Illinois Review

Pekau responds to Casten's abortion attack ad

One by one, Democrats are doing all they can to take the focus off the failed Biden presidency and turn attention towards abortion - the only issue where Democrats believe they can make headway in abortion-obsessive Illinois. 

Incumbent Democrat Congressman Sean Casten (IL-6) launched an ad last week attacking Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau on the issue of abortion. The ad featured an emergency room doctor that says "Keith Pekau is dangerous' because he holds a pro-life view on abortion. 

The Pekau campaign responded:

New Self-Evident video: At Six Weeks

How does an unmarried teenage girl face an unexpected pregnancy? Her first reaction is to have an abortion - and she shares this with two friends who have differing views.

One is pro-choice. The other, pro-life. In a life-changing conversation, the truth about this daily occurrence becomes Self-Evident. At Six Weeks.

Thorner: Fentanyl, a National Crisis

By Nancy Thorner - 

Americans want a secure border and safer communities, but our leadership in Washington is not making this a priority.  Vice President Kamala Harris even insists that the border is secure. 

Despite the number of illegal migrant arrests setting a pace to surpass a staggering 2 million for the first time ever by the end of Sept., Vice President Harris claims that the border is secure.

Video: Stop Biden's Bailout for Rich Kids

The American Action Network is an action tank’ that will create, encourage and promote center-right policies based on the principles of freedom, limited government, American exceptionalism, and strong national security.

Here's their take on Biden's bailout for rich kids ... 

Anti-Religious Attacks On Jews Could Come To Your House Of Worship Next

By Mitchell A. Silk -

The Chassidic-American community is the target today, but expect attacks to come soon to a church, mosque, or synagogue near you.

The war on religion has reached my front door.

My Chassidic Jewish community in Brooklyn is confronted with an unprecedented level of hostility. Hate crimes abound. Chassidic Jews have been shot at, punched, kicked, violently shoved, or almost run over. During Covid, politicians prohibited our community from coming together to pray, celebrate, and mourn — even when masked and distanced — while permitting and even joining public protests. And now they are coming for our children.

The latest attack comes from The New York Times. On Sept. 11, the Times published a report of its year-long “investigation” into the crown jewel of our community, our education system. Despite the report’s thin trappings of investigative journalism, the charge — plainly stated — was that Chassidic-Americans are too corrupt, abusive of children, and illiterate to be treated as equal members of society.

More HERE

Medical group sues Pfizer for 'open' discrimination against whites and Asians: Report

A group of medical professionals and other health care associates has sued pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. for supposedly discriminating against "white and Asian-American applicants" for one of its fellowship programs.

Earlier this month, Do No Harm — which describes itself as "a diverse group of physicians, healthcare professionals, medical students, patients, and policymakers" who wish to "[p]rotect healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology" — filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan to end the supposedly discriminatory aspects of Pfizer's Breakthrough Fellowship Program.

Pfizer claims that it established BFP "to increase minority representation at Pfizer" and "to enhance [its] pipeline of diverse leaders." To achieve that end, BFP recipients are given funding for: several summer internships, a master's degree, and pre- and post-graduate employment at the company. However, Pfizer limits those who may apply for BFP. In addition to being a U.S. citizen or resident; a junior at an accredited college or university; interested in a master's in business, pharmacology, or statistics; and willing to remain in or relocate to New York City, applicants must "[m]eet the program’s goals of increasing the pipeline for Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic and Native Americans."

More HERE

Buchanan: Biden Commits US to War for Taiwan

By Pat Buchanan -

If China invades Taiwan to unify it with the mainland, the United States will go to war to defend Taiwan and send U.S. troops to fight the invaders.

That is the commitment made last week by President Joe Biden.

Asked by CBS’s Scott Pelley on “60 Minutes” if the U.S. would fight in defense of Taiwan if China invaded, Biden replied, “Yes, if, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.”

Pelley followed up: “So, unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces—U.S. men and women—would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.”

“Yes,” Biden responded.

More HERE

Planned Parenthood receives record gov't funding despite drop in health services

California Governor Gavin Newsom is now promoting his state's abortion policy among abortion-restricted states. The advertisements, which tout California's recently-launched informational website, can be seen in Texas, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Oklahoma. 

 

Planned Parenthood received more than $633 million in Government Health Services Reimbursements & Grats for the year ending June 30, 2021, a recent report shows. That is more than one-third of its total revenue. 

 

The abortion giant provided services to 2.16 million clients, down from the 2.4 million it served during the same period the year before. While the organization, which is the nation's largest abortion provider, revealed an 8% increase in the total number of abortions performed, services and testing for sexually transmitted infections decreased by more than one million, while cancer screenings were down by nearly 200,000, and contraceptive services decreased from more than 2.5 million to less than 2.2 million during the same period.

 

Di Leo: Will America Heed the Energy Warning from Abroad?

 

By John F. Di Leo - 

Europe is not burning.

When writers discuss economics and politics, we sometimes use figures of speech to attract the reader, in the hopes that a powerful visual will help carry the reader through the boredom of statistics and political analysis.

So, when activists riot, when protesters mob and chant, we may say "the city is burning." It catches your attention. It gets the reader to keep reading.

Sometimes, unfortunately, these words move beyond figures of speech, and become literal. In 2020, the Antifa riots that took over dozens of American downtowns did in fact include arson and fire bombing. Population centers were literally set ablaze, from Kenosha to Portland. Writers didn’t have to exaggerate, when the storm troopers of the modern Democratic Party were empowered by laissez-faire Democrat city governments.

Thorner: Are Americans Already Living in a Police State?

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

The failure of the Biden administration can be looked at in this way:  failure of Afghanistan, inflation, student loans, the current recession, the attempted vaccine mandates, the border, President Biden’s dark and dangerous speech he recently gave at Constitutional Hall in Philadelphia, PA, and Biden's record low approval numbers.

 

Trump, during his rally speech in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday, September 12, 2022, defined Biden administration failures as follows:       

 

Trump broke down the issues facing everyday Americans under the Biden Administration, listing record high inflation, soaring energy prices, supply chain shortages, increased crime, the “disappearing” southern border and increased government spending that is “pouring fuel" on the inflation fire.

Brinkman & LaMorte: Washington’s 8th Congressional District Schrier v Larkin

By Daniel Brinkman and Jack LaMorte - 

In this edition we look at Washington’s 8^th Congressional District where democrat incumbent Kim Schrier is up against the GOP’s Matt Larkin. The 8^th CD starts near the outskirts of the Seattle suburbs and stretches inland around a hundred miles from there.  

The democrat incumbent holding this seat is the rather uninspiring Kim Schrier who first won the seat in 2018. She is a Pediatrician and boasts of being the first female pediatrician in congress. Unsurprisingly she talks a lot about healthcare in her appearances, which admittedly is a major point dem candidates hit on. She however, does not stray from democrat talking points which makes her seem uninspired. Neither does Schrier make the effort of seeming moderate which many dems in bubble seats do, except in her tone.

Liberty Counsel: Federal Contractor Shot Mandate Will Not Be Enforced

ATLANTA, GA – Following a recent decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Biden administration will no longer implement or enforce Executive Order 14042 which directed federal agencies to require federal contractors and subcontractors to mandate that their employees receive the COVID-19 shot.

The federal government has now updated its “Safer Federal Workforce Task Force” guidance on the federal contractor COVID-19 shot mandate and suspended the process of requiring vaccination in new federal contracts. For contracts already containing clauses implementing EO 14042, the government would take no action to enforce the clauses “absent further written notice from the agency.”

Cabello proposes "Contract with Illinois" to counter Pritzker's "SAFE-T Act"

former state Rep. John Cabello

Op-Ed by John Cabello, GOP candidate in Illinois' 90th House District - 

Are you satisfied with the direction our state is headed? Democrats have enjoyed total control of state government, with super-majorities in both the Illinois House and Senate, but what do they actually have to show for it other than low-quality governance and high-quality campaign commercials?

The inescapable flood of campaign commercials is a testament to how the Madigan political machine is still beating Republicans from beyond the political grave. Madigan’s “creative” fundraising efforts added untold millions to Democrats’ campaign coffers, and the enormous Madigan cash advantage is likely to endure for years, if not decades.

Illinois Democrats want you distracted by multi-million-dollar ad buys hammering national political debates. They don’t want you to assess their job performance. They don’t want you to ask yourself if you’re satisfied living in one of the highest-taxed, most corrupt, and worst-governed states in the country.

Outside of numerous tax increases and countless ideas for how to spend our tax money, Democrats’ crowning legislative achievement is a bill that emboldens criminals and endangers law-abiding citizens. The so-called “SAFE-T Act” should actually be called the “We Love Criminals Act,” because it hamstrings law enforcement and prioritizes criminals over victims.

Illinois voter, I want you to see what Republican-led Illinois governance would look like. Democrats have failed to govern, but Republicans have thus far failed to stand up and deliver a unified message. We Republicans owe you a contract that details our pledge to voters.

Illinois Freedom Caucus discusses the not-so "SAFE-T" Act

The Illinois Freedom Caucus held a virtual town hall last week to discuss Illinois' crime statistics and what they see as the state's future. They featured lawmakers, law enforcement and a judge as part of the discussion. 

Di Leo: Too Much News in the News Cycle

By John F. Di Leo - 

Do you ever get the feeling there’s an awful lot going on, all at once?

Consider:

Sinking into a Deepening Recession -

Goldman Sachs continues to downgrade their expectations for 2022 GDP on a monthly basis… and they’ve now tried to get ahead of things for next year by predicting 2023’s GDP  to be at a miserable 1.1%.  And yet, they don’t say the word “recession.”  What does this mean? Perhaps that they owe it to their investment customers to tell the truth about numbers, but they feel they owe it to their political friends to not tell the truth about words?

Funding A Foreign War -

Russia gains in Ukraine, and Ukraine gains on Russia.  Every day there’s more news that Russia is getting more daring, now shelling more sensitive Ukrainian infrastructure than before, but Ukraine is claiming more and more abandoned Russian equipment, and even pushing back on some land Russia conquered months ago. India is the latest of Russia’s “friends” to berate Vladimir Putin for the war and to encourage him to end it somehow.  And all the while, on a daily basis, Washington DC agrees to write seemingly blank checks to Ukraine, providing them both directly and indirectly with cash and equipment to help their war effort. We’ve had proxy fights with Russia before, throughout the Cold War, but we used to be much more careful about the risk of escalation. Whatever happened to that concern?

Living with Crippling Inflation -

The Federal Reserve is finally getting bolder and bolder in their rate hikes, attempting to address the monster of inflation – declared at 8.3% but more in the neighborhood of 20% or more for most Americans when the reality of their spending breakdowns is considered.  The Fed, therefore, gets all the attention on the issue, instead of Congress and the White House being rightly forced to bear the blame for it.  It’s their taxation, overspending, and crippling overregulation, after all, that has caused all this inflation.  Why is the issue conveniently lifted off their shoulders and shifted to the Fed, in an election year?  Might it have anything to do with the fact that the Federal Reserve isn’t on the ballot, but Congress is?

Court Grants Preliminary Approval for Health Care Workers in $10.3 Million Settlement

CHICAGO, IL – The federal Northern District Court of Illinois has granted preliminary approval and scheduled a fairness hearing regarding the class action settlement against NorthShore University HealthSystem on behalf of more than 500 current and former health care workers who were unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. Liberty Counsel settled the nation’s first classwide lawsuit for health care workers over a COVID shot mandate, for more than $10.3 million.

Federal Judge John F. Kness set the fairness hearing for December 19, 2022 in Jane Doe 1, et al. v. Northshore University Healthsystem.

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.

This is a historic, first-of-its-kind class action settlement against a private employer who unlawfully denied hundreds of religious exemption requests to COVID-19 shots.

As part of the settlement agreement, NorthShore will also change its unlawful “no religious accommodations” policy to make it consistent with the law, and to provide religious accommodations in every position across its numerous facilities. No position in any NorthShore facility will be considered off limits to unvaccinated employees with approved religious exemptions.

Di Leo: Audits, Recounts, and the Secret Ballot

By John F. Di Leo - 

The Big Lie.   Just saying these words brings to mind a number of potential meanings, but in today’s America, the most common — and conflicting — uses of the term are the following:

The Left asserts that the very idea that fraud occurred in the 2020 election is a dangerous lie, while the Right insists that claiming the 2020 election was squeaky clean is the dangerous lie.

Which position is correct?  Was there massive fraud in 2020, enough to change not only the presidency, but also countless, (and close) down ballot races, or not?

It’s an important question, and the Left has issued a gag order, as if challenging election results is somehow new and evil. There’s probably never been an election year in which at least some races haven’t been subject to allegations of error or fraud. 2020 is the first time in American history that a conscious movement actually sprang up to silence calls for investigation and election integrity.

“You don’t need to change the way we vote,” they tell us. “If you don’t trust the result, just do a recount. Call for an audit, and discover the truth one way or the other.”  

Easy, right?   But it’s not so easy. Here’s why:

More, Here:

Teacher shortage is a myth in Illinois

There are fewer students and more teachers in Illinois today than a decade ago, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Teachers unions push the shortage myth to gain power.

Students and teachers are back in school across Illinois, but teachers unions keep claiming there are not enough teachers to run classrooms.

That’s wrong. State data proves it.

Teachers’ unions have perpetuated the teacher shortage myth. The Illinois Education Association claimed Aug. 28, 2022, the “teacher and education employee shortage [is] getting worse.”

But according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education, there are fewer students and more teachers in Illinois today compared to a decade ago.

More HERE

Edmund Burke Can Still Inspire the American Right

It's no secret that the modern American conservative movement is divided today. Issues like the role of government, the place of the nation-state, and the extent to which free markets should prevail in economic life have become major points of fracture across the right that seem unlikely to be resolved soon.

In times of such division, one way in which political movements seek to achieve clarity about what they are and why they exist is by returning to their primary sources of inspiration. Sometimes that involves rereading important texts. On other occasions, the focus turns to how particular individuals in the past thought about their world and the issues they confronted.

These were the references in my mind as I made my way through a short book, edited by the George Mason economics professor Daniel B. Klein and the Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at the National Review Institute, Dominic Pino. In Edmund Burke and the Perennial Battle, 1789-1797, they have brought together extracts from some of the more important later writings penned by the man widely regarded as a major inspiration for modern Anglo-American conservatism. These texts, Klein and Pino believe, illustrate that Edmund Burke was someone who believed that "he had a duty to the present and a duty to the future . . . a duty to liberty in policy and a duty to stability in polity." A modern American conservative movement that embodied these axioms would surely be one less wracked by the internecine conflicts that bedevil it today.

How Old Bad Ideas Become Wonderful

We in America are regressing—now returning to the distant neanderthal past, now embracing the worst of what the 19th and 20th century had to offer. Victor Davis Hanson writes:

There is no end of history. Instead, civilization is a constant fight to embrace what has worked for the common good through the ages—and to reject what in the past has failed abysmally.