WASHINGTON, April 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12766) on March 28, 2025, by specialist telecommunications policy Jill C. Gallagher: * * * 4.9 GHz Public Safety Band: Competing Views on Use During the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, public safety agencies could not communicate with one another because of the high volume of calls that overwhelmed radio systems and the lack of interoperability among agencies. The 9/11 Commissio  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: * * * Chipotle to Pay $20,000 in EEOC Religious Harassment Lawsuit Settles Federal Suit Charging That Muslim Teen Was Harassed, Retaliated Against, and Forced to Quit After a Manager Forcibly Removed Her Hijab KANSAS CITY, Kan. - National restaurant chain Chipotle Services, Inc. will pay $20,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) religio  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: * * * Contracts for April 1, 2025 AIR FORCE Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $12,213,406,028 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the operation of Lincoln Laboratory Federally Funded Research and Development Center. This contract provides for research, development, and rapid prototyping of advanced technology to meet Department of Defense and na  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, April 1 -- Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * DoIT Recognizes April as Innovation and Technology Month Governor JB Pritzker declares the month of April as Innovation and Technology Month SPRINGFIELD - Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed the month of April as Innovation and Technology Month in Illinois, underscoring the significance of IT and the dedicated efforts to establish the state as a thriving innovation and technology hub, de  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Duckworth, Durbin, Kelly Introduce Legislation to Increase Youth Employment Opportunities March 31, 2025 [WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) reintroduced two bills to expand and increase access to employment opportunities for underserved youth. The Helping to Encourage Real  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Leads Letter To AG Bondi On Appointment Of Kash Patel As ATF Acting Director March 31, 2025 Durbin, Senators to AG Bondi: "Mr. Patel is, quite simply, not the right person to lead the ATF." WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today led 15 Senate Democrats in a letter to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi in  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Meets With Argonne National Lab Director As Trump Administration Threatens Future Of Scientific Research April 01, 2025 The Trump Administration has pushed for cuts to the Department of Energy's Office of Science, jeopardizing the research conducted at Argonne National Lab WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Paul Kearns, Director of Argonne   more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Slams Republican Plans To Cut Medicaid In Order To Provide Tax Cuts To Billionaires March 31, 2025 Durbin: "If Republicans push forward with their cruel and unpopular funding plan, working families will lose and billionaires will win" WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Congressional Republicans for their plan to slash  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Speaks In Support Of Senate Booker Holding The Senate Floor & Calls Out The Trump Admin's Continued Efforts To Undermine The Rule Of Law April 01, 2025 WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on the Senate floor to speak against efforts by the Trump Administration to undermine  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on April 1, 2025: * * * Durbin Speaks In Support Of Senator Booker Holding The Senate Floor & Calls Out The Trump Admin's Continued Efforts To Undermine The Rule Of Law WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on the Senate floor to speak again  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Introduce Legislation To Increase Employment Opportunities March 31, 2025 WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) reintroduced two bills to expand and increase access to employment opportunities for underserved youth. The Helping to Encourage Real Opportunit  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Retain International Graduates With Advanced STEM Degrees April 01, 2025 WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would streamline the path for advanced Science, Technology, Engineering, and Ma  more

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Urge AG Bondi To Appoint A Special Counsel To Investigate Trump Administration Signal Chat National Security Breach March 31, 2025 The Senators wrote: "These shockingly reckless breaches of security protocols for safeguarding sensitive and classified information clearly warrant an investigation into whether any of the government officials involved violate  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on April 1, 2025: * * * Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Urge AG Bondi To Appoint A Special Counsel To Investigate Trump Administration Signal Chat National Security Breach The Senators wrote: "These shockingly reckless breaches of security protocols for safeguarding sensitive and classified information clearly warrant an investigation into whether  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on April 1, 2025: * * * Durbin, Senate Judiciary Democrats Ask AG Bondi For Clarification On The Trump Admin's Extreme & Partisan Approach To The Pardon Power In recent weeks, DOJ has adopted a broad & legally suspect view of the scope of criminal conduct covered by Trump's pardons to benefit January 6 rioters; President Trump has also wrongly claimed   more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin, Senate Judiciary Democrats Ask AG Bondi For Clarification On The Trump Admin's Extreme Partisan Approach To The Pardon Power April 01, 2025 In recent weeks, DOJ has adopted a broad & legally suspect view of the scope of criminal conduct covered by Trump's pardons to benefit January 6 rioters; President Trump has also wrongly claimed that President Biden's pardons were invalid based on  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on April 1, 2025: * * * EPA Begins Hazardous Waste Cleanup at the Former Silbert Watch Co. Site in Elgin, Illinois Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the start of a cleanup of radium-contaminated soil at the former Silbert Watch Co. site at 1409 Dundee Ave. in Elgin, Illinois. EPA anticipates the cleanup will be completed by early summer, weather dependent. The cleanup includes ins  more

VICKSBURG, Mississippi, April 2 -- The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center issued the following news story: * * * ERDC leads demonstration of hydrogen fueled equipment at National Guard site in Illinois NORTH RIVERSIDE, Il - The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) is advancing energy resiliency and reliability by using hydrogen as a sustainable, renewable energy source. ERDC-CERL is spearheading resear  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 (TNSFR) -- The Federal Reserve System has announced a proposed bank merger that could reshape the financial landscape in Illinois. According to a notice published in the Federal Register on April 2, 2025, Old Second Bancorp, Inc., headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, has applied to merge with Bancorp Financial, Inc., based in Oak Brook, Illinois. If approved, the transaction would allow Old Second Bancorp to acquire control of Evergreen Bank Group, a subsidiary of Bancorp Fin  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 (TNSFR) -- The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, has announced its intent to repatriate the human remains of 45 Native American individuals and 14 associated funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona. This decision follows a thorough inventory conducted under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which mandates the return of human remains and cultural items to their affiliated tribes. The remains and funerary objects were excavated in 1899  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Graham, Blumenthal Lead 50 Senators In Introducing Hard-Hitting Russia Sanctions WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) led 50 U.S. Senators - evenly divided by party affiliation - to introduce primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia's aggression in Ukraine. These sanctions would be impo  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, April 2 -- The Illinois Supreme Court issued the following news release on April 1, 2025: * * * SUPREME COURT APPROVES 3 PROPOSALS IMPACTING THE PRACTICE OF LAW IN ILLINOIS The Illinois Supreme Court and the Supreme Court Executive Committee on the Practice of Law (Executive Committee) announced today the adoption of three proposals to amend and create new rules that will impact the practice of law and help to address unmet legal needs in Illinois. The first proposal,   more

WASHINGTON, April 2 (TNSFR) -- The National Park Service has released a new list of properties under consideration for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. These nominations, submitted before March 15, 2025, span multiple states and include historic districts, homes, churches, and industrial sites. The potential listings reflect a broad effort to preserve the nation's architectural, cultural, and historical heritage. Among the notable nominations is the Libertyville Downtown H  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 (TNSFR) -- The Schingoethe Center of Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, has announced its plan to repatriate nine cultural items to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). These artifacts, which include sacred objects and items of cultural patrimony, were originally acquired by collectors Herb and Martha Schingoethe between 1967 and 1993 before being donated to the museum. After an extensive review proce  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following floor remarks on March 31, 2025: * * * Mr. President, at this point, Congress is in the midst of an important duty: crafting a budget resolution. The resolution is a framework that will guide Federal spending over the next 10 years and ensure that the United States can fulfill its financial commitments and its priorities. But under the direction of President Trump, congressional Republicans are using this moment a  more

WASHINGTON, April 2 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board issued the following decision (Docket No. AB 1337) entitled "The Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority and the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Transportation Authority dba Metra - Adverse Abandonment - Omnitrax/Chicago Rail Link": * * * By petition filed on December 11, 2023, the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority and the Northeast Illinois Reg  more

WASHINGTON, April 1 -- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, issued the following news release: * * * Van Hollen, Whitehouse, Colleagues Reintroduce 'Buffett Rule' Bill to Ensure Wealthiest Americans Pay Their Fair Share in Taxes Billionaire investor Warren Buffett famously highlighted the brokenness of our tax system when he lamented that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and 12 Democratic Senate colleagues reintrod  more