State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), pictured here taking questions from reporters Friday at the Capitol, was unable to strike an agreement on his concealed-carry bill to move it through the Illinois Senate. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

SPRINGFIELD-A Senate effort to impose restrictive concealed-carry limits on Illinois gun owners failed to surface for a vote Friday as expected even after the legislation was changed to ease opposition from the National Rifle Association.

"One of the realities that I was keenly aware of when I entered this effort was that there are some extremists," said Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), sponsor of the gun-control measure. "There are some extremists with some very loyal followings, and they use intimidation as part of their advocacy efforts. And sometimes that intimidation is quite effective."

Both Raoul and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) had hinted at a full floor vote after the bill cleared a Senate panel on a 10-4 vote Thursday, but it became clear a consensus had not been reached by Friday.

The bill was at least partly short of votes due to NRA resistance over the legislation requiring Chicago police Supt. Garry McCarthy to vet all permit-seekers in Chicago and allowing local sheriffs to object to any permit application.

Raoul partly gave in to the NRA Friday by removing a part of his bill that would have required applicants to demonstrate "good moral character," a measure criticized for being too vague. But it wasn't enough to get the required 30 votes for passage, and Raoul didn't express a desire to concede much more.

"These are people who, you know, use aggressive advocacy efforts - legal advocacy efforts but aggressive advocacy efforts," Raoul said, alluding to the NRA. "People who rate you by grades as if you were in school."

Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove), pictured in this April file photo, said he didn't "feel strongly" about casting one of three Republican votes for medicinal marijuana legislation Friday but said he might support broader legalization of the drug. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

SPRINGFIELD-State Sen. James Oberweis was one of three Senate Republicans who voted Friday to legalize the use of marijuana by severely ill Illinoisans.

But the Sugar Grove Republican and self-described "semi-Libertarian" isn't sure he'd stop with just that.

"I'm inclined, wherever possible, to let people make decisions on their own," Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I might even support legalization of marijuana, period, and tax the heck out of it.

"To me, " he continued, "there's not a great deal of difference between marijuana and alcohol."

In boldly opening the door to the broad legalization of pot in Illinois, the former candidate for U.S. Senate, Congress and governor said he had never tried pot or any other illegal narcotic nor does he have any sick family member who would benefit from marijuana.

During floor debate and even after casting a vote in support of the legislation, Oberweis said he was undecided about the bill or its potential impact but added support for the bill by his daughter and her husband, both Southern Illinois University Edwardsville criminal justice professors, had "a little impact on me."

Oberweis also insisted he was not fearful of any political backlash from conservatives for his vote.

"Look, if people are going to be mad at me for a vote on that bill, so be it. I didn't feel strongly," he said. "I don't think there's a significant amount of harm that will come to the state because of it. I'm not sure there's all that much good will result either. It was difficult decision to make. But I made the best decision I could."

Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) argues Thursday for his legislation to legalize medical marijuana, which passed the Senate 35-21 and now moves to Gov. Pat Quinn. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

SPRINGFIELD-The idea of Illinoisans turning to pot to treat severe illnesses moved closer to reality Friday after the Illinois Senate approved the medicinal use of marijuana over GOP objections it would encourage more serious drug use.

The Senate's 35-21 vote, which followed an emotional debate that lasted more than 90 minutes, moves the legislation carried by state Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) to Gov. Pat Quinn.

"We are confident a strict, controlled implementation of this for those who suffer pain with the diseases and conditions listed in the act can be well served," Haine said. "Many of us have anecdotal evidence of the value of this. Doctors' groups have endorsed this, nurses.

"It is a substance, which is much more benign than, for example, powerful prescription drugs such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and the rest. The scourge of these drugs is well known. This is not true of the medical use of marijuana," said Haine, a former state's attorney from Downstate Madison County.

The governor has said he is "open-minded" toward the measure, which if enacted would make Illinois the 19th state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. Quinn's office offered no hint of its intentions with the legislation Friday, saying only that the governor intends to "review" the plan.

"The administration has been involved in this," Haine said. "He's not made a public commitment, but I hope when he sees this debate and he hears of the exchange in the House and Senate, his comfort level will be raised."

Friday's roll call came together on the strength of mostly Democratic votes, though three Republicans joined in supporting Haines' legislation, as well. They were Sens. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) and Dave Syverson (R-Rockford).

Senate Democrats who voted against the bill were Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood), Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), Gary Forby (D-Benton), Napoleon Harris (D-Flossmoor), Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) and Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield).

"You all know full well the effects marijuana has on the body," said Hunter, a certified drug and alcohol counselor. "All they did was put 'medical' in front of marijuana. It's still a drug."

Under Haine's four-year pilot program, users would have to suffer from one of 42 named ailments or diseases, including cancer, HIV/AIDS and ALS, and have a doctor's prescription before they would be allowed to purchase and possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana during a 14-day period.

The plan would authorize 22 growers across Illinois and permit 60 dispensaries where users could purchase the plant.

Users, growers and sellers would have to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks. Employers and landlords could bar medicinal marijuana use in their workplaces and buildings. And, users would have to undergo field sobriety tests if police suspect they are driving under the influence of medical cannabis and could lose their driving privileges and privileges to use pot for their illnesses.

"This thing is filed with one check after the other on the possibility of abuse," Haine said. "It allows cultivation of this substance, which can relieve the terrible pains suffered by people. And they won't have to go to the dark side to get it. It'll be grown here in Illinois, not somewhere else."

During questioning by the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill) asked ex IRS chief Steve Miler about letters written to the IRS by various U.S. Senators -- including Dick Durbin. The letter asked about bringing further scrutiny to conservative groups.

Media coverage in 2010 indicates that Durbin had sent a letter asking about Karl Rove's Crossroads group and whether it was really a not for profit.

Click here to read: http://www.durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=833d8f1e-bbdb-4a5b-93ec-706f0cb9cb99

"I think the letter speaks for itself," said Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-Ill). "So the question is, did the Internal Revenue Service respond to that? Did they feel pressure from leading Democrats to do that? They were not forthcoming about that today."

Durbin's office, meanwhile, issued the following statement:

"Recent reports of IRS employees improperly targeting organizations based on their politics is inappropriate and those responsible must be held to account. The Citizen's United decision created a rush for organizations seeking tax exempt status because it allows groups to raise unlimited money while keeping their donors secret," Durbin spokesman Max Gleischman said. "To qualify for this special status, an organization's primary function cannot be campaigning. The IRS is right to determine the primary function of these groups, but that determination process must be applied rigorously to all applicants - not for some - and not be based on a group's political leanings."

ir

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) asked how Miller reached back to the House Ways & Means Committee after learning new information.
"We called to try to get on the calendar," Miller said.
"You called to try to get on a calendar?" Roskam asked, then paused, "Is that all you got?"

Roskam went on to deliver this, which won a bit of a groan: "I find it incredibly ironic, on the one hand you're saying, look the IRS is not corrupt. But the subtext of that is: 'we're just incompetent." I think it is a perilous pathway to go down," Roskam said. "There's sort of this notion that hasn't been satisfactorily answered and that is if the targeting, wasn't targeting ... if the targeting wasn't only based on philosophy then why did only conservatives get snagged?"

Only 70 of the 300 targeted were Tea Party, Miller said.
Roskam closed saying that was in contradiction to the Inspector General's testimony.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, left, and Toronto mayor Rob Ford, right, at a September 2012 press conference announcing a sister cities agreement between the two cities. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

So that thing we do where we say politicians who do crazy things must be smoking crack? (Thanks, Marion Barry.) Turns out that in Toronto, that may be taken a little too literally from now on. The Toronto Star, Canada's biggest newspaper, went all in with a report tonight that controversial conservative mayor Rob Ford - so controversial that Americans know who a Canadian mayor is - was allegedly caught on tape smoking crack. The Star report follows tonight's earlier report by Gawker of the same story. Both the Star and Gawker note that they were approached with offers to buy the video and that, when asked of proof, they were allowed to view it. The Star's reporters have shared their thoughts here.

Sayeth the Star!

The Star reporters (Donovan and Doolittle) were shown the video on the evening of Friday, May 3, in the back of a car parked in an apartment complex at Dixon Rd. near Kipling Ave. in the north end of Etobicoke. We were allowed to watch and listen to the video three times. After, both reporters separately made written notes of what they saw and heard. Both reporters, prior to watching the video, studied numerous city-hall-related videos of Ford and, to the best of the reporter's abilities, they separately concluded the man in the video was Ford.

From Gawker:

Here is what the video shows: Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, is the only person visible in the frame. Prior to the trip, I spent a lot of time looking at photographs of Rob Ford. The man in the video is Rob Ford. It is well-lit, clear. Ford is seated, in a room in a house. In one hand is a a clear, glass pipe. The kind with a big globe and two glass cylinders sticking out of it. In the other hand is a lighter. A slurred voice off-camera is ranting about Canadian politics in what sounds like an attempt to goad Ford. "Pierre Trudeau was a faggot!" is the one phrase the lodges in my mind. Ford, pipe in one hand and lighter in the other, is laughing, and mildly protesting at the sacrilege. He seems to keep trying to light the pipe, but keeps stopping to laugh. He is red-faced and sweaty, heaving with each breath. Finally, he finds his moment and lights up. He inhales.

According to the Star's report, other tipsters contacted them with information about Ford's alleged crack cocaine abuse. An attorney retained by Ford contacted Gawker and the Star, denying any wrongdoing on Ford's part and telling the Star, "How can you indicate what the person is actually doing or smoking?" No one - not The Star, Gawker, or anyone else who may have been contacted by the tipster - has shelled out the money to buy the video but both reporters outlets contend it's Rob Ford on the video.

Of course, the video is also being shopped around by a pair of Somali men who are "involved in the drug trade," according to the Star, so there's certainly reason for skepticism about the video. It's a big gamble by both Gakwer and The Star; if it turns out to be false, they'll both be subject to some mighty big lawsuits for defamation. Of course, if it pans out, then, well, that's one hell of a scandal in a big city.

Either way, tomorrow should be a fun day to follow Toronto on Twitter.

UPDATE: Michael Cooke, the editor in chief of The Star - and former top editor at the Sun-Times - tweeted out the front page:

#robford in "crack video" scandal. Toronto Star page one Friday. yfrog.com/obj5uqqj

— Michael Cooke (@TorStarEditor) May 17, 2013

UPDATE: Ford has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, there are no less than three different Indiegogo campaigns (like Kickstarter) to buy the tape. Maybe Zach Braff can help them out a little.

UPDATE: And the Taiwan animation crew is on it.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) Thursday chaired the second of a series of 'cost-shift' meetings, during which public higher-education institutions agreed to begin picking up the tab for their employees' pensions. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

SPRINGFIELD-Illinois' public colleges and universities will gradually begin picking up the costs of their employees' pensions starting next year under an agreed plan announced Thursday by House Speaker Michael Madigan and higher-education representatives.

"It's only the right thing to do," Madigan (D-Chicago) told reporters after the open meeting. "Whenever one person spends money and another person pays the bill it's a bad policy, especially for government."

Madigan's long-sought pension 'cost-shift' bargain - an idea not contained in either of the two major pension reform bills floating in the Legislature - comes in the second week of his formal discussions with higher education institutions.

Under the plan, the state's public universities and community colleges would pay an additional one-half percent of payroll costs into the pension system each year starting in fiscal year 2015 until the colleges cover all costs. Madigan indicated similar changes to elementary and secondary school districts were coming but did not discuss details.

Championed by Madigan, the cost-shift has been part of more sweeping past pension packages but has been perennially rejected by Republicans and suburban and Downstate Democrats, who fear school districts will have to lay off employees or raise property taxes to cover a heavier pension burden.

And while moving pension costs from the state to colleges and universities poses only a fraction of the larger cost-shift scheme, a consensus by higher-education institutions could gather support from traditional opponents who represent those colleges' districts.

Glenn Poshard, president of the Southern Illinois University system, called some of the measures "draconian," but he and University of Illinois President Robert Easter said they back the plan.

"We're willing to do whatever it takes because this issue is the single greatest issue threatening our people over the long haul," Poshard said. "We have to take the measures that we have to take. We can't avoid those responsibilities at this point in time."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday defended his decision to save $108.7 million-a-year by phasing out the city's 55 percent subsidy for retiree health care and forcing 30,000 retired city employees to make the switch to ObamaCare.

Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) speaks to lawmakers during a Senate Executive Committee hearing on concealed-carry legislation Thursday. Under Raoul's bill, those wanting to carry a gun in Chicago would need permission from city police. Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), left, looks on. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

SPRINGFIELD-Favored by gun-control advocates, a push establishing tight limits on where Illinois gun owners could carry their weapons in public advanced in the state Senate Thursday over objections from the National Rifle Association.

The measure, which passed the Senate Executive Committee by a 10-4 vote, with one member voting present, surfaced less than a month before a June 9 deadline imposed by a federal appeals court for Illinois to end its last-in-the-nation prohibition on concealed-carry.

"I'm trying to do something to respond to the mandate of the court to promote and preserve public safety and to balance the rights of the law-abiding gun owners in the process," state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), the bill's chief Senate sponsor, told the panel.

Within Chicago, Raoul's legislation would require police Supt. Garry McCarthy to sign off on all concealed-carry applicants before they could get permits from the Illinois State Police, setting up what gun-rights advocates fear would be a choke-point that could keep city gun owners from getting licenses.

"I can see Garry McCarthy abusing the snot out of that," said National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde, who opposed the legislation.

Vandermyde insisted the bill wasn't crafted to meet the requirements of the December federal appeals court ruling that tossed Illinois' last-in-the-nation prohibition on concealed-carry but rather an effort to keep Illinois gun owners from exercising their Second Amendment rights.

"In our eyes, this is not a carry bill," Vandermyde told the committee. "This is a bill to discourage people and prevent people from carrying a firearm and exercising their constitutional, fundamental right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in public. We can put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig, and that's what this is."

Watch live video of President Obama and Prime Minister Erdogan's press conference below.