Illinois Review

He witnessed the genesis of the exodus. Now he's joining it. Byrne exits Illinois.

By Dennis Byrne - 

So long, Illinois. Goodbye, Chicago.

Here, I was born and raised. Schooled and worked. Practically my entire life has unfolded in Chicago and close by.

As a kid, I rode on Chicago street cars and the wooden "L" cars before there was a CTA. Took the old North Shore Line to high school and college. Flew out of Midway Airport when it was the nation’s busiest and before there was an O’Hare. Caddied in Northfield and labored over a North Avenue knitting mill’s steam table. I’ve worked for three Chicago daily newspapers. I love Chicago. Chicago is my town.

But I’ve had enough. Fed up. I’m gone.

There are as many reasons for leaving as there are people fleeing, the weather not being the least of them. But little is to be done about Chicago’s weather. Unlike how the city and state have been ravaged. By the greedy, incompetent and power-hungry. By the boodlers, gonifs and crooks who fancy themselves as the feudal lords and we their vassals. By public employee unions that have turned the idea of “public service” into a joke on the taxpayers, who, in fact, have become the public servants. By voters whose party loyalties, ideologies and self-serving have made Chicago not just a national laughingstock, but a dangerous place.

More HERE

Rossi: 56% Increase In Young People's Suicide Rates

By Randy Rossi - 

What a tragedy. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) just released a new study that reports that suicide rates for young Americans (10-24) are up 56% in the last decade. Why isn’t that front page news? More young people now die from suicide than by homicides.

What is causing this disaster? The decline of the family and the destruction of the traditional moral values which have been the foundation of a happy life for thousands of years are the cause of this disaster. The single biggest disaster is the decline of the family. In 1960, only 5% of American kids were raised without their father. Today, 41% are. My criminology professor told our class  49 years ago that 70% of kids raised without their fathers lived a life of crime or poverty. That is a disaster. According to a WSJ Op-ed today “Political Correctness Is Bad for Kids” written by a psychoanalyst, only 33% of US liberals “Agree that marriage is needed to create strong families”. No wonder suicides are up for young people. On top of that, studies have shown that 26% of young people are depressed because social media dominates their lives. If they don’t get enough “likes” from their Facebook “tribe”, they are depressed. It used to be that strong families, a belief in God, believing in our traditional American values, watching “Father Knows Best”, physically hanging around with good friends, self-reliance, and actual achievements made us happy and fulfilled our lives. Sadly, in our new politically correct world, all those things are under attack by liberals for being too judgmental in our politically correct culture. Instead, too many of our kids are bombarded every day with immoral trash on social media, TV, games, movies, and music.

Thorner/Boese: Trump's retreat from Syria, a no-win situation

By Nancy Thorner & Al Boese - 

While many pundits and Republican and Democrats legislators have gone hysterical over President Trump’s Syrian pullout, President Trump really had no choice, that is, according to Mark Langfan, a Florida-based attorney, Chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) who specializes in security issues, but to employ his own “Samson Option.” For Trump, faced with a no-win situation, decided to be a modern-day American Samson by knocking over everyone’s toys and theories.

According to Langfan, Trump is cleverly seeing to it that Russia needs Israel to keep Iran at bay or lose Syria to the Iranian octopus. Trump is also sending other messages to the Middle East Arab countries.

Following is Trump's American "Samson Option" as excerpted and adapted from Langfan's original report.

Mark Zuckerberg Leans on Free Speech While Defending Facebook’s Ad Policies

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Thursday against critics who believe his company’s new advertisement policies will allow politicians to lie and misinform voters ahead of the election.

Zuckerberg defended the new ad policy, which largely exempts politicians from Facebook’s fact-checkers, during an interview with The Washington Post, telling reporters that Americans probably don’t want a company being the arbiter of what is fact and what is lie.

“People worry, and I worry deeply, too, about an erosion of truth,” he said ahead of a speech at Georgetown University. “I don’t think people want to live in a world where you can only say things that tech companies decide are 100% true.”

More HERE

Wind Industry Soon Poised for Decline

A new report says impending government decisions could soon result in a sharp decline in expansion of wind power.

The news comes as the industry is expected to experience record growth in 2019 and 2020 and seven states are about to double their wind capacity in the near term,

Tariffs Could Block Wind

A report by the energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie predicts wind capacity in the United States will experience its largest growth ever in 2019 and 2020, with installed capacity predicted to expand to 121 gigawatts (gw) from 97 gw.

Despite such already planned increases, the industry’s long-term growth prospects are cloudy, says Wood Mackenzie’s report.

Socialism, Not Climate Change, Is the Real Threat

The threat of socialism is far greater than climate change. Emma Roberts writes:

The hysteria over climate change has gone so far that many students my age are striking — skipping school every Friday to protest global warming. And they’re demanding that Washington, D.C., fix it.

Washington has many, many things that it needs to fix, and many responsibilities and duties to uphold. Global warming, however, is not one of them. Studies show that if the U.S. fully implemented the Green New Deal, the temperature of Earth would decrease by no more than 0.097 degrees Fahrenheit over a span of 30 years.

But the price of electricity would increase by almost 10 times its current amount. The price of gasoline would increase astronomically, so that drivers would have no choice but to drive Priuses and Teslas.

CA Approves Broadest Gun Seizure Laws in U.S. Is Illinois Next?

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved some of the strictest gun laws and gun seizure powers in the U.S. Friday, signing into law 15 different pieces of gun legislation.

Newsom has reinforced a “red flag” law that enables educators, employers and co-workers to inform on gun owners and request that a restraining order be placed on them — if they are believed to be a danger to themselves or society, according to the Associated Press.

The bill was deemed to be too extreme even for Newsom’s predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, who was also an enthusiastic advocate of gun control. Brown vetoed the legislation twice.

More HERE

Making Headlines for the Gospel in Chicago

On Wednesday, September 18, Mauck & Baker hosted a press conference in Millennium Park to announce its lawsuit against the City of Chicago on behalf of four Wheaton College students (and inevitably all Americans) who want the freedom to exercise their First Amendment rights in a traditional public forum.

"The City of Chicago has decided to make up out of thin air a bunch of rules dividing Millennium Park into eleven 'rooms.' These 'rooms' are then off limits, except one out of the eleven, are people allowed to give speeches and hand out literature," attorney John Mauck explained. "It's an attempt to say this is an indoor building where you can't come and talk freely because now we've called them 'rooms.' But that doesn't make sense. It's open air, it's an open park, and that's what we'll be arguing."

Progressivism is an Imposter

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” This became an often-repeated popular line after its use in the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke. A 1950s Florida prison warden (played by actor Strother Martin) says those words after an insolent remark by one of the prisoners (played by Paul Newman) results in the warden lashing that prisoner with a whip.

In the film, the message the warden is clearly trying to get other prisoners working on a chain gang to understand is that if you do not do as you are told or if you talk back to those with physical power over you, there will be consequences. Words, in other words, do matter, and you better make sure you understand what they are saying.

But being sure what meaning or message that words convey is not always unambiguous. This becomes a problem in any exchange of ideas when what you think the other person means by the words they are using is not what they have in mind. And sometimes the ambiguity surrounding the use of a word might even be intentional.

More HERE

San Francisco’s False Solution

The San Francisco homeless problem can't be simply solved with more money. Erica Sandberg writes.

If Benioff wants to be a hero, it is within his substantial means to achieve something that few others can afford—and which San Franciscans at large would embrace. He could assemble like-minded billionaires, tech giants, and other successful businesses, encourage their buy-in, and create a private organization dedicated to direct homeless services. They might open accessible and enticing substance-abuse and psychological-counseling centers that offer skills training, jobs, and even residences, such as those created in Colorado. The group could work with police, residents, and merchants instead of against them.

The Electoral College Matters

Under the Electoral College system, presidential elections are decentralized, taking place in the states.

Critics of the Electoral College say they simply want to elect the president the way we elect most other officials.

Every state governor is chosen by a statewide popular vote. Why not a national popular vote for president?

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 asked themselves the same question, and they rejected a national popular vote along with several other possible modes of presidential election.

The plan they adopted is found in Article II, Section 1: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”

So, what are the beneficial effects of choosing our presidents through the Electoral College?

More HERE

Illinois Baptist State Association Joins Two Lawsuits

The Illinois Baptist State Association will join two lawsuits involving religious liberty issues for the purpose of protecting Southern Baptist churches in the state. The IBSA Board of Directors voted to participate in the litigation in its fall meeting Sept. 10. One case involves zoning regulations that prohibit churches and church plants from being located in certain areas of a city. The other contests requirements that churches and religious institutions cover the cost of abortions for their employees. Both were approved by acclamation.

“Legislation in Illinois continues more and more to be an affront to our religious beliefs,” Executive Director Nate Adams told the Board prior to their vote. “These are just two examples. In the years that I’ve been with IBSA, I’ve never before asked you to join litigation.”

In the first, the Board authorized IBSA to engage in litigation in partnership with the Chicago-based law firm of Mauck & Baker that proactively challenges zoning restrictions in Illinois municipalities which do not currently allow religious institutions such as churches or church plants in certain zones of their cities. The restrictions are in violation of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA).

D211 Parents group calls "All Hands on Deck" before crucial Thurs nite school board meeting

PALATINE IL - Boys, girls, those questioning their gender and those identifying themselves as genders different than their biological sexes will likely be sharing locker and rest rooms after District 211's board meeting scheduled for Thursday night.

D211 Parents for Privacy - who has been resisting the effort for four years - is calling for an "All Hands On Deck" response to Thursday night's meeting.

No-Fly for Life: Illinois Rep. Proposes Radical Travel Ban

By Tony Perkins - 

Apparently, it's not enough that Illinois passed one of the most shocking abortion laws in America. Now, they want to punish states who don't.

State Representative Daniel Didech says it's not a "boycott," per se, but his bill outlawing travel to pro-life states could have fooled us. The idea behind his H.B. 3901 is to put the hurt on places like Alabama, Georgia, and other states where leaders listened to voters and took great strides to protect the unborn. Now, in retribution, Didech thinks Illinois employees should either be outlawed from going to those states on business -- or forced to pay for it out of their own pockets.

Thorner/Lehr: Debunking Popular Climate Myths about CO2

By Nancy Thorner & Jay Lehr - 

If you believe the debate over global warming has ever been about science, or for that matter climate, you have been conditioned, through formal education or through reports warning of doom and gloom, to believe what others rightly describe as a world-wide hoax concocted to unite the world under a single socialistic government where there is no capitalism, no democracy, and no freedom.

Why is exposing the truth so important? Because it has everything to do with the redistribution of wealth and the establishment of political agendas aimed at destroying the foundation of eastern democracies and free markets. Accordingly, it is therefore critical for everyone to become informed so free and open debate can exist, rather than the suppression and falsification of actual scientific climate data.

U.S. Postal Service Must Embrace Reform

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors has reached a quorum for the first time since 2014. Finally, USPS can take much-needed action to stem multi-billion-dollar annual losses, which threatens the very future of USPS mail delivery.

However, the board shouldn’t seek more revenue by forcing USPS to raise rates on its package delivery customers. If done, this could cripple the growing e-commerce sector and probably wouldn’t actually bring in more revenue. In other words, USPS should consider more innovative methods so it can meet the many challenges that lie ahead.

In thinking and writing about postal issues for more than 20 years, I’ve come to conclude that right now the key to postal reform is getting the postal service to focus time, attention, and resources on using its ubiquitous national network for final mile delivery of mail and packages.

In case you aren’t aware, the financial state of USPS is dire. For fiscal year (FY) 2018, USPS operating revenues of $70.8 billion couldn’t cover its $74.7 billion in expenses, so it ran a $3.9 billion deficit. The USPS FY 2019 deficit is on track to reach $8 billion. Since the board’s last quorum, USPS has bled $30 billion. USPS hasn’t broken even since 2006.

More HERE

UPDATE x1: Ives joins Crenshaw in response to Casten's ‘Racist’ attack

UPDATE x1: Dem Sean Casten, who ousted a GOP 6th CD incumbent in the 2018 Blue Wave, smeared a GOP colleague as a "racist" this week - and GOP candidate for the IL-6th CD Jeanne Ives responded to Casten Wednesday.

“As Rep. Crenshaw indicated, when they can’t beat you, they have to brand you,” said Ives. 

"One might also ask," Ives said in a statement, "if Casten believes it is racist to propose illegal immigrants not be allowed to vote, does Casten propose we change the law and allow for non-citizens to vote? It wouldn’t be racist if he supported the existing law on the matter, correct?"

WASHINGTON DC -  Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) fired back on Tuesday after his Democratic colleague, Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) attacked the Texas congressman as a “racist” when he was asked by a constituent to condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) anti-Semitic remarks.

Di Leo: A Free Economy, from Door to Door and from Coast to Coast

By John F. Di Leo - 

When I was growing up in Chicago’s northern suburbs, one of our local heroes was the late, great W. Clement Stone, founder of Combined Insurance. 

I recall being an awestruck college volunteer with the Young Republicans, manning the registration table at a Republican state convention, when Clem Stone came up to chat with us.

His story was the stuff of legend: starting from nothing during the Great Depression, selling insurance door-to-door, and from that humble beginning, he became the multimillionaire founder of one of the great Illinois corporations.

A Vaping Ban Won’t Solve The Problem, It Will Only Make It Worse

Getting rid of vaping will do more harm than good. Julie Gunlock writes:

Traditional smoking—especially among teens--is going down. This is likely in part because kids who want to experiment with smoking are trying vaping instead of traditional, combustible cigarettes. And while many teens do vape, many don’t do it habitually and others vape nicotine-free vape liquid, which means they’re not vulnerable to addiction. Still, everyone wishes kids would abstain entirely from smoking anything, but if teens are going to experiment, it’s better to do so with something that’s less addictive and less harmful.

And vaping is far less harmful. E-cigarettes have been in the marketplace for more than a decade and in that time, the broad consensus is that vaping is much less harmful than traditional cigarette smoking. In 2015, Public Health England declared e-cigarettes to be 95 percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Even former FDA administrator (and harsh critic of vaping) Scott Gottlieb has recognized their efficacy in helping smokers quit, saying his agency “...saw them as a less harmful alternative to cancer-causing tobacco for addicted adult smokers.”

Choice Can Bust Government’s Monopoly

For the past year, South Carolina lawmakers have focused on a major education reform plan. Unfortunately, their plan will likely not include the most significant education reform possible: school choice.

Therefore, it was disappointing to read a recent column in The Post and Courier arguing Palmetto State families do not need school choice after all. Instead, Jamie Cooper, executive director of Communities in Schools of the Charleston Area, argues South Carolinians need another supposed panacea imposed from on high: social-emotional learning (SEL).

Cooper asserts “SEL is a vital and necessary component of education, not just another thing to add to the plate of teachers and administrators but the very plate upon which all other content should be placed.”

Apparently SEL, not arithmetic or reading, is the foundation for all learning. According to Cooper, “SEL instills the competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making within the daily life of the student.” Of course, he offers little evidence to support this audacious claim.

More HERE