by nature we tend to think with our wallets.  Today, its also easy to believe that Issues like Abortion and marriage are on the periphery in light...

California employee furloughs upheld by high court
Governor Schwarzenegger 's reduction in state Workforce hours to save Budget funds in 2009 and 2010 was upheld yesterday by the California Supreme Court. All seven Justices agreed. Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote the 81 page opinion for Professional Engineers in California Government v. Arnold Schwarzenegger . Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan wrote a separate concurring opinion. The Court held the legislature authorized the reduction in personnel hours by passing SB 3 X 2 on February...

Jan Brewer Campaign Co-Chair Grant Woods Speaks Out Against SB-1070
Jan Brewer Campaign Co-Chair Grant Woods Speaks Out Against SB-1070 Recently, in an interview with 92.3 KTAR’s Jay Lawrence, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods — who is currently one of Gov. Jan Brewer’s (R-AZ) campaign co-chairs — admitted that he does not support Arizona’s new Immigration law, SB-1070. Not only does Woods not support it, he also believes that it is Unconstitutional for many of the same reasons the Federal Government posited when it...

California High Court Upholds Schwarzenegger Furloughs
Monday, October 04, 2010 By Don Thompson, Paul Elias, Associated Press Sacramento, Calif. (AP) - The California Supreme Court on Monday upheld Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Order to Furlough State workers, providing a a major victory for part of the Governor's budgeting plans. In its unanimous ruling, the Court concluded the State Legislature's 2009 Budget bill "validated the Governor's Furlough program." State Employee Unions have been challenging Schwarzenegger's Order since he implemented...

Mark Kirk's Comments On Military Service Questioned AGAIN: No Proof Plane Was Fired At In Iraq (VIDEO)
Archived video of Rep. Mark Kirk surfaced Wednesday showing the Illinois Senate hopeful claiming that he was shot at while flying aboard an Aircraft in Iraq. But according to The Chicago Tribune , Kirk's claims might not be true because there's no record of whether the Aircraft was ever fired at. Furthermore, the video contradicts Kirk's remarks to The Chicago Sun-Times that he "never said" that he was fired on in Iraq or Kosovo. The video , posted on the YouTube account of Kirk's Democratic...

Rahmbo proves once again that he's just as fake as his former boss
Rahm “ Dead Fish ” Emanuel’s first official weekday back in Chi-town as a Mayoral Candidate got off to a rocky start today as it was revealed that his “Glad to be home” video was actually filmed in the offices of David Axelrod in Washington, DC. Not only that, but his opponents are challenging whether or not he is even a resident of Chicago ( via ): Rahm Emanuel kicked off his Campaign for Mayor of Chicago with a homecoming video , filmed in front of a...

Sexuality, privacy and the ethics of innuendo
The 1993 photo of Elena Kagan playing softball, while an assistant Law Professor at the University of Chicago, left the US media in a lather about whether its use constituted a coded allusion to Homosexual orientation. Photograph: AP President Obama's new Chief of Staff is a "cat-loving bachelor" . Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano sports a buzz-cut hairstyle. Both she and new Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan are referred to as "childless and unmarried" and auspiciously not "single"...

Unconstitutional Surveillance & United States v. U.S. District Court: Who The Winner Is May Be A Secret " Part 1
[Given the current Surveillance state situation in America, the Keith case, formally known as United States v. United States District Court , is one of the most important cases from our recent past. But I don't really believe you can understand or know the law of a case, without really understanding the facts. The Keith case doesn't have simple facts, but they are fascinating and instructive. So bear with me - this is going to take awhile, and will be laid out over a series of four...

Unnamed Campaign Donors Play Bigger Role
By BRODY MULLINS An increasing amount of money spent on the 2010 Elections is coming from organizations that aren't required to disclose where they get their funds. Among those feeling the heat is Sen. Russ Feingold. The Wisconsin Democrat, a co-author of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Campaign-finance law, is under attack from several organizations whose Donors would have been required to identify themselves before a series of Supreme Court and Federal Election Commission rulings punched big holes...

Court won't hear UN sex harassment case (AP)
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court won't let a Sexual Harassment trial go forward against a former United Nations official. The Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Cynthia Brzak, an American who alleged that ex-refugee chief Ruud Lubbers grabbed her in a Sexual manner after a December 2003 business meeting in his Geneva office. Federal Courts have said that the U.N. is absolutely immune from such a Lawsuit, and its former employees also have immunity. Lubbers resigned from the...

Republicans Thwart New Campaign Finance Disclosure Rules As DISCLOSE Act Fails Procedural Vote in Senate
Senate Republicans today blocked Legislation calling for new disclosure rules for Campaign Advertisements. A unified Democratic Caucus generated 57 "yes" votes -- three shy of the 60 votes needed to break a Republican Filibuster and allow the Legislation, known as the DISCLOSE Act, to advance to an up-or-down vote. For procedural reasons, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) switched his vote from a "yes" to a "no" in order to bring the bill up again...

Power Play Update: What to Watch Tuesday " New Polls; Governors' Races
Power Play readers get an advance look at the latest round of Fox News Battleground State polls at 7 a.m. EST Tuesday. This week's States: West Virginia, Connecticut, Nevada, Missouri and Ohio. Power Play promises some surprising results... Also, 26 Governor seats are held by Democrats, 24 are held by Republicans. Political analysts predict when it it's all over in 2010 Republicans will own 30 or more seats. Why is this important? The loss of political power would put Democrats at a disadvantage...