eaton
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Eaton: County looks to early help from Obamacare
Cook County wants help from the feds to pay for health care the county provided to the uninsured last year. County officials hope to get funding by jump-starting the county’s connection with the nationalized health care plan set to go into effect in two years. …Read More
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Eaton: Pressure building on public schools, unions
Last week’s release of “The Tale of Two Missions,” the education-choice video produced by political commentator Juan Williams and author Kyle Olson, turned up the heat on an already uncomfortable contract-negotiating climate in Chicago. The Chicago Teachers Union was uneasy with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s cozy …Read More
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Eaton: School choice long overdue in Illinois
While state Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) and former state Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago) normally held positions opposite conservative Republicans, there was one issue on which they agreed — school choice. The two Democratic leaders had key roles in the 2010 legislative effort to provide a …Read More
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Eaton: Lisa Madigan doesn’t see dangers of Obamacare
It was no surprise last week that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined 10 other Democratic attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, supporting the Obama administration’s effort to put government in control of our health care. After all, Madigan …
Eaton: Many needs for photo ID in Illinois, but not to vote
Illinois rang in the new year with more than 200 new state laws, and one in particular clearly demonstrates how state lawmakers allow emotions and partisanship to rule over logic and consistency. Last spring, state Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) brought before the Legislature the victim …
Eaton: Foster care controversy another sorry chapter in Illinois history
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan may be relieved the dark political clouds swirling about the Catholic Charities foster care/adoption controversy have passed over, leaving behind no apparent residual damage. Raised in House Speaker Mike Madigan’s Irish-Catholic household, the situation had to make the attorney general …
Eaton: Iowa up to bat first in showdown for GOP nod
It’s just a week away from the official launch of the 2012 presidential campaign and our neighbors to the west in Iowa are in the spotlight. What happens at Iowa’s Republican Caucus could change the world or it could mean little. There will be no …
Eaton: Local officials play us for fools
This Christmas, it will be difficult for Cook County property owners not to be caught muttering “Bah, humbug!” when they think about their property tax bill. For anyone who pays into an escrow account along with their mortgage payment each month, there’s an understandable dread …
Eaton: Property assessment and political clout in Cook County
No one’s in the mood right now, even with the holiday spirit, to pay someone else’s share of taxes. We’ll bite the bullet and pay what we must to keep schools open, fire trucks responding, garbage collected and water running. But with reassessments rising when …
Eaton: A primer on Cook County Board of Review
The Cook County Board of Review. Property assessments. Tax appeals. Hmm..., eyes glaze over. OK, let’s try again. The board of review. Billions of dollars at stake. Political intrigue. Alleged corruption. Power struggles. Now do we have your attention? Combine the first description with the …
GOP candidates’ debate on security very frustrating
Chances are one in 10 that you watched the Republican presidential debate last week in Washington, D.C., where the eight candidates responded to audience questions about foreign policy and homeland security. I was fortunate enough to watch the debate, sitting among Capitol-covering media. To my …
Much contrast between Occupiers and Tea Partiers
Are you an Occupier or a Tea Partier? During a new media conference in Denver last weekend, I asked that question as I witnessed firsthand the clear differences between the Occupy and Tea Party movements. I attended the first Chicago Tea Party rally in February …
Activity E carries X rating
Your child goes to class and the teacher opens discussion by saying, “I want you all to think about the things that turn you on.” Then she distributes a handout entitled Activity E: “What Turns You On???” Some students start working right away, and others …
Vote this week in Illinois Republican Party straw poll
Instead of complaining about consistently being ignored by the Illinois Republican Party, conservatives have a chance this week to let the party leadership know how many of them there are and whom they prefer as their 2012 presidential nominee. The state party is holding its …
Hope for action to relieve The Deadbeat State
Deadbeat: A derogatory term for a person who deliberately avoids paying debts. A welcher. A sponger. A disreputable person. It’s something you never want to be called. It’s something that describes the state of Illinois. Maybe we should replace “Land of Lincoln” on our license …
Book outlines Obama’s radical agenda
Recently I was asked to review a new book that accuses the Obama administration of bypassing Congress to push a radical leftist agenda through federal agencies and bureaucratic regulations. I didn’t look forward to reading “Democracy Denied,” although I personally know the author, Phil Kerpen. …
Illinois needs to change loose immigration policy
In September, Alabama enacted the nation’s toughest immigration policy while Illinois went in the opposite direction, toward the Midwest’s most lenient policy. As Alabama discovered, the cost of an open-door policy mounts as the number of immigrants seeking refuge and employment weighs on a state’s …
Holocaust survivor gives kids the world
Give Kids the World is a resort complex in Kissimmee, Fla., where special children and their families visit through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Celebrating 25 years of hosting families from throughout America and the world, Give Kids the World is heaven on earth for everyone who …
Will County Tea Party to host Bachmann
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is building her 2012 presidential bid by going straight to the people. On Monday night in Homer Glen, she’ll bypass the Illinois Republican Party leadership that’s for the most part committed to other GOP contenders. To find an Illinois location …
Obama jobs plan works — for unions
Jobs, jobs, jobs is what the 2012 campaign will be about, the political pundits tell us. And with Illinois’ unemployment rate climbing above 9.5 percent, there’s no question jobs is what’s on the minds of many here. President Obama sent his latest jobs plan to …
