By Jeremy Coumbes on March 1, 2021 at 5:57pm
A pair of U.S. Representatives from Illinois are calling for Congress to pass emergency funding in the wake of the natural gas crisis.
13
th District Congressman Rodney Davis and 18
th District Congressman Darin LaHood sent a letter to Congressional leadership today urging the passage of a bipartisan emergency appropriation for communities who faced high natural gas prices during recent severe weather.
In the letter, the Congressmen cited the price per unit of natural gas increasing as much as 15 times the cost of what it was weeks ago and say “as the COVID-19 pandemic persists and local communities continue to recover, many are now faced with dauntingly high energy bills, including many that [they] represent.
By Benjamin Cox on February 9, 2021 at 4:46pm
L to R: Lausch and Milhiser
Illinois’ Congressional Delegation is unhappy with the current president over some recent terminations. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that President Joe Biden will ask for the resignation of nearly all Donald Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys, including the Chicago-based John Lausch and John Milhiser based in Springfield. Lausch has been heading the investigation in Illinois into the ComEd patronage and bribery scheme that has ensnared former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his associates.
18
th District Congressman Rodney Davis, 15
th District Congresswoman Mary Miller, and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have all expressed their displeasure with the announcement, wanting to keep Lausch on the job. U.S. attorneys are nominated by a president, subject to Senate confirmation. Lausch received unanimous bi-partisan approval in the Senate in November 2017.
By Benjamin Cox on February 6, 2021 at 7:01pm
The Illinois GOP State Central Committee has selected a Brown County native as its next chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. Don Tracy was selected unanimously this evening by the committee to replace Tim Schneider, who announced his resignation in December.
The 70-year old Tracy is a businessman and lawyer with the firm Brown, Hay, & Stephens in Springfield. Born and raised in rural Mt. Sterling, he is the oldest of twelve children. Don and his eleven siblings own and manage Dot Foods, Inc. and its other national businesses and affiliates. Tracy is also the brother-in-law of 47th District State Senator Jil Tracy. Tracy becomes the first chairman of the Illinois Republican Party from outside Chicago and the collar counties since 1988.
By Benjamin Cox on January 29, 2021 at 5:03pm
An executive order by new President Joe Biden is already drawing ire from members of Illinois’ GOP Congressional Delegation. 18
th District Congressman Darin LaHood, 13
th District Congressman Rodney Davis, 15
th District Congresswoman Mary Miller, and 12
th District Congressman Mike Bost have all issued arguments against President Biden’s executive order canceling further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that stretches from Canada into Illinois and down into Texas.
The $9 billion project was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day and according to Keystone XL’s website, was estimated to support about 11,000 jobs this year. The pipeline has a been a target of environmentalists and Democrat lawmakers for nearly a decade. The pipeline’s construction especially came under fire when toxic leaks were found during former President Donald Trump’s administration in South Dakota in 2017