For those who thought that, with the new year, nuclear power had turned a page and put its “annus horribilis” behind it–as if the calendar were somehow the friend America’s aging reactors–let’s take a quick look at January 2012.

A school district getting screwed over by the state of Illinois’ relentless desire to give tax breaks to corporations that don’t need them had the temerity to point out that this was total crap, which of course upset the guardians of decorum.

As Obama buys into the deficit hysteria of the GOP, he is endangering not only the social safety net on which millions depend, but also his own particular job. One aspect of the 2012 election calculus that I don’t think Team Obama realizes is that a deal like this will throw away any hope he has of holding onto the Catholic voters that supported him in 2008.

In states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida, Catholics are a sizable chunk of the electorate, and Obama cannot afford to alienate them. If he caves to the GOP on the debt ceiling negotiations and sacrifices Social Security and Medicare to protect the tax gimmicks so beloved by the MOTUs and banksters, these voters will not be happy.

Just let those states sink in: Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida. Obama’s not going to win them without significant Catholic support, and cutting the social safety net is NOT going to help get those votes.

After winning a series of cases over his residency, Rahm Emanuel has apparently been tossed from the Chicago mayoral ballot by a state apellate court. The case will almost certainly move to the Illinois Supreme Court, which will have the final word.

Fifteen states do not give the option for the death penalty to their prosecutors. A sixteenth, Illinois, is about to join them.

Between California and Illinois, you’re looking at about $45-48 billion dollars to balance budgets, between tax hikes and program cuts. The anti-stimulative effect of that almost totally wipes out the $55-60 billion in stimulative measures that aren’t just extensions of current law in the tax cut deal.

In 2008, the Roman Catholic church was instrumental in two major battles against marriage equality — Maine’s Prop 1 and California’s Prop 8. Leading the fight nationally for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz was elected Vice President of the USCCB, after giving a powerful address on the USCCB ad-hoc committee’s work to defend marriage (a committee he chairs).

By elevating Kurtz to the #2 position at the USCCB, the bishops signaled their determination not simply to stand against marriage equality, but to work just as hard against anything that might lead to it as they work against anything that might possibly lead to thinking about considering something that might be akin to abortion.

This past week, two Roman Catholics in Illinois — Governor Pat Quinn and state House Speaker Michael Madigan — worked hard to get a civil unions bill passed the Illinois Legislature, much to the chagrin of the local bishop.

Welcome to the opening round of the 2012 culture wars, featuring the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Just Say Now activists wrote over 1,200 letters to representatives in New York and Illinois in support of these measures in just a few, short hours yesterday. That’s a remarkable show of support, and Just Say Now will continue to pressure lawmakers to make a compassionate choice for patients. Bills are expected to be brought up again for a vote in NY and IL soon.

Right on the heels of our push to write New York state senators in support of medical marijuana, we have just learned that the Illinois House of Representatives is scheduled to vote TOMORROW on SB. 1381 — a bill to legalize medical marijuana for patients in that state.

Illinois is contemplating a slightly different bill from the one in New York, in that state-licensed ‘Compassion Centers’ would be set up to provide prescribed medical marijuana to card-carrying patients in the state. SB. 1381 is an important bill that would improve the quality of life of seriously ill patients in Illinois, and we want to make sure state representatives know they should support it.

Bean was a member of the Blue Dog caucus and the New Democrat Coalition. Bean voted in support of President Obama’s health care reform; she was one of only 15 Democrats to support the Central American Free Trade Act (CAFTA), and one of only four Dems to side with Republicans against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.