Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The district denied any impropriety in the arrangement it made in 1999 that excused it from paying administrative fees for tasks it handles in house.
Tensions erupted at the District 204 School Board meeting Monday night when a former District 101 School Board member attacked 204’s relationship with the beleaguered Lyons Township Treasurer’s Office. District 204 forcefully defended itself against Martin Brown as he bashed the financial effect he said a fee arrangement between the TTO and the district had on other member school districts. "This falls far short of the law and what reasonable people would expect of their public servants, especially for an intergovernmental agreement covering a very significant amount of money," Brown said. The district made a deal with former Lyons Township Treasurer Robert Healy in 1999 that allowed it to take a pass on certain administrative fees …
Saturday, March 16, 2013
New bills call for stiffer sentencing for gang-related gun offenses, gang recruitment.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
New bills call for stiffer sentencing for gang-related gun offenses, gang recruitment.
State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) joined with fellow Republican legislators Tuesday in introducing legislation aimed at keeping Illinois children and communities safe from violence. According to Cross’ website, the “Protect Our Children” intiative targets gang- and school-related violence. The intiative introduces four new bills: “We cannot sit idle with the catastrophic gun violence occurring in the streets of Chicago on a daily basis. We know the enemy—the street gangs and members of the drug trade. We can no longer tolerate the loss of innocent children and law-abiding citizens. We are taking a harsh but necessary position with these bills to rid our neighborhoods of this criminal …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The assistant Illinois House Republican leader and 82nd District rep said pension reform should be Springfield's number one priority.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The assistant Illinois House Republican leader and 82nd District rep said pension reform should be Springfield's number one priority.
Assistant Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-82) issued a statement on Wednesday in response to Gov. Pat Quinn's 2014 budget address in which the governor chastized the legislature for failing to reform the state's underfunded public pensions system In a bit of bipartisan agreement, Durkin's statement echoed Quinn in pushing the need for pension reform: “The Governor’s Address is a harsh reality of failure to pass meaningful reforms in Illinois. A solution to the pension problem should have been wrapped up, sealed and sent to the governor last month. "We should have passed a comprehensive pension reform bill passed before today. There is nothing more important to the state’s fiscal integrity than meaningful pension reform, …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The Western Springs legislator made good Wednesday on an earlier pledge, filing a bill that would eliminate the biennial “loophole” for passing legislation.
Illinois House District 82 Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) introduced House Bill 195 on Wednesday with the intent of ending the practice of passing bills with a simple majority right before a new General Assembly convenes. Every odd calendar year in Illinois, the “lame-duck” session occurs in early January before the new General Assembly is sworn in. It allows bills to be passed—and go into effect by June 1 of that year—with a simple majority, including votes from members who are about to end their terms and may not be returning. “These two factors, a lower standard and decreased constituent accountability, play into the appeal of using the lame-duck session as a way to move otherwise highly controversial legislation,” Durkin said in a…
Monday, January 7, 2013
The Western Springs Republican (District 82) said that Illinois government is attempting to circumvent a thoughtful discussion on several controversial bills.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Western Springs Republican (District 82) said that Illinois government is attempting to circumvent a thoughtful discussion on several controversial bills.
Illinois State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-82nd, Western Springs) is speaking out against some state lawmakers' attempts to pass new laws, including banning assault weapons and allowing same-sex marriage during Springfield's lame-duck session, The Doings Oak Brook reports. According to the paper, while Durkin has not yet stated clear support or opposition to either assault-weapons bans or same-sex marriage, he said that rushing bills through without extensive discussion and public input is unfair, and that he intends to sponsor a new bill "to prevent lame-duck session abuses." “I’ve had it with the 11th hour passage of bills which do not get the thorough vetting before the public and members of the legislature," the paper quoted Durkin as saying. "…
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The incumbent Republican representative defeated challenger Laura Reigle with 75 percent of the vote.
There will be a familiar face on the November ballot for the Illinois House’s 82nd District. Incumbent State Rep. Jim Durkin won the district’s Republican nomination with 75.4 percent of the vote, defeating challenger Laura Reigle. No one ran in the 82nd District Democratic primary, which means Durkin will be running unopposed in the general election, barring the appointment of a Democratic candidate. “We’ve got significant challenges ahead of us,” Durkin said Tuesday night. “I’m honored Republican voters in the 82nd District have confidence that I’m the best candidate to represent their interests in Springfield.” With the primary over, Durkin said the Illinois General Assembly now faces a month-and-a-half of tough discussions as they work…
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
On election eve, State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and challenger Laura Reigle question whose platform more closely aligns with the Republican party.
It’s been relatively quiet in the 82nd District leading up to Tuesday’s Republican primary. But with hours left before the election, Illinois Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and his challenger Laura Reigle each took a swing at the others’ party loyalty. “My opponent has voted in the last three Democratic primaries, in years where Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich were at the top of the ballot,” Durkin said in a statement released Sunday night. “She claims to be a Republican but she still holds an elected Democratic committeeman position in Downers Grove Township and has been working to get Democrats elected for many years now.” Reigle disputed the statement Monday with a release of her own defending her position in the township. “Jim, in …
Jim Boo
4:30 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The board needs to comment to the public on this, and tell the voters what we can do to remedy this situation. more ›