The humble bee — nuisance, threat, and linchpin of the American food supply — has won over the leader of the free world. And now President Obama is intervening on the bee’s behalf as its habitat dwindles. On Tuesday, the Obama administration will announce the first National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, a bureaucratic title for a plan to save the bee, other small winged animals and their breeding grounds. The initiative may feel like the kind of niche intere...
Read more
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis said dislocated workers should not have to make the choice between receiving their unemployment insurance benefits and pursuing training opportunities that could lead to a job. The Republican congressman from Taylorville announced plans to reintroduce the Opportunity KNOCKS Act, or Kindling New Options for Career and Knowledge Seekers, on Wednesday in the automotive lab at the Richland Community College Workforce Development Institute. The measure would allow the people to...
Read more
The new Republican Congress showed a glimpse of its early legislative strategy Tuesday, when the House passed a bill within hours of being sworn in that had both a St. Louis-area origin and anti-Obamacare tone. The House approved, 412-0, the Hire More Heroes Act, written by Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville. A similar measure was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. The bill encourages small businesses to hire veterans covered by the Veterans Administration or military hea...
Read more
Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, will give the weekly Republican address on Saturday. His office announced Friday that Davis will speak from Springfield, Ill. The address is made available to radio stations around the country as a pairing with President Barack Obama's weekly address. “My message will echo that of President Lincoln, 'government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,' " Davis said in a statement issued Friday by his office. The 114th Congre...
Read more
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis hailed an Obama administration move to normalize relations with Cuba, saying the shift has the potential to be good for the Cuban people and for American agriculture. "What I hope this brings to the American people is the ability to trade with a country that is craving our products and craving assistance from our agricultural sector," the Taylorville Republican said Wednesday. "Illinois stands to gain from leaps and bounds with the ability to sell our crops. The terms of p...
Read more
The U.S. House passing of a massive federal spending bill Thursday night that would fund most of the U.S. government until next October has U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis optimistic about bipartisanship. Davis, R-Taylorville, stopped in Decatur on Friday afternoon, just hours after Republicans and Democrats came together to narrowly pass the spending bill, 219-206, three hours before a midnight deadline that would have threatened a federal shutdown. The bill, which had 30 Democrats join Republicans in s...
Read more
A son's effort to honor his late father ended when the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to name the Champaign postal facility at 302 E. Green St. for James R. Burgess Jr. The senior Burgess was the first and only African-American elected to a countywide office in Champaign County (state's attorney in 1972). He also served as U.S. attorney in southern Illinois and as a leader of the 761st Tank Battalion, the first African-American armored unit to enter battle in World War II. "Naming a post office i...
Read more
Keeley Keane followed the recent elections closely, especially U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis' campaign. “She watched all the commercials,” said her mother, Susan, who works at Keeley's school, Lutheran School Association. “She went with me to vote and even filled in the space next to (Davis') name.” Davis and Susan Keane are friends, and she invited him to speak to Keeley's class at LSA on Tuesday when he was in the area. Davis, R-Taylorville, began by asking the students if they knew who he is and whe...
Read more
Hiring More Heroes, it's the name of a bill being touted by Rep. Rodney Davis as a bi-partisan solution to helping veterans get jobs. Now that Republicans are in control of Congress, there's more hope the bill can pass. The Hire More Heroes Act would allow small businesses to hire more veterans who get their healthcare through the VA System and not count them towards the 50 employee cap for the Affordable Care Act. "Don't double count people who are getting healthcare through the federal governm...
Read more
It’s no secret that our veterans are some of the hardest working individuals in the world. Through their training and service, they have shown commitment, responsibility, and a work ethic valuable in every line of work. And in our professional and specialized military, they have learned particularly useful skills in the modern economy. Unfortunately, when many of our veterans come home they face the same low wages, reduced hours, and high unemployment that has been hitting all of America. In fac...
Read more
