Illinois Review

Nearly 800,000 criminal records could be expunged, thanks to Dems legalizing cannabis in Illinois

CHICAGO - Officials suggest nearly 800,000 criminal records could be cleared next year, when the Illinois law goes into effect legalizing recreational marijuana. Tuesday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the measure effective January 1, 2020. 

Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) says she’s proud of the bill that is cutting-edge policy included in the measure she helped write.

Chicago cocktail waitress on leave after spitting on Eric Trump

CHICAGO - Tuesday night a cocktail waitress at Chicago's Aviary Bar was arrested by Secret Service and placed on leave after she allegedly spit on President Trump's middle son Eric. 

“It was purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems,” Trump told Breitbart News. “For a party that preaches tolerance, this once again demonstrates they have very little civility. When somebody is sick enough to resort to spitting on someone, it just emphasizes a sickness and desperation and the fact that we’re winning.”

Title X Protect Life Rule Unanimously Upheld by U.S. Ninth Circuit Judges

CHICAGO - The US  Ninth Circuit's recent decision to allow the Trump Administration to redirect millions of federal dollars away from the abortion industry was applauded by the Thomas More Society, in partnership with Susan B. Anthony List.

The Title X grants, first enacted in 1970, have never legally funded abortions or abortion referrals, the two groups said.

“Title X has always prohibited the use of its funds by programs where abortion is a method of family planning,” explained Sarah Pitlyk, Thomas More Society Special Counsel. “The now reaffirmed regulations simply enforced those terms, ensuring that taxpayer funds will only be used for permitted purposes. The Thomas More Society will continue to support the goal of ensuring that taxpayer dollars do not support the abortion industry.”

Rockford residents protest public library's Drag Queen Story Hour

ROCKFORD - Last Saturday, Rockford area residents gathered outside the East Branch Rockford Public Library upset with a Drag Queen Story hour going on inside the taxpayer-funded venue. While these parents and concerned citizens stood outside, a man and a 13 year old boy - both dressed as females - explained their gender choices to toddlers, preschoolers and elementary age children. 

The use of tax dollars to advocate a lifestyle in direct contradiction to the protesters' religious beliefs and world views prompted "hundreds" - according to a local TV news story - to voice their opposition in front of the library.

From Rockford news coverage

Di Leo: Iranian Provocations and the Risks of Inaction

By John F. Di Leo -

The news of the day concerns Iran, a country that shot down a hundred-million-dollar American drone in international airspace… and the question of how the United States should respond to such an act of war.

This occurred a week after the same country attacked foreign-flagged oil tankers sailing in international waters. 

And a week before that? And the week before that?  Well, this country – Iran, as ruled by the mullahs who have run it since 1979 – has been spreading terrorism all over the world, developing client states around the middle east, and declaring itself to be at war with the United States (which it calls “The Great Satan”), for forty years now.  Every week, there’s another provocation, either against the USA or against others.

It’s just what they do.

Pierce: When Vocabulary Aids Those Who Degrade Society

By Sam Pierce - 

Perhaps some of us on the right struggle with vocabulary more than others. Some can speak or write eloquently and impact policy or its perception. Still others string words together in an artful yet shallow manner. it really does seem that vocabulary and phraseology are often stumbling blocks or at least challenges to effective communication of arguments for life, liberty, and property.

The challenge presents itself on multiple fronts. The most egregious and dastardly of these are the intentional misleading abuse of language by the enemies of society on the left. The trickiest challenge, though, comes from the actual broad definitions of politically charged words such as abortion, immigrant, and gender.

'It's totally unfair': Chicago, where the rich live 30 years longer than the poor

In rich white Streeterville, Chicagoans can expect to live to 90. In poor black Englewood, it’s just 60 – the most divergent of any U.S. city.

The gulf between the two communities which share a city, a mayor, a police force and a school system is just as apparent by the numbers. A recent analysis from the City Health Dashboard, published by the department of population health at New York University, found that the two neighborhoods have the most divergent life expectancy of any in the US that share the bounds of a city.

More HERE

Why Is Illinois Hemorrhaging Residents?

It’s known here as The Exodus.

People are leaving Illinois in droves. Republicans blame the state’s high taxes and its unfunded pension liability, which tops $130 billion. Democrats believe it’s the state’s lack of investment in education and infrastructure.

One thing is certain: Illinois’ population has declined by 157,000 residents over the past five years, making it one of only two states — West Virginia is the other — to lose people over the past decade.

Who Does the Media Most Want to Silence?

In the mainstream media, women on the left are almost always portrayed as paragons of compassion and virtue. But when it comes to conservative women, it’s a different story. Why is this? Heather Higgins, chairman of Independent Women's Forum and CEO of Independent Women's Voice, explains the reasons behind the double standard.

Gorsuch Slams The Supreme Court For Turning A Blind Eye To Overcriminalization

Most government is unconstitutional. Nick Sibilla writes:

The U.S. Supreme Court made it much easier for federal agencies to create new crimes and prosecute them, rejecting a constitutional challenge based on the separation of powers. In an unusual split that saw Justice Samuel Alito join the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, Gundy v. United States upheld the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), a “comprehensive national system” Congress established in 2006 to register sex offenders, which gave the Attorney General vast powers of rulemaking and enforcement. [...]

Thanks to SORNA’s broad transfer of power, the Justice Department previously acknowledged that the Attorney General “could require some but not all to register (or comply with some but not all of the registration requirements); he could do nothing at all or wait several years before acting; or he could change his mind at any given time or over the course of different administrations.” Moreover, SORNA “does not require the Attorney General to act within a certain time frame or by a date certain; it does not require him to act at all.” 

Yet under the Constitution, “all legislative powers” are “vested” in Congress, while Congress cannot “delegate” or outsource those powers to another branch of government. As anyone who’s seen Schoolhouse Rock may recall, the federal government is a system of checks-and-balances: the legislature (Congress) makes the law, the executive (President) enforces the law, and the judiciary (Supreme Court) interprets the law. [...]

Impeach Trump rally fizzles on state capitol steps

Photo from Indivisible Springfield's Facebook Page 

SPRINGFIELD - Though widely publicized leading up to the event, a disappointingly-small group gathered on the Illinois Capitol steps Saturday, weakly demanding US Congress start an investigation to impeach President Donald Trump. 

The anti-Trump rally, attended by members of Illinois' Indivisible Team and the Resist Sisterhood, heard from keynote speaker Renato Mariotti, a CNN legal analyst and a 2018 Democratic candidate for Illinois attorney general.

Lake County cancels 28th annual Civil War Days due to "safety concerns"

LAKE COUNTY - Lake County Democrats won the majority on their county board last fall in the 2018 "Blue Wave," and as a result, things are changing. For instance, Lake County's decades-long annual "Civil War Days" are canceled, due to "safety concerns."  

Because Lake County's Board of Commissioners double as the county's Forest Preserves Board, they elect a president and vice-president among themselves. The newly-elected Forest Preserves President is Angelo Kyle, an African-American. 

Kyle told the Chicago Tribune he had been to the event with former board member and fellow African-American Audrey Nixon and, ‘Some of the things I experienced I cannot talk about here,’ while referencing the sight of Confederate battle flags.

Chicago man sentenced to life for sex trafficking in city and suburbs

CHICAGO — Last week, a federal judge has sentenced a Chicago man to life in prison for forcing women and children to engage in commercial sex acts in Chicago and the suburbs.

Samuel Nichols led a sex trafficking operation that violently forced at least 12 women and children into the sex trade. Some of the minors were as young as 13 years old when Nichols trafficked them, the Northern District of Illinois' US Attorney's office reported.

"Nichols kept the money earned by his victims, often taking in $1,000 per day. He openly flaunted his role as a trafficker, flashing money in Instagram posts, having “#1 Pimp” tattooed on his stomach, and using the trafficking proceeds to fund a Chicago-area rap group that posted music videos on websites such as YouTube," the office said.

Another family bids Illinois a fond farewell

Illinois is losing more and more taxpaying citizens as the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly and the cooperating Democrat Governor JB Pritzker rack up higher and higher taxes, along with more and more restraints on personal freedoms. This faithful Illinois Review reader is the latest to bid Illinois farewell.

From the piece: "Staying in Illinois would mean paying more, receiving less, while giving up our liberty, constitutional rights, and quality of life. It would mean continued, unabated confiscation of what we have worked so hard to achieve..." 

By Jeffrey Crane - 

Emancipated, at last!

As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye to my friends and colleagues and wish all of you well. We will miss you all!

I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of it. After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. BUT enough is enough! I have called Illinois home for essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is honest, competent and cost-effective government. We have chosen to vote with our feet and our wallets since the ballot box encourages more of the same. We, hence, will no longer participate.

Illinois bans immigrant detention centers; prohibits law enforcement from coordinating with ICE

CHICAGO - With the notice that President Trump was authorizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) units in major cities like Chicago to enforce judges' rulings rejecting certain families' asylum requests, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law three bills protecting those living in Illinois without legal papers.

Last Friday, the governor signed the measures in an effort "to protect Illinois' immigrant community amid growing attacks from the federal government,"  Pritzker's office said in a press statement. While signing the bill, Pritzker blasted the president's actions.

Thorner: High drama anticipating U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 Census ruling

By Nancy Thorner - 

John and Andy Schlafly, following in the footsteps of their late mother Phyllis Schlafly who wrote weekly commentaries spanning over a period of many years, wrote the following as their commentary of April 23, 2019, High Noon for Citizenship at High Court:  

“It was high drama on Tuesday [April 23, 2019] at the Supreme Court as the Justices heard what many consider to be the most important case of the Term.  At issue is whether the upcoming 2020 census will be allowed to include the following question: 'Is this person a citizen of the United States?'"

Trump's Buy-American policies strengthened with Bost amendment

WASHINGTON DC — Last week, the US House of Representatives approved an amendment offered by Illinois' 12th CD U.S. Rep. Mike Bost that supports President Trump’s executive order to strengthen “Buy-American” preferences for infrastructure projects.

Bost’s amendment, approved by a bipartisan 373-51 margin, gives American companies a better chance of being selected for contracts and funding by federal agencies. The amendment must still be accepted by the U.S. Senate and signed by Trump before it becomes federal law.

Barnett: Thanks To Republicans, The Free Internet Is Flourishing

One year ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed the Restoring Internet Freedom (RIF) rule, and the internet is flourishing. The rule supplanted an Obama-era rule that regulated the internet like a utility monopoly instead of an information service platform.

Shockingly, the internet has not disappeared, as some “netizens” claimed it would under the new rule.

Consumer access has not suffered one iota, either. Indeed, in 2018, broadband speeds increased by almost 40 percent. Prices for wireless telephone services have continued to fall, and prices for internet services have not increased. Fifth Generation (5G) broadband services, which will accommodate increased video streaming and augmented and virtual reality, are becoming readily available.

More HERE

Of Course a Memorial Cross Doesn’t Establish Religion

A cross memorial does not establish a state religion. The Supreme Court ruled this week that a large cross—a WWI memorial—located at the junction of three roads in Bladensburg, Md., does not violate the Constitution’s establishment clause and therefore does not have to be removed. Ilya Shapiro comments on the Court’s decision in American Legion v. American Humanist Association:

Coming to IL? CA Lawmakers Trying to Force Pastors to Embrace LGBT Ideology.

California Assemblyman Evan Low and three dozen other lawmakers are pushing a resolution in the state Assembly Judiciary Committee that's aimed at telling religious leaders in California what they should preach from their pulpits.