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As primary election day approaches in Illinois, one group that is attempting to reform congressional maps is looking to see their agenda become a reality. Independent Map Amendment, the group leading the charge to change the way maps are drawn in Illinois, is using the last few days before the March 15 primary to build on its success. The group needed to collect slightly more than 290,000 valid signatures. The group reached that benchmark months ago. However, last year, chairman Dennis FitzSimo

In 2008, Hillary Clinton swept the hardest hit of the Rust Belt states, with Barack Obama taking two on the fringe--his home state of Illinois and Wisconsin. As the 2016 campaign unfolds, with Michigan the first Rust Belt state to vote, Bernie Sanders made an unexpected push to win by the slimmest of margins (49.9-48.2 with 97 percent reporting). All the major polls had Clinton winning--and winning big in Michigan. Michigan hurts my own predictions: David Yee 2/12/2016 But what is really goi

Current primary results have reportedly led GOP leaders to consider a contested convention if Donald Trump falls short of the 1,237 delegates needed to qualify for the nomination. According to a report from the Washington Post, recent gatherings of the Republican Governors Association and various conservative financiers have led to the “consensus that Trump is vulnerable and that a continued blitz of attacks could puncture the billionaire mogul’s support and leave him limping onto the conventio

Following the weekend's primaries and the upcoming votes on Tuesday, many eyes remain fixed on a presidential candidate who has been highly touted, but has delivered few victories, leading to concerns about his campaign's viability. Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a candidate lauded as the future of the Republican Party, has failed to break through in this election cycle. As more critical elections approach, the senator could be left questioning the justification for his campaign. On Super T

I remember the first time I used the joke. I thought it was amazingly funny and would put my worst enemy in his place for good. But I had to wait for just the right time. It was at recess. We were standing in line to play four-square. He smirked and called me “barf-bag” (it was his favorite name). I looked right in his eyes and said, “You should sue whoever did that to your face.” And for the rest of the day, I was the toast of the second grade.So, imagine my surprise when I heard presidential c

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumers need to be extra cautious if they receive an email seeming to be from the Social Security Administration. Not only are fraudulent emails with malicious links offering "new features" to monitor finances floating around, but new and fake emails urging consumers to create a My Social Security account are making the rounds. The Social Security Administration has issued an alert on their site to be on the lookout for email phishing and AARP

In Illinois, a judge is expected to rule whether one of the top Republican challengers to Donald Trump is eligible to run for president. Born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father, the matter of Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president has long been an issue. Throughout his political career, Cruz has consistently maintained that he is eligible to run for president by being born to an American abroad. In January, Poplar Grove lawyer Lawrence J. Joyce filed a complaint with the I

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of the Independent Maps coalition, issued the following statement in response to President Obama's address to the Illinois General Assembly where he called for an end to gerrymandering of legislative districts for political purposes: "People all over Illinois – and now the White House – want to end the practice of Illinois politicians picking their voters and drawing partisan maps behind closed doors. By removi

The drive for reforming the drawing of congressional maps has gained a supporter who is hoping to ride a reformist challenge against a long-time incumbent. Independent Maps seeks to get its initiative on the 2016 state ballot to create an independent redistricting commission in Illinois to determine congressional district boundaries. For years, politicians have drawn the lines. In a state such as Illinois, it can even be done without input from the opposition party.State Senator Kyle McCarter,

The standoff in Oregon that began on January 2 appears to have reached its conclusion. On Tuesday, January 26, several occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were arrested, and one occupier, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement. The leader of the occupiers, Ammon Bundy, has since called on the occupiers to return home. Only four occupiers remain, and a federal judge has denied the release of several apprehended individuals until the occupation ha