The Illinois Department of Transportation has reached a cooperative agreement with Union Pacific and Amtrak that permits the release of a $1.1 billion federal high-speed rail grant to the state of Illinois to fund passenger rail improvements between Chicago and St. Louis.

Eight Floridians were sworn in as new members of Congress Wednesday, seven of them joining the new Republican majority.

An executive at the St. Joe Co., which has led an explosion of residential and commercial development that has transformed the Florida Panhandle, was named late Wednesday to head the state agency responsible for overseeing growth.

Curious fact, unearthed by Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal. The average age of Republican House members in the new Congress convening this week is 54.9, younger than the Republicans' average age in the previous Congress, 56.5. But the average age of House Democrats has risen, from 58 to 60.2.

As the Republicans took over the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, prominent politicians looking to be the GOP’s standard bearer in 2012 weighed in on what the new majority should focus on -- and not surprisingly, pointed toward the nation’s sluggish economy.

Our national media elite reviewed 2010 with great sorrow for how America has besmirched itself in the eyes of the world with its "seething hatred" of Muslims. CBS anchor Katie Couric announced on her Internet show that there wasn't enough evaluation of "this bigotry toward 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide" which was "so misdirected, and so wrong -- and so disappointing."

State agencies are prohibited from making new rules without the approval of a new governor’s office on regulations that will also go back over every state contract over $1 million, under an executive order signed by Gov. Rick Scott Tuesday shortly after he took office.

On March 4, 1829, the newly inaugurated President Andrew Jackson held an open house event at the White House -- leading to a mob of around 20,000 celebrating his election and running “Old Hickory” out of his new home. While open house events at the White House ended during Grover Cleveland’s first term, newly inaugurated Florida governors continue to hold open houses in the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee.

Besides outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist, there were three former governors attending Rick Scott’s inauguration as the state’s 45th governor: Claude Kirk, who was elected in 1966; Bob Martinez, who won office in 1986; and Jeb Bush, who was elected in 1998 and 2002.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island

“Congratulations to Rick Scott on becoming the 45th governor of Florida. I’m excited to work with Governor Scott as a partner in achieving an agenda that benefits all Floridians.