Tag Archives: Jim Durkin

Connected to Chicago with Bill Cameron (06-09-2019) Special Guest-Jim Durkin

Joining the show this week is Jim Durkin. Durkin is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and represents the 82nd District. Bill and Jim discuss the 40 billion dollar budget, What’s in it for Business?, Governor Pritzker’s willingness to make a deal, and compares Rauner and Pritzker. What will be the affect of another tax increase?

In this week’s round table segment, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of The Chicago Tribune, Greg Hinz of Crain’s, Lynn Sweet and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. The discussion opens up with a review of the 40 billion dollar budget. Has the dam burst? Where will the casino go? What actions will Mayor Lightfoot take if this summer is very violent, especially with recent shootings on Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton.

This week’s Community Spotlight is with Nick Gale, and focus’s on the upcoming 2020 census and the importance of an accurate count.

Anita Banerji is director of the Democracy Initiative, an arm of the Forefront Organization which is trying to raise awareness. She says there are a few important reasons the census count is so important. One of those is the loss of representation on Capitol Hill. She says as it stands now, it’s likely Illinois will lose a congressional seat. If there is an under-count, that could possibly bring the number of seats lost to two.

In the budget signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last weekend, the state allocated $29 million towards the census effort. In a speech this week, Pritzker took a swipe at former-Gov. Bruce Rauner for not doing enough to raise awareness. He says an under-count would mean Illinois would lose federal dollars. He also believes the federal government will provide no help and contends the Trump administration is doing all it can to push for an under-count.

Because of budget constraints, the Census Bureau is planning to collect the majority of census information online, meaning door to door canvassing will be scaled back.

Connected to Chicago (01-13-2019) Special Guest- Jim Durkin

Joining the show this week is Jim Durkin. Durkin is the Illinois House Republican Leader. Bill and Jim discuss what to expect with the new Illinois Governor administration starting 1/14. Topics include a proposed graduated income tax hike, recreational marijuana, and the possibility of a Chicago casino.

In this week’s round table segment Bill is joined by Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune,Greg Hinz of Crains, Heather Cherone of The Daily Line, Lynn Sweet and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. The round table begins with an update on the Mayoral race. Toni Preckwinkle gets criticism for a new campaign ad, J.B Pritzker takes the oath of office and becomes the new Governor of Illinois on Monday 1/14, and how has the partial Government shut down affected us here locally in Chicago.

This week’s community spotlight segment is with Nick Gale.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has given Illinois a “C-” on their Infrastructure Report Card. Kristina Swallow, the society’s past-president, says there are problems with bridges and roads and there is a need for funding for future aviation growth.

Recent polling from POLITICO and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health said that increasing infrastructure spending is one of the top priorities for Americans for the new Congress. 79% of people polled said it is “extremely important.” Infrastructure spending ranks high for both parties, with 88 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans surveyed calling it “extremely important.”
President Trump and Speaker Pelosi have both signaled they want to work on infrastructure together – a rare opportunity for bipartisanship. With a new Congress coming in January, infrastructure investment must come first.

Jim Durkin: “The report is clear, [Pritzker] committed fraud”

 

Big John and Ramblin’ Ray have Jim Durkin, a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 82nd District, joins the show to speak upon Wednesday nights Governors debate. Comments that were made between Gov Rauner and J.B Pritzker on tax fraud and Illinois spending.

Connected to Chicago (06-17-2018) Special Guest-Jim Durkin

Bill Cameron sits down with Illinois GOP House Leader Jim Durkin. Durkin discusses with Bill how he believes Governor Rauner should sign the revised gun shop licensing bill, The abuse scandals involving Chicago Public Schools, and how Illinois finally achieved it’s budget.

In this week’s round table segment, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune, Greg Hinz of Crains,Lynn Sweet and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun Times. The Round table begins the discussion with The possibility of a high speed train being built underground by Elon Musk’s Boring Company, which would take passengers from the city to O’hare in 12 minutes. The discussion then turns to the topic of Kevin Quinn, a Campaign aid worker to Mike Madigan and how he was fired over sexual harassment allegations. Lynn takes on immigration reform, and Fran adresses new developments in the CPS abuse scandal.

This week’s community spotlight segment is with Nick Gale, and focuses on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to add an additional two percent tax on Air B&B’s and use those funds to expand domestic violence shelter beds across the city.

Lisa Morrison Butler, who heads up the city’s Department of Family and Support Services says the increased resources are definitely needed.

Jim Durkin: “Blagojevich pardon would undermine the integrity of our criminal justice system.”

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Big John and Ramblin’ Ray are joined by the Republican Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, Jim Durkin, talking about the Illinois Budget and the Governors race in Illinois. Plus the chances of Rod Blagojevich getting pardoned and what effects it would have.

Connected to Chicago (9-03-2017)

Bill Cameron sits down with House of Representatives member Jim Durkin. They discuss the recent budget issues, as well as other debt issues. They also discuss Chicago Public Schools and school reform. Durkin touches on tax reform, the sweetened beverage tax, and other revenue issues. They also talk about Rauner and Madigan, and the continued issues with education in Illinois.

In this week’s round table discussion, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune, Natasha Korecki of Politico, and Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times. Topics include Chicago Public Schools, Jim Durkin, and sanctuary cities. They also discuss Rauner and Madigan, as well as the ongoing situation in Texas.

This week’s community spotlight segment this week is about the new immigration bill signed by Gov. Rauner. Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law Monday designed to protect Illinois’ half-million undocumented immigrants from deportation, drawing criticism from the administration of a fellow Republican: President Donald Trump.
The bill, dubbed the TRUST Act, restricts local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration agents to detain anyone unless the feds have a warrant.
Activists working with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights praised the legislation as a shield for undocumented residents who could otherwise face deportation through any simple interaction with police, including traffic violations.
But Trump’s administration, namely the Justice Department headed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, came out swinging against the new law.
“As the Attorney General has said, when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe,” DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley told Fox News. “Failure to deport aliens who are convicted for criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk — especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators.”
The Trump administration’s anti-immigration rights stance didn’t faze Rauner a bit when he signed the TRUST Act amid cheers at a crowded restaurant in the Little Village neighborhood after greeting the crowd in Spanish with a hearty: “Buenos dias.”
Also Monday, Rauner signed a law that will establish a system in Illinois to automatically register eligible voters whenever they apply for, update, or renew a driver’s license or state ID.
The bill, which received wife bipartisan support, will put in place the farthest-reaching automatic voter registration law in the country. Illinois will be the 10th state, and first in the Midwest, to enact automatic voter registration.

Connected to Chicago (6-18-2017)

Bill Cameron sits down with Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, Jim Durkin. They discuss the Illinois budget, pension reforms, debt, and unemployment rates in Illinois. Durkin shares his thoughts on the Middle Class in Illinois, as well as property taxes, and businesses in Illinois. They discuss the Illinois Bond Rating, and a possible Chicago Public School Budget. Durkin states he has not had much, if any communication from Speaker Madigan, and the Democratic side, and says that he is open and willing to work with Democrats to help the State.

In this week’s round table discussion, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune, Greg Hinz of Crain’s, and Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times. They discuss the recent Alexandria shooting, and what might come from it. They talk about firearm regulations, and discuss civility between Democrats and Republicans, from the top, to the bottom.

This week’s community spotlight segment is about a new campaign to highlight the importance of proper disposal of expired – unused and unwanted prescription and over the counter medications. The Cook County MEDS Disposal Initiative is a collaboration among many health care stakeholders. Carlos Gutierrez is with the consumer healthcare products association. He says the new website, www.cookcountymeds.org will allow Cook County residents to access a database of locations where they can drop off those medications. If the MEDS Disposal Initiative is successful, the program could be expanded.