April Flood Victims Could Get Federal Grants, Loans

Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing for 11 Illinois counties to be named major disaster areas.

  Governor Pat Quinn today asked President Barack Obama to declare 11 Illinois counties major disaster areas following the storms and heavy rainfall that moved through the state in mid-April. If the governor’s request is approved, residents in those counties will be eligible to apply for grants and low-interest federal loans to help recover from the historic flooding. Counties included in the request are Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will. “We must do everything possible to help families impacted by this historic flooding as they rebuild their lives,” Governor Quinn said. “Today we are making a strong case to President Obama to help expedite the review and approval process so the people of …

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Governor Quinn: Local Communities Should Have Control in Conceal Carry Law

Gov. Quinn is looking for ways to tighten Illinois' impending conceal carry law, the Chicago Tribune reported this week.

  Gov. Pat Quinn said earlier this week he thinks Illinois communities should be able to exert some local control when it comes to a state conceal carry gun law, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. The state is working to create a concealed carry law by the June 9 deadline. A federal court ruled late last year that Illinois’ ban on conceal carry was unconstitutional. "I am not excited about this at all," the Tribune reported Quinn as saying. "If this has to happen, it has to have the proper restrictions and limitations... I think we should make sure it's very tight and I think local communities, wherever they are, should have the option to make it as tight as possible in their community." Quinn also has stated his opposition to …

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Dan Cox

1:20 pm on Saturday, April 13, 2013

Cole Pierce, you like to acknowledge your ignorance about matters, huh? I am 49 years old and I currently possess an Arizona CCW License and a Florida CCW Permit as well as an Illinois FOID Card. Ask Sheriff Mark Curran about his support of Conceal Carry and the reasons why... he will start giving you the names of the unarmed victims that he has known. After that, you can go to bed.   more ›

Winnetka Could Lose $140K Under Quinn's Proposal

Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed to freeze state income taxes shared with local municipalities to generate an additional $68 million for the state budget.

  Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed Illinois strengthen its troubled finances by freezing state income taxes shared with local municipalities at 2012 levels, a move that could cause Winnetka to lose between $64,591 and $140,150 in revenue and raise property taxes 1 percent, Chicago Tribune reports. The state calculations show the impact to local budgets would be $5.30 per resident, while the Illinois Municipal League estimates the impact would be $11.50 per resident, Chicago Tribune reports.  For the full story, visit: www.ChicagoTribune.com  Here's a look at how Quinn's proposal would impact other North Shore communities. Town Population Based on 2010 Census Impact Based on State Calculation of $5.30/ Resident Impact Based on IML Calculation of…

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Governor Quinn to Address New Trier Residents Today

Governor Pat Quinn will speak to citizens Sunday afternoon.

Governor Pat Quinn will address New Trier Township residents on Sunday at the Winnetka Community House — at 620 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka — at 2 p.m.  Gov. Quinn's "State of the State" presentation will cover a variety of topics including pensions, civil unions and marriage and education. He will also take questions from the audience.  The presentation is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the New Trier Democrats. For more news on politics and upcoming events in Winnetka and Glencoe, 'like' Patch on Facebook and sign up for our free daily newsletter here. 

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State of the State: What Does Illinois Need to Fix?

Gov. Pat Quinn give his fifth State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon. What do you think should be his top priorities over the next year? Tell us in the comments' section.

Gov. Pat Quinn voiced his support for gay marriage in Illinois, a minimum wage hike and tougher gun laws during his State of the State speech Wednesday afternoon, according to the Chicago Tribune.  The Associated Press has posted the full text from Quinn's State of the State speech. Here are some of the highlights: Quinn also spent much of his speech touting his accomplishments during his term as governor, such as cuts to Medicaid and ethics laws that have been passed, according to Crain's Chicago.  Quinn has said he will run for re-election in 2014. If he does, he is expected to have an opponent in the March 2014 Democratic primary.  Quinn has gotten low approval ratings in recent months. A Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling survey …

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Poll: Are Cigarette Smokers Treated Unfairly?

Gov. Pat Quinn has propose to more than double the tax on a pack of cigarettes.

  Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1 in an effort to reduce a $2.7 billion deficit in the Medicaid program, the State Journal Register reported. The cigarette tax would generate about $675 million in revenue. The state's current cigarette tax is 96 cents; Quinn's proposal would more than double it. Aside from raising revenue for a health care program, the thinking goes that such sin taxes are more acceptable because people shouldn't be smoking anyway. Smoking causes about 443,000 deaths a year in the United States, or about one in five of the nation's deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And smoking contributes to yearly health care costs to tune of about $96 billion. But not …

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Chicago's Millenium Reserve to be Biggest Urban Park

Emanuel and Quinn plan to spend $18 million to improve 140,000 acres of under developed land on the city's south side.