sweet
Lynn Sweet biography
Lynn Sweet is the Chicago Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief. She writes a column, a blog and files on Twitter. Find and follow her at http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet …Read More
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Did Jacksons commit a ‘victimless’ crime?
WASHINGTON — We know that Jesse Jackson Jr. and wife Sandi admitted to looting about $750,000 from their campaign funds, but there is another issue to be resolved: Are there any victims? Federal prosecutors say yes. Lawyers for Jesse Jackson Jr. say no. The rival …Read More
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Pro-immigration groups stumble on targeting Kirk
WASHINGTON — It’s lovely that Illinois business, labor, political and religious leaders are putting aside their differences to unite to push Congress to pass immigration reform, but their strategies are not working; look no further than Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) opposing the Senate even taking …Read More
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Clinton clan — and Gov. Christie — hit town for CGI event this week
WASHINGTON — The 2016 presidential campaign hits Chicago this week — I’m not being premature — with Twitter’s newest mega superstar Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with Bill and Chelsea — and the bombastic New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in town for a big Clinton Global …Read More
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Chicago judge Zagel sits on secret FISA surveillance court
LYNN SWEET: Chicago federal Judge James Zagel is one of 11 jurists rotating with one-week stints in Washington, D.C., on the “FISA Court” that has become part of the U.S. surveillance and data-collection debate.
Lynn Sweet: NSA data collection shows struggle of balancing civil liberties, keeping nation safe
WASHINGTON — For years, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — perhaps President Barack Obama’s closest friend in Congress — has been sounding an alarm that the federal government’s power to gather personal information in the name of fighting terrorism has been overly intrusive and not subject …
Lynn Sweet: Bobby Rush, Mark Kirk to work together to combat Gangster Disciples
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark Kirk, dropping his bravado, didn’t bring up his “big project”— the mass arrests of 18,000 Gangster Disciples in Chicago. Rep. Bobby Rush, purging himself of race-based insults, sweetly talked about how Kirk’s heart “is in the right place.” Despite different views on how to battle murderous gang violence in Chicago, they agreed Tuesday to work together after meeting for about an hour in Kirk’s office in Washington, D.C.
Lynn Sweet: Immigration-reform deal could pass by August: Pelosi
WASHINGTON — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who hits Chicago this week along with President Barack Obama for fund-raising events to benefit Illinois House Democrats, told me Monday that there is enough “general agreement” on bipartisan immigration reform for a measure to pass — and she laid out an aggressive timetable, saying a bill could be sent to Obama to sign by August.
Pritzker sails through Commerce confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker breezed through her confirmation hearing on Thursday with both top senators on the Commerce committee, Democrat Jay Rockefeller and Republican John Thune, predicting she will be confirmed by the full Senate. Pritzker received a friendly reception from the …
Sweet: ‘Clerical error’ missed $80 million in Pritzker income
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker “inadvertently omitted” more than $80 million in income from the financial disclosures she filed last week, though the revelation is not expected to be a critical factor in her Thursday confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce panel. …
Roskam takes ‘target’ practice on departing IRS chief
WASHINGTON — At the first congressional hearing on the IRS scandal, the soon-departing acting IRS chief Steve Miller balked each time lawmakers used the word “target” Friday to describe, well, the targeting of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. After a four-hour House Ways and …
When it rains, it pours for Obama
WASHINGTON — Add sexual assault in the military as another scandal for the Obama White House — one that is being overshadowed by the three other scandals commanding most of the attention in recent days. Obama held a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip …
Taxing situation: Obama forces out IRS chief
WASHINGTON — Juggling three big problems — with the IRS scandal sparking scorching bipartisan criticism — President Barack Obama and his team Wednesday scrambled to contain the damage. The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, was forced out over the targeting of …
Nomination pulls back curtain on Pritzker fortune
WASHINGTON — The portfolio of Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker, the Commerce secretary nominee, reflects vast holdings in hotels, casinos, parking lots, student and elderly housing, a stake in the show “Singin’ in the Rain,” and last year, $53.6 million from a family trust in the Bahamas. Pritzker filed a required 184-page disclosure document with the U.S. Office of Governmental Ethics on Wednesday, along with other papers outlining how she will avoid conflicts of interest if confirmed for the post.
Labor unions not raising a fuss over Pritzker
WASHINGTON — Penny Pritzker, President Barack Obama’s Commerce secretary nominee, has long been a target of organized labor — with the drive against her led by the Chicago Teachers Union and Unite Here Local 1, representing the city’s hotel workers. Yet as Pritzker is lining …
Lynn Sweet: Black Caucus chair asks for lenient sentence for Jesse Jackson Jr.
WASHINGTON — I wandered into a nuance-free zone on Tuesday, reading the first wave of letters (there were 14) that the public sent to a federal judge regarding the July 1 sentencing of Jesse Jackson Jr. and wife Sandi. People who know the couple are …
Sweet: How Penny Pritzker became the most public face of a private family
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s pick for commerce secretary, Chicago’s Penny Pritzker, is leaving the world she has dominated for decades — as a business tycoon, civic leader and philanthropist — to become, if confirmed, the storied clan’s first major public official. “She has always …
Duckworth launches PAC, aims at leadership role
WASHINGTON—Freshman Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is positioning herself for a leadership role, launching a political action committee to boost other Democrats running for the House as her profile — and buzz — are growing. Papers creating Duckworth’s “Perimeter PAC” were sent to the Federal Election …
Streisand, Obama movie spoof among top sights at Correspondents’ Association dinner
WASHINGTON — Takeaways from the just-concluded White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner weekend: ◆ Barbra Streisand was my favorite celebrity to spot at the giant Saturday night dinner. I am not above gawking — you all knew, right? I just happened to be hanging near the …
Obama moving cautiously on reports Syria used chemical weapons
WASHINGTON — While President Barack Obama was attending the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Thursday — prompting stories about former President Bush plunging the U.S. into the controversial Iraq War — he was moving cautiously on U.S. intelligence reports of “varying degrees of confidence” the Syrian government is using chemical weapons. Obama doesn’t want to get Syria wrong.
Hillary in 2016? Axelrod calls her ‘first among equals’
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hits Chicago on June 13 to be honored by CURE, the epilepsy research foundation — this while a new poll and the start Wednesday of a new chapter in her life are sparking even more speculation …
