WASHINGTON, April 15 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on April 14, 2025: * * * Anne Vogel appointed to EPA Region 5 Administrator CHICAGO -- Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that President Donald J. Trump appointed Anne Vogel as EPA Region 5 Administrator. As regional administrator, Vogel will oversee EPA's work across the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin and 37 Tribal nat  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, issued the following news release: * * * As Trump Pushes Toward Recession, Heinrich & Lujan Demand Answers on Cuts to New Mexico Manufacturing Center WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) are demanding answers on the Administration's decision to cancel funding for ten National Institute of Standards and Technology Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers across the country, including in  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: * * * Contracts for April 14, 2025 DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SupplyCore Inc.,* Rockford, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facilities maintenance, repair and operations supplies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 3204 (a)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 365-d  more

WASHINGTON, April 12 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following weekly digest: * * * Commission meetings and hearings No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week. * * * Advisory Opinions Requests Received Advisory Opinion Request 2025-06 (https://www.fec.gov/data/legal/advisory-opinions/2025-06/) (Campaign Legal Center) On April 7, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request (https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/aos/2025-06/202506R_1.pdf) from Campai  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, April 15 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news: * * * FHLBank Chicago Offering New Low Loan Balance Pricing Payups for MPF Traditional and Xtra Products Effective April 14, 2025, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) will offer a new "Fixed 30 Yr 300K Max Ln Amt" pricing payup under the Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Traditional and MPF Xtra products. While the existing  more

WASHINGTON, April 15 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued the following news release on April 14, 2025: * * * FinCEN Renews Residential Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders WASHINGTON--Today, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residenti  more

WASHINGTON, April 15 -- The U.S. financial system processed approximately $1.4 billion in suspicious transactions potentially linked to the illicit fentanyl trade in 2024, according to a new analysis by the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The report, titled "Fentanyl-Related Illicit Finance: 2024 Threat Pattern & Trend Information," underscores how Mexican cartels leverage U.S. banks and money services businesses (MSBs) at nearly every stage of the fentanyl s  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Grassley, Durbin, Lee Urge DOJ to Protect Vital Antitrust Field Offices WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, are advocating for the Chicago and San Francisco antitrust field offices to remain open. Many agricultural and tech antitrust cases are  more

WASHINGTON, April 15 -- The Illinois Auditor General released its "Financial Audit of Individual Nonshared Governmental Funds," showcasing a robust financial standing with no audit findings. The document, issued on March 13, 2025, details the fiscal health of the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) Operations Fund, Renewable Energy Resources Fund, and Trust Fund. Conducted by Plante Moran, PLLC, as special assistant auditors for the Auditor General, the audit confirmed unmodified opinions, indicating th  more

WASHINGTON, April 11 -- The White House issued the following news: * * * The State of Play: Why President Trump's Tariffs Are Necessary It's cliche, yet true -- the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and expecting a different result. The trade policies of the past several decades have failed this nation, its workers, and our communities. Twenty years ago, The New York Times Editorial Board responded to the January 2005 trade deficit of $58.3 billion by writing an edito  more