WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (TNSper) -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: Amrith Kaur Aakre will serve as the new director of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Chicago District, the federal agency announced today. Aakre, who most recently served as the legal director for the Sikh Coalition, began her new role on Jan. 29, 2024. "Ms. Aakre has a proven track record of creative problem solving, broad management experien  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- An armed robbery suspect who was apprehended in Houston by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston and the U.S. Marshals Service's Southern District of Texas field office was indicted Jan. 29 in the Southern District of Illinois for allegedly using a firearm to rob an East St. Louis convenience store. Vernelle E. Hines, 30, a re  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued the following enforcement news release: CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger, sponsor of the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), today announced the EEMAC will hold a public meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (MST) on Tuesday, February 13 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Members of the public may also attend the meeting virtually or in person, if space permits.  At this meeti  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger, sponsor of the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), today announced the EEMAC will hold a public meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (MST) on Tuesday, February 13 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Members of the public may also attend the meeting virtually or in person, if space permits. At this m  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 31 -- The Chicago Housing Authority issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: Chicago Housing Authority residents who participated in the "LevelUp" wealth-building program received their certificates of completion and celebrated economic power Saturday at a ceremony at the Charles A. Hayes Family Investment Center. CHA's LevelUp provides financial incentives to participants as they reach their goals. Upon goal completion, specified amounts based on the goal ar  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, Jan. 31 -- Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued the following news release: Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief (https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/AG/Press_Releases/2024/Texas-v-Biden-Amicus-Brief-Filed.pdf) supporting the federal government's actions to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for certain federal contractors. The policy was first enacted by presidential executive order in April 2021,  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, Jan. 31 -- Gov. Ned Lamont, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: Governor Ned Lamont today joined a coalition of 22 governors from states across the U.S. in filing an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-235/279230/20230908165000535_USFDA%20et%20al.%20v.%20Alliance%20for%20Hippocratic%20Medicine%20  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 31 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news release: State Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, highlighted record funding of Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants which will help 1,614 local families afford a college education. "My Northwest Side community should feel proud that more than sixteen hundred local students can now afford to go to college," Andrade said. "MAP grants continue to be an important tool in our toolbox that make a four-year degree more a  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 31 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news release on Jan. 29, 2024: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, will bring a strong voice for workers' rights and human rights to the House Labor & Commerce Committee. Cassidy was appointed to a spot on the panel last week. "I've spent my career fighting for the rights of working people, because workplace justice is critical to social justice," Cassidy said. "To this end, I've helped put workers' rights into ou  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Jan. 30 -- The Illinois Senate Democrats issued the following news: State Senator Doris Turner is encouraging local grocers to apply for funding through the Illinois Grocery Initiative for the purchase of updated energy-efficient equipment. "We must do everything in our power to eliminate the food deserts across our state," said Turner (D-Springfield). "Through these grants, local grocers will be able to maintain residents' access to fresh food." Rising energy costs lea  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 30 -- The Illinois Senate Republicans issued the following news: Continuing upon her desire to gather input from parents, educators, and mental health professionals throughout the state regarding her "Safe Screens, Healthy Minds" initiative, Senate Minority Deputy Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) has announced two new locations and dates for her roundtable series, as well as the launch of an online survey (https://il-38-senate.web.fireside21.app/forms/form/?ID=9). "Illinois   more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 31 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois today commemorated National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and renewed its commitment to prosecuting human traffickers, protecting victims, and empowering survivors. Every year since 2010, the President of the United States has proclaimed January as "National Human Tr  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 31 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: Today, Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey and 21 Governors who make up the Reproductive Freedom Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Food and Drug Administration, et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. The Governors argue that, if the Court allows a recent Fifth Circuit decision to stand, it could undermine their ability to p  more

LANSING, Michigan, Jan. 31 -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following news release: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting the federal government's actions to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for certain federal contractors. The policy was first enacted by presidential executive order in April 2021, and then implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor in November 2021 in the final rule  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 31 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on Jan. 30, 2024: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations that March 5 is the filing deadline for federal working capital loans in Illinois due to a drought that began on June 27, 2023. The declaration covers the counties of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Ca  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following dissent on Jan. 30, 2024, by Commissioner Hester M. Peirce on denial of request for rulemaking to amend 17 C.F.R. Sec. 202.5(e): * * * I dissent from the Commission's denial of a petition to amend Rule 202.5(e), our so-called gag rule.[1] This de facto rule follows from the Commission's enforcement of its policy, adopted in 1972, that it will not "permit a defendant or respondent to consent to a judgment or orde  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The White House issued the following news release: This week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a temporary pause on pending decisions for exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). During this period, the Department of Energy will evaluate the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America's energy security, and climate change - the existential threat of our time. Since day one, President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate agenda in history.  more