Congressman Joe Walsh will be holding town hall meetings

Dates, times, and locations for the remaining town halls are below.

Lake Zurich
Sunday, December 12 12:00-1:30 PM
Lake Zurich Police Department
200 Mohawk Traill
Lake Zurich, IL

McHenry
Monday, December 13 7:00-8:30 PM
McHenry West High School
4724 West Crystal Lake Road
McHenry, IL

Schaumburg
Tuesday, December 14th 7:00-8:30 PM
Schaumburg Township Center
1 Illinois Boulevard
Hoffman Estates, IL

Gurnee
Thursday, December 16 7:00-8:30 PM
Gurnee Villlage Hall
325 North Oplaine Road
Gurnee, IL

Don't Worry Raise Taxes

The Illinois Senate today voted to ban caffeinated alcoholic beverages, a move aimed at halting sales of a drink combination that critics contend can spur people to drink to dangerous levels. The measure would prohibit the production, manufacture and distribution of such products.

Meanwhile, a plan in the House to allow for smoking on casino gambling floors has stalled and also wouldn’t be eligible for more debate until next year.

The House adjourned its scheduled session Wednesday and isn’t expected to return until early January.

I have not heard about any plan to reduce the State debt or start paying off the very long back log of overdue bills. But our lawmakers seem to have more important things to worry about then whether the State of Illinois will go bankrupt or not. Maybe they know all they have to do is raise our taxes high enough and they will have more money to spend.

Is it Budget time yet?

Same-sex couples are one step closer to having the option of civil unions, the bill has passed in the House and will now go on to the Senate for almost sure approval.

A House committee approved a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Illinois.
The state has not used the death penalty since former Gov. George Ryan called for a moratorium in 2000.

No news yet on the State Budget. The current State Legislature has a lot on its plate, maybe too much for it to deal with an unbalanced state budget. Doctors, hospitals, health care centers, and other private companies have past due bills that are several months old, that Illinois cannot pay. All these people must wait for their money until more important business is taken care of first.