Illinois Review

Gov Pritzker: "Move over" to protect emergency personnel, vehicles

CHICAGO – With a recent surge in crashes involving ISP troopers, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Police (ISP) are urging motorists to respect the Move Over Law and use caution when approaching emergency vehicles on interstates and roads.
 
So far in 2019, 14 ISP troopers have been struck by vehicles when they were pulled over to respond to highway incidents with their emergency lights activated. The tragic death of Trooper Christopher Lambert is among the 14 incidents, which far exceeds last year’s total of eight troopers.
 
“I'm here today to say to drivers on the roads: When you see a state trooper’s vehicle on the side of the road, slow down, obey the law and move over,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Our state troopers are putting their lives on the line every single day. They are our heroes and first responders, keeping people safe. No driver needs to get to their destination so quickly that they need to put a trooper’s life at risk. No one’s time or convenience is worth more than the lives of our state’s heroes.”

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle campaigns pursue Chicago GOP endorsements

CHICAGO - The upcoming Chicago mayoral race is next week, and the polls show the race close. Both candidates are desperately looking for voters to take them over the top as Election Day nears. Apparently the Democrats think Republicans matter. Both contacted Chicago GOP chairman Chris Cleveland seeking endorsements.

IL Congress members respond to Mueller's investigation findings

WASHINGTON - Illinois Congress members' responses to Robert Mueller's investigation findings about his 2-year investigation into whether President Trump and his campaign colluded with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016 range from praise for Trump to demanding Mueller's report be made public.

14th CD picks Laura Pollastrini as IL GOP State Central Committeeman

CHICAGO - Party officials of the far western suburbs that make up Illinois' 14th CD appointed attorney Laura Pollastrini to succeed the late Stan Bond as the 14th CD IL GOP State Central Committeeman Saturday. While several candidates submitted their names for the volunteer party job, Pollastrini won with unanimous support. 

The selection committee made up of county GOP officials within the 14th CD, along with IL GOP Chairman Tim Schneider and Co-Chairman Mark Shaw, queried the candidates after each submitted pages of questions and background information during the application process.

Thorner: Green New Deal - boldest tactic yet to advance UN Agenda 21

By Nancy Thorner - 

Most people in America don't even realize that tentacles of a dangerous United Nations program are being enacted in our nation's cities and certainly our country, with the full cooperation of those in our highest positions of authority. It is so complicated and difficult to believe that many simply dismiss it, considering it just a conspiracy theory. But even a cursory investigation reveals it is very real and the evidence is easily attained.   

This intrusive, all-encompassing plan that could eventually affect every aspect of our lives is known as "United Nations Agenda 21."  It's pure communistic in nature. We all must fight against it if we are to remain a free people and nation. The Green New Deal happens to represent the boldest tactic yet toward the full implementation of Agenda 21 here in this nation.

Di Leo: Last Two Democrats Not Running For President Host Afternoon Tea

A fiction by John F. Di Leo - 

It has been revealed that the reason most of the candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination decided to skip the annual AIPAC event in March, long a standard stop for major candidates of both parties, is their decision to instead attend an afternoon tea in a Chicago nursing home.

The 2020 nomination is expected to be a particularly tight race, as almost every Democratic voter in the country is already seeking the nomination.

IL GOP Chairman Schneider: I support President Trump

Since last November's devastating election losses, calls for IL GOP Chairman Tim Schneider to resign have been coming from groups outside the IL GOP, such as Illinois Family Action and the Illinois Conservative Union. To complicate the tense environment, for years, a former state party chairman - who also served as Ohio Gov John Kasich's presidential bid co-chairman in Illinois - has been prominent on the Chicago air waves and on Twitter (@pat_brady), criticizing President Trump. 

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider asked the following opinion be shared with Illinois Review readers:

Millennials Are The Most Prosperous Generation That’s Ever Lived

Navel gazers of the world unite! Millennials are embracing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s socialist philosophy, some say, because they think they’ve got it rough. If that’s what they believe, then they are delusional, writes David Harsanyi:

[H]istorically speaking, the only thing millennials have seen is relative prosperity, most of it provided by free markets and American political stability.

Although every generation has its struggles, if the world continues on its present trajectory, American millennials will have collectively lived the most peaceful, wealthiest, safest, most educated, and most globally connected lives in the history of the world.

Kentucky Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Abortions Based on Unborn’s Sex, Race, or Disabilities

Kentucky governor Matt Bevin on Tuesday signed a bill that bans abortions chosen on the basis of an unborn child’s sex, race, or disability.

A court filing in the U.S. District Court in Louisville indicated that the governor has signed the bill, which included an “emergency clause” stipulating that it would go into effect immediately.

Physicians must now certify in writing that the patient did not request the abortion for a reason related to the baby’s sex, race, or disabilities. Flouting the new law puts doctors at risk of losing their medical license or being prosecuted for a felony, although the mother of the unborn child would not be targeted.

The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the bill in federal court as an unconstitutional restriction on a woman’s right to abortion.

More HERE

Democrat/Progressives Latest Idea Regarding Climate Change

Progressivism is a commitment to doing things the hard way. Ronald Baily reports:

This week, a new study in Nature Climate Change bolstered the case for solar radiation management by spreading sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere in order to lower the earth’s thermostat.

There are reasonable concerns with this strategy. One of them has been that blocking enough solar radiation to bring down surface temperatures to around where they were at the beginning of the 20th century would greatly destabilize weather patterns. For instance, it could change the timing and extent of monsoon rains, thus harming ecosystems and farming.

Breaking Up Platforms Has Sickening Implications

Elizabeth Warren wants to design your Internet experience. Iain Murray writes:

Warren claims that her plan aims to bolster competition by breaking up “Big Tech” companies through robust antitrust enforcement, an approach now increasingly popular on both the political left andright. It is likely to backfire, and is not even necessary.

Warren’s plan would designate as “platform utilities” all companies with a global revenue of over $25 billion a year that offer an online marketplace, exchange, or platform for third parties. These companies would be forced to divest themselves of any “participant” on that platform. It seems like a simple concept, but the devil is in the details — and the lack of bright lines.

Review: Stephanie Trussell: Why I left the Donkey Plantation Party

WLS 890AM radio host Stephanie Trussell invited Illinois Review editor Fran Eaton on her show Friday afternoon to talk about our almost 15 year old conservative news source.

Last year, Ms. Trussell shared her reasoning why she left the Democrat Party with our readers. Here it is again ... 

By Stephanie Trussell - 

I left the Donkey Plantation Party because I'm tired of waiting for Big Gov crumbs to drop.

I want more. Much more.

I wish I could take credit for coining the appropriate nickname "Donkey Plantation Party" for the Democrat Party. I heard it first on one of my favorite radio shows: Joshua’s Trail radio show out of Detroit. Elder Levon Yuille and his fearless roundtable are my North Star. They are Christian black conservatives that don’t suffer fools well. I love it when black Leftists call in, eager to label them traitors to their race. A verbal blood bath commences every time.

The rest is HERE.

Second Amendment group applauds judge's ruling on Deerfield semi-automatic ban

CHATSWORTH – The north suburban Village of Deerfield stepped beyond its authority as a municipality when it passed a ban on semi-automatic firearms and magazines, a Lake County judge ruled Friday.

Lake County Judge Luis Berrones ruled that the Village of Deerfield does not have the authority to ban semi-automatic firearms and magazines in their community, according to Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson. Pearson was instrumental in challenging the municipality’s ban.

Senate strains to lower compulsory attendance age to 5, on the way to 3 years?

SPRINGFIELD - When JB Pritzker campaigned on "free preschool," listeners might have gotten a nice warm "for the children" feeling, but little did the comment register that the "free preschool" he was promising would add more weight to already heavy-burdened taxpayers. And it would require moms and dads to push their toddlers into formal school settings - even those parents that choose to provide secure settings for their little ones at home.

But that's exactly what appears is on the agenda for the new governor and his like-minded lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly.

Di Leo: Library tax hike may be the back-breaking last straw

By John F. Di Leo - 

Two weeks before our local spring election, I received a personal postcard in the mail, encouraging me to vote Yes on the upcoming Library referendum, for the good of our community… for the good of our children.

I certainly like the public library. As a writer, I’ve used it to research issues… as an actor, I’ve used it to search for scripts… as a reader, I’ve used it to feed my various fiction habits (I used to go in for comic crime like Gregory McDonald and Donald Westlake, then as I aged, I gravitated more toward fantasy and sci fi.  Hmmm, maybe I’m regressing). So it’s reasonable to assume that I might be a “likely” supporter, worth the GOTV effort.

Now, mind you, this “personal postcard” wasn’t really personal.  It was handwritten, and signed, but not by anyone I actually know. This was an effort to utilize a standard campaign approach – the personalized postcard – without actually having real supporters use their real personal address books of friends and acquaintances, as it was always done back in my day, when we used such systems correctly.  This was an effort to fake personal endorsements, not to use real ones.

Rep. Kinzinger defends the late John McCain in op-ed

WASHINGTON DC - Illinois' U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger penned a defense of the late Senator John McCain Friday on Fox News.com, saying McCain was a mentor and hero to him. For the past three days, President Trump has publicly criticized Senator McCain and his family for disagreements the two held while McCain was still alive. 

Senator McCain most famously defied the President's efforts to overturn Obamacare when he appeared on the U.S. Senate floor before his death and with a thumbs-down motion defeated the measure. 

Kinzinger writes: 

Chicago alderman admits to using funds intended for charities as casino cash

CHICAGO — Yet another Chicago alderman faces a possible 20 years in prison - this one for using funds meant for his ward's needy for casino cash, his daughter's college tuition and items for his home.

City of Chicago Alderman Willie B. Cochran pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge Thursday for pocketing money from a charitable fund intended to help families and children in his South Side ward, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a press release.

Thorner: Pro-lifers overflow Springfield’s Capitol Rotunda

Photo by Karen Whitney

By Nancy Thorner - 

On Wednesday, March 20, thousands filled the Springfield Capitol to protest abortion bills.  Several reports were published throughout the state, but one in particular stood out to prolifers: an account by Rebecca Anzel, Capitol News Illinois, as published in the Rockford Register Star.

Capitalism vs. Socialism

Decades after capitalism seemed to have triumphed over socialism, politicians are once again arguing about the merits and drawbacks of these opposing economic systems. Why are we still having this debate? Andy Puzder, former CEO of the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., explains the misconceptions that keep the debate alive.

Democrats' Orwellian 'Equality' Act

Dems seek to both quell and compel the speech of others in the name of "equality."

House Democrats reintroduced their so-called “Equality Act” last week. The bill would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the protected classes under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, as The Heritage Foundation explains, “Where the original Civil Rights Act of 1964 furthered equality by ensuring that African-Americans had equal access to public accommodations and material goods, the Equality Act would further inequality by penalizing everyday Americans for their beliefs about marriage and biological sex. Similar sexual orientation and gender identity laws at the state and local level have already been used in this way.”

Frankly, the “Equality Act” would step all over Americans’ First Amendment rights. Heritage further highlights five specific groups who would be harmed should the act ever become law: employers and workers, medical professionals, parents and children, women, and nonprofits and volunteers. In other words, the law would directly impact virtually everyone living in America.

More HERE