Illinois Review

Indiana eliminates license to carry handgun

CHICAGO - Just a few miles to the east of Illinois is another whole world in the state of Indiana. One that upholds the Bill of Rights - 

The Indiana House voted Monday to eliminate the license to carry a handgun in the state -- an apparent victory, at least temporary, for supporters of Second Amendment gun rights.

House Bill 1369, which passed the House by a 65-31 vote and now heads to the Senate, repeals a law that requires a person to obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana, according to the Indianapolis Star

It allows for any person who is lawfully able to carry and possess a firearm to do so without a government-issued permit or license, reports said. The bill specified that certain offenders still could be prohibited from carrying handguns. 

More HERE. 

Where’s Weyermuller? Heading to CPAC 2021

By Mark Weyermuller - 

 

I just arrived in Orlando, Florida’s for the Conservative Political Action Conference commonly known as CPAC.  It is billed as the largest gathering of conservatives in the world.  

 

The event has traditionally been held in Washington D.C., but this year it was moved to Florida where there are less COVID restrictions. There will be hundreds of speakers at CPAC 2021, including congressmen, senators, activists, media people, and celebrities like Jon Voight.

Bailey launches gubernatorial bid with bus tour; speaks to IR

EFFINGHAM - State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) told a crowd in Effingham Monday night that he was throwing his hat in the ring to challenge IL Governor JB Pritzker in 2022. The Bailey Campaign then started on a 6-stop bus tour hitting population centers outside the Chicago area ending in Shorewood Illinois Wednesday evening. 

Bailey took a few minutes with Illinois Review Tuesday afternoon to share what was on his mind as he embarks on his first gubernatorial bid. 

We started by asking Sen. Bailey about the seven issues he lists on his campaign website - BaileyforIllinois.com. Are the seven - 1. Reopening the Economy and Schools, 2. Pro-Life, 3. Second Amendment, 4. Education, 5. Taxes, 6. Agriculture and 7. Government Transparency - are they his top priorities? 

The conversation went on from there ... 

IR Darren Bailey 22321

Rep. Halbrook: Cold temperatures expose vulnerabilities in wind energy

By State Representative Brad Halbrook - 

A picture is worth a thousand words and the frozen wind turbines in Texas are speaking volumes.

No, the frozen wind turbines are not entirely the reason so many Texans are without power, as the environmentalists are so quick to point out. The turbines make up anywhere between 12 and 25 percent of the state’s power mix this time of year. So yes, wind turbines are not the only culprit here, but they do bear a significant amount of the blame.

When frozen turbines are not able to produce electricity – that power has to come from somewhere and when you combine the increased demand as a result of frozen turbines along with the increased demand of people needing more power to heat their homes during a massive cold front, the end result is widespread power loss.

Catalina Lauf announces bid to oust Kinzinger, saying Trump will back her with $2M

OTTAWA - Catalina Lauf is a Republican candidate that is telling people the Trump campaign has committed $2 million for her to challenge Congressman Adam Kinzinger in the 2022 GOP primary. That commitment is yet to be confirmed by Illinois Review, but we are being told by reliable GOP insiders that she is indeed claiming it.

Illinois Review is looking forward to introducing the third announced Kinzinger challenger to our readers, but Lauf's campaign strategy appears to be going directly to national media first. 

Tuesday, she filed a  federal "Catalina for Illinois" committee, and released a sizzling internet ad aimed directly at Kinzinger:

They Want to Force COVID Shots

From Liberty Counsel HERE - 

Tragic reports of late-term miscarriages, serious side effects and death following Pfizer or Moderna COVID injections are piling up.

Historically, vaccines take up to 10 years of testing before release to the public. Years 1-5 are typically dedicated to lab research. Years 6-10 are usually dedicated to clinical safety trials. Those trials begin with animals before moving on to humans.

ONLY when inoculations have been thoroughly tested (for all categories of people) is the vaccine released to the general public.

Over 93% of all vaccines FAIL the safety part before clinical trials are completed.

Yet the COVID shots, developed in just 9 months or less, SKIPPED these critically important safety protocols.

As a result, NO ONE, not even the COVID scientists who developed the shots, know all the dangers. But we are beginning to find out...

A startling number have died within hours or days of the injection. Those victims include doctors, health care workers, elderly people and pregnant women.

When death is a side effect...

Thorner: World’s Deadliest Virus isn't COVID, it's Communism

By Nancy Thorner - 

“Never let a crisis go to waste”, voiced Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in 2008. And this is what Democrats aim to do, perhaps by the end of the week, by stuffing the Covid relief bill full of all kinds of pork, just not for the Americans who need it. “Covid relief” will be just an excuse for give aways to every Democrat interest group."

There is also a major conflict of interest. The Biden administration has waived ethics rules to allow a top Department of Homeland Security official, Charanya Krishnaswami, senior counselor to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, to make policy in areas on which she lobbied for her former employer, Amnesty International. Had the same thing happened under Trump, it would have received wall-to-wall coverage.

It does make sense in a Biden Administration that a former member of Amnesty International can do no wrong. Uniparty Biden needs every crumb he can give to a very restive Left after the “stimulus” money runs out.

Rossi: Democrat President Biden Gives China a “Pass” On Genocide

By Randy Rossi - 

One would hope that all civilized people around the world could at least agree that holding over 1 million religious people in concentration camps as China is doing to control them while using them as slave labor is morally wrong and any nation that does that should be isolated and cut off from all business until they stop doing it. Certainly the world has now agreed that Nazi Germany was horribly wrong when they put millions of innocent people in concentration camps because of their religious views, physical and mental problems, and because the Nazi’s considered them to be “inferior races”. They also used them as slave labor and eventually murdered over 6 million Jews and millions of other people that they viewed as inferior. Sadly millions of people had to die in WWII to stop that horrific genocide. You would think the whole world would have learned from that tragedy and would never let it happen again.

Sadly today, Communist China is holding over 1 million Muslim Uighurs in concentration camps because they fear that their religious beliefs are a threat to Communist China’s absolute control over their people. That’s bad enough but China is also using those poor Uighurs as slave labor to produce products at lower prices to take business and jobs away from free nations like America, Japan, and many nations in Europe. In addition to that tragedy, there have been multiple verified reports from the BBC and others that those same Uighurs being held in those concentration camps are being sexually abused, beaten, and the women are being sterilized so that the Uighur population will eventually go away in China.

Schimpf responds to Pritzker signing anti-law enforcement bill into law

SPRINGFIELD - Republican 2024 candidate for governor Paul Schimpf said he opposed Governor Pritzker signing HB 3653 - a bill to end cash bail in Illinois -  into law for policy and leadership reasons.

Pritzker signs into law nation's most anti-law enforcement policy

CHICAGO - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law a measure that will expose citizens to criminal behavior and defend the rights of the accused over the rights of victims, retired Judge Pat O'Brien said in a statement released Monday afternoon. 

Governor Pritzker said those that oppose the law are lying and spreading unsubstantiated fear in a speech before he signed the measure. The measure will "advance the cause of justice" in Illinois, he said. 

"We must stop criminalizing being poor," Lt Governor Juliana Stratton said. 

State Senator Kimberly Lightford pointed to the death of George Floyd last summer as a key reason the American culture "awakened" to inequalities in the state's justice system.

Marter: I'm "all in" to replace Congressman Adam Kinzinger

By James Marter - 

Now more than ever, America needs protection from the Radical Left, rather than surrender and submission. I have unfinished business with Adam Kinzinger. I am "all in" to repeal and replace him. Let’s send him to an early retirement from Congress!

We need real Republican leadership in Congress, which will stick to conservative principles, not just side with the politically-abusive and dangerous Left.

Last week I had an interview on the SiriusXM Patriot Channel's Wilkow Majority Show. The show’s host, Andrew Wilkow, stated “(James Marter is) ...a serious primary candidate who's running in a juxtaposed set of principles to Adam Kinzinger. If you want Kinzinger out, do not complain about it, support the primary challenger."

Thorner/Pennington: Should Minimum Wage Be Set By Any Governmental Body?

By Nancy Thorner & David Pennington -

The Democrats are always pushing to raise the minimum wage.  That’s mainly because, one, they don’t have to pay it, as all of their staff aides are paid with our taxes and, two, because it is very appealing to buy votes with other people’s money. There's a third reason, too, as explained below.

A key pillar of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (H.R. 603).  It would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 over five years. Thereafter, the federal minimum wage would be indexed to median wage growth. The legislation also guarantees that all workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by gradually phasing out the sub-minimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities.

Weyermuller: Renowned community activist Scott Presler pushes Kinzinger ouster

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Last Saturday afternoon, over 150 volunteers gathered in Illinois’ 16th District to learn how to unseat Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger. After meeting at a venue, they walked neighbors knocking on doors in support of change and to register new voters.  Kinzinger has been under fire for supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump. 

Tom McCullagh, a former state senate candidate, helped organize the event. He was joined on stage by Robert Cruz, who currently running for Oak Lawn School Board District 229 and will be making a candidate announcement on April 24th for another office.

Community organizer and activist Scott Presler,  who became famous in 2019 leading a clean up effort in Baltimore, was on hand to address the group. Pressler, who is a Trump supporter, got help on his community projects from hundreds of volunteers after his Tweet to clean up Baltimore went viral. He will be a featured speaker this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida.

Di Leo: George Washington – Victor Over a Dark Winter

By John F. Di Leo - 

Reflections on George Washington’s Birthday 

For many Americans, the winter of 2020-2021 is unusually harsh.  More frequent snowfalls in areas that have grown unaccustomed to it, combined with subzero temperatures in states that haven’t designed their infrastructure for such conditions, have reminded us all of how unpredictable the forces of nature can be.   

We can bundle up and head outside, armed with shovel and snowplow, to render our paved sidewalks and streets usable again.  We can crank up the furnace or the heat lamp, keep the water running so that pipes don’t freeze. There are ways to get through this, in this modern era. Stores still get deliveries so we can buy food; with home computers and the internet for videocalls, most of us can still get to work. 

But now, think back a couple hundred years, and imagine the challenges such a winter must have placed on the Founding Fathers, in an era without these modern technologies.  Imagine a lack of funds, tools, supplies or food.  And imagine all these concerns weighing on the shoulders of General George Washington, as he spent his 46th birthday with his starving, shuddering troops, during the miserable winter they spent at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 

 

Ben Shapiro: It’s Time to Uncancel Americans

By Ben Shapiro - 

This week, actress Gina Carano made headlines when Disney+ and Lucasfilm decided to cancel her from their hit series “The Mandalorian” over controversial social media posts. It is perfectly obvious that the corporations had been looking for an excuse to get rid of Carano thanks to her conservative politics — The Hollywood Reporter uncovered a source who snarked, “They have been looking for a reason to fire her for two months, and today was the final straw.”

What, precisely, was Carano’s sin? After the 2020 election, she put up a social media post decrying voter fraud and then put up a post referring disparagingly to elite-driven mask culture. This week, she put up a post pointing out that the Holocaust did not begin with mass murder but with neighbors turning on one another thanks to politics. The Holocaust comparison may have been overwrought, but it was certainly not anti-Semitic. “Nonetheless,” Lucasfilm stated, “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Carano’s cancellation came the same week as the cancellation of “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison. Harrison’s sin: He said that one of the contestants on this season of “The Bachelor” ought to be given “a little grace” over having attended a sorority party with an antebellum theme several years ago. Harrison said, “I have seen some stuff online — this judge, jury, executioner thing — where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents’ voting record. It’s unbelievably alarming to watch this.” And the woke authoritarians emerged to deem him racist.

Carano’s and Harrison’s responses, however, were polar opposites.

More HERE

An Unconstitutional Voting ‘Reform’

Democrats want to impose federal rules on elections for president. Congress doesn’t have that power. David B. Rivkin Jr. and Jason Snead write:

House Democrats have made election “reform” their top legislative priority. House Resolution 1, styled the For the People Act, would vitiate existing state election laws, federalize the rules of congressional and presidential elections, and effectively do the same for state elections, which are often conducted on the same ballot. Critics have noted that the proposed rules are designed to benefit Democrats. They’re also unconstitutional.

The key problem is that the Constitution doesn’t give Congress the authority to regulate all federal elections in the same way. Congress has significant power over congressional elections. The Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4 provides that state legislatures “shall prescribe” the “times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives,” but also authorizes Congress to “make or alter such regulations.”

Di Leo: The Golden Microphone Goes Silent

By John F. Di Leo - 

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, 1951-2021, R.I.P.

He promised us "I won't stop until everyone agrees with me.”

Rush tried harder than any politician to keep his promise. For four years on a local show in Sacramento, then for over 32 years on his syndicated national radio program, he redefined the medium to blend news, philosophy, education and entertainment in a brand new way, serving as the inspiration and ally of generations of patriotic Americans.

Struggling to find his place in the world in his youth, he left college to work as a music station disk jockey for a few years, then as a baseball team’s PR man for a few more. But then he got the Sacramento gig at 32, where he was able to hone a version of talk radio that had never been seen before. After spending those first 32 years looking for the place he could make the greatest impact, he found a way to spent his last 32 years embodying Excellence In Broadcasting for a national audience.

Madigan resigns from IL General Assembly; proud of making Illinois a "bastion of Democratic values"

CHICAGO - Mike Madigan stepped aside a month ago from his bid to be Speaker of the Illinois House and Thursday he resigned from his House seat - an office he has held since being first elected in 1970. The 78-year-old remains as the chairman of the Illinois Democrat Party and ward Democrat committeeman in Chicago's 13th. 

He pointed to "vicious attacks" as a key reason he resigned. Those "vicious attacks" include an ongoing federal investigation and nasty complaints from within the Democrat ranks over his tolerance of sexual misconduct among the party faithful. 

“It’s no secret that I have been the target of vicious attacks by people who sought to diminish my many achievements lifting up the working people of Illinois. The fact is, my motivation for holding elected office has never wavered,” Madigan declared in a prepared statement. “I leave office at peace with my decision and proud of the many contributions I’ve made to the state of Illinois, and I do so knowing I’ve made a difference.”

But in the long statement, Madigan listed what he considers all his "accomplishments" while being the most powerful person in Illinois politics for decades. 

Fifty years ago, I decided to dedicate my life to public service. Simply put, I knew I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. I believed then and still do today that it is our duty as public servants to improve the lives of the most vulnerable and help hardworking people build a good life. These ideals have been the cornerstone of my work on behalf of the people of Illinois and the driving force throughout my time in the Illinois House.

As speaker, legislator and member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention, I worked to make the General Assembly a co-equal branch of government, ensuring it acted as a check on the power of the governor and the executive branch, especially around a governor’s abuse of the amendatory veto. Many heated battles were fought to keep governors from rewriting legislation sent to them by the General Assembly.

No mention whatsoever of the state's fiscal disastrous condition, the state pension's deepening critical position, or the massive numbers leaving the state every year as a result of back-breaking property taxes:

Party Realignment: Radical Republicans, Corporate Democrats?

Historically, white-collar business professionals were usually Republican, and the blue-collar working classes were Democrats. But this has been gradually changing… Working folks who used to be the staunchest Democrats voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. And many Republicans have been voting blue.

So is the Democratic Party becoming the party of Big Business, while the GOP will now be a workers’ party? Republican Senators like Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, and even Ted Cruz have used the phrase “working class” to describe their party’s future base.

The idea of a party realignment might not be arising out of anything the GOP is accomplishing (even their own constituents are unhappy with them), but out of what the Democrats are in large part no longer doing – namely, looking out for workers. What is certain is that the Democratic Party is becoming the party of corporate, tech, and financial power.

More HERE

Bad Education

In a Philadelphia elementary school, teachers are putting a premium on radicalism, not reading. Christopher F. Rufo writes:

A Philadelphia elementary school recently forced fifth-grade students to celebrate “black communism” and simulate a Black Power rally in honor of political radical Angela Davis.

According to whistleblower documents and a source within the school, a fifth-grade teacher at the inner-city William D. Kelley School designed a social studies curriculum to celebrate Davis, praising the “black communist” for her fight against “injustice and inequality.” As part of the lesson, the teacher asked students to “describe Davis’ early life,” reflect on her vision of social change, and “define communist”—presumably in favorable terms.