Progress Illinois

Following the excellent news last week that both the House and Senate passed an authorization to expand high-speed passenger rail service, the Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch ponders what a boost in funds could do in the Midwest:

The ambitious project proposed for the Midwest would cover 3,000 miles in nine states. All lines would radiate from a hub in downtown Chicago. The cost of a fully completed Midwest network is estimated at almost $8 billion.

Planners envision the line running from Chicago up through Milwaukee, Madison, the Twin Cities and eventually Duluth, while separate routes from Chicago would extend east to Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

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While smaller outfits have been collecting information about the Democrats' increasing voter registration advantage in the nation's swing states, the story hasn't caught a ton of attention in the mainstream media. But today, the Washington Post printed the most comprehensive recap of the trend to date, noting that the swelling voter rolls have a decidedly blue tint:

As the deadline for voter registration arrives today in many states, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is poised to benefit from a wave of newcomers to the rolls in key states in numbers that far outweigh any gains made by Republicans.

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When Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Countrywide Financial in June for engaging in deceptive mortgage lending practices, her goal was "to help homeowners now." It now appears she's done just that:

Countrywide Financial Corp., the home mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America Corp. in July, will offer interest rate and loan principal reductions plus other distressed borrower relief valued at $8.4 billion to settle consumer fraud complaints from 11 states.

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Minutes ago, the House passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, otherwise known as the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill, by a margin of 263-171. The New York Times has posted the roll call, which shows there were three Illinois converts. Rep. Judy Biggert, feeling obvious pressure from the administration, voted yes after submitting a "no" vote earlier in the week. So did South Side Democrats Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson Jr., who each got a call from Barack Obama asking them to reconsider. According to the AP last night, Rush said he was "seriously listening’’ to the presidential nominee, who got in touch with a number of Congressional Black Caucus members urging them to support the measure. Here's Jackson Jr.'s statement:

Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. said today he will support an emergency rescue package for the nation's troubled financial system  after getting assurances from Senator Barack Obama that, as president, they "would aggressively regulate predatory lending and force mortgage modifications to prevent foreclosures."

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High-speed rail is making a comeback. Following the lead of the House, the Senate passed a five-year, $13 billion bill to boost funds for Amtrak and expand passenger rail service on Wednesday, the first reauthorization bill since 1997:

The legislation authorizes $2.5 billion a year for Amtrak, almost double its current federal funding level. The money would cover operating and capital expenses, including equipment purchases and railroad repairs. About $1.4 billion would help pay down Amtrak's more than $3 billion in debt.

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Today, the Tribune provides an update on the voter outreach taking place in immigrant communities throughout the region:

During the last three months, immigrant groups in Illinois have registered about 24,000 new voters, part of an aggressive last push to influence next month's elections. [...]

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Exactly one year after its tumultuous grand opening, Aurora's Planned Parenthood complex is standing strong. Despite facing a barrage of lawsuits and protests, officials at the health care center continue to provide a necessary outlet for suburban women:

"The demand [for medical services] has been much greater than we'd thought it would be, and it clearly shows that there was a need in that community," said Steve Trombley, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, which maintains that less than 10 percent of the medical services it provides are abortion-related."

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Earlier this week, Mayor Daley announced that Midway Airport could become the first privately-run hub airport in the nation, not to mention a major test case for a 1996 Federal Aviation Administration privatization pilot program. Today, Chicago's two major newspapers came out in favor of the deal.

The Sun-Times editorial board writes that government has other services that need more attention, especially in tough economic times:

We don't necessarily endorse rampant privatization, but turning to the private sector makes sense for these sorts of assets. Roads, airports and garages are outside the core responsibilities of government and likely will be managed better by private companies.

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Last night, the Senate approved a $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill. Absent from the legislation was a provision aimed at building and rehabilitating affordable housing stock. For that, you can blame conservatives.

For days, Republicans of various stripes have fumed about a section of the bailout bill they believe was written principally to redirect taxpayer money to ACORN, the low-income community group right-wingers love to hate. Earlier this week, the local conservative blog Backyard Conservative flagged a Ken Blackwell article in which the vote purging extraordinaire writes that "repeated rumors leaked out that the Democrats were trying to funnel money to a hyper-partisan organization involved in criminal voter fraud." House Minority leader John Boehner told reporters the trust fund idea was a "left-wing giveaway Democrats are pushing to force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party.” Even 10th District GOP Rep. Mark Kirk told The Hill last Friday that centrists might not vote for a bill that included funds for ACORN.

So what are they talking about?

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We've done our part to point out that the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) did not -- I repeat, did not -- lead to the current economic crisis. But the myth just keeps cropping up in conservative circles. Last Friday, the Daily Herald published a bevy of interviews with suburban congressional candidates, as well as those at the statehouse level. Lo and behold, when asked what steps Congress should take to promote economic recovery, 14th District Republican candidate Jim Oberweis blamed the CRA for all the nation's problems.

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