Understanding Government

According to two Illinois state lawmakers, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the Obama administration have agreed that the Justice Department’s Federal Bureau of Prisons will buy the vacant Thomson prison in Thomson, Illinois. State Sen. Mike Jacobs of Moline claimed that the $165 million purchase will create 2,000 long-term jobs as the feds convert Thomson to a federal maximum security prison. The sale of Thomson would put to bed a politically embarrassing episode for Barack Obama and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin who wanted Thomson to house Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees. The deal, though, is not completely done. (more…)

The dispute over the vacant Thomson Correction Center in rural Northwest Illinois reignited last week as Illinois Republican members of Congress want to make absolutely, positively sure that Barack Obama won’t house current Guantanamo Bay detainees there. U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and Illinois House Republicans signed a letter instructing Obama to officially rule out housing terrorist detainees at Thomson, reports Nicole Thompson of the Chicago Daily Herald. The problem is that there is no problem. Obama, Illinois Congressional Republicans, Illinois Congressional Democrats, state government, and U.S. Dept. of Justice Federal Bureau of Prison officials are in firm agreement that Thomson should be converted to a federal prison, not a terrorist detention facility. So why the fighting? (more…)

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin is standing up for regulatory agencies as Congress’s budget battles proceed. Bloomberg reports that the Senate’s no. 2 Democrat is particularly concerned about financial regulation: that the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Future Trading Commission will not get enough money to enforce the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform bill.

It is difficult, though, to know what budget proposal to contest, especially with the government now operating on a two-week budget. Can regulatory champions like Durbin take the lead on a passable budget by March 18?

The state of Illinois wants to reach some conclusion in the saga of the Thomson Correctional Center, an empty prison in the northwest part of the state that, at this time last year, Barack Obama wanted used as a federal detention center for terrorists. (more…)

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin wants the Education Dept. to more tightly regulate for-profit colleges like (you’ve seen their ads) Oakbrook, Illinois-based DeVry Institute. (more…)