illinois

TWI legal reporter Daphne Eviatar appeared earlier today on MSNBC’s “Morning Meeting” alongside NBC terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann and former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) to discuss the proposal to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to a prison in Thomson, Ill. Video after the jump.

As Josh Kraushaar points out, that domain name has been snapped up by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), the GOP’s likely 2010 U.S. Senate nominee, to politick against any transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Illinois prisons. Punch in the domain and it points to Kirk’s Website and a statement warning that “our state and the [...]

David Keene of the American Conservative Union, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, and former congressman/Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr are backing a proposal to send Guantanamo Bay detainees to a prison in Illinois, as well as President Obama’s plan to try terrorism suspects in federal courts. The three conservatives have long been members [...]

Depending on who you ask, the sentencing yesterday of Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri to eight years in prison is either evidence that the civilian federal judicial system can successfully handle terror cases, or evidence that it’s a dismal failure.
Yesterday, Jonathan Hafetz, the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who represented Al-Marri in his challenge to military [...]

I’ve just gotten my hands on the transcript of last Thursday’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on czars. There’s a lot in there, but the first thing I want to highlight is the dramatically incoherent testimony of Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.). I don’t know where to start with it. But Burris, [...]

The PBS star attracted crowds to what appeared on the surface as a way to help black borrowers build wealth, but a lawsuit alleges it was actually just the opposite.

Rasmussen Reports finds Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) holding a narrow 41-38 lead against Democratic Illinois Treasurer (and likely nominee) Alexi Giannoulias. In his analysis, Scott Rasmussen admits that “much can change in the months ahead” and that the field is slanted toward Giannoulias; it’s just a bad month for Democrats, and it’s been tough for [...]

Letters between Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and the Justice Department shed light on a reportedly impending investigation that would mark the Obama administration’s first clear break from the Bush-era policy of refusing to prosecute abuse cases.

Chris Cillizza has the scoop:
Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will not run for the open seat of Sen. Roland Burris (D) in 2010, a stunning reversal from just 48 hours ago when Kirk signaled to National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) that he would make the race.
As we noted yesterday, when Burris [...]

Roland Burris, the scandal-plagued accidental senator from Illinois, will not seek his own term in the Senate. The Chicago Sun-Times has the scoop:
The decision by Burris was based on his inability to raise campaign funds; campaign disclosures with the Federal Election Commission are expected to be filed next week … and he has reportedly only [...]