Illinois Review

IL Dem Majority Leader Greg Harris to step down for next generation of Democrats

CHICAGO - Saying "it's time," 66 year old State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) announced Monday that the "younger leadership" needs room to exercise their political muscle, so he's not running for re-election in November 2022.

Harris, an openly gay lawmakers, is proud of making Illinois one of the earliest states embracing same sex marriage, he told Crain's. 

"...[A]s the highest-ranking openly gay person ever to have served in state government, he says his proudest accomplishment was serving as chief sponsor of the bill allowing same-sex marriage in the state, an action that came years before the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that nationally," Crain's political reporter Greg Hinz writes Monday. 

What does that mean for the Democrat super-majority in the Illinois House under the leadership of State Rep. Chris Welch, who just took over within the last year?

Thorner: Is the World Overreacting to "Omicron" Variant?

NDTV.com image

By Nancy Thorner - 

On Friday, November 26, 2021, a new B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa and classified as a "variant of concern",dubbed the "omicron" variant.

The variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong.  Experts in South Africa say they don't know if vaccines work against the variant. #eNCA

 

The "omicron" variant – which has a high number of mutations – alarmed health professionals due to its swift spread among young people in South Africa, although there was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease.

Di Leo: Sundae Time with Basement Joe - Maple Walnut Sundae & the Meaning of Thanksgiving

By John F. Di Leo - 

Introduction: Imagine, if you will, an alternate universe in which a confused old man - Joe Buckstop - stumbles into the presidency, and spends his entire term in his basement. Each evening, an aide walks downstairs and serves him his evening snack, and engages him in conversation about current events, in a losing effort to keep the old man's mind somewhat sound. Tonight's episode is an excerpt from the ongoing series, "Evening Soup with Basement Joe," by John F. Di Leo, a fictional chronicle of the events of 2021, a political satire available in paperback or eBook from Amazon.

"Hello Down There, Boss!"

"Huh? Who's that?"

"I'm your cook, old man! Can't you hear me hobbling down the stairs?"

"Oh, right. Do you have soup?"

"No, boss, we have ice cream sundaes now, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Darn. What is it tonight?"

"Well, boss, since it's a big holiday, I figured I'd go with a nice all-American dessert: a maple walnut sundae. Here you go, sir!"

In Case With Global Implications, Finland Puts Christians On Trial For Their Faith

Meet the man who appears to be the first in the post-Soviet Union West to be brought up on criminal charges for publishing long-held Christian beliefs.

Juhana Pohjola wouldn’t be cast to play his own part if Hollywood made a movie about a bishop put on trial for his faith. The Finnish pastor has inherited a place in the church of Martin Luther, but it appears none of Luther’s pugnacity or vitriol.

More HERE

Biden’s Covid Death Milestone

PHOTO: MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES

More Americans have died of the virus in 2021 than in all of 2020.

President Biden may not recall what he said during a 2020 campaign debate last fall, but Americans should: “Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as President of the United States of America.” At the time the U.S. had recorded 220,000 Covid deaths.

Covid deaths this year have now surpassed the toll in 2020 with 350,000 since Inauguration Day. It would seem that Mr. Biden has done no better than Donald Trump in defeating Covid despite the benefit of vaccines, better therapies, and more clinical experience. The left politicized Covid by holding Mr. Trump responsible for a disease that was always going to be hard to defeat.

More HERE

Bishop: Pritzker leading in Facebook spending with ads appearing as news

By Greg Bishop - 

(The Center Square) – It’s not fake news, but social media ads funded by Gov. J.B. Pritzker could still fool some users.

Illinois gubernatorial candidates are expected to use traditional media like TV and radio to get their message out. But, millions have already been spent on social media outlets such as Facebook, mostly by Pritzker.

Since 2018, a Facebook page for “JB Pritzker” has spent more than $3.6 million on ads, $271,000 of which Facebook notes ran without a disclaimer.

Reform For Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan said there is additional spending.

“Social media, in particular, can be a little deceptive in how ads are presented,” Kaplan said. “Some of the Pritzker ads for example are presented as news pieces.”

Unknown unemployment fraud compounded by delinquent report: GOP Senators say

Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, Pool

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Department of Employment Security is nearly a month late in filing a report about the state’s unemployment trust fund, according to the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus.

A spokesperson for IDES didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Republicans said the legislative leaders received a letter from the Illinois Comptroller that IDES failed to submit necessary financial information on the trust fund’s financial activities and is nearly a month delinquent.

“If regular Illinois businesses and families miss financial reporting they are fined and can even face criminal penalties,” said Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods. “The governor is not above the law. The UI Trust Fund is deeply in debt and without this report, we have absolutely no idea how big the problem really is.”

Neither the Illinois Comptroller, the House Speaker or Senate President’s office immediately returned a message seeking comment.

“The people of Illinois deserve answers as to why his agency is refusing to provide basic financial numbers on where Illinois taxpayer and federal dollars are going. What is the governor hiding,” McConchie said in a statement.

One unanswered question is how much fraud has been paid out in total.

More HERE

If You Like Stagflation, You Will Love Build Back Better

On November 18, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the single-largest spending bill in American history: President Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

Now, the only thing standing between Build Back Better becoming the law of the land is the U.S. Senate, but more specifically, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

As of now, both Manchin and Sinema have expressed their misgivings about voting in favor of Build Back Better.

“By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not 'transitory' and is instead getting worse," Manchin recently stated. "From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and DC can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day.”

Manchin, unlike those in the Biden administration bubble, has his finger on the pulse of the American people.

Moreover, Manchin understands that Biden’s Build Back Better boondoggle would increase inflation while simultaneously reducing employment.

More HERE

Happy Thanksgiving from Illinois Review

ON OCTOBER 3, 1863, ABRAHAM LINCOLN PROCLAIMED THANKSGIVING A NATIONAL HOLIDAY

In doing so, he explained,

"In the midst of civil war of unequal magnitude and severity ... peace has been preserved with all nations ... and harmony has prevailed everywhere." He declared that the last Thursday of November shall become a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise."

WE CELEBRATE HIS SPIRIT

AND WISH YOU A SAFE AND MEMORABLE HOLIDAY.

Rep. Adam Niemerg: Far left indoctrination in schools a frightening reality parents must combat

Far left indoctrination in schools a frightening reality parents must combat

By State Rep. Adam Niemerg - 

 The term “Critical Race Theory” continues to make headlines across the nation as parents increasingly are confronting school boards concerned about the kind of curriculum being used in their kids’ schools.

At first, we were told the concerns over critical race theory were overblown. After all, what is wrong with having a frank discussion on race relations throughout our nation’s history? But as parents dug deeper, they realized there was much more to this than merely putting history under a microscope.

When the tactic of minimizing critical race theory did not work, woke activists landed on a new argument – namely that there is no such thing as critical race theory. They point to the fact there is no class in schools called “Critical Race Theory,” and so all of the furor about it must just be a right-wing talking point. Right?

Di Leo: Joe Biden, Strategic Thinker?

By John F. Di Leo - 

Thoughts on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve…

Americans have always been encouraged to be savers.

This isn’t just a recent thing, from the do-it-yourself investment gurus of the late 20^th century. It goes back to our very beginnings as a people: When Benjamin Franklin used various versions of the saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned” in Poor Richard’s Almanac in the mid-18^th century, the concept was already a century old.

One of our first political arguments as a nation under the Constitution was on the question of how best to incorporate and utilize banks; our Founding Fathers knew that if our nation was to succeed, it would need to learn how to save, to invest, to capitalize. 

We also learned – early on – that saving isn’t just about money. Even in Colonial times, you would harvest your crops in the fall, then save them throughout the year to come, until the next harvest.  You preserve pork or fish with salt, so that you can eat for weeks or months without slaughtering animals every day.

Building Babel

Progressive organizations seek to standardize attitudes, language, and thought. Jacob Howland writes:

Another day, another retraction of a scientific paper for violating the code of diversity. On November 1, astronomer John Kormendy withdrew an article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), after a preprint version that he had just posted on the web drew sharp criticism for threatening the conduct of “inclusive” science. Three days later, the preprint version was scrubbed as well (though a PDF can still be found here.) The paper had passed the journal’s three-person peer-review system and was awaiting publication. Kormendy’s forthcoming book on the same topic had also passed peer review and had been printed for distribution. Now distribution of the book has been put on hold, likely permanently.

Blacks Are Leaving Chicago For Greener, And Safer Pastures

After World War II, Chicago’s population boomed thanks in part to the large migration of black Americans from the South to the Windy City. Now they are leaving. Chicago's black population dropped by about 10% from the 2010 to the 2020 census, driven by crime and a lack of economic opportunity in the city that was once a magnet for upwardly mobile Black families.

"A city that once drew tens of thousands of southern Black residents and once held the nation’s second largest Black population seems to have lost its attraction for Black folks, who continue to leave. Chicago’s Black population dropped to 787,551 in 2020, its lowest total since the mid-1950s," reports the Chicago Tribune.

Donald Trump had it right when he used to say to minority residents of inner cities: vote for me, what have you got to lose? So sad. Democrats are destroying our great cities.

More HERE

Illinois school board association ends membership with NSBA over parent-threat letter

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Association of School Boards voted Thursday to end its membership with the National School Boards Association after the national group sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for federal intervention to investigate unruly parents who protest at local meetings.

"The decision follows previous attempts by IASB to initiate changes to the governance structure, transparency, and financial oversight of the national association," a news release from IASB says. "IASB suspended payment of dues to NSBA for 2021-2022 but continued to work to try to bring about needed changes."

To date, 26 state school boards associations have distanced themselves from the national association over the controversial letter. Of them, thirteen discontinued membership or stopped paying dues to it.

Rossi: Shocking Covid Reality Check

By Randy Rossi - 

Every week I check the Covid death rates of Sweden and Michigan. Why? Because they both have a population of 10 million people and they have done the exact opposite of each other on how they react to Covid. The results are absolutely shocking and this should be front page news across the planet. First, let me share the key issues between Sweden and Michigan:

Supply Chain Problems Expected to Continue Through Christmas

Government policies are causing jobs to go unfilled. Containers await trucks, drivers.

Supply chain disruptions are easing, but shipping executives are still projecting long-lasting logjams at the nation’s ports.

The supply chain was disrupted initially when workers were sent home in large numbers as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers have been slow to return to the docks and plants.

The supply chain traffic jam continues to be felt, with dozens of ships packed with consumer goods still stuck at the ports.

Major retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, and Walmart account for nearly 25 percent of all goods arriving at U.S. West Coast ports. Consumers may not find orders for gifts filled by Christmas, the retailers are warning.

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen said in a tweet the supply chain problem is a “traffic jam” with ports at a standstill and truck drivers stuck in the middle of the mess.

More HERE

America Is Built on a Great Culture. Progressives Want to Abandon It

Environmental and antibusiness regulations in the deep blue state are backing up port traffic. Joel Kotkin writes:

Here's a dirty secret: Great nations rest on a great common culture. I say it's a secret because it's become almost taboo to discuss this historic fact; progressives across the globe have turned decisively against national legacies, and it's progressives who by and large dictate mainstream culture. But if the Democratic Party wants to avoid further electoral disasters like those in Virginia, Long Island and elsewhere, it would do well to relearn the obvious truth that a common culture that binds us is not only good and necessary, but popular.

America's Inflation Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think

Unless you’ve been living under the world’s biggest rock over the past six months, you know that the United States is experiencing unprecedented inflation.

The consumer price index (CPI), the most popular index measuring inflation, shows the price of consumer products and services jumped 6.2 percent from October 2020 to October 2021 — the fastest 12-month increase in nearly 31 years. 

CPI data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that virtually every aspect of the U.S. economy has been impacted by the inflation. The price of milk has increased 17 percent. Egg prices have risen 42 percent. Energy service prices have increased more than 11 percent.

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But as bad as the widely reported CPI inflation figures are, a closer evaluation of key industries reveals that for millions of families, especially those seeking to purchase higher-priced items such as a car or home, inflation is having an even worse impact than the CPI’s topline figures show.

More HERE

Rossi: Kenosha’s “Profiles In Courage”

By Randy Rossi - 

The Kyle Rittenhouse trial was a critical test for America to see if we still have the courage to support the rule of law, our Constitution, our 2nd Amendment, and our God given right to defend ourselves. Anybody who actually watched the trial and saw the hard facts could see that Kyle Rittenhouse was attacked by 3 criminals that put his life in severe danger. All three of those attackers were convicted criminals including one who was convicted of several charges of sexual assault on children. The surviving attacker admitted under oath that Rittenhouse did not point his gun at him until he pointed his pistol at Rittenhouse putting his life in danger. Only then did Rittenhouse shoot him. The other two attackers threatened to kill him and either tried to take his gun away or hit him in the head and neck with a skateboard which could have killed Rittenhouse. There could not have been a clearer example of the right to defend oneself.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Twice the Size of Texas Is Fake

”A huge, swirling pile of trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing faster than expected and is now three times the size of France. According to a three-year study published in Scientific Reports Friday, the mass known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 1.6 million square kilometers in size – up to 16 times bigger than previous estimates. That makes it more than double the size of Texas.” CNN – March 23, 2018.

Of all the fabricated narratives about the environment, this one takes the cake. Yes, there is plastic in the oceans, mostly discarded fishing gear, but there is no island of plastic waste twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Because the average person cannot see the middle of the Pacific for themselves sensationalist activists, media, and politicians just make this up. In fact, plastic in the oceans is doing far more good than harm. Allow me to explain this bold assertion.

More HERE