Kirk working on differentiating regulations on banks and insurance companies

Mark Kirk at Senate hearing
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R, Ill.) is staying away from the Republican National Convention. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Mark Kirk)

By Greg Halbleib

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R, Ill.) is pushing federal legislation that would differentiate insurance companies from the rules that regulate banks.

Kirk said the current regulations are not one size fits all.

“Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Federal Reserve has the ability to regulate insurance companies,” Kirk told WJBC’s Terry James, “and I’ve been making sure that the Fed knows the difference between regulating an insurance company and a bank.”

Kirk has also reiterated that he’s not going to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, saying he’s traveling throughout Illinois but adding that presumed presidential nominee Donald Trump is too bigoted and racist for Illinois. Kirk said he plans to write in former Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell for president, calling it a protest vote even though it won’t count because Powell is not registered as a write-in candidate.

PODCAST: Listen here to Terry James’ interview with Sen. Kirk.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…