IDC appears intact

All five members of state Sen. Co-majority Leader Jeff Klein’s group of breakaway Democrats, the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), are on track to stay in office.

Mr. Klein weathered a serious challenge from former Councilman Oliver Koppell in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary. IDC member state Sen. Tony Avella also defeated former city Comptroller John Liu, who received more Democratic establishment support in Queens than Mr. Koppell did here.

Mr. Liu sent an e-mail to supporters after conceding to Mr. Avella on Tuesday.

“This campaign… was about ensuring that the bond of trust between voter and candidate cannot be broken in exchange for personal gain and political profit,” Mr. Liu said after acknowledging mail-in ballots could not help him overcome Mr. Avella’s 568-vote lead from the Sept. 9 primary.

Mr. Liu’s comments echoed those of Mr. Koppell. Both ran on the contention that the IDC, which led the Senate for two years with Republicans, embodied a betrayal of the Democratic Party.

The three other members of the IDC — state Senators David Carlucci, Diane Savino and David Valesky — did not face primary challenges.

The IDC is poised to make good on Mr. Klein’s summer announcement to form a coalition with the Democratic Conference after the November general ballot.

While Mr. Liu and Mr. Koppell sought to make their contests something of a referendum on the IDC, it is hard to say whether voters really viewed things that way. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, in a state where two out of three state Senators under indictment won their primaries (Republican Thomas Libous and Democrat John Sampson), being an incumbent means everything.

Dinowitz: ban credit checks in hiring

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is applauding a City Council resolution that would prevent employers from doing credit checks on job applicants. Mr. Dinowitz previously sponsored similar legislation in the Assembly.

“A person’s credit history does not reflect his or her past job performance or qualifications, yet it currently can be used to reject otherwise qualified applicants for a job. More often than not, women, students, and people of color are adversely affected by these credit checks,” Mr. Dinowitz said in a statement.

Adding that his own bill has repeatedly passed the Assembly, but stalled in the Senate, he promised to reintroduce the legislation at the start of the next session.

New effort to help immigrant children

Amid a reported crisis of unaccompanied children immigrating to the U.S., the city is going to station employees at federal immigration courts to provide assistance to undocumented youngsters. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal announced the move on Tuesday, saying Department of Education representatives will be at court to help children enroll in school, among other services.

The officials added the NYC Immigration Court has already made hearings for recently arrived immigrant children a priority.

As Congress avoids tackling the tough issue of child immigration, Riverdale’s Rep. Eliot Engel applauded the new policy in the city.

“Some of my colleagues in Congress have responded to the large influx of children arriving in our country by calling for harsher enforcement of our immigration laws. Cracking down on children is clearly not the answer. I commend the Mayor’s effort to provide direct services to these children and families in need, and I hope that his initiative is replicated throughout the country,” Mr. Engel stated.

In the same statement, Rep. Charles Rangel promised to keep fighting for the comprehensive immigration reform that has eluded President Barack Obama’s term so far.

Engel, Rangel laud ISIS plan

Mr. Engel and Mr. Rangel applauded President Obama’s plan to train and equip forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but not send U.S. forces there for a combat role.

Mr. Obama announced plans to support moderate Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces against ISIS, which has taken over key parts of Iraq and Syria, last week. He has also escalated U.S. bombings in the region.

“I am particularly glad that the president made clear that there will not be any American boots on the ground,” Mr. Rangel said in a statement. “If the situation escalates to a level in which military action must be taken as an absolute last resort, it should only be used when the entire nation is fully committed to reinstating the draft.”

In a recent phone interview, Mr. Engel called the president’s plans an important breakthrough.

“We don’t have the luxury of putting our head in the sand and saying it’s happening far from here,” he said.

Lawmakers in Washington were to debate the president’s latest plans this week. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to appear before the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, where Mr. Engel is the ranking Democrat, for intense questioning.