illinois

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 [...]

[UPDATE: I originally misidentified Fiorinia's abortion stance. She's pro-life.]
Josh Kraushaar notices that Republicans have gotten the U.S. Senate candidates they wanted in New Hampshire and Illinois, where they “lacked a deep bench of viable recruits — and their political hopes were largely dependent on one specific candidate running.” This feeds this week’s meme that Republican [...]

You may have thought that you had heard the last of him after his appearance on “The View,” but it looks like Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is back in the news. Today, his former chief of staff, John Harris, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, thus implicating his former boss in the pay-to-play [...]

Approaching the end of a week already dominated by judiciary events, The Associated Press is running an intriguing story announcing that Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is poised this afternoon to announce new public corruption charges against an unnamed elected official.
According to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office, there are two separate criminal cases. [...]