Illinois Review

Illinois voters will decide in November whether unions will trump state law

The National Review focused last week on the first thing Illinois voters will see when they go to the polls in November 2022: a proposed change to the Illinois State Constitution called Amendment 1. If passed, the state constitution would set union members and their demands above state law.

Here's a brief explanation of what the change will do, as the National Review explains...

An innocuous-sounding referendum on Illinois’s November ballot, Amendment 1, would place four labor provisions into the Illinois constitution: a “fundamental right” to organize and bargain; the right to bargain over wages, hours, working conditions, economic welfare, and safety at work; a prohibition against lawmakers ever interfering with, negating, or diminishing those rights; and a prohibition of right-to-work laws.

Under Amendment 1, lawmakers would not be able to restrict what unions can negotiate or limit when they can go on strike. They would be unable to repeal a little-known Illinois provision that allows many union contracts to override conflicting state and local laws and regulations. Unions would be able to rewrite law through their contracts, leaving residents with no recourse and no way to hold anyone accountable.

More HERE.

Former City Colleges of Chicago vice chancellor sentenced to 5.5 years in federal prison

CHICAGO — A former vice chancellor for City Colleges of Chicago has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for devising and engaging in a procurement fraud scheme.

SHAROD GORDON was employed by City Colleges of Chicago in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as the Vice Chancellor of Legislative and Community Affairs.  From 2013 to 2017, Gordon obtained kickbacks from vendor-companies in exchange for steering them City Colleges contracts for community canvassing and flyer distribution services.  Some of the companies were formed by Gordon’s City Colleges colleagues and other friends for the sole purpose of applying for the contracts.  In some instances, the work was never performed – even though the companies submitted invoices that caused City Colleges to pay out nearly $350,000.  Upon receipt of the payments, Gordon directed representatives of the companies to give him a portion of the money.

Gordon, 47, of Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., on Wednesday imposed a 66-month prison sentence.

Di Leo: A Desperate Regime's Hollow Claims at the Gas Pump

By John F. Di Leo -

The Whitewash House is claiming credit for “gas prices going down 44 days in a row.”

Amazingly, the Biden-Harris regime is trying to get away with claiming that it deserves political points for fuel pump price drops this midsummer, in the desperate hope that it will blunt some of the election backlash the Democratic Party rightly deserves this fall.

Their claim is unjust for a host of reasons.

Nationally averaged gas prices always drop a bit in June and July. This happens because gas prices always spike nationally in May, because of the costly annual EPA-mandated switch to the summer blends in our overregulated big cities. The slight drops we have seen in recent weeks are therefore just a matter of the marketplace completing its annual adjustments after that costly artificial changeover. Your pump price remains more than double what you were paying when President Trump was in office.

More, here:

Billionaire-funded eco group quietly taking farmland out of production in rural America

The American Prairie (AP), a conservation project in Montana, has quietly scooped up more than 450,000 acres of land with the help of its billionaire donors and the federal government.

The little-known project aims to create the largest "fully functioning ecosystem" in the continental U.S. by stitching together about 3.2 million acres of private and public lands, according to the American Prairie Foundation, which founded the reserve more than 20 years ago. The group has recorded 34 transactions spanning roughly 453,188 acres of land throughout central Montana — much of which were once used for farming and grazing — since 2004 and continues to aggressively expand.

More HERE

Illinois Health Care System To Pay Over $10 Million To Workers Who Sued Over Vaccine Mandate

Lawyers for 500 health care workers who sued a hospital system over a COVID vaccine mandate said Friday that the workers had settled for over $10 million. 

The workers, who alleged discrimination, had been denied religious exemptions from the NorthShore University Health Care System vaccine mandate.

“As a result of the settlement, NorthShore will pay $10,337,500 to compensate these health care employees who were victims of religious discrimination, and who were punished for their religious beliefs against taking an injection associated with aborted fetal cells,” Liberty Counsel, which represented the former and current workers, announced.

According to Liberty Counsel, the Illinois-based hospital system will also change its policy regarding religious exemptions and “provide religious accommodations in every position across its numerous facilities.”

More HERE

The SPLC Backs Woke History at James Madison’s Montpelier

According to a new rubric at James Madison's home, American history should be approached in a “spirit of restorative justice.” Brenda Hafera writes:

Virginia is for history lovers. George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and James Madison’s Montpelier—a triad of epicenters of our nation’s past—are all within driving distance.

Those who own and operate these historic houses have a significant say over how the American Founding is taught. Unfortunately, as described in a new Heritage Foundation report, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s work has been influential at James Madison’s Montpelier. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)

What if They Gave a War and Everybody Was Woke?

The military’s embrace of faddish politics may make activists happy, but it’s driving away recruits. Jimmy Byrn writes:

Is the U.S. prepared for battle? By one measure, military recruitment, the answer appears to be no. Nearly every branch has struggled to meet its recruitment goals for 2022, with some falling as short as 40%. Worse yet, only about a quarter of America’s youth meet current eligibility standards—and recent surveys show only 9% are even interested.

Cleveland Guardians Struggle to Attract Fans, Ratings After Name Change

Ratings and attendance have collapsed for the Cleveland Indians since they changed their name to the Guardians. That’s despite the team only being one game out of first place. Get woke, go broke wins again.

More HERE

Electric Bus Burst Into Flames, One Day After Connecticut Gov. Requires Future State Vehicles to Run On Electric Power

On the morning of July 23, during the heatwave that swept the East Coast, a new electrically powered public transportation bus caught on fire as it sat in the bus parking lot, according to fire officials.

The Hamden Fire Department was dispatched to the CT Transit bus depot in order to extinguish the fire that had spread throughout the electric bus.

“Lithium-ion battery fires are difficult to extinguish due to the thermal chemical process that produces great heat and continually reignites,” the fire officials said in a statement.

The incident came one day after Governor Ned Lamont (CT-D) announced a new State Law that requires Connecticut to transfer all State vehicles to electrical power.

For the full story at the Gateway Pundit, click here.

With More Green Energy, Plan For A Dark Future And Sheltering In Place

Stopping global warming involves having no electricity unless the weather cooperates, except for politically connected elites and important buildings in major cities with huge diesel, gasoline, and natural gas powered generators. It requires common people to give up private vehicles and flying. Plus, maybe scientists will get to dimming the sun, which may make winters colder at a time when there will be only limited, weather-dependent electricity to heat homes. Throw on another sweater, or some wood on the fire (until they ban that, too).

More HERE

How Did Democrats Become So Out of Touch With the American People?

The president of the United States, equal parts senescent and feckless, garners record-shattering low approval ratings seemingly each week. This week, a new Quinnipiac University survey found that a paltry 31% of Americans approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job. Among political independents, that number is, somehow, considerably lower: 23% approval, compared with 67% disapproval. Overall, nearly three-quarters of Americans hope that Biden does not seek a second term in office.

It is not difficult to figure out why. The republic is not in good shape. Unforced foreign policy blunders, such as the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, embarrass America on the world stage. Our homeland territorial integrity has never been more undermined, as a wide-open southern border permits an unprecedented flow of smugglers, traffickers and other miscreants. Homicide and other violent crime, which skyrocketed in the 2020 “summer of love” riots, continue to spike; the New York City subway is unsafe, and Chicago is a veritable war zone. Mobocracy runs amok; a sitting Supreme Court justice just faced a near-assassination attempt. Inflation, now over 9% and smacking those lower on the economic ladder, is at a four-decade high; the national average for gasoline is well over $4 per gallon.

Yet, amidst these remarkable challenges confronting the American people, the Biden administration and Democratic Party elites would rather focus on the overarching imperatives of climate change hysteria, abortion up until birth and a faraway war in Eastern Europe that has become utterly disconnected from the American national interest. This raises the obvious, but nonetheless crucial, question: How, exactly, did modern Democrats become this out of touch with the American people?

More HERE

Making Sense of Woke Business

Wokeness will not protect business for long because progressives are hostile to business. This arranged marriage will not produce lasting bliss for corporate America.

Major League Baseball’s moving the 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia’s new voting law symbolizes businesses’ new willingness to take sides on political issues, typically the progressive side.  Businesses previously avoided offending potential customers or employees.  Selling to both Republicans and Democrats maximizes profit!

Vivek Ramaswamy explores the causes and consequences of “woke” business in Woke Inc: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.  The book offers numerous valuable insights and creative analyses.  Mr. Ramaswamy is the child of immigrants from India who grew up in Ohio.  He attended Harvard for undergrad and Yale Law School and worked in pharmaceuticals including as CEO of Roivant Sciences before stepping down in 2021.

More HERE

Congrats, Illinois taxpayers, you're funding a $17.5 M Downstate resort renovation!

Perhaps the definition of a "pork barrel project" - one paid for with tax dollars taken from hard-working Illinois taxpayers that will never have the time or money to visit a resort renovation they were forced to pay for... From Governor Pritzker's office: 

Governor Pritzker Announces $17.5 Million in Funding to Renovate Rend Lake Resort in Southern Illinois

Renovations to the Rend Lake Resort conference center, restaurant, cabins, pool, and boatel will begin this summer

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — Governor JB Pritzker announced today a long-awaited renovation of the popular Rend Lake Resort in Southern Illinois will get underway in 2023 with an investment of more than $17.5 million. The funding will be used to renovate the conference center, restaurant, cabins, pool, and boatel, which collectively will enable the resort to host lodging guests, conferences, and other visitors and events.

 

“Rend Lake has been around for 50 years—and for that half-a-century, it has been a shining example of the rich history, the human ingenuity, and the values of sustainability that make Illinois special,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, I am proud to announce that we will be investing more than $17 million to renovate Rend Lake Resort—restoring the site to its former glory. With this funding, we are strengthening our tourism industry, our economy, our recreational offerings, and our holistic and social wellbeing all in one.”

Where’s Weyermuller? At CPAC Dallas This Week with President Trump

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Today, I’m heading to Dallas Texas for the Conservative Political Action Conference on August  4-7, 2022.  The event is commonly called CPAC.  It will be held at Hilton Anatole Hotel. (UPDATE: Mark let us know he landed safely!) 

The event is considered the largest gathering of conservatives in the world. Last February, another CPAC gathering was held in Orlando, Florida. Here is the full agenda for Texas  HERE

Thorner: Trump supporter Steve Bannon faces contempt charges. Why didn't Obama's Holder?

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

Although Steve Bannon's conviction happened several weeks ago it is still an important story, as it illustrates a justice system that grants favorable outcomes to Democrats, in contrast to how Republicans are judged for similar transgressions.

 

As reported on July 7, 2022:  "Steve Bannon Convicted of Contempt, Faces Up To 2 Years in Jail."

 

A Washington, D.C., jury - after about 3 hours of deliberation - convicted Steve Bannon, a Trump supporter, of two charges of contempt of Congress stemming from his ignoring of a subpoena from the Congressional [Democrat] Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

 

Fast and Furious

 

In an article dated 12/30/13 in The New American:  Obama's FBI may be responsible for the murder of Special Agent Brian Terry.  In the recent twist involving the Obama administration's deadly "Fast and Furious" gun-running scheme to Mexico ... After learning that the murder weapons were from Fast and Furious — and that disgraced Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Dept was engaged in an attempted cover-up — brave federal agents blew the whistle.

 

Obama's AG Eric Holder in Contempt of Congress

 

As reported in The Guardian 6-28-13:  After historic vote, the first Attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress as 17 Democrats joined Republicans passing a resolution on Attorney Eric Holder ... yet nothing came of it ... although on 7/3/2012 Holder ignored Congressional subpoena.

Inflation Reduction Act—or Radical Green New Deal?

Radical Green New Deal misleadingly named the Inflation Reduction Act is headed for budget reconciliation vote.

 

Make no mistake, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act unveiled Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will do nothing that its supporters state—in fact, it will do quite the opposite.

If passed, the act will increase the prices that Americans pay for energy, make the United States less energy secure, and do absolutely nothing for the environment. Perhaps more insidious, it will hurt Americans who live in coal-rich states, like Manchin’s West Virginia, the most.

More HERE

Shapiro: The Chinese Know We’re in Cold War II. It’s Time for Us to Understand the Same.

By Ben Shapiro - 

The United States must realize it is already in a Cold War II with the Chinese government. This means ramping up our own domestic economic capacity — unleashing the economy through deregulation, energy production and tax reduction; refunding the military at the levels necessary to sustain a two-front war, and rebuilding the navy, which has shrunk to ship numbers lower than the United States had preceding World War II; diversifying supply chains for goods and services necessary to the United States, reshoring those supply chains away from China; and cutting off China’s access to cutting-edge technologies.

More HERE

Kinzinger slams McCarthy over Hutchinson comment: ‘I don’t trust a thing’ he says

Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday night following his comments on his contact with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on the day of the Capitol insurrection.

The Illinois Republican, who has been a vocal and frequent critic of former President Trump, told CNN host Anderson Cooper that he does not “trust a thing Kevin McCarthy says.”

 

“I mean, look, I don’t trust a thing Kevin McCarthy says, I’ll be honest with you,” said Kinzinger, according to CNN footage on Mediaite.

More HERE

Gov. DeSantis Declares War on Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing Scam

On July 27, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lobbed a broadside attack on the latest woke investment scheme that has become all the rage among Wall Street elites and C-Suite executives: environmental, social, and governance investing.

Specifically, DeSantis announced that he will seek to enact “legislative proposals and administrative actions to protect Floridians from the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) movement which threatens the vitality of the American economy and Americans’ economic freedom by targeting disfavored individuals and industries to advance a woke ideological agenda.”

According to DeSantis, “The leveraging of corporate power to impose an ideological agenda on society represents an alarming trend.”

More HERE

Pritzker issues Monkeypox public health emergency declaration

CHICAGO—Governor Pritzker issued a proclamation Monday declaring the monkeypox virus a public health emergency and declaring the state of Illinois a disaster area regarding the disease. The declaration, which applies to the entire state, will allow the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to utilize resources for coordinating logistics across state agencies, quickly and efficiently aid in the distribution of vaccines and in the prevention and treatment of the disease. The proclamation will also assist state agencies in coordinating response with the federal government.

“MPV is a rare, but potentially serious disease that requires the full mobilization of all available public health resources to prevent the spread,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “That’s why I am declaring a state of emergency to ensure smooth coordination between state agencies and all levels of government, thereby increasing our ability to prevent and treat the disease quickly. We have seen this virus disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community in its initial spread. Here in Illinois we will ensure our LGBTQ+ community has the resources they need to stay safe while ensuring members are not stigmatized as they access critical health care.”

Men who have sex with men are at the highest risk of infection right now from monkeypox, according to the WHO. About 99% of cases are among men, and at least 95% of those patients are men who have sex with other men, according to WHO official Rosamund Lewis.

Declaring a state of disaster expands the resources and coordination efforts of state agencies in responding to, treating, and preventing the spread of monkeypox. Proclaiming a state of disaster will allow IDPH to expand vaccine and testing capacities with the help of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and via state and federal recovery and assistance funds.

This proclamation will aid in facilitating the complicated logistics and transportation of vaccines across the state to reach the most impacted communities efficiently, the governor's office says.