Latest news with #Kellogg
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Air Force veteran's Park Forest home gets thousands in repairs through Cook County program
Mark Kellogg and his wife, Keisha, were looking at taking out a hefty home equity line of credit to pay for thousands of dollars in repairs at their Park Forest home. But the U.S. Air Force veteran didn't have to pay a dime for $30,000 worth of work, completed this spring through a Cook County program that repaired homes of 30 military veterans, including homes in other south suburbs. At a news conference outside Kellogg's home Tuesday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the program was meant to make veterans' homes 'more accessible, safer and more secure.' 'Our veterans have given us so much,' she said. Launched in 2023, the Veterans Home Repair Program tapped $1.25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. Along with Kellogg's home, the county program repaired the homes of veterans in Chicago, Blue Island, Calumet City, Dolton, Homewood, Lansing, Matteson and Richton Park. Interior and exterior work was done on all of the homes, with costs ranging from $15,000 to $45,000, according to the county. At Kellogg's home, work included new gutters, a new furnace and water heater, repainting six rooms and replacing a concrete patio in the backyard. 'When we bought the house we didn't know rain pooled against the back of it,' he said. The county program replaced the concrete patio and regraded the soil underneath so that storm runoff is directed into drains in the backyard. Kellogg said fixing that problem alone would have cost him $16,000. 'I am extremely greatful I was chosen to participate,' Kellogg said. He said he and his wife have lived in the home since 2010. Kellogg was in the Air Force from spring 1988 to winter 1992. He is commander of the American Legion post in Park Forest and works for the village's Public Works Department. He grew up in Harvey and has six siblings, and his family moved to Park Forest during his senior year of high school. After graduating from the since-closed Rich East High School in 1987, he joined the Air Force. Kellogg said he comes from a military family and that his father and a younger brother both served in the Air Force, and other relatives, including a grandfather, uncle and cousins, were in other branches of the military. He said he applied online last December for the county program and was told in March he'd been selected. All of the work was done by the end of April, he said. The 56-year-old Kellogg and his wife have been married 22 years and have three daughters. The county worked with Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago, which relies on volunteers to repair homes and other buildings in the Chicago area. Since 1991, the organization has repaired 1,900 homes and 285 facilities operated by nonprofits, according to its website. Wanda Ramirez, Rebuilding Together's president and chief executive, said there are a 'growing number of homeowners who cannot afford to make repairs' needed for them to stay in their homes. Without the financial resources needed, Ramirez said the many veterans 'may have to live in substandard housing.'
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Belarus releases 14 political prisoners after US envoy's visit: Media reports
dpa St Petersburg Belarus has released 14 political prisoners following a visit by US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to Minsk, media reported on Saturday. The independent internet portal Nasha Niva said Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was among those released. The prominent journalist, Igor Karney, was also released, according to the reports. Tikhanovskaya confirmed her husband's release, posting a video on X. 'My husband Siarhei is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart,' she wrote. She thanked the United States and the European Union for their efforts to secure the releases. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called Tikhanovsky's release 'fantastic news' in a post on X. He emphasized that the many other prisoners in Belarus would not be forgotten. 'Lukashenko must finally release them,' he said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump and Kellogg on X. 'The release shows the importance of US engagement in our region,' he wrote. 'The pressure on Belarus must continue until all political prisoners are free.' Kristersson said a Swedish citizen, Galina Krasnyanskaya, was also among those released. Kellogg met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday to discuss a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine and bilateral relations between the United States and Belarus. In Belarus' 2020 election, Lukashenko had once again proclaimed himself the winner, triggering unprecedented protests in the country, which he suppressed with Russia's help. Many considered Tikhanovskaya to be the real winner of the ballot in the former Soviet republic. She fled into exile in neighbouring Lithuania after the election. Many Western countries have not recognized Lukashenko as the legally elected president since then. However, the 70-year-old Belarusian leader could play an important role in ending the war in Ukraine as a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kellogg is the highest-ranking US politician to visit Minsk in recent years and his visit came amid stalled negotiations between Kiev and Moscow on the Ukraine war. 'The constant concern that we have is a crisis that could escalate and grow if we are not, not only cautious, but wise,' Kellogg told Lukashenko during the meeting, shown in a video released by the state news agency BelTA. At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow also launched attacks at its neighbour from Belarusian territory. Later, Kiev and Moscow held negotiations in Minsk, and prisoner exchanges between the warring parties have also been carried out at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Unlike Putin, who lays claim to the whole of Ukraine, Lukashenko is interested in a quick diplomatic settlement of the war, according to political observers.
Mint
4 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Trump Envoy's Belarus Visit Is Followed by Prisoner Release
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko released 14 imprisoned opposition activists after meeting with a US presidential envoy in the highest-level contact between the two countries in years. President Donald Trump's envoy, General Keith Kellogg, visited Lukashenko — an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin who's under a range of international sanctions, including by the US — in Minsk on Saturday just before the announcement. Lukashenko pardoned 14 prisoners at Trump's request, presidential spokeswoman Natalya Eismont said on the Pul Pervogo Telegram channel. Those freed include Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the spouse of top Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The former prisoners are in Lithuania and receiving care, according to the government in Vilnius. 'You've stirred up quite a lot of noise around the world with your visit,' Lukashenko said at the start of the meeting with Kellogg. 'But I'm surprised by that — can't we have a normal dialogue and talk about our affairs, about the relations between Belarus and the United States of America?' Kellogg is the highest-ranking US official to visit Belarus in years. When Secretary of State Michael Pompeo went to Minsk in 2020, it was the first visit by a top-ranked US diplomat since 1993. Releasing Tsikhanouski was based 'solely on humanitarian grounds, with the goal of reuniting his family,' Eismont said. She said those released also include citizens of Japan, Poland, Estonia, Sweden and the US. The White House didn't comment on Kellogg's meeting or the prisoner release. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Trump, Kellogg and the European Union after her husband was freed. European leaders, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland, hailed the releases and urged action on those still held in Belarus. 'Yes, it's good that these people are released but it's only a handful,' Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told public broadcaster LRT. 'Pressure on the regime must continue. No weakening of sanctions.' The agenda included international issues, the global situation and US-Belarusian relations, the Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko and Kellogg met for more than six hours, Belta quoted Eismont as saying. Tsikhanouski, a popular video blogger, was arrested shortly after announcing a bid to challenge Lukashenko for the presidency in 2020. His wife ran in his place as Lukashenko's main opponent, triggering huge support and subsequent unprecedented protests against Lukashenko's claim of winning the vote. Others released on Saturday included political activists and a journalist. Estonia said one of its citizens, Allan Roio, was among those released. Roio, the founder of a nongovernmental organization, had been held since January 2024. Lukashenko, 70, has been under various sanctions for nearly a decade due to his role in undermining democracy in the former Soviet republic. He was redesignated by the US under expanded penalties in 2022 in response to Belarusian support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko has been in power for more than three decades and almost 1,200 people in Belarus are recognized as political prisoners, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center. With assistance from Milda Seputyte, Ott Tammik and Olesia Safronova. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Belarus' Lukashenko meets US envoy Kellogg in Minsk
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (second from right) meeting US envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg (second from left) in Minsk, on June 21. PHOTO: EPA-EFE MINSK - Mr Alexander Lukashenko met US special presidential envoy General Keith Kellogg in Minsk on June 21, according to a video published on the Belarusian president's website. 'You've stirred up quite a lot of noise around the world with your visit. But I'm surprised by that – can't we have a normal dialogue and talk about our affairs, about the relations between Belarus and the United States of America?' Mr Lukashenko said in opening remarks. General Kellogg is the highest-ranking US official to visit Belarus in several years. In February 2020, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo travelled to Belarus in what was the first visit by a top-ranked US diplomat since 1993. 'With all the gold here, it looks a lot like Mar-a-Lago,' Gen Kellogg said, comparing Mr Lukashenko's Independence Palace with US President Donald Trump's private club in Florida. The meeting agenda included international issues and the overall situation in the world, as well as Belarusian-American relations, the state-owned agency Belta reported. Mr Lukashenko, 70, has been under various sanctions for nearly a decade due to his role in undermining democratic processes in the former Soviet republic. He was re-designated by the US under expanded penalties in 2022, in response to Belarus' support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mr Lukashenko remains Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally. The Belarusian strongman has remained in power for more than three decades, with nearly 1,200 people in the country currently recognised as political prisoners, according to the exiled human rights centre Viasna. Gen Kellogg's visit raised expectations that Belarus may soon release a number of captives. The White House has not commented on the meeting. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Belarus' Lukashenko meets with US envoy Kellogg, Belta reports
MOSCOW: Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported on Saturday. Lukashenko discussed with Kellogg the political situation in the world and the bilateral relations between Belarus and the United States, Belta reported. Earlier this week, sources in Washington told Reuters of Kellogg's plan to visit Belarus and meet Lukashenko. They said that while the exact agenda for the meeting was unclear, the envoy viewed it as a step that could help jump-start peace talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine. In a video of the meeting released by Belta, Lukashenko warmly embraces Kellogg. 'Who doesn't know him? He is the most media-savvy person around these days,' Lukashenko said. Kellogg is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the authoritarian state in years.
