Illinois Review

Fighting Crime or Raising Revenue: Testing Opposing Views of Forfeiture

Civil forfeiture turns police into bandits with a badge. Police respond to tight budgets by seizing more assets, finds a new study by Brian Kelly:

The fact that law enforcement agencies can often spend forfeiture proceeds—and, indeed, in the case of equitable sharing proceeds, must use them as a budget supplement—has led to charges that agencies undertake forfeiture more to realize revenue than to disrupt or deter crime. Considerable anecdotal evidence, as well as some scholarly evidence, suggests there is at least some truth to these charges, and my results provide additional support. Using data for the period 2004 through 2014, I find a statistically significant link between increases in fiscal stress, as measured by local unemployment, and increases in equitable sharing activity, suggesting police do make greater recourse to forfeiture when local budgets are tight. [...]

Great Lakes Reveal a Fatal Flaw in Climate Change ‘Science’

The evidence is wherever they look. John Merline writes:

[J]ust a few years ago, climate scientists were insisting that a warming climate would cause water levels to decline. [...] 

Since the Great Lakes account for 21% of the world’s surface fresh water, these stories were all wrapped in doom-and-gloom scenarios about the impact on drinking water, shipping, recreation, and so on.

The very next year, however, water levels started rising. 

So what are scientists saying now? Simple. They’re now claiming that the fall and rise of Great Lakes’ water levels are due to climate change.

Is Accepting Information About a Political Opponent From a Foreigner 'an Assault on Our Democracy'?

Can information be a campaign contribution that violates federal law? If you think so, writes Jacob Sullum, then you are interpreting campaign finance laws in a way that makes them unconstitutional:

Some of the president's critics have argued that the Trump Tower meeting violated a federal law that prohibits foreign nationals from contributing "anything of value" to a political campaign. But that interpretation is controversial. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller noted in his report on Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, "No judicial decision has treated the voluntary provision of uncompensated opposition research or similar information as a thing of value that could amount to a contribution under campaign-finance law." Given that uncertainty, it would be hard to make the case that Trump Jr. knowingly violated the law, which is required for a conviction.

Furthermore, if the law were understood to cover situations like this, it would effectively criminalize constitutionally protected speech. Mueller noted that "such an interpretation could have implications beyond the foreign-source ban," such as limits on campaign contributions by Americans, and "raise First Amendment questions."

Trump, in other words, is on solid ground in arguing that such contacts are legal. [...]

Tlaib Proposes A Disastrous Cash Giveaway

Far-left congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has released a plan that would pay lower- and middle-income Americans thousands of dollars every year—in exchange for doing absolutely nothing.

The Washington Post reports, “Tlaib’s bill would give direct cash help to those at the bottom of the income distribution — annually offering $3,000 to individuals and $6,000 to families — in an attempt to reduce poverty in the United States and bolster the wages of the poor.”

In an interview with a Fox affiliate in Detroit, Tlaib called her plan “earned income tax credits on steroids.”

“This is basically a broader umbrella for families that make $50,000 or less if you are single, or $100,000 or less if you are a family,” Tlaib added.

More HERE

Will County Board rejects proclamation supporting county's unborn babies

WILL COUNTY - A resolution offering protection for babies developing in their mothers' wombs was rejected by Will County Board's Democrat majority Thursday night.

The proclamation, written by Will County Board member Steve Balich with the help of colleague Judy Ocala and Illinois Family Institute's David E. Smith, was the first denied by board leadership in the past six years, Balich said.  

"After the meeting, several members of the Democrat (Socialist) Caucus yelled at Republicans in one on one conversations for taking a position against EXECUTION on live babies after they are born," Balich wrote in his Will County News report.

The wording of the proclamation is as follows:

Do You Understand the First Amendment?

Do you understand the First Amendment and why it exists? What is the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the freedom of the press? Will Witt explains the liberties protected under the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.

Chicago bike advocates celebrate new annual $50M taxpayer-funded windfall

CHICAGO - Chicago bicyclists are celebrating the super duper prize they grabbed in the state's new capital program - $50 Million annually to spend on walking and bicycling projects. $50 Million per year to spend as they see fit into perpetuity.

That means $50 Million less on road repairs, bridge reconstruction, sewer repairs, and all those projects Illinois lawmakers apparently believe are less-important throughout the state.

Unbelievable?  Here's the press release the Active Transportation Alliance distributed prior to their celebration at Daley Plaza Friday:

Conflict on Fetal Rights Lies at the Heart of America’s Abortion Debate

More HERE

Rossi - The Case for Trump: “Sometimes You Need a Dirty Harry”

By Randy Rossi - 

It was amazing to watch the incredibly high energy at President Trump’s Orlando campaign rally when he officially announced his candidacy for president in the next election. Compare that enthusiasm for President Trump with the incredible lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden and many other Democrat candidates in their campaign rallies. Personally, I think that Trump enthusiasm comes from the fact that many Americans understand that America is at critical point in history which will determine if our great nation continues to climb or begins to fall.

I think Bill Bennett, President Reagan’s Secretary of Education, best explained this enthusiasm for Trump when he was asked what he thought of President Trump and he said; “Sometimes you need a Mother Theresa and sometimes you need a Dirty Harry”. Those enthusiastic Trump supporters at Orlando understand  that America needs “A Dirty Harry” right now who is not afraid to speak the harsh truth about how America has been headed in the wrong direction for several years as Democrats aggressively move toward socialism, have allowed China to steal $500 billion a year from America to put us out of business, and illegal immigrants to cost American tax payers $135 billion a year while they take critical medical and education resources away from American citizens and legal immigrants.

The War to Destroy Christianity in America

“Radicals in America today don’t have the political power to execute religious people and destroy their houses of worship,” Horowitz wrote. “Yet they openly declare their desire to obliterate religion. In their own minds, their intentions are noble — they want to save the human race from the social injustice and oppression that religion allegedly inflicts on humanity. ‘Religion must die in order for mankind to live,’ proclaimed left-wing commentator and comedian Bill Maher in Religulous, the most-watched documentary feature of 2008.”

Frank Gaffney, president and chief executive officer of Save the Persecuted Christians coalition, told The New American that the coalition has been making the case since it was formed in January 2018 that the persecution of Christians in other parts of the world is a “precursor to what can happen closer to home if we’re not careful, and if we don’t do a better job than we have to date in trying to stop” persecution around the world.

More HERE

Denver council member wins with promise to impose communism ‘by any means necessary’

Candi CdeBaca won a runoff race last week against former Denver city council president Albus Brooks, and she did it by promising to implement communist policies “by any means necessary.”

CdeBaca was among three candidates that unseated incumbents in the Tuesday runoff, preliminary results show, and she’s already drawing comparisons to Socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old who unseated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in New York’s 14^th congressional district in 2018.

More HERE

Climate Science Poll Made of Opinion, not Data

A new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says by 2100 melting ice sheets will create up to 7.5 feet of sea-level rise (SLR), inundating many coastal communities.

The alarming prognosis is being touted by the media as further proof of catastrophic climate change. For example, a story on NBC’s website states, “A provocative new study suggests that as Earth’s climate continues to warm and the planet’s ice sheets continue to melt, seas could inundate coastal cities around the world, submerging vast swaths of land and displacing almost 200 million people by the end of the century.”

Gosh, that really does sound dire! However, a close look at the study shows it’s not based on any science at all, but rather a poll of scientists’ opinion. Yes, it’s an opinion piece, and a collective one, too. It’s not based on scientific data.

More HERE

Trump’s Expansion of Health Reimbursement Accounts Improves Health Care Choices

More health care choices. Robert Moffit writes:

The Trump administration unveiled this week a final rule that will dramatically improve workers’ ability to access health insurance of their choice.

The new rule will significantly expand the permitted uses of tax-advantaged health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs.

Today, these special employer-based accounts, in which funds can be rolled over year to year, are used by employees to cover medical expenses, including out-of-pocket costs and services uncovered by traditional insurance.

But with this rule, for the first time in the history of these tax-free accounts, the administration would allow employees to use them to pay premiums for individual health insurance. [...]

FBI raids yet another Chicago alderman's office

CHICAGO - Wednesday, the FBI raided Chicago 34th Ward Alderman Carrie Austin's office while the alderman was with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at the Percy Jillian High School. 

The raid took place at Austin's 34th Ward office on West 111th Street. Austin is the second-longest serving alderman on the City Council behind 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, whose offices were raided last year. Burke is  facing an array of political corruption charges himself.

Thorner: Extremism leads Democrats' Path to Communism

By Nancy Thorner - 

It is possible to have Socialism without Communism, but it’s a fine line with the latter denoting totalitarianism. Confusion exists because there are socialistic societies that aren’t tyrannies, such as in Scandinavia. An example of pure Socialism was the kibbutzism, as were the commune hippies created in the  60's. Neither lasted because they go against human nature. The only way for the system to last is to morph into Communism, wherein the dictators can force Socialism down the throats of the people.

President Trump's Campaign Travel Since 2017

Rossi: Shameful-600 American Companies Put Profits Ahead of America

By Randy Rossi - 

China has a strategic plan to essentially put America out of business and destroy your kid’s futures by using massive cheating and stealing and it is working. Are you OK with that? Well apparently 600 major American companies are totally OK with that as they have signed a letter they sent to President Trump that says his tariffs on China to stop their massive cheating and stealing would hurt US families, jobs, and the US economy. Their goal is to get President Trump to stop his tariffs which are designed to protect America so that they can make more profits.

Comrade Bernie’s American Socialist Nightmare

If you were thinking Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., might back away from his pledge to transform America into a socialist paradise now that he’s running for president, think again. Comrade Bernie’s proud to be what he calls a “democratic socialist” and he wants everyone to know it. 

Last week, Sanders – one of the leading contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – delivered a speech featuring so much socialist propaganda that it would have probably drawn a standing ovation and tears of joy from Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stain if those comrades were still with us.

Sanders spent much of his speech ranting about what he contends is an “oligarchy” of wealthy individuals and businesses that supposedly controls every aspect of American society. He could have called it “a vast right-wing conspiracy” if Hillary Clinton hadn’t already made the phrase her own.

More HERE

Green New Deal Is a Grave Threat

The tremendously expensive proposal would devastate the U.S. economy and cause more environmental destruction than protection.

The “Green New Deal” (GND) resolution proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) proports to be a radical plan required to avert a future climate change catastrophe. Its proponents also claim it would improve the environment and bolster the economy. However, the truth is the GND is a dangerous combination of environmental extremism and socialism. The tremendously expensive proposal would devastate the U.S. economy and cause more environmental destruction than protection.

Despite extensive coverage, the left-leaning media has refused to conduct a rigorous examination of the Green New Deal’s planks, and it has largely chosen to ignore many of the GND’s unrealistic provisions and promises. Even a cursory look at the proposal shows it would be impossible to fully carry out in 10 years and that it would be economically, socially, and politically detrimental, almost beyond imagination.

More HERE

When It Comes to Government, Bigger Is Not Better

After more than two centuries of (somewhat) limited government in the United States, is the tide turning against individual freedom and state sovereignty in favor of an empowered collective and unfettered federal power?

According to recent polls, a large number of Americans (especially Millennials) prefer the latter. Millions of Americans say they support Medicare for All, the “Green New Deal,” and other programs that would vastly increase the size and scope of the federal government. If you think this is hyperbole, you might want to consider how a self-avowed democratic socialist almost became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and is now a frontrunner for the same position in 2020.

Although it is too early to tell if Americans will choose more liberty or more government in the decades to come, this author is optimistic those calling for more liberty will prevail. However, by no means is the gift of liberty guaranteed to future generations.

More HERE