Illinois Review

Real-time lightning map

Blitzortung is a community of volunteers who install inexpensive lightning sensors and transmit their data to a central server. In return, those who run the sensors have access to the network's data. The map that runs on the site shows the data in near real-time, providing a view of lightning strikes around the world. Check it out HERE.

71% think IRS destroyed e-mails to hide guilt. Americans lose confidence in all branches of gov't

Most voters think it’s likely the IRS deliberately destroyed e-mails about its investigations of Tea Party and other conservative groups to hide its criminal behavior. Two-out-of-three now believe IRS employees involved in these investigations should be jailed or fired, and most suspect the agency of targeting other political opponents of the Obama administration.

A new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that the Internal Revenue Service broke the law when it targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups. That’s up from 49% earlier this year.

Gallup reports that Americans' confidence in all three branches of the U.S. government has fallen, reaching record lows for the Supreme Court (30%) and Congress (7%), and a six-year low for the presidency (29%). The presidency had the largest drop of the three branches this year, down seven percentage points from its previous rating of 36%.

Quinn makes minor cuts to $35.7B Illinois budget

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Pat Quinn (D) has used his line-item veto power to make minor cuts to a $35.7 billion state budget plan.

In a statement Monday, Quinn says he's eliminating $250 million for renovations of the state Capitol and plans to sell nealy half the airplanes in the state's massive fleet. airplanes.

Lawmakers passed the spending plan for the fiscal year that begins Tuesday after Democratic leaders couldn't find enough votes to extend the temporary income tax increase the Party passed in 2010.

Senate President John Cullerton (D) says the budget Quinn signed secures funding for key priorities, but difficult decisions are coming.

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) had no response.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner says the spending plan is a "broken budget.''

In a statement Monday, Rauner said there should be structural reforms to "shake up'' the way Springfield does business. Rauner has released some ideas of his own proposed spending plan, including merging the comptroller and treasurer's office.

Union officials take stock after court decision cuts their revenue

CHICAGO - Union officials representing Illinois' home health care workers say they're concerned about the loss of revenue if individuals who were forced into membership leave the union as a result of today's U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Keith Kelleher, who is a president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) says about 70 percent of the roughly 26,000 home health care workers are dues-paying members.

The High Court ruled Monday that public sector unions can't collect fees from home health care workers who object to being affiliated with a union. It is estimated the SEIU reaps $20 million a year in forced dues from these workers.

Keller told AP the union will target home health care workers in the private sector to help make up revenue.

Obama: I will bypass Congress to fix immigration

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Obama announced a retreat on interior immigration enforcement Monday, saying he is going to shift resources from deporting illegal immigrants inside the U.S. and send them to the border to try to stop the latest surge of children and families attempting to cross.

The announcement amounts to a concession that the chances for a broad immigration deal are deal this year.

Mr. Obama also said he will take action by the end of the summer to try to halt even more deportations, once he gets a final recommendation back from his attorney general and Homeland Security chief.

More HERE

Illinois State Cop "Lies His Ass Off" [video]

Douglas Barclay at RARE highlighted a video of a trucker pulled over by the Illinois State Police.

After seeing the officer speed past him, while talking on a cell phone, truck driver Brian Miner honked his horn at the officer. The cop slows down and eventually pulls Miner over in an attempt to give him a ticket.

While the cop appears polite at first, he begins to pepper Miner with questions, alluding that he had been speeding before the altercation.

However, as soon as the police officer is informed he is being recorded, his tone changes, and he becomes apologetic for speeding and being on his cell phone, which is illegal in Illinois.

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Illinois Homecare Provider Unionization Scheme

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in a case over whether Illinois homecare providers can be forced into union ranks against their will.

The case, Harris v. Quinn, is a class-action lawsuit argued by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys and filed by Pam Harris and seven other Illinois care providers after Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed an executive order rendering them vulnerable to unwanted union organizing.

"Quinn’s executive order mirrored one issued by disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, which designated over 20,000 personal care providers as 'public employees' solely for the purpose of forcing them into union ranks," The National Right to Work Foundation said Monday. "Quinn then expanded Blagojevich’s directive to cover an additional 4,500 providers who were not included in the original order. The scheme only designated providers as public employees for the purposes of unionization, leaving the homecare recipients as the employers for all other aspects of the providers’ work."

The Court’s ruling struck down the scheme, NRTW said, ruling that individuals who indirectly receive state subsidies based on their clientele cannot be forced to pay compulsory union fees.  The Court’s ruling render unconstitutional similar homecare unionization schemes attempted in at least 18 other states.

BREAKING: Freedom of religion is key in Hobby Lobby case, Alito says

WASHINGTON - In a tightly-defined decision, closely held corporations can't be forced to provide government-mandated contraception, the U.S. Supreme Court voted in a close 5 to 4 decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote as released Monday.

More to come ... 

BREAKING: Freedom of association is key in Harris vs Quinn, Justice Samuel Alito writes

WASHINGTON DC - Family members that do not want to join public sector unions will not be forced to do so, Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito wrote today in his opinion Harris vs. Quinn. His decision set public sector unions back and handed a victory to Chicago's Pam Harris and a defeat to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

State legislatures that want to force people to join public unions and force them to pay fees are prohibited by the First Amendment from doing so. 

Illinois Review first began reporting in 2009 on the plight of Chicago area's Pam Harris and other families that care for their disabled adult children in their homes and receive help through the state. 

Parents say "NO" to Quinn's unionization 2009

SEIU-bullied IL home health care workers hit national news 2009

Home health care workers plea for help to fight union bullies 2009

 

Quinn faces class action lawsuit over home health care worker unionization 2010

SEIU argues parents of disabled kids should pay fees for collective bargaining 2013

Should purple-shirted SEIU members be free to pressure home caretakers to unionize? 2013

"Stakes couldn't be higher" for the issue of forced unionization in Harris vs Quinn 2014 

Cross hopes U.S. Supreme Court declares forced unionization unconstitutional 2014

Rev. Jackson says prayer is not enough, blasts GOP for smaller government agenda

CHICAGO - Sunday, the Reverend Jesse Jackson had a message that many in the pews of Chicago's New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church may have been surprised to hear during their weekly worship hour.

Evidently, the reverend has lost faith in the power of prayer - at least when it comes to life's most challenging struggles.  

“Praying will not get my relative out of jail. Praying will not get my student debt relieved. Praying will not get me a job,” the Sun-Times reports Jackson said at the pulpit. Then he went on with more bad news: “We are free, but not equal.”

Then Jackson turned to his typical attack on Republicans, this time saying they want to cut government programs like food stamps and resist raising the minimum wage. 

“Did you know that in the 11 Southern states that had slaves . . . those who were Jefferson Davis Democrats are now Reagan Republicans?” he asked.

Jackson's angry rant followed a few words from GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, who was on hand to visit the black congregation and acquaint them with his campaign's emphasis on education and jobs. 

Alabama Republican campaign ad challenges voters to think outside the box

An Alabama Republican vying for the State House District 56 created a political buzz over the weekend with his "Out of the Box" campaign ad.

Darius Foster says in the ad, "“In a nutshell, I am not monolithic. I am many things. I can’t be put in a box." He goes on: “Did you know that while growing up, we went half the winter without heat? Or that I think best while listening to Frank Sinatra?”

Since the ad was posted June 8, Foster's appeared on national Fox News and his ad now has over 130,000 views.

Leaked briefing outlines Soros-funded plans to affect mid-term elections

CHICAGO - While the liberal press drums about the $300 million the conservative Koch Brothers say they are planning to spend during the upcoming midterm election season, the $300 million plus liberal megadonor George Soros is promising to spend this has escaped similar attention.

However, a 62-page briefing book about Democracy Alliance's plans spell out their effort to fundamentally change America's political system by focusing on who can vote, the role money plays in politics and the court system.

Democracy Alliance does not shy away from social issues, something conservative coalitions are insisting their affiliates do. The book lists what the group considers "Progressive Victories" in the past year, issues ranging from voter registration to gay marriage legalization to Obamacare and climate change.

Quinn campaign ad boasts gay marriage leadership

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn's re-election campaign released the following ad in honor of Gay Pride weekend:

New Pipeline From North Dakota To Illinois Announced

By Ulysses Arn - 

Demand for North Dakota's oil and natural gas is so great that despite the delaying by President Obama and his administration of approval of the Keystone XL pipeline a Texas company is making plans to build a new pipeline from North Dakota to existing pipelines near Patoka, Illinois that would carry more than 300,000 barrels of oil daily.  The Texas firm, Energy Transfer Partners LP, has also stated that it plans to build a rail terminal facility somewhere in Illinois to ship oil to the East Coast.

The Great Falls Tribune has more:

A Texas company has obtained enough shipping commitments from oil companies to build a 1,100-mile pipeline from western North Dakota to Illinois.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP said Thursday in a statement that the “Bakken Pipeline” would move 320,000 barrels of North Dakota crude daily to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. The company said it also plans a rail terminal facility at an undisclosed location in Illinois to access East Coast refineries.

Rhoads: More than 1,000 School Libraries

By Mark Rhoads - 

Last October was the publication date for my book on Illinois history called Land of Lincoln, Thy Wondrous Story.  I am very grateful to report that a generous grant from the Illinois State Society made it possible to donate the book as a gift to 1,044 high school and college libraries in all parts of Illinois. Not many public libraries have the book yet, but I have been invited to talk about the book to the annual meeting of the Illinois Library Association on Oct. 15 in Springfield.

Di Leo: Toppings, Innings, and Following the Rules

By John F. Di Leo - 

It was pizza night at the Di Leo household, and, yes, like any good entertainer, I take requests.

One for plain cheese, one for sausage, one for pepperoni and black olives. My bride gets mushrooms, black olives and jalapenos. I go all out, for myself: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions and red peppers.

Everyone eats something different, and that’s fine. That’s the point of pizza, in fact: there’s a good deal of variety here, tons of good options. It’s easy to get the impression that there are no limits; if the pantry is well-stocked, you could ask for anything, and individualize your meal as much as your little heart desires.

But that impression would be wrong. No matter how generous, how flexible, how talented or well-prepared the host, he cannot provide the impossible or the illegal.  He is constrained by the definition of “pizza” and the laws of the land.

You can’t have it without a crust. You can’t have it without tomato sauce or cheese; it wouldn’t be pizza (flatbread, perhaps, but not pizza). You can’t order it topped with pills, or on a crust with marijuana kneaded into the dough, or made with cocaine mixed into the sauce. Illegal ingredients are not allowed, even if the audience were to unanimously request it.  An honorable, law-abiding chef must cordially refuse any such request.

This may seem restrictive, narrow-minded, even unfair.  Tough.  Without such rules, cooking and eating would be dangerous indeed.  There simply HAVE to be rules.

Illinois' Schock, Shimkus among new Majority Whip Steve Scalise's inner circle

WASHINGTON - Illinois Congressmen John Shimkus (IL-15) and Aaron Schock (IL-17) are among the new House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's inner circle.

Congressman Shimkus shares a house in D.C. with a few other Republicans, including Scalise, and Congressman Schock was picked by Scalise to serve on his leadership team as a senior deputy, setting Schock on his way up the GOP leadership ladder.

Illinois Review reported last week that Schock was hoping to be the new top Deputy, but Scalise picked Rep. Patrick Henry of North Carolina for the spot. Henry replaces Illinois' Peter Roskam, who served as Deputy Whip under Kevin McCarthy, who is now Majority Leader.

Bill Whittle: Get to Work! [video]

Everywhere we look today we see SCANDAL FATIGUE gripping the nation. It's bad enough that Leftist policy has crippled the national economy; in Bill Whittle's latest video he explains why you shouldn't let the Clown Car Cavalcade of Incompetence cripple YOUR economy as well. Watch and discover why America is bigger than these weenies at their worst.

IL Supreme Court Democrat majority to decide if Term Limits proposal survives

CHICAGO - Friday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mikva ruled against the Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits and in favor of the Madigan-backed lawsuit, setting back an effort to vote on the Term Limits and Reform constitutional amendment in November.

The group, which collected 600,000 petition signatures to get a constitutional amendment setting two-term limits on General Assembly members, said they will appeal Judge Mikva's decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.

“Today we saw the entrenched special interests that fund and support the political status quo prevail, and the people of Illinois be denied the right to chose for themselves if term limits should be the law in Illinois,” said Term Limits and Reform Executive Director Mark Campbell.

“We’ve always known that term limits opponents would use the courts to try to protect the failed status quo, and we’ve long been prepared to defend our initiative in the Illinois Supreme Court, which we intend to do. We are confident that we will prevail there, and the people’s voices will be heard in November.”

The Illinois Supreme Court justices are elected to 10 year terms in partisan elections. Of the current seven judges, four are Democrats and three are Republicans. House Speaker Mike Madigan - who is also the Illinois Democratic Party chairman - was actively involved in electing the four Democrats to their judicial seats. Madigan is staunchly opposed to the term limit effort - an obvious challenge that could affect the Democrat judges' ultimate decision whether or not to allow the Term Limit effort on the ballot.

Madigan Fixes The Constitution

By Scott Stantis -

With yesterday's court decision Illinois House Speaker-for-life Mike Madigan gets his fondest wish and essentially has not one but two state constitution referendum removed from the ballot.

Turns out he has fixed the constitution so that any fixing can't be done.

Op-Ed: Hillary, Joe Biden and Reverse Ghetto Fabulous Money Management

By Carl Jackson - 

Liberals love living the American Dream, they just can't afford for their constituents to know it.

Hillary Clinton is determined to convince people that she knows what it's like to struggle to earn a living; Joe Biden and Michelle Obama have jumped on the bandwagon as well. They don't realize that their voters could care less whether or not they're rich or grew up rich, because that's not why they vote for them. Democrats vote for their politicians because they believe that despite being rich Democrats care enough for the "little man" to give them free stuff that they take from the rich people that they've been taught don't care for them at all. This is greed and envy of the worst kind because it's based on your wallet and not your heart. Unfortunately, they've not yet figured out that they hurt themselves when they demand that their politicians take more money from their employers via over-taxation.

Wealth obtained honestly is no big deal. On the other hand, wealth obtained while you teach your voters that poverty is a virtue all the while demonizing rich people is a big deal. Allow me to quickly recap my last article "Ghetto Fabulous Money Management, Democrats, and Seattle's New Minimum Wage," because it will help you understand what Hillary and many other Democrats are up to.

In that article I explained that many minorities like to "floss." That is we like to purchase things that give us the appearance that we're wealthier than we really are. As a far left Democrat Hillary has managed to box herself into a corner. How do you convince your base that you're down with their struggle when you make $200,000 a speech and you've never been down on your luck, at least not for the last forty years? You can't!

Sunday's Gay Pride Parade to prominently feature Rauner banner

CHICAGO - Sunday, Chicago's Boyztown neighborhood will be the centerpoint of the annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade. At a major intersection along the route, parade onlookers will see a huge banner criticizing GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner's comment that he would veto legalizing gay marriage.

Rauner's campaign has said time and time again he has "no social agenda," but gay activists say he has a social agenda that would limit their new legal right to marry.

Historic Mike Huckabee speech against judicial supremacy

Mike Huckabee delivered the keynote address for the National Organization for Marriage rally at the National Capitol, on June 19, 2014. In the speech, the former Arkansas governor defended marriage and the constitutional separation of powers. Huckabee urged Americans to stand against judicial supremacy, and for their right to self-government under the United States Constitution.

Liberals Champion Freedom of Speech -- Except in Politics

By Michael Barone - 

I'm old enough to remember when American liberals cherished the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. They celebrated especially the freedom accorded those with unpopular beliefs and protested attempts to squelch the expression of differing opinions.   

Today things are different. American liberals are not challenging the Supreme Court rulings extending First Amendment protection to nude dancers, flag burners and students wearing antiwar armbands. They are content to leave these as forms of protected free speech.   

But political speech is a whole other thing. Currently 43 Democratic senators are co-sponsoring the constitutional amendment introduced by New Mexico's Sen. Tom Udall to amend the First Amendment so that it no longer protects political speech.   

"To protect the integrity of the legislative and electoral processes," the text reads, "Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in-kind equivalents with respect to federal elections," including limits on contributions to and spending by or against candidates. The same power is given to state governments.   

Delphically, the amendment adds, "Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress the power to abridge the freedom of the press." So the New York Times can keep commenting on elections. Maybe bloggers can, too. (Are they the press?)

More HERE

North Carolina Gov. signs bill protecting religious freedom in state's colleges

On Wednesday, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that will allow religious and political student groups at the state’s public colleges and universities to limit their leadership to students who are committed to the group’s mission or faith.

The new law (PDF), sponsored by Senator Dan Soucek, provides:

(a) No constituent institution that grants recognition to any student organization shall deny recognition to a student organization or deny to a student organization access to programs, funding, facilities, or other privileges associated with official recognition otherwise available to another student organization, on the basis of the organization’s exercise of its rights pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(b) To the extent allowed by State and federal law, a religious or political student organization may, in conformity with the organization’s established written doctrines expressing the organization’s faith or mission, (i) determine that only persons professing the faith or mission of the group, and comporting themselves in conformity with, are qualified to serve as leaders of that organization, (ii) order its internal affairs according to the established written doctrines, and (iii) resolve the organization’s disputes according to the established written doctrines.

Another section applies the same rules to the state’s community colleges.

More HERE

Americans favor college rating system. Don't trust government to do it.

President Obama plans to implement a government rating system that will supposedly tie a college's performance in several areas including the earning power of its graduates to federal student financial aid. While Americans like the idea of a rating system for colleges, they don’t trust the government to do it fairly.

A new poll finds that 50% of American Adults favor a government college rating system. Twenty-eight percent (28%) oppose such a rating system, while 22% are undecided.

Quinn, Rauner campaigns exchange volley of phony media advisories

The Quinn and Rauner campaigns exchanged phony “media advisories” over the last couple of days.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn went first, e-mailing a “media advisory” Thursday night with information about two Friday campaign stops for Republican challenger Bruce Rauner. The e-mail said that Rauner “will face reporters and, with a candor yet unseen in his campaign, answer the following questions” dealing with issues involving his role in gaining his daughter admittance to Walter Payton College Prep.

The false “media advisory” listed press contacts as “Lance & Mike, Rauner for Governor” — shorthand for Rauner campaign spokesmen Lance Trover and Mike Schrimpf. It did not list a press contact for the Quinn campaign.

Not to be outdone, the Illinois Republican Party sent out its own “media advisory” on Friday morning. The release, which noted it was from the state GOP, claimed Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin would call on the Democratic governor to testify before a legislative panel looking into Quinn’s pre-2010 election $55 million anti-violence initiative.

Federal prosecutors also are looking into the program, which has been sharply criticized for mismanagement in a state audit.

More HERE

Judge tosses Illinois term limits, remap questions from fall ballot

A Cook County judge today ruled that proposals that would impose term limits on lawmakers and require a more independent process to draw legislative districts were unconstitutional, paving the way for an expected challenge to be decided by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The quick ruling by Cook County Judge Mary Mikva allows the appeals process to begin to determine whether the two proposals will appear before voters on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Mikva said that in deciding previous cases, the Illinois Supreme Court’s “precedent dictates a very narrow provision for allowing the voters to directly enact amendments to the Illinois Constitution.”

Mikva ruled that “any term limits initiative appears to be outside what is permissible” under the state constitution and previous court rulings. She said term limits by themselves have been found not to affect “structural or procedural” changes in the legislature. She said adding other components, such as changing the number of senators and representatives “cannot save this initiative.”

More HERE

Thorner and O'Neil: Part 2 - Surge as a politically opportune moment?

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

Our current immigration rules outline acceptable reasons for border agents to follow, when deciding whether undocumented aliens can cross into the United States. What has and is continuing to happen with the unprecedented 60,000 currently asking for entry is an example of how our laws are being violated by “gaming the system”. The aliens were given a “cheat sheet” (see above), which has been found at the border, with prepared instructions on how to answer designated questions asked by border agents how to provide the right answers, which will in turn guarantee them entry.  One of the more important questions they are being asked is their reason for wanting to leave their country of origin.  The aliens were told to claim it was due to poverty and/or fear of their government or gangs. Those answers are the “triggers" or the “loop holes" in our immigration law, which were originally written and intended for specific purposes (such as preventing sex trafficking) and certainly not for qualifying half the world’s population for entry into America.

State Sen. Murphy: NRI “Gross Incompetence On A Scale That Should Not Be Tolerated”

WROK interviewed State Sen. Matt Murphy about Governor Quinn's troubled anti-violence program, called the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. Ostensibly the effort was designed to help combat the violence problem in Chicago and Cook County, but it more and more appears that it was $55 million in slush fund dollars to help the Governor win re-election against conservative State Sen. Bill Brady in 2010.

Recently, Governor Quinn has said he won’t testify about his role in the program. He previously blamed the recipients of the grants for the problems with the NRI.

State Senator Murphy has been following the investigation closely and was among the first to point out problems with the NRI. He told WROK:

We learn something new just about every week on this [NRI]. This issue isn’t going away. This program was set up with, I believe, dishonest intentions. At a minimum it is gross incompetence on a scale that should not be tolerated by people who live here. I suspect it might be even worse than that. That it was an intentional use of taxpayer money really to affect a political election.

The full interview with State Senator Matt Murphy:

Karen Lewis: “Do we want presidential libraries, or librarians for every child?”

By Victor Skinner - 

CHICAGO – Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis apparently doesn’t care very much for the Obama Presidential Library.

Preserving the jobs of educational support personnel and others the city doesn’t need should be the top priority, Lewis said in a rambling union statement issued yesterday.

In her screed against layoffs, school turnaround plans, and charter schools that are outperforming the city’s unionized public schools, Lewis implied the presidential library is an unnecessary waste, and the money would be much better spent on public school librarians.

More HERE

Tea Party Lawyer Involved in Thad Cochran Photo Scandal Commits Suicide

Mark Mayfield, the vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party, committed suicide in the wake of his arrest for his involvement in a photography scandal during the state’s contentious Senate race.

Mayfield (photo right) is one of four men arrested and charged with conspiracy for breaking into a nursing home and photographing the bedridden wife of Sen.Thad Cochran (R-MS), then using it in an smear ad. He was a vocal supporter of Chris McDaniel, who lost against Cochran in this week’s GOP primary election.

More HERE

Carter: Paying Higher Wages Is Smart—Forcing Everyone to Do So is Dumb

By Joe Carter - 

The furniture store Ikea has announced they will begin to base their minimum pay on what’s considered to be a “living wage” in each local area, rather than on what competitors are paying. Similarly, the clothing retailer Gap says it will set $9 as the minimum hourly rate for its United States work force this year and then establish a minimum of $10 next year.

This makes good business sense — but will lead to a lot of bad economic reasoning.

A prime example is the latest column by Slate’s business and economic writer, Jordan Weissmann:

Common Core Support Among Those with School-Age Kids Plummets

Support for Common Core among Americans with school-age children has fallen dramatically, as more now question whether the new national education standards will actually improve student performance.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% of American Adults with children of elementary or secondary school age now favor requiring all schools nationwide to meet the same Common Core education standards. That’s an 18-point drop from 52% in early November of last year. Forty-seven percent (47%) oppose the imposition of the national standards, compared to 32% in the previous survey. Little changed are the 19% who are undecided.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 21-22, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

U.S. job gains equal to number of immigrants

Since 2000, all of the net jobs added by the U.S. economy have gone to immigrants, both legal and illegal, according to a report being released Friday by the Center for Immigration Studies that challenges prevailing wisdom that the country needs an influx of workers.

Nearly 6 million more people are working in the U.S. now than in 2000, but the number of native-born Americans holding jobs has declined slightly, from 114.8 million to 114.7 million, according to census figures crunched by CIS. Instead, all of that job growth — a total of 5.7 million — has gone to immigrants.

More HERE

Illinois Governor signs anti-bullying bill

CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed the anti-bullying law requiring all public schools to create and implement anti-bullying policies.

Each school's policies must detail a subjective definition of "bullying," as well as procedures for reporting "bullying" and parental notification when a student's action is deemed as "bullying" by those individuals empowered to enforce the policies. The policies should also include the investigation of reports of "bullying" and actions that may be taken to address it. State education officials will monitor to make sure schools implement the policies.

Illinois bill set to hike cost of public information by 10,000 percent

By Brian Costin - 

Illinois is ranked as the third-most corrupt state in the nation. And Illinoisans have by far the lowest level of trust in state government in the nation at only 28 percent.

So why are lawmakers trying to make it harder and more expensive for citizens to fight public corruption? A “watchdog tax” bill that does just that has passed both the Illinois House and Senate.

One of the most important citizen watchdog tools is the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, which gives normal people access to public information on how their government operates. By researching government activities citizens can deter and expose government corruption and help ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately.

Under current Illinois law, when a FOIA requester asks for electronic copies of public documents, public bodies are allowed to “charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the recording medium.” Usually, this results in a cost of $1 or less for most types of requests.

A new law, House Bill 3796, would increase the cost up to $100 for “voluminous requestors” and dramatically weaken the state’s FOIA laws.

Stantis: Debt Star

By Scott Stantis - 

While Chicago is all atwitter over landing the George Lucas Museum there's a VERY large problem lurking out there that threatens the cities very existence.

O'Brien: Mentioning Food Stamps is Racist, Unless GOP Does It to Beat Tea Party

By Teri O'Brien - 

Back in 2011, former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich did the one thing guaranteed to send the Left into orbit; that is, tell the truth. Remember this hideously racist remark? 

From Fox Nation:

If you are the Republicans you should say we have more people on food stamps today than ever before in history. President Obama is the most successful food stamp president in American history. We need a program to put 14 million Americans back to work. We are committed to creating jobs. The Democrats are committed to killing jobs. You decide which future you want, paychecks or food stamps?

Oh the humanity! How can this man go on national television and make these cringe-inducing remarks? Suggesting that food stamps are related to race? What was this man saying, that blacks want food stamps? Disgusting, disgraceful! What an embarrassment to the Republican party!  Fear mongering and playing the race card? Seriously? The GOP using the tactics of the segregationist Democrat party? Naturally, NBC's David ""Howdy Doody" Gregory, buffoonish anchor of "Meet the Press" was horrified that anyone would connect "America's first African-American president" with the explosion in eligibility for food stamps.

Chicago No. 6 on list of most-stressed cities

Bad weather and heavy traffic puts Chicago sixth on a list of most-stressed cities in the country.

After consulting experts at the American Psychological Association, CNNMoney ranked 55 of the country’s largest cities by stress level, based on factors such as poverty and unemployment rates, commute times, overall health, family size, crime rates and even the average amount of sunshine.

Chicago ranked less stressed than:

Read more

CPS announces more than 1,000 staff layoffs

Before releasing its budget recommendations for the 2014-15 school year or enrollment projections, Chicago Public Schools announced staff layoffs on Thursday for 550 teachers and 600 other school staffers.

Added to the 147 staffers (including 76 teachers) who already got pink slips at three schools confirmed for a turnaround, 625 teachers and 671 other school employees are now looking for work.

CPS began notifying approximately 1,150 employees on Thursday that their schools would not retain them in the fall due to falling projected enrollment. That’s about half the number who got pink-slipped last year in the wake of a historic number of school closings, and district officials said on Thursday they believed that like last year, about 60 percent would be rehired at other CPS schools.

Read more

U.S. Supreme Court's cell phone decision raises question about Illinois' texting ban

SPRINGFIELD - It's illegal to text while driving in Illinois, but proof that a driver has been texting got a little harder to prove Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court protected cell phones from search and seizure without a judge's warrant.

Illinois' ban on texting declares that "A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device." There are then exceptions, like "a driver using an electronic communication device in hands-free or voice-operated mode,which may include the use of a headset.

Attorney Peter Breen says how that may be handled practically could be a challenge for law enforcement. "To get a ticket for this would seem to require a visual confirmation that the driver has a phone in hand, held up to his head or held up within view and texting," Breen told Illinois Review. "If the officer sees that, he probably would just write a ticket. No need to look at the phone."

But if the driver says he was not using the handheld phone to illegally text, law enforcement possibly would be required to get a warrant before confiscating the phone to see whether or not the person was, indeed, texting. 

The U.S. Supreme Court said law enforcement would not have authority to scroll through the driver's smart phone in order to find evidence that can be used against the driver. How that will be applied in the case of Illinois' texting ban remains to be seen.

Cross and Topinka to march in Gay Pride Parade

CHICAGO - Comptroller Judy Baar-Topinka won't be the only Republican in this year's Chicago Gay Pride Parade Sunday. NBC's Ward Room checked with the parade organizers and found that at least one other statewide GOP candidate - Tom Cross - will also participate.

Cross, who is running for state treasurer, was one of three Republicans in the Illinois House that voted to legalize gay marriage in Illinois. Treasurer Topinka attended the gay marriage bill signing ceremony earlier this year.

All the other Democrat statewide officers running for re-election are scheduled to appear Sunday. GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is not on the current list of participants. 

IRS’s Lerner sought tax audit of Iowa Sen. Grassley over his wife’s free meal

Lois Lerner, the woman at the center of the Internal Revenue Service's tea party targeting scandal, tried to get her agency to conduct an audit involving a sitting U.S. senator, according to emails released Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Lerner suggested the IRS look into whether it was wrong for a group to pay for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley's wife to attend an event where he was slated to speak. Her suggestion was shot down by another IRS employee who said the arrangement appeared to be legal.

But the email chain, which was turned over to Congress as part of its investigation, raises more questions about Ms. Lerner.

More HERE

Nearly 7 Million Americans Registered to Vote in More Than One State

By Kenric Ward -

Some 6.9 million Americans are registered to vote in two or more states, according to a report from an election-watch group.

“Our nation’s voter rolls are a mess,” says Catherine Engelbrecht, True The Vote president. “Sensible approaches to roll maintenance are fought tooth and nail by radical special interests who can use the duplicity in the system to their advantage.”

The latest interstate voter cross check tallied 6,951,484 overlapping voter registrations, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

The cross-check program involves only 28 states and does not include the three largest: California, Texas and Florida.

As Illinois Gas Prices Skyrocket, Energy Solutions proceed through the U.S. House

WASHINGTON DC - This week, key legislation promoting American energy production, job creation, opposition to high gas prices and fuel manufacturing was voted on in the U.S. House. 

For years, Illinois has suffered the brunt of high gas prices which have heaped immeasurable burdens on middle class families, Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) said in a statement Thursday.  

"Energy prices are an ever-present concern for Americans who drive their kids to school, commute to their jobs, cool their homes, run their manufacturing plants and harvest their crops—yet find their paychecks don’t go as far as they used to in the current economic climate,” Rep. Hultgren said. “The administration’s current stance on energy isn’t helping the individuals and families I represent in the 14th District. Nor is it helping the businesses I represent to keep the lights on."

It is time to pursue North American energy independence—a truly all-of-the-above approach to energy production, Hultgren said.  He listed energy legislation which he supported in the U.S. House.

Illinois Pro-Life Leaders Celebrate U.S. Supreme Court Buffer Zone Ruling

WASHINGTON DC - Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League is applauding today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McCullen v. Coakley. The nation's high court struck down the restrictive Massachusetts abortion clinic buffer zone law, allowing pro-life sidewalk counselors to resume sharing life-saving alternatives with abortion bound women.

"Today's ruling is a great vindication of sidewalk counseling," declared Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League. "The justices in the majority recognize that our compassionate pro-life outreach to mothers outside abortion clinics deserves the protection of the First Amendment."

The court struck down a Massachusetts-imposed 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. Within this zone, pro-life speech was completely -- and unconstitutionally -- banned. Similar restrictions enacted elsewhere in the country are expected to be overturned as a result of today's ruling.

Despite overturning McCullen v. Coakley, less restrictive bubble zones set forth in Hill v. Colorado have been allowed to stand, including one in Chicago.

Starkehaus: The battle of the ages – determinism versus free will

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

According to research published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, human choice is born out of predictable electric impulse in the brain which suggests that human beings do not possess free will but are slaves of determinism. Read the full article here in the Independent Online. JoCN is published by the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute out of Berkley.

Volunteers within the experiment conducted at the University of California, Davis were asked to sit in front of a screen and focus on its central point while their brains' electrical activity was recorded. They were then asked to make a decision to look either left or right when a visual cue appeared on the screen, and then to report their decision.

Based on the brain activity, researchers could determine with reasonable accuracy which way the volunteers would look.

(I shudder to think how much money was spent to discover something that Penn Jillette could have offered for free or at least for the cost of a ticket to his next show, but such is the politics of science.)

Thorner & O'Neil: Part 1: Surge of immigrants- humanitarian issue or political deception?

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

Since October of last year 52,000 - 60,000 unaccompanied children have arrived at our border with Mexico with an expectation of being allowed into our country. They came mostly from Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador, based on information they received promising America had relaxed their immigration laws and if they managed to reach our borders, they would be allowed entry, especially the children.

Among the hundreds of children apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol it is alarming that some were infants and toddlers, but also that the average age was about fourteen, and many of them were in the unaccompanied category. Shocking images have been captured of young faces pressed blankly up against thick glass panes and hundreds of children huddled under aluminum-foil blankets on concrete floors behind chain fences and barbed wire. Obviously, the pictures tear at our hearts, and cause us to think emotionally about the situation, rather than with rational logic. Could that be the intent of those who helped initiate the mass immigration we are seeing?

Few deny it has become a crisis of epic proportions, as immigration officials and their facilities have been overwhelmed with the flood of arrivals. They are taxed with finding equitable ways to manage the unprecedented invasion. But many questions remain as to how all this happened, why it happened, and what our government plans to do about the problem now, as well as long term solutions.  

Durbin says unaccompanied alien minors should not be sent back home

WASHINGTON DC - What to do with the thousands of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) crossing the Mexican border? They're being temporarily housed in military and emergency shelters in southwestern states and reportedly being transported via plane and bus to northern states.

Illinois' U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says those children should not be sent back home to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where the vast majority's parents remain. WGBZ.com reports Durbin told them:

“We’re getting the word down to these countries: stop this,” Durbin said. “This is dangerous. Many of these kids are killed on their way to the United States. Girls are raped. It is an awful situation and we’ve got to stop this flow of infants to our border. For those that are coming, let’s deal with this compassionately.”