WBEZ - Politics

Swelling 'subsided' after stroke, doctors reattach portion of Sen. Kirk's skull

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:19:00 -0600

Doctors on Tuesday re-attached the portion of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk's skull that was removed after he suffered a stroke more than two weeks ago.

The roughly 4-inch-by-8-inch portion of Kirk's skull was removed the day after he began experiencing symptoms, in order to make room for swelling caused by the stroke. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Northwestern Memorial Hospital neurosurgeon Richard Fessler said that swelling "had subsided."

Fessler previously told reporters that the...

Quinn wants to cut $2 billion from Medicaid budget

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:00 -0600

Gov. Pat Quinn says Illinois must cut its Medicaid budget by $2 billion to help solve the state's fiscal woes.

The Democrat offered no details Tuesday on how the goal would be accomplished.

Some options are shrinking payments to doctors, cutting benefits and reducing how many people are eligible for the health care program covering 2.7 million poor and disabled Illinoisans.

Illinois' Medicaid budget is about $14 billion. The state contribution is around $8.6 billion.

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Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:45:00 -0600

A few weeks ago, President Obama did some surprisingly good crooning of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” But when it comes to smooth-singing heads of state, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the former general who leads Indonesia, has taken it to another level. President Yudhoyono already has three pop music albums to his name. And he's even appeared on Indonesia's version of American Idol.

Writer...

Sheriff's office criticizes new cemetery rules signed by Quinn

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:45:00 -0600

Some regulations on cemeteries in Illinois will soon be scaled back. On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill that reduces licensing fees and penalties for some infractions.

A few years ago, the state legislature passed stricter regulations after it was discovered workers at Burr Oak Cemetery in Chicago's south suburbs were digging up bodies and then reselling the plots.

"The individuals that did the horrific tragedy at Burr Oak, the way that this language is currently written and...

Calls for cleaner air in Union Station

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:11:00 -0600

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is calling for better air quality in Chicago's Union Station. In 2010 the Chicago Tribune found high levels of diesel soot and air pollution on platforms and in train cars at Union Station.

Joel Africk with the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago said it's a serious problem.

"The diesel exhaust we're talking about contains 40 chemicals that have been proven to cause cancer. Diesel exhaust pollution causes asthma...

Mark Kirk's condition upgraded to 'good,' as senator watches Super Bowl and meets with family

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:51:00 -0600

Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk has been upgraded to "good condition" a little more than two weeks after suffering a stroke, according to his neurosurgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Dr. Richard Fessler.

"He is visiting with family and even watched the Super Bowl last night," Fesser said in a four-sentence email Monday afternoon, the first update in a week.

Illinois' other U.S. senator, Dick Durbin, said earlier on Monday that he has not been invited to visit Kirk in the...

Palestinian rivals take step toward unity

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:10:00 -0600

RAMALLAH, West Bank — After months of wavering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive...

Durbin calls Egypt's trial of LaHood's son 'an outrage'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:21:00 -0600

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin warned Egypt to stop pursuing trials against 19 Americans working there. Among the workers is Peoria native Sam LaHood. He's the son of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

Egypt alleges pro-democracy groups like the one LaHood works for are funding and supporting anti-Egyptian government protests.

Durbin was emotional when asked about LaHood by reporters at an unrelated press conference Monday.

He...

U.S. closes Syrian embassy as diplomacy collapses

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:03:00 -0600

The U.S. closed its Syrian embassy and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damascus Monday in a dramatic new Western push to get President Bashar Assad to leave power as diplomatic efforts to resolve one of the deadliest conflicts of...

Behind African ‘land grabs’ by U.S. institutions and universities

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0600

A new report from Human Rights Watch says that Ethiopia is forcibly relocating 70,000 indigenous people from the city of Gambella. The reason? To free up land for foreign investment. The report goes on to argue that actions like this, which move people to areas where they can’t feed themselves, are a sure-fire recipe for large-scale famine.

Today, Worldview delves into land grabs. Entities such as USAID, the World Bank, and major U.S. universities are often the architects...