LAKE FOREST, Illinois (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve should stick to its super-easy monetary policy to fight extraordinarily high unemployment and spur a “painstakingly slow” economic recovery, even if doing so pushes inflation temporarily higher, a top Fed official said on Wednesday.

“There is a natural tendency for policymakers to pull back on accommodation too early before the real rate of interest has fallen to low enough levels,” Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Rotary Club of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in Illinois. “It is essential that the Fed clearly commit to a policy action that is measurable against our goals.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Surging frontrunner Newt Gingrich fought off heavy attacks in a presidential debate in Iowa on Saturday from Republican rivals who portrayed him as a Washington insider and questioned his judgment.

Gingrich, described by some critics as rash and petulant, kept his cool as his Republican rivals criticized him for making up to $1.6 million from housing giant Freddie Mac, for saying Palestinians were an “invented” people and for his troubled marital past.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Surging front-runner
Newt Gingrich came under heavy fire in a presidential debate in
Iowa on Saturday from Republican rivals who portrayed him as a
Washington insider who profited from his contacts at taxpayer
expense.

Hoping to halt his quick rise in the polls, the Republican
contenders led by Mitt Romney described Gingrich as a member of
the Washington establishment who took $1.6 million from housing
giant Freddie Mac .

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Surging front-runner Newt Gingrich came under heavy fire in a presidential debate in Iowa on Saturday from Republican rivals who portrayed him as a Washington insider who profited from his contacts at taxpayer expense.

Hoping to halt his quick rise in the polls, the Republican contenders led by Mitt Romney described Gingrich as a member of the Washington establishment who took $1.6 million from housing giant Freddie Mac.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Sharon Bialek, the first woman to go public with sexual harassment accusations against U.S. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, faces eviction from her rented home but refuses to sell her story.

Cook County Sheriff’s deputies served a court summons on Tuesday evening on Bialek’s townhouse in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Illinois, due to nonpayment of $7,500 in back rent.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Illinois house voted down a proposal on Tuesday that would have given $100 million in tax relief to CME Group and Sears Holdings, which have threatened to move to other states.

The state house voted overwhelmingly 99 to 8 to kill the total $250 million tax relief package that proponents said spread benefits around to individual taxpayers and small businesses. Earlier, the state senate 36-18 voted in favor of the package.

CHICAGO, Nov 29 (Reuters) – The Illinois senate approved a
proposal that gives $100 million in tax relief to CME Group
(CME.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sears Holdings (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which have threatened to
move to other states.

The 36-18 vote by the state senate in favor of the tax
relief package leaves it up to the state house to pass a
similar version that a house committee passed on Monday.

CHICAGO, Nov 29 (Reuters) – A second committee of Illinois
legislators approved a proposal that gives $100 million in tax
relief to CME Group and Sears Holdings , which
have threatened to move to other states.

The 12-3 vote by the Illinois Senate Executive Committee
sets the stage for passage of the proposal by the full Senate
Tuesday afternoon, an aide to Senate President John Cullerton
said.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Maggie Daley, the wife of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a driving force for the arts and education in the city, died on Thursday, current Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. She was 68.

Daley was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2002 but continued to make public appearances and downplayed her illness despite numerous trips to the hospital.