Commentary Sierra Club Statement on Government Shutdown by Gary Kopycinski on October 1, 2013 Gary Kopycinski Author More in Commentary: Heteronormativity: Grappling with Straight Privilege March 24, 2026 Former Park Forest Mayor Ostenburg Implores Chicago Cardinal Cupich to Care for St. Irenaeus Property December 16, 2025 An Angel Now Guards Our Friends in Blue: Park Forest Mourns the Loss of #204, Detective Tim Jones December 4, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–October 1, 2013. Last night, the federal government officially shut down after House Republicans refused to pass routine legislation to fund the government without toxic political riders.