What Will Illinois Lose in the Sequester?

The state might take a crippling hit if congress does not act before Friday.

Deep, nationwide cuts are geared to take place March 1. They're the first of a decade-long $1.2 trillion budget cut plan poised to go into effect unless congress can compromise on a deficit-reduction plan.  For the Plainfield school district — which is already seeing the impact of an uncertain state funding situation — the sequester could mean losing another million dollars, according to District 202 board member Rod Westfall. Westfall, who in the past has been outspoken when it comes to state and federal funding issues, said the board has not discussed the potential loss — or the cuts that may come with it — since it's still unclear whether the sequester will come to pass. Board member Mike Kelly said the sequester could impact Title I …

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JD

9:35 am on Friday, March 1, 2013

On the other side of the false statements are some simple facts "left out" of this article which only depicts the "white house” propaganda as stated in the article as its source. http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/022813-646187-paul-says-sequester-is-a-good-thing-not-armageddon.htm I’m tired of the same talking points about sequestration “We can’t stop spending.” Yet you and I in …   more ›

Obama's 'Fix it First' Program Would Mend 'Deficient' Will County Bridges

In his 2013 State of the Union Address Tuesday, President Barack Obama touched on immigration policy, gun control and the economy, among other national issues. In terms of infrastructure, he proposed a "Fix it First" plan that may affect Will County.

President Barack Obama proposed Tuesday night what he called a "Fix It First" program to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure—like roads and bridges—in an effort to improve citizens' quality of life and bring jobs to the United States. "I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country," he said during the State of the Union Address. "And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most—modern ports to move goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of …

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Obama Gun Proposal: Background Checks for All Gun Purchases

President Obama spoke to the nation this morning about his proposal to reduce gun violence; recommends background check for all gun purchases, assault weapons ban.

Editor's note: Updated at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 to include reaction from Congressman Bill Foster. President Obama spoke to the nation this morning and presented a proposal to reduce gun violence. Click here to view video of the president's proposal, or click on the video accompanying this article. "I will put everything I've got into this and so will Joe [Biden]," Obama said in his closing remarks today. Of particular note in his proposal, Obama called for the following: Newly sworn-in Congressman Bill Foster, D-11, released the following statement Wednesday night in reaction to Obama's proposal: The recent gun violence is a terrible tragedy and I have the deepest sympathy for the families who have been impacted. The executive actions proposed by…

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Ernie Knight

12:15 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013

"Your side"? Who would that be? Are you talking about the 4 million members of the NRA, the 8 million licensed trained law-abiding civilian concealed firearms permit holders, and other like-minded individuals? Or are you talking about the few wealthy anti-gun elitists like Bloomberg and Soros, who are more than happy to trample our rights?   more ›

Obama Endorses Foster for Congress

The president also gave the nod to fellow Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Brad Schneider.

Judy Biggert has Giuliani; Bill Foster has Obama. On Friday, President Barack Obama endorsed scientist Foster, a Democrat hoping to unseat incumbent Biggert in the race to represent the new 11th Congressional District. Foster, who represented the 14th District from 2008 to 2010, was one of three Illinois Democrats to get the nod from the president. In a statement released Friday, Obama also endorsed Tammy Duckworth, a decorated Iraq War veteran running in the 8th Congressional District, and Brad Schneider, who is running against Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) in the 10th District. Along with Biggert, Dold got some big-name backing last month from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who appeared at a Chicago fundraiser for the …

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Obama Orders Half-Staff Flags in Wake of 'Senseless' Colorado Shooting

The president issued a proclamation Friday ordering that flags in the U.S. be lowered to half-staff through part of next week.

U.S. President Barack Obama is asking citizens and government centers to lower their flags to half-staff in honor of the victims of Friday's shooting in a Colorado movie theater. The move intends to pay respect to the 71 wounded and dozen killed at midnight Friday, when police say 24-year-old James Holmes entered a theater in suburban Denver as it was debuting "The Dark Knight Rises" and opened fire. Sign up to receive a free, daily e-newsletter from Plainfield Patch. "At first he was just a silhouette, taken by some in the audience for a stunt that was part of one of the summer's most highly anticipated films," according to a Huffington Post story. "But then, authorities said, he threw gas canisters that filled the packed ... theater with…

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We Asked: Did You Watch the State of the Union Address?

We hit the streets to see if the Average Joes and Janes tuned in to watch the president's speech.

President Obama had the chance to reach millions of Americans with his State of the Union address on Tuesday. The nations four major networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX ­– carried the speech live. According to HitFix, about 26 million viewers watched the president’s remarks on the broadcast networks. Cable networks, including CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC and Univision, also aired the speech live. Lasting for just more than an hour, Obama’s address covered a wide range of topics. Main themes included increaseing innovation, providing and reforming education, reducing the national deficit and promoting health care. Dan Rosenberg, 27, of Naperville, was in downtown Plainfield on Wednesday.  He didn’t get a chance to watch the speech on Tuesday …

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About Town

Obama's School Speech Not the Hot Potato It Was Last Year

Plainfield SD 202 and Troy SD 30-C gave teachers the option of using the president's annual education talk in the classroom; only two parents weighed in.

Teachers were the ones to make the call on whether or not Plainfield kids got to see President Obama's back-to-school pep talk Tuesday. Plainfield 202 and Troy 30-C superintendents last week sent e-mails to teachers and principals giving them a heads-up that the president's annual school speech was coming up. Administrators wanted to let educators on the front lines know that they might be getting parent input on what has come to be a politically charged autumn ritual. They left it to each teacher to decide if the talk fit in with their curriculum and if would have any meaning for their age group. Kindergarten and PE classes?  Maybe not. Social studies and government in higher grades? Works for them. "We teach civics. We teach government. …

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