the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 4691, the 30-day extension of provisions which expire on sunday, february 28, unemployment insurance, cobra, flood insurance, satellite, home viewer act, highway funding, s.b.a. business loans and small business provisions of the american recovery act, s.g.r. and poverty guidelines received from the house and at the desk, that the bill be read three times passed and the motion to reconsider be made and laid on the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senator from kentucky. objection is heard. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, the senator from kentucky has just objected to extending unemployment benefits across the united states of america which will expire on sunday night. he's also objected to extending cobra benefits, which is health insurance for the unemployed people across america. now this has been done regularly now that we're in this rec

halvorson of illinois. the chair: the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. halvorson, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois for up to five minutes. mrs. halvorson: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mrs. halvorson: i rise to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to h.r. 4061, the cybersecurity enhancement act of 2009. this amendment is simple, necessary and beneficial to veterans. it will add veteran stad us as an additional item of consideration when selecting individuals for the cyberscholarship for service program. in light of recent attacks on both government and commercial technology infrastructure, it is critical that america be on the forefront of cybersecurity. our veterans and service members have a proven track record of successfully protecting american interests at home and abroad. the experiences and skills that our veterans have gained through their service and what we need to improve. my amendment he

but first, big news out in illinois.he first primary election of 2010 may decide who will sit in the illinois senate seat once upon a time occupied by president barack obama. steve brown up early in highwood, illinois. steve, the revelation of the family bank -- one of the candidates out there lost $75 million last year. how much is that going to hurt that guy? >> well, it was having a drag on akexi giannoulias's campaign prior to the final balance sheet coming out for 2009, had been anticipated by a lot of members in the media about what the bank's finances were in and the reason why it's such a big deal is that in 2006 when giannoulias first ran for state treasurer, this was one of the major pieces that he was a community banker s and knew the neighborhood and was helping people in the bank and now it turns out that the bank's finances are upside down. a lot of that tied to the real estate market certainly. but a lot of questions being raised about what role he played and he hasn't been totally forthcoming about what r

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. the senator from illinois yielded for a question. mr. durbin: i yielded for the purpose of a question. i would say to the senator from tennessee, here's the difficulty we face. of the stimulus funds currently un -- currently sitting there, they've been obligated, but they will be spent. there won't be a surplus, we're told, of any funds. this would have come out during the course of the debate over senator -- if senator bunning had accepted our offer of the amendment. and so to agree to this now is to basically to agree to what he's been asking for, just say you're going to pay for it with stimulus. i don't think it should be and i don't think it can be. it should be the subject of a good floor debate, and that's what the senate's for. and so i understand you can't make a unanimous consent request when i've yielded only for a question but that would be my response to you and i would object based on that. mr. corker: is that snriew i'd like a ruling from -- the presiding officer: the senator from illinois is corre correct. mr. corker:

. >>> primary day in illinois tonight.e choosing candidates for the senate and governor's seat. of course, barack obama's home state. what will the choices say about what to expect in november's midterms. i think we'll start seeing a trend. if the republicans unite today, there's trouble for the democrats. this is "hardball" only on msnbc. national car rental knows i'm picky. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro. and all your little mile-pebbles ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors ready to listen to your dreams and help you plan for them. because the first step towards reaching what you want is reaching the person who can help you get there. our advisors. your dreams. more within reach. meet us at ameriprise.com. a rich and airy treat. ♪ because after you've washed the bills... and paid all the dishes... it's finally me o'clock. enjoy it with mou

one of those little things about texas and illinois is this.every mistake a losing candidate makes gets magnified, and everything the winning candidate or military campaign or does, tends to be not important because you want. so when the allies were off laying in a beach and, that's not important here because you win. and nixon in the last week of the campaign flies out to alaska to keep the 50 state pledge, and all historians go, that's the dumbest thing. that's like, why is he doing this? aside from keeping his word which is like something you don't associate with richard nixon, but it's like, okay. jack kennedy is having the same problem. he wants to be in california, and he is stuck by his campaign people in new england, which is stupid. if -- alaska had been projected for democrats, richard nixon takes it, now if he doesn't lose -- or if he doesn't take alaska and he takes illinois and texas, say there is no fraud, and he doesn't get alaska's three electoral votes heeded loses an electoral college by one vote. so the wheels are always turn

in just a matter of weeks, 65,000 people in illinois will no longer be able to draw these benefits. in the state of nevada, which is not as heavily populated as the state of illinois, thousands of people who have been unemployed for long periods of time -- and i repeat -- started out in this business not being poor. they're poor now. and it should be a shame not to give them those moneys. now, mr. president, my friend, the distinguished senator from kentucky, is going to say pay for all this. as i've gone through everything that we've talked about here, it hasn't cost much money. unemployment compensation does. it costs a lot of money. we have millions of people who are unemployed. and in years past when we wanted to extend unemployment benefits, it was an emergency, declared emergency, historical in this body. why? because it is an emergency. and we have rules in effect -- paygo rules -- that we have passed, but of course we can look to that as a step forward. but that doesn't mean we don't have emergencies. now, i would also say, mr. president, that cobra -- what is cobra? it is a

. >>> primary day in illinois tonight. voters there are choosing candidates for the senate and governor's seat. of course, barack obama's home state. what will the choices say about what to expect in november's midterms? i think we'll start seeing a trend. if the republicans unite today, there's trouble for the democrats. wow, is this... fiber one honey clusters? yes. but it can't have... can't have about half a day's worth of fiber? i assure you it does. i can only taste... only taste the crunchy clusters, honey, and brown sugar. no madam, i don't have esp. (announcer) fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. is for your insurance rates to go up. with accident forgiveness from nationwide insurance, they won't. after the first accident, your rates stay right where they are. kind of like it never even happened. i am lory rigsby, and i am on your side. switch to nationwide insurance now. still ahead, president obama ticks up in the polls. what's he doing right? you're the colon lady! diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating. tha

come -- which is, as far as i'm concerned, being from illinois, one of the biggest perks in politics but -- it was the biggest crooks in politics. what makes you think you change anything in washington? he has not. guest: the role of the media in presidential elections is obviously a huge. one of the things most interesting in reporting on the campaign is the fact that all the campaigns feel that the media was biased against them. they all feel, as the caller says, that they look at the power of media and that they feel it pleasant outsized role and is somehow unfair to them. host: even president obama's campaign felt that way? guest: i think mark and i would agree that obama got a very favorable coverage and the campaign did not disputable. but they felt that on things like reverend wright that there were subjected to as tough and media scrutiny as any candidate in history, and things for which they were hit, like the tony rezko relationship, that those were not germane. they felt that the media was focused on trivialities and things that were non-stories, rather them what the candi

now the theory is spreading somebody says don't tell lynch illinois. i'm not sure where that comes from. as a historian, if you see something like at and don't see any documentation and, the thing about chicago is the allegations of it and the investigations were beginning in october. appearing in "the chicago tribune", that's bereday the was really gearing up to steal the election. there was a bridge match where the state's attorney from cook county was up for reelection and a former democrat, of former daley ally and wanted to get this guy a big-time. if you could steal the presidency in the bar again, so much the better. one of the little things about texas and illinois, every mistake ll losing candidate is magnified and a winning candidate for a military campaign year tends to be not important. when the allies landed on the wrong beach, you wind. and nicks in the last week of the campaign flies up to us good to keep the 50 state pledges and all historians go that is the dumbest thing. white-haired -- are you doing this? keeping his word is somethin

>> i wouldn't even take illinois off the table. think if things continue as they are and the democrats don't season this they could be in trouble. it's a mistake to assume the populist movement is only conservative. there is a lot of populist anger out there among progressives as well and the democrats have a long time to capitalize on that and tap that energy and energize those people. but, yeah. i could definitely see it happening. on the other hand who knows? i don't know. new hampshire, kentucky, missouri, north carolina. you just don't know. >> where do you see a democrat capitalizing on the incumbent attitude? >> let's see. maybe -- >> missouri might be the best. you've got blunt and robin carnahan who has a good name and is secretary of state there. susan is right. democrats are going to get a lot more breathing room if they can somehow win some of these four republican seats that are vulnerable. >> let's get to where you're expert right now. scott brown this afternoon -- susan, last thought from you, what are democrats lear

plus, another big blow in illinois politics.his is the democrat running for lieutenant governor. >> i assure you, i promise you, i never touched the woman, i never tried to cut her throat, i never did anything like that. >> well, there you go. >> oh, was that a campaign slogan or -- >> i didn't cut her throat. wow. >> well, we'll delve into that. >>> but first, thanks to the toyota recall, detroit speak has become washington speak today. today's glossary word, "electronic throttles." turns out toyota uses an electronic throttle or a computer-controlled acceleration. the problem is, the transportation department thinks electromagnetic interference may be causing the accelerator problems. all the electronic hardware in the car gives off interference, anti-lock brakes, keyless entry, chuck's blackberry -- >> i was just going to say. >> i hope you get the idea me describing things with car mechanics is the ironic. this is "the daily rundown" on msnbc. that's right. enjoy the world's perfect pepper. pace. made right since 1947. and n

the results are in for primary races in illinois. for senate, congressman mark kirk won the republican primary easily and alexi giannoulias won his matchup. but the nail biters are in those races for governor. in the democratic primary, sitting governor pat quinn has declared victory, but comptroller dan hynes isn't ready to concede. just a few thousand votes separate them. and there are still votes to be counted. the republican primary is even closer. bill brady leads by -- ready for this -- 503 votes over kirk dillard. and in the key house races we told you about yet. in the tenth, democrat dan seals will face robert dold for that seat being vacated by mark kirk. randy hultgren knocked off dennis hastert's son in the 14th district. he'll face bill foster in the fall. in the eighth district, joe walsh, not the former eagle, beat five opponents in that republican primary and he'll face battle-tested incumbent democrat melissa bean in that swing district. finally, republican adam kinzinger cruised in that 11th district republican prim

host: representative aaron schatz joins us from peoria, illinois. same question -- it was a snapshot of peoria economically. guest: good morning, peter. . is home to one of the largest employers in america, fortune 50 company, caterpillar tractor co.. headquartered here in peoria and employs a large number of my constituents. i have a 20-county district. i parts of decatur, eleanor, of course home to archer-daniels midland, one of the largest food processors -- decatur, illinois. but the largest employer, despite all of that, is actually agriculture. so, both agriculture and large manufacturers like caterpillar, john deere just outside my district, rely on a growing economy, not over here in our country but around the world. i was specifically interested in the president's mention of free trade agreement in his state of the union if you weeks ago. he said but for us moving in that direction, we are going to lose out with expanded opportunities for companies and industries in our own country to grow. i know that to be true in my district. but caterpi

i know in central illinois and northern illinois, you have to of a wind farm.ase or sell the small amount of ground required -- are happy to lease or sell the small amount of ground required. it is important to make sure they are a part of the energy platform, and one downfall to wind energy is it is not as reliable depending on where the wind is, so your question about whether they are paying for themselves -- it would be a matter of time. their life cycle tends to be around 20 years that they need to be replaced, but i've seen the financial models. obviously, people would not be interesting if they did not think they were a wise investment, but over the next 20 years, a windmill put of today should not only pay for itself but added quickly replenished the energy supply system it took to build it. it took to build it. i just wanted to say to the american people, be ware of the globalist. they need to repeal nafta i also had a question making it a million dollars if you could give me a definition of how many people with the amount of revenue so a company in tak

we are talking about the state treasurer here in illinois. and a democrat. and leading the polls for the democratic nomination to fill the u.s. senate seat left by president obama. the bank that is owned by his family, broadway bank, has gotten problems with federal regulators who say in addition to losing $75 million last year, broadway bank, owned by his family, needs to recapitalize by a date certain raising questions about long time viability as a general election candidate but among democrats, here, he is likely to win the democratic nomination and be defending president obama's seat in the fall. >> what is the republican's story? >> they are libbing their chops -- they are licking their chops and the republican front runner is leading the polls significantly and fiscal conservative, socially moderate, the type of republican that has a chance of doing well in illinois. he has tremendous support. and hopes to be riding the wave of antiobama administration, anti-incumbent, antipolitical establishment although he is a ten year veteran of congress. >> facin

i thank you very much for your answers. >> thank you, gentleman from illinois. now i call on the gentleman from california. >> thank you. mr. iniba, you just made a comment that was startling for me. i apologize that you have to testify in a second language and in a setting that may not be as comfortable as you as you prefer. but you stated that you had 100% -- you were 100% sure that the difficulties with the pedals, with the acceleration was not electronic, that it was not going to be involved with the data systems, that it was a physical problem. you stand by that statement? >> sir, may i clarify what i meant? because the question, i thought, was that i personally -- what is my confidence level about etcs, electronic throttle control system, so my feeling is that since i have a trust in our engineers, even though it has not been extensively tested by the outsiders which i added, but my confidence -- persol confidence level is 100%. but i am only referring to etcs system, sir. >> okay. because it does concern me when anyone can say anything to 100%. it's one t

illinois, the republican primary won there the other night pretty much against the field. arlen specter is very weak right now. down from pat toomey the republican. then indiana the former senator is now the nominee of the republican party in indiana. he's out there in that race. and bloomenthal, the popular attorney general up at 70%. and barbara boxer always seems to pull it out in california. what's your thought there, chuck? they could win maybe three of them. i don't know about five. >> that's the problem here. this is where you get stuck trying to find the ten for the republicans. the fact, connecticut and california, i don't think are plausible yet. particularly connecticut anymore. the other wild card there is, with pennsylvania, is arlen specter the most electable democrat? you've still got that primary to sort out. the indiana thing is a bit of a reach. the real issue here for the republicans is, they can't be counting on connecticut and california to round out their ten. they need to find wisconsin,o washington, and they need to bring in more -- they have to put

high noon for the tea party crowd in illinois. a shat ot at capturin president obama's old senate seat in illinois. tea party nation is backing this guy, pat hughes, while the tea party patriots are backing the other guy, don lowery. but unfortunately for sarah palin, democratic congressman mark kirk is favored to win tonight. will obama's home state base turnout and show the kind of enthusiasm the democrats need to keep this stay blue in november? the polls close in less than two hours. joining me now, carol marin from wmaq in chicago joins me now. what do you think's out there tonight? >> one way to judge it is by to your knowledgeout. it is slim to none out here. a very poor turnout as far as we can see right now, which means the whole thing is up for grabs. nonetheless, on the republican side of this, there is no one who doesn't expect mark kirk to make it out of the republican primary. it's on the democratic side we have some questions. >> if it's a low voter turnout where are the tea partiers? just not as organized nil ill a

we go back to 1984, many of 1984 a bank called continental illinois. this was the eighth largest bank in the country at the time and continental illinois was a pioneer of sorts in the banking industry. continental was a pioneer in that it did not follow a business model of solely keeping long-term loans on its books, booking the profits as people and companies repaid the loans and having a very slow business model inslee did for the most part from into the panics and fluctuations in prices and the securities markets. instead continental purchased loans that have been securitized. that meant that they were vulnerable to fluctuations in prices from day to day and continental booked the profits from the fluctuations in those prices. that's one way that they made themselves and they made multiplied over many financial institutions in the future. they made the system of credit more vulnerable to financial excesses'. the other was that they depended on short-term financing, and ensured short-term lenders provided a good deal of their money so they made thems

she was a little girl who grew up in illinois and she knew the lawyer lincoln.lawyer lincoln that would come by when he was writing the circuit there. and she sat down with kelly and gave this interview. she said, the world as it's never seeing another man like lincoln. i never saw him after he was president, but quite a few of us young people were very much interested in him and followed him when he could during his debates with douglas. he was never well-dressed, partly because he did not have money enough. he wore homespun pantaloons made of half cocked in an awful and they never seemed long enough. he had bluestockings and homemade shoes with laces of buckskin. i remember his shoes, particularly because we were children our father was very particular about is keeping her shoelaces neatly tied and lincoln places were always untied. and he always wore that battered old rusty hat. his eyes were bluish grey, but they seem to change with this move. when he was talking from his eyes were dark and seemed to light up within. but often he had to set faraway look thro

justice department in having illinois implement what was called the motor voter law. >> glenn: okay. that sounds so straightforward. it was 13 years ago and i was involved with the justice department. 13 years ago. nothing to do with him. no big deal, right? i want you to know it was not isolated incident. it wasn't him caught on the grass. this time he repeated this claim at a presidential debate. again, watch him. >> it had nothing to do with us. we were not involved. the only involvement i had with acorn is i represented them alongside the u.s. justice department in making illinois implement a moth v motor voter law. >> glenn: he can look you right in the eye. got it? nothing. i got nothing to do with acorn. and people said, see, he's telling the truth. now in the very same election campaign, we now have a video clip that's been uncovered in a house investigation by congressman isa. here is what obama said being interviewed by acorn, about acorn right around the same time. watch. >> and i've definitely welcome acorn's input. you don't have to ask me about that. i'm going to call y

host: representative aaron schatz joins us from peoria, illinois.as a snapshot of peoria economically. guest: good morning, peter. . is home to one of the largest employers in america, fortune 50 company, caterpillar tractor co.. headquartered here in peoria and employs a large number of my constituents. i have a 20-county district. i parts of decatur, eleanor, of course home to archer-daniels midland, one of the largest food processors -- decatur, illinois. but the largest employer, despite all of that, is actually agriculture. so, both agriculture and large manufacturers like caterpillar, john deere just outside my district, rely on a growing economy, not over here in our country but around the world. i was specifically interested in the president's mention of free trade agreement in his state of the union if you weeks ago. he said but for us moving in that direction, we are going to lose out with expanded opportunities for companies and industries in our own country to grow. i know that to be true in my district. but caterpillar, who sells 70% of

that's something that mark kirk never talks about. >> reporter: which candidate will be on the illinois november ballot for governor is not certain. incumbent backed quinn claimed a victory in the democratic primary. >> it's over. primary is over. the people have spoken. they voted our way. >> reporter: with 99% of precincts counted quinn leads controller hines by 7,000 votes but with 85,000 absentee votes yet to count, hines has no plans to concede. the republican primary results are even less clear. on top for now is springfield state senator bill brady. >> our guys tell us we will be ahead and we're confident we will. >> he leads kurt dillard by scance 750 votes. mckenna trails by 8,000. absentees have until the 16th to arrive to be counted and the state board of election says it may be the 23rd before it's all over. we'll get back to you. in chicago, steve brown, fox news. >> bret: republican scott brown will be sworn in as u.s. senator from massachusetts thursday afternoon. governor patrick is expected to sign the official election certification form thursday morning. brown, of cou

gutierrez of illinois for today and wednesday, february 3.he speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. mchenry: i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material. mr. poe for five minutes, mr. jones, february 11 for five minutes, mr. mcclintock today for five minute, mr. gingrey today for five minutes, mr. broun today for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? >> i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes, revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. ms. woolsey of california, five minutes, mr. kagen of wisconsin, five minu

. >> look at illinois. one thing not being reported it should be, the republican turn out was heavy for illinois. there was seven million people came out. that is good for illinois because there's not that many republicans. what we have to understand there's an anti-incumbency. there's a lot of polls out now, a website is talking about the fact that most people who normally would have said i like my guy, i don't like their guy, for the first time in his history he's saying they want to throw their own guy out, republican or democrat. >> sean: isn't this mostly a backlash against corrupt, buying of the votes in louisiana, buying of votes in nebraska. >> people have no control over their lives. [ talking over each other ] >> sean: i think it is a rejection of obama more than anything else. >> no question there's uncertainty with regard to the substance of these issues like health care. people are against it, it is clear. they are trying to give the president a little signal on that elect after election after

those were colorado and illinois.has jumped to ten, ten vulnerable seats including arizona, connecticut, delaware, nevada and, of course, pennsylvania. what's happened to the party? did you fail to recruit stronger candidates? >> well, you've given half the story, norah, because you haven't laid out the republican seats that are very vulnerable because of republican retirements or other issues where we've got great democratic candidates running. we've got new hampshire, missouri, ohio. we've got a really wonderful race in florida and there are other states as well where we're playing offense not just defense. here is the facts. we have one more senator, democratic senator today than we had on inauguration day when president obama came into office. we have more members of the house today than we had when president obama was inaugurated. >> just as we saw in massachusetts, campaigns are not only about climate. they are also about the candidate. >> sure, absolutely. >> that's why many ways in your state, the state of vir

let me switch gears for a second and ask you about your home state of illinois. john feehery, what is going on with lieutenant governor nominee on the democratic side? i want to ask all of you quickly about this. this guy -- i mean, the governor wants to get him off the ticket. he says he's not going anywhere. this is a man who denies ever putting to life the throne of the woman that he was living with. he said he never knew she was a prostitute, that she was, fars he knew, a massage therapist. he didn't pay child support. >> the one thing that comes to my mind, andrea, is that all of his opponents should be charged with some sort of official political misconduct because they did absolutely no background research on this guy and let him win. illinois, as a state politically, is such a mess, the second worst bond rating of any state in the country. the last two governors have been in jail. this is almost par for the course but almost beyond par for the course. i just tell you, if you're an illinois voter, you're just about fed up. >> political malfeasance, david b

the gentleman from illinois. >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman bernanke, the district i represent has somewhere between 1500 and 2,000 factories and it's highly industrialized and the institute for supply management is up for the seventh month in a row. as i talk to my manufacturers it's the same choke point. i talked to the regulators and they say that the regulatory standards have not been tightened and i talk to the banks and they can't lend because of the regulators. if we want to create jobs as stated in nam's new study with the milken institute, the president said that the new report makes a powerful case that manufacturing can lead the u.s. to a renewed era of growth. it's critical that we accelerate our economic recovery and create jobs for the benefit of manufacturers. i have manufacturers that are ready, willing and able to hire employe employees. they have orders, substantial orders and they can't get capital in order to make their new product and in some cases the buyers are going overseas to buy the product. i mean, we have

now there's another race coming up in illinois, there's a number of races. let's take a look at some pretty interesting numbers from rasmussen, the illinois race to replace the seat that was held by now president barack obama and subsequently was held by roland burris. what do you think of the numbers, 46 percent for mark kirk, it looks at this point like at least this seat could go republican as well. >> well, this is, you know, how things have changed in just a year. you know, don't forget last year, arlen specter switched parties, left the republican party because he thought there was no way he would win in pennsylvania if he wasn't a democrat, and now republicans have a legitimate shot of capturing barack obama's old senate seat and i think that it is doable. now, between now and november, so much can happen and will happen, and so many republican candidates will be under fire the same way democratic candidates are, and it may diminish their prospects, but the same thing is true for democrats and they're facing now the weight of governing. unemployment i

dreier: i yield 30 seconds to my friend from illinois.pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. mr. schock: ladies and gentlemen, it's real simple. in the most transparent and open government in united states history, shouldn't the american people know what we know? thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i would inquire if my colleague has any remaining speakers. i'm the last speaker for this side and i'll reserve my time. mr. dreier: i'll say to my friend i anxiously look forward to his spellbinding closing remarks that i'm sure we'll all be able to benefit from. but i have one other speaker and then i'll close and i look forward to sitting patiently and listening to my friend. mr. speaker, at this time i'm happy to yield 2 1/2 minutes to a hardworking member of the intelligence committee, a veteran of the f.b.i., the gentleman from brighton, michigan, mr. rogers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 2

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i would like to make a unanimous consent request that on the democratic side that the sequence be senator kaufman of delaware, senator harkin of iowa, and then that i be third in line, and if there are any republicans who come to the floor seeking recognition in morning business, that they be taken in sequence so that there will be a democrat speaker followed by a republican speaker. the presiding officer: without objection. i'm sorry. the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: reserving the right to object, if i might ask from my friend from illinois that the order be changed to allow senator kaufman to go first and if the senator from illinois could go second and i would be glad to go third, if that would be okay with the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: sure. the presiding officer: well, without objection, so ordered. the senator from delaware. mr. kaufman: mr. president, i am going to speak today once more in my -- on my weekly great federal employees, but before i begin, i was

when sam kohl walked into a small business mellons center in illinois, he did not have any business experience at all. he was given a loan and a business plan, and today his company is still growing with offices all over the midwest. last year, the steps we took supported over 47,000 loans to small businesses, and delivered billions of tax breaks to small business owners which helps companies keep their doors open, make payroll, and hire workers. but we can and must do more. that is why proposed a series of steps this week to support small business owners and the jobs they create, to provide more access to credit, more incentives to hire, and more opportunities to grow and sell products all over the world. because financing remains difficult for credit or the small businesses across the country, i propose that we take $30 billion from the top funds originally used for wall street and create a new small business lending fund that will provide capital for community banks on main street. these are the small, local banks that will be able to give small business owners more of the credit they need

the supreme court of the united states agreed with the illinois court. justice bradley, in a concurring opinion for the supreme court cited the natural differences -- they could not be admitted. even clarence darrow, one of the most famous champions of unpopular causes amassed a group of women lawyers and said, you cannot be shining lights of tomorrow because you are too kind. you can never be corporation lawyers because you're not warm -- cold-blooded. i doubt you could even make a living. for that reason, -- a woman could not keep a secret, and no one will ever consult a woman lawyer. luckily, for us women lawyers today, our female predecessors have far more spunk, spirit, and wit than they were given credit for. the first woman lawyer in california and the first woman deputy district attorney in america displayed the characteristic medal of those early women lawyers. an attorney once suggested in the open court that clara had better be at home raising children, and they reported, a woman had better be in almost any business. [laughter] a new york woma

men dote a, illinois. good morning to don on our independent line. caller: good morning.how are you today? host: fine, thank you. caller: my congress woman, debbie hal vor son, she's a first-term democratic congress woman. and she's very active in our district. and are she's at the senior centers. she helps out a lot, and she's replaced -- she replaced a fellow by the name of jerry westerly, and he was one of jack abramoff's people. and he was in for quite a while, and the district went down, and i highly recommended to people in the 11th district of illinois keep miss halvorson in office. host: the caller mentioned jack abramoff. this story in the business section deals with another name in the business world, bernie madoff, this is from the legal section -- host: louisiana is next on our democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i don't believe my official should have been re-elected. he broke laws, and he's not doing any favor to even try to help the president. as far as charles, he's a doctor. he should be at the forefront of healthcare. he's from louisiana.

going back to 1984, at bank called continental illinois it was the largest bank at the time it was a pioneer of sorts in the banking industry. continental was a pioneer in fact, -- and that it did not follow a business model as low they keep being a long-term loans on the books the company's repaid the loans and having a slow business model insulated for the most part from acute panic but instead continental purchases that were securitized that meant they were vulnerable to fluctuations day to day with a fluctuation in prices. that is how they made them sells them multiplied over many financial institutions in the future made credit more probable to financial excesses. the other way was to depend on uninsured short-term lenders provided a good deal of the money sell in a second way the sec short-term lenders could pull their money out overnight in a crisis. the government in 1984, the market started to panic and the spring once they got wind the securities continental had are going bad. they realize the bank could not fail the price would be too high for the global and financial econ

i heard and read as they were upset because the obama campaign dustin lots of young people from illinois with the help of a.c.o.r.n.. they blocked up the caucuses and locked out of the hillary voters. >> guest: the caller is right with the clintons believe. to the letter that is what we reported the book is that hillary had been worried about this possibility for a while. she had been concerned the caucuses were losing the there was a chance that because obama was the home state senator from illinois that this could happen. we report in the look of the mind of the iowa caucuses when hillary comes in third she and the president, former president clinton are in their hotel suite and as angry as these have ever seen them. they thought they'd been told by their closest allies they would either finish first or close second and she finishes far off a third. they are incredibly upset and the former president clinton starts going on about the fact that all these people come to dread 39,000 people showed up, no one expected that was double the amount of showed up with the previous iowa caucus of

thank you very much, lisa, for that. >>> illinois is about to close the polls on the first primary of we're going to chicago also. >>> up for grabs in the contest tonight, the former senate seat held by president obama. why this one is the republican candidates' to lose right now. >>> and later, democrats draft their answer to the supreme court ruling. >>> primary days almost over in illinois. it's the first primary in this year's mid-term elections. what's up, former senator obama's election seat. here's the end of round 1. >> it's a historical senate seat. remember, it wasn't just held by president obama, it was also allegedly put up for bid by then governor robert blagojevich. they're worried the republicans are poised to pick up that seat in the fall. in the race to fill the senate seat once held by president obama, corruption is a recurrent theme. >> tired of being embarrassed by elected officials? >> his family's bank gave $1 million to blagojevich crony and convicted felon. >> rob blagojevich goes on trial this summer. that's bad news for the democrats. but good news for this m

what is the 38 billion in the process of planning for the funds and can illinois two? five to the dangers and my fear is if we don't get moving quickly we are going to read about something in the paper, and again, you know, i want to be very proactive on this and i don't exactly know how to do it so any help i can get again would be great. >> congressman, first i need to apologize. the version of the jobs bill that was passed yesterday as a surface transportation extension until the end of the calendar year. it does not have any longer additional funding. but it does bring is consistency and capability. so the existing formula funding for every state through the surface transportation bill would be extended through the end of this year. i need to also caveat that by reminding the committee that the highway trust fund will need a cash infusion sometime this late spring to continue to be viable. so if you are speaking to the larger need that is out there that we are currently struggling to fund. >> i worked hard to get on this committee and the reason i did is because as

democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of illinois, i haven't been following this story, but the has been in hot water since they revealed that he was arrested five years ago for allegedly holding a knife to his prostitute ex-girlfriend's neck. she only has one neck. her neck. so he just dropped out of the race and in another display of excellent judgment, he dropped out of the race at a bar at halftime of the super bowl. >> made a tearful announcement at a north side bar during halftime of the super bowl. >> for the good -- >> take your time. take your time. >> of the people of the state of illinois, and for the democratic party -- i will resign. >> jimmy: that's sweet. he is -- he's not crying about the announcement. he's crying because they ran out of ranch dressing for his chicken wings, and he loves -- you can't have -- it's nice to dip. you get a little in the dip it? what goes through people's heads? the east coast is covered in snow right now. washington, d.c. and northern virginia got almost 35 inches over the weekend. and may get 20 more inches tomorrow. that's a lot of

. >>> the first primary of the mid-term elections kicking off in illinois, after that stunning loss in massachusetts, the questions being asked, what are democrats' chances of holding on to president obama's former seat in illinois. we have the lowdown of the contenders today, in a nail biting -- and a nail biting chase in california, yes, we're going to show you the ending. jon: the state of illinois holds the nation's first primary in this year's mid-term election race, voters whittling down the field of democrats who want to occupy the seat once held by president obama, those candidates include state treasurer alexi giannnoulis, former prosecutor david hoffman and chicago urban league shed cherlye jackson. on the republican side the frontrunner congressman mark kirk, a suburban moderate described as the gop's strongest candidate in decades. democrats hope to avoid a repeat of the stunning loss they received in massachusetts' senate race. republican scott brown's wining in a traditionally blue state. joining us now, bruce dold, editorial page editor for the chicago tribune. we should

. >>> we are keeping on eye on illinois. it's the first state to hold a mid-term primary. president obama's senate seat is up for grabs. remember, the last time they voted for governor, they chose rod blagojevich. actor rip torn is out on bail and plans to go to rehab, possibly today. he's accused of breaking into a bank with a loaded gun. according to court records, he thought he was home. he's zed from the "men in black" movies. he doesn't remember what happened and is cooperative. >>> the man who has a sex tape of john edwards has turned down large offers to sell it. he found the tape in a home they shared with rielle hunter. on the joy behar show, they said the scandal is not about the tape. >> the story to me is really about the wholesale fraudulence of john edwards. not just the fact he cheated on his cancer-stricken wife and he denied fraternity. >> a court ordered young to return the tape to rielle hunter. he's going to let the lawyers figure it out. he's denied claims by john edwards attorneys. you can catch the joy behar show here on hln. >>> so, it's groundhog d

he did not dis on any of those cities including chicago, illinois.n it comes to las vegas, this is disgraceful. it's tasteless, thoughtless, nevada has the second highest unemployment -- >> neil: you think he wasn't trying to slight you or his buddy harry reid, who he presumably likes more. he was just saying look, vegas, many people -- i know vegas has many draws but saying you don't want to blow money you don't have. that's what he's saying. >> well, the principle is okay. but don't single out las vegas. what bothers me is that, you know, this guy is a very, very articulate speaker. maybe he needed a teleprompter for what he was saying. but he insulted every nevadaen with what he said. we have jobs, families who live here, we have an economy struggling, second highest in the nation of unemployment. don't put an added burden on top of all of that by what you say. telling people not to show up. that's an insult. >> neil: did harry reid condemn him and say you did it again, mr. president? anything? >> basically, that's what a he said. he said stop pic

saying we are getting weather reports from illinois and back out to the west of us. part of it is rain because you are caught up in the warm sector. then you transition to the snow here and all long skyline drive and i-81. we are snow back here at home. we had one area of good snow move through. we are in a bit of a lull right now. when we switch over to live radar mode, no, no, no, go back to true view. there you go. here we are here. this is fairly light snow. you travel down i-95 and you pick up the darker green and you pick up the yellow. that's the heavier snow. there may be a little sleet mixed in on the nose of some warmer air coming . i haven't had reports of sleet there. give this another hour or so, hour and a half. it will move through the district, through stafford county with moderate snow and up i-95 into prince william county. this will be good for an inch or two as it passes through the area the next couple of hours. sue, i don't think we necessarily, to be perfectly honest with you can get our hand around how much snow we are expecting. when you talk

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbmr.resident, if you take a look at the history of this great nation, at least in my lifetime, you cannot miss what happened to america immediately after world war ii. veterans came back from that war. thousands of them. and they were greeted with a g.i. bill which opened the door for them to buy homes, start businesses, start an education, find good jobs. it may have been one of the most amazing progressive, positive things we've ever done in our nation's history to take a war effort and bring it home to create an economic effort in america. businesses were springing up in every direction. workers were finding jobs and building homes. it was a wonderful time in our nation's history. parallel to that g.i. bill and that economic development was the rise of unionism in america. more and more workers were able to go into their workplace and bargain collect tiflg for the basics that people need -- safety in the workplace, a living wage so if you work 40 hours a week you could make enough money

. >>> also, the showdown is set in illinois to claim the president's old senate seat.atching fox 5 morning news. [ female announcer ] switch to swiffer sweeper, and you'll dump your old broom. but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady ♪ who's that lady? [ female announcer ] swiffer sweeper's electrostatic dry cloths attract and lock dirt, dust, and hair on contact to clean 50% more than a broom. it's a difference you can feel. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. ♪ >>> they haven't been charged yet but till face tough questions from a judge in haiti over child trafficking allegations. ten american missionaries are in jail. the judge questioned the female members of the group for several hrs yesterday. today, it is the men's turn. >>> a major shift in iran as the country's lead says he is ready to send uranium abroad. initially, iranian officials criticized the plan. >>> the race to fill president obama's old u.s. senate seat is now set. republicans have targeted the seat since then illinois governor rod blagojevi

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr.rbin: ask the quorum call be suspended and consent to speak in morning bits bis. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: last week i joined sherrod brown on a trip to south africa. we went to tanzania, congo, ethiopia and sudan. we went there to observe american development assistance, to look at programs that help with victims of h.i.v. and aids, tuberculosis, malaria, child and maternal mortality, victims of sexual violence, clean water, sanitation issues, democracy, governance, refugees. in a matter of six days traveling on the continent of africa, senator brown and i didn't have much time to ourselves but we weren't planning any. we spent a lot of time meeting with people, meeting with government officials, meeting with individuals who are part of the current political environment of africa but also touched many of -- many of their lives are touched by programs that the united states is involved in. i couldn't help but notice as i traveled the extraordinarily dedicate