Sunday Comic: Can Iron Man Obama Rescue the Country?

Where's a superhero when we really need one?

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Obama: Argonne Sequester Cuts Could Hinder U.S. Economy, Advancement

President Barack Obama underscored the importance of investing in scientific research during a speech on American energy at Argonne National Laboratory on Friday.

During a visit to Argonne National Laboratory on Friday, President Barack Obama said federal budgets cuts would have harmful effects on scientific research and economic development in the United States. Obama visited Argonne, located just outside of Lemont, to tour its state-of-the-art research facilities and promote his proposed Energy Security Trust, which would set aside $2 billion over 10 years to research alternatives for oil and gasoline. While pledging his commitment to scientific research, Obama also acknowledged the looming budget cuts facing federal facilities like Argonne as a result of the sequester. "One of the reasons I was opposed to these cuts is because they don’t distinguish between wasteful programs and vital investments…

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Edward Andrysiak

2:25 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hank...Obama believes with all this heart that each and every government program and dollar spent now is absoultely necessary. He does not see the waste and redundancy. He never had a real job or ran a business where he would have learned those basics. What we need and republicans hope for is zero base budgeting, cuts, and then maybe, just maybe, we can look at tax increases. However, cut the "…   more ›

Sequestration Budget Cuts Data: Which IL Counties Have the Most Federal Employees?

See how DuPage County—which has more than 1,600 federal employees—compares to the rest of Illinois.

The numbers here show the federal employees in Illinois by county in 2012, according to the latest figures from Eye on Washington, a DC-based lobbying firm that tracks federal employment. It compiles the data from the Office of Personnel Management, Federal Employment Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While much has been written on how the current sequestration battle in Washington could affect the national economy, these numbers are meant to give readers a sense of the sequestration at the local level. DuPage County has 1,626 federal employees, with large numbers working in the departments of the treasury (342 employees) and energy (253 employees). Also representing a significant number of DuPage federal employees, the …

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Tony Pedretti

11:21 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013

While painful for some who fund their lifestyle by way of, people need to remember that its not a primary role of government (local, county, state nor federal) to be keep people employed.   more ›

Roskam: Sequester Remarks Show 'Void of Presidential Leadership'

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam responds to President Obama's remarks on the sequester.

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) responded to President Obama's remarks on his sequester with the following statement Tuesday: “Today, the void of presidential leadership was on full display. Instead of getting in a room with Senate Democrats and passing a sequester replacement plan, President Obama chose to get behind a podium and give yet another speech. Noticeably absent from his speech was the fact that House Republicans have already passed two alternatives to the sequester his White House proposed in the last round of budget negotiations.   “Everyone agrees that the sequester is not an artful way to achieve the spending cuts that our bloated federal budget desperately needs. But the president gets it wrong when he demands that Americans …

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John Regan

2:19 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013

Well said Rich. I hope it is true. I'm proud that Congressman Roskam represents me.   more ›