Illinois Review

Whittle: Loch Ness Socialism [video]

The Loch Ness Monster is a "cryptid" -- something rumored to exist but without actual proof. The Socialist Utopia of the progressives is a cryptid too. In his latest Firewall, Bill Whittle shows why Good Socialism, like the Loch Ness Monster, is a giant, air-breathing creature that (conveniently!) NEVER COMES UP FOR AIR.

Mrs. Rauner: Both candidates are pro-choice

CHICAGO - Diana Rauner, the wife of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, clarified a question many conservatives have had about the Republican nominee. Before the March primary, Rauner told conservative audiences he was "personally prolife," leaving questions as to what he'd do as governor. Would he appoint administrative and agency staff that uphold abortion rights or would he prefer life-affirming appointees? 

Diana Rauner answered that question in an exclusive interview with NBC Chicago's Mary Ann Ahern Friday.

"You can trust him that no way he will ever let something happen to our reproductive rights," Mrs. Rauner told Ahern. "I think this is a great opportunity, in this race, where we don't have to actually think about the social issues, because both candidates are pro-choice."

Mrs. Rauner's comments echo those of U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, who has publicly state on several occasions that only pro-abortion candidates can win election in Illinois.

The interview will conclude on Sunday, Ahern said.

Women's Rights Activist Executed by ISIS. American Feminist Silent.

GENEVA - Nick Cumming-Bruce of The New York Times is reporting that the United Nations has confirmed that an Iraqi lawyer known for her work promoting women’s rights has been killed by ISIS.

The lawyer, Sameera Salih Ali al-Nuaimy, was seized from her home by ISIS leaders last week and tortured for several days before a masked firing squad executed her in public on Monday, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations human rights commissioner, said in a statement.

Ms. Nuaimy had posted comments on her Facebook page condemning the “barbaric” bombing and destroying of mosques and shrines in Mosul, a northern Iraqi city, by ISIS. She was convicted of apostasy by a “so-called court,” Mr. Zeid said, adding that her family had been barred from giving her a funeral.

The killing follows the execution of a number of Iraqi women in areas under Islamic State control documented by United Nations monitors, including two candidates contesting Iraq’s general election in Nineveh Province, who were killed in July. A third female candidate was abducted by gunmen in eastern Mosul and has not been heard from since.

No comment yet from any feminist groups here in the United States or Illinois.

How Conservatives Can Break the Liberal Monopoly on Hispanic Americans [video]

Since 1965, millions of people have come to this country from Latin America and the Caribbean. Now accounting for more than 16 percent of the population, Hispanics have emerged as a decisive voting bloc that overwhelmingly skews liberal as they influence pivotal electoral races.

But it doesn’t have to be that way forever. In A Race for the Future, Mike Gonzalez describes what the term Hispanic means, correcting the erroneous assumption that it is a homogenous group and presenting a look at the challenges each nationality – Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and many others – faces in America.

The Legal Basis for Military Action against ISIS [video]

As the Obama Administration lays out its strategic plan to degrade and destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), some members of Congress assert that the President should – and perhaps must – request an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) specific to ISIS.

The President and his advisors have described ISIS as “an extremely dangerous organization,” and the campaign to defeat them may take years. On September 8, the President sent his seventh ISIS-related War Powers Resolution letter to Congress since June, and apparently will not ask Congress for an ISIS-specific AUMF anytime soon.

Can or should the administration rely on the 2001 AUMF passed in response to the September 11 attacks to justify sustained military action against ISIS? Might the Iraq-specific AUMF enacted in 2002 provide such authority? Or are the President’s Article II powers alone legally sufficient to justify ongoing and future military operations against ISIS in Iraq and perhaps beyond?

Kaifesh: Time for a modern immigration policy

By Larry Kaifesh - 

With our immigration system broken, the issue has become one of the most critical and complicated facing our nation today. The story of immigrants coming to our shores seeking liberty and a better life is as much a part of the tapestry of the United States as Benjamin Franklin and his kite, or Paul Revere and his ride. Unfortunately, the laws enacted to govern our immigration process have become antiquated, unable to adapt to a 21st century, globalized world. Unfathomable volumes of people, vehicles, and commerce, are crossing our borders on a daily basis.

For the past few years, our government in Washington has danced around the issue, presenting indecipherable, monolithic, pieces of legislation, which have had little or no chance of being passed into law. Often these proposals have become little more than political footballs; kindling for the partisan cross talk that has become endemic in the halls of Congress.   

If we are ever going to seriously address this issue, we must first take definitive action to secure our nation's borders. Until we are able to stop the illicit traffic into our country, we will not be able to implement the necessary reforms to humanely accommodate those who are here, as well as those who wish to join us.

Oklahoma Muslim beheads co-worker he tried to convert to Islam

Workers outside Vaughan Food Industries in Moore Oklahoma | Image Source

MOORE, OK - Reports coming from Moore Oklahoma (HERE) where a woman was beheaded Thursday are raising questions as to whether the incident involved a disagreement over the assailant trying to convert co-workers to Islam.

30-year-old Alton Nolen had just been fired from Vaughn Food Industries when he drove to the front to the business, hit a parked car and entered the building. Nolen, who was shot by one of the co-workers as he attacked a co-worked, fatally stabbed and beheaded one woman and stabbed another. One woman was pronounced dead and the other is hospitalized. KFOR.tv reports:

The FBI is now looking into Nolen’s background after his former co-workers said he tried to convert them to Islam after recently converting himself.

Lewis says the FBI is working in conjunction with the Moore Police Department, especially when it comes to the religious aspect of the case.

At this time, it is not known if the suspect’s beliefs played a role in the attack.

More HERE

Op-Ed: Stopping Illinois' Employment Exodus

By Denis Detzel and Matthew Lamb - 

Illinois is near bankruptcy. Chicago is not far behind. Entrepreneurs and corporations (and their jobs) are leaving the city and leaving the state. Between 2000 and 2010 approximately 900,000 people have left Illinois. 200,000 people have left Chicago. Data indicates that most of the people who live in Illinois would rather live somewhere else. So what is a local legislator to do?

Well if it’s an election year one of first things that comes to mind is to raise the minimum wage. This will provide an increased income to many people who are struggling to make ends meet. Employers will offer many minimum wage workers enough money to rise above the poverty line. Or will they?

Op-Ed: Jim Oberweis for U.S. Senate — my choice

By Reverand Ira Acree - 

I'm urging all African Americans to join me in supporting Jim Oberweis in his bid to become the next U.S. senator from Illinois. For decades, African Americans have religiously elected Democrats to office that are not serving our best interests or improving our quality of life. To keep doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Like any other healthy community, we want jobs. We want a thriving economy, great schools, and safe neighborhoods, but we clearly have none of the above and the outlook has gotten worse over the last six years.

Now is the time to make a statement.

Some Democrats have used the African American vote as their tool for far too long. They have successfully tricked us into thinking that every Republican is racist and wants to turn back the hands of time. They have also persuading us that all white Democrats are just madly in love with black people, and that they are our best allies in our pursuit of a leveled playing field, economically and educationally.

Abortion advocate Gloria Steinem in town to launch "Women for Quinn" coalition

1960s abortion right activist Gloria Steinem in town for Pat Quinn Friday

CHICAGO - Friday, the Illinois Republican Party pointed to Quinn's slim lead among women as the reason Governor Quinn is finally announcing his "Women for Quinn" coalition with the help of 60s radical leftist Gloria Steinem.

"The  most recent poll on the governor's race shows Governor Quinn trailing Bruce Rauner 41%-44% overall and holding a slim 2% point lead among women," the IL GOP press release said Friday. "Seeing these numbers is clearly taking its toll on the Governor, who today, just 39 days from Election Day, is forced to finally launch his Women for Quinn coalition."

The IL GOP points to state budget cuts in education and domestic violence prevention, "gross mismanagement" at the state's Department of Children and Family Services and Quinn's "secret early prison release" of violent criminals as reasons why women are polling two percent higher for Bruce Rauner.

Quinn's people say the governor "has been a strong champion for women, from leading initiatives to strengthen(ing) pay equity to signing laws to prevent domestic violence."

Bruce Rauner has "no social agenda," and his Women for Rauner coalition includes pro-abortion Republican women such as former Lt Governor Corrine Woods and former State Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, as well as pro-life women Republican National Committeewoman Demetra DeMonte, State Rep. Jil Tracy, Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen's wife Sarah and Rauner's running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti.

Klavan: Europe is for Real [video]

Andrew Klavan, takes a look at the faith-based story of a young man who dies and goes to the promised land, only to find that it's a giant lie propped up by the American taxpayer and military.

Fighting Terrorism under the Rule of Law: The Israeli Experience [video]

Since our country has been at war for over a decade, Americans are vaguely familiar with concepts like rules of engagement, friendly fire, and the law of armed conflict. Our collective knowledge is informed by anecdotes, movies, the news, and documentaries – most from a decidedly American-centric viewpoint.

Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Deputy Military Advocate General Colonel Eli Bar-On, discusses the challenges posed to his country by non-state actors and the phenomenon of asymmetrical warfare. A 20-year veteran of the IDF, Colonel Bar-On shares his experiences and thoughts on the application of the law of armed conflict and international law in order to preserve the lives of both civilians and soldiers alike on both sides of the battlefield. A former military prosecutor, defense counsel, judge, legal advisor, and Deputy Military Advocate General, Colonel Bar-On reveals how his country fights terrorism under the rule of law.

Adieu Eric Holder, America's Historic, First Post-Constitutional Attorney General

By Teri O'Brien - 

I just looked at the monitor here in my office and saw two men making some sort of announcement, apparently at the White House. One was a man obsessed with America's irredeemable racism and contemptuous of the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution. The other was Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, at least for the time being. Yes, Eric Holder has resigned, even though Mr. Holder shares Barack Obama's race fixation, which the president displayed again with a cringe-inducing reference to the events in Ferguson, MO during a speech at the United Nations on September 24, 2014. If, while watching that disgusting comment by America's president, you wondered what the robbery of a convenience market and local law enforcement's subsequent actions have to do with vicious, raping, head-chopping terrorists, you obviously don't get it. As Barack and Eric would explain, America sucks because it's racist. End of story, Bitter Clinger. That should have been the title of the book Bill Ayers wrote based on that shoebox of notes Obama dropped off at his house. 

An admitted and even proud activist first, and law enforcement officer second, Eric Holder is the perfect Attorney General for the Obama administration, not only because he shares Barack Obama's racialist views and his lack of appreciation for our Founding. Like Barack, he is also "historic." He is the only sitting Cabinet member to have been held in contempt of Congress, for his stonewalling on the Obama administration's despicable anti-2nd amendment racket, the Fast and Furious gun walking scheme. As you well know, that ill-advised policy resulted in the murder of Border Agent Brian Terry in December, 2010.

No Sign of GOP Tide in Congressional Voting Intentions

By Andrew Kohut - 

By this point in the campaign season, the projected outcome of the midterm elections has been hashed and rehashed and even inspired some wonk-on-wonk fights along the way. The conventional wisdom is that 2014 is a Republican year—the GOP will keep the House and may well win the Senate. But surprisingly, as the elections approaches, the latest round of polling suggests that Republicans might not do as well in the popular vote for the House as expected. And that, in turn, means there might not be enough of a GOP tide to give Republicans an edge in the key Senate races they need to win a majority of seats in the upper chamber.

Consider the 2010 midterms, when a wave of Tea Partiers helped Republicans retake the House. That year, the GOP won the popular vote by 7 percentage points. The latest Pew Research Center survey, by contrast, finds only a 3-point GOP advantage in this year’s midterms: 47 percent of likely voters report intending to cast a ballot for a Republican candidate, versus 44 percent for a Democrat. And these results are not outliers, nearly matching six Real Clear Politics surveys taken in early September.

So this time around, will Republicans in the House pick up fewer seats than we expect? The Pew survey identifies two important measures that offer clues: which party is more popular among all voters and which party’s supporters are most likely to turn out on Election Day.

Read the full article in Politico Magazine

Citigroup to fund Illinois Democratic voter drive

CHICAGO - Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced that Chicago will join New York and Los Angeles in a corporate-funded push to try to get more immigrants to become voting U.S. citizens.

The Cities for Citizenship initiative is getting a $1.1 million contribution from Citigroup to help pay for the program, which will be coordinated by two left-wing nonprofits — The Center for Popular Democracy and the National Partnership for New Americans.

According to a press release from Emanuel's office, the broader aim of the initiative is to encourage other across the country to invest in similar programs.

The Illinois Democratic Party celebrated the news, communicating it via their website.

Thorner: Eric Metaxas featured at IFI fall banquet - Part 2

By Nancy Thorner - 

Eric Metaxas, as an author, speaker and radio host, was an excellent choice for featured speaker at the Illinois Family Institute's “Faith, Family & Freedom” Fall Banquet, Executive Director David E. Smith, held at The Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, IL, on Friday, September 19. Given that Eric Metaxas is author of two acclaimed biographies, Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spyand Amazing Grace:  William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, his literary accomplishments gave Metaxas the authority and ability to emote creditably and passionately  on the topic of the evening, "Freedom In The Balance."

10 ways conservatives can appeal to Hispanics (without becoming more liberal)

WASHINGTON - According to Michael Gonzalez at The Daily Signal, there's at least 10 ways conservatives can win Hispanic support, and it doesn't include immigration reform. Take up these issues, Gonzalez says:

1. School choice. 
2. Family formation. 
3. Get them to become savers. 
4. Show them how liberal policies have put them in a hole. 
5. Give them their proper stake in the culture
6. Sever the perceptive link between success and government intervention; end affirmative action.
7. End Bilingual Education.
8. Ask them if they want to replicate conditions that made them abandon their homeland. 
9. Return to assimilationist policies. I am often asked whether today’s immigrants share American values, and the questioners almost always assume the answer is no. 
10. Explain to them that it’s not a question of being dependent or not, but of depending on someone in your family, in your community or circle of friends, or on a government bureaucrat. 

UPDATE x1: Illinois cop loses it as driver attempts to exercise rights at checkpoint [video]

Whacked out officer rips open car door and yells like a drill sergeant

An enraged police officer in Illinois was caught on camera during an exchange Friday with a driver who attempted to exercise his Constitutional rights at a random police checkpoint – making for compelling yet disturbing viewing.

Ryan Scott set a camera in his car to record as he was ushered into the checkpoint, believing that his rights were about to be trampled upon. The resulting footage shows what happened when Scott asked police whether he was being detained or not.

Scott writes “I was just stopped at an unconstitutional CHECKPOINT in DeKalb, Illinois. This was Illinois State Police conducting the unconstitutional searches. You won’t believe how this just went down!” The action begins at 3.30 mins. ...More HERE

UPDATE x1: The Northwest Herald is reporting that "Ryan Scott" has an arrest record. The story seems heavily sourced by the police, who told the Herald that the identity of the cop could not be determined, and that it did not appear that the officer violated any policy. 

In a somehwat related incident, South Carolina Highway Patrol officer Sean Groubert was arrested and charged with assault and battery Wednesday, stemming from an incident in Columbia, SC in which he shot a motorist during a traffic stop. Video shows Groubert pulling up to Levar Jones, who had just parked at a gas station (the stop was ostensibly over a seat belt violation).

House Minority Leader Durkin listed as sponsor on Personal PAC invite

CHICAGO - Republican State Representative and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin is listed as a sponsor of a fundraising benefit for the pro-abortion Personal PAC. Joining him on the committee is fellow Republican State Rep. Kay Hatcher, and former Minority Leader Tom Cross, who is running for State Treasurer. Both Cross and Hatcher have a history of supporting Personal PAC's agenda.

On Wednesday several GOP lawmakers notified Illinois Review about the invite for Personal PAC's 25th Anniversary Luncheon on October 20th. They expressed concern that their caucus leader's name was listed.

Terry Cosgrove, the head of Personal PAC, told Illinois Review that the group made a "typographical error" when they included Durkin's name.

"There's really no story here, it was simply an error," Cosgrove said. "If you people want to make something of it, go ahead, but it was simply an error. Jim Durkin has never voted with us, He is 100% pro-life."

Durkin spokesman Vicki Crawford concurred with Cosgrove's take. "It's a non-story. It was simply a mistake. It's silly season," she said.

In March 2014, Illinois Citizens for Life rated Durkin at a "1#," meaning "fully prolife" with rape and incest exceptions.

The invite is below:

Eric Holder to resign as U.S. Attorney General

WASHINGTON - At a formal announcement later today, the attorney general plans to express his personal gratitude to the President for the opportunity to serve in his administration and to lead the Justice Department, which he will call the 'greatest honor of my professional life,' a Department of Justice spokesman tells ABC.

He will note that he has loved the Justice Department since, when he was a boy, he watched how, under Attorney General [Robert] Kennedy, the Department played a leadership role in advancing the civil rights movement. During his tenure as Attorney General, Holder has had Attorney General Kennedy’s portrait in his conference room.

Pembroke Township Supervisor dips into public funds to pay $67k in gambling debts

URBANA, IL - Gambling was the reason a Downstate Illinois township supervisor dipped into public funds, the FBI reports.

A former acting Pembroke Township Supervisor, Leon Eddie Mondy, pled guilty Wednesday to defrauding township accounts of more than $60,000 from August 2012 to May 2013. Mondy entered his open plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud in an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 23, 2015, in Peoria, before Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, the Springfield Division of the FBI reports.

Mondy, 35, of St. Anne, Ill., admitted that during the time he was serving as the acting Pembroke Township Supervisor, he withdrew more than $60,000 in cash from various township accounts and spent the money on gambling. Overall, according to court documents, Mondy lost $67,418 from gambling during the same time that he made $66,434 in unauthorized cash withdrawals from Pembroke township accounts.

LaSalle Street Church gives $500 pay forward checks to 300 parishioners

Pastor Laura of the LaSalle Street Church, where parishioners received $500 to "pay forward"

CHICAGO - Members of a Chicago church went home with checks for $500 Sunday to "pay forward" in the church's "Love Let Go" campaign. The $160,000 gift to the community through the church's 300 members amount to 10 percent of a $1.6 million real estate deal the church recently completed.  

At the LaSalle Street Church on Chicago's Gold Coast, everyone is welcome, their website says. 

"Regardless of your age, race, culture, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, your religious background, your disabilities, or your different abilities, you are welcome here. Whether you have money or not, whether you have a degree or not, whether you have a home or not, you are welcome here. LaSalle Street Church is committed to being a loving community of  faith, built on the foundation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We pray you will experience healing love and the full welcome of Christ in the time you spend with us." 

The parishioners reactions and a few words from their Pastor Laura were posted on a YouTube (below):

Rauner's lack of social agenda pushes Personal PAC to endorse Quinn

CHICAGO - Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner can't catch a break on the abortion issue.

Over the years, his wife Diana has given thousands of dollars to Illinois' pro-abortion political action committee Personal PAC. While his wife Diana says on ads that Rauner has "no social agenda," her husband told Crain's he is "for abortion rights." The GOP nominee told Women for Rauner that he's for a "woman's right to choose" - a position one would expect Personal PAC would to applaud.

But that's not how Personal PAC's literature reports on the two candidates for governor. Personal PAC says, "The facts and the choice are clear: If the Rauner/Sanguinetti ticket wins - the Women of Illinois lose!"

Personal PAC partially bases their endorsement of Democrat incumbent Governor Pat Quinn on these points they see as negative about Rauner: 

Higgins responds to critics of her "Vote-for-Quinn" Strategy

By Laurie Higgins - 

Illinois Review published a commentary by this writer regarding my decision to vote for Pat Quinn that has generated a fair number of responses. In short, my reasons for voting for Quinn are that Rauner cares not one whit about the “social issues”; that Rauner is duplicitous; that once in power, politicians like Rauner (and Mark Kirk) spread their ignorance within the party; and that radical, counter-cultural action is needed now before there is no party remaining that will protect fundamental rights upon which a healthy society depends.

Many conservatives will simply not vote for Rauner because they don’t want him elected. I’m proposing a more effective strategy for ensuring that outcome: Vote for Quinn which will perhaps communicate to the GOP in language they understand that we have yet a crumb of power remaining in our bony, scrabbling hands.

Here is summary of some of my opponents’ arguments followed by my responses:

Fuzzy Slogans on the Left

By Mark Rhoads - 

Few things better dramatize the stark divide between the intellectual confusion of the Left and the common-sense clarity of the conservative community than a variety of comical posters that are flying around social media right now. The source of these posters tends to be people like Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders or obscure blogs wih "blue" in their names.

For example today one of my progressive acquaintnaces displayed a poster on her Facebook page that showed a picture of the Constitution under the title "This is the Law." and a picture of the Holy Bible under the title "This is not." When I politely commented that the Constitution would have no legitimacy if it were not rooted in the supreme law of God, I expected a torrent of progressive critics to malign my comment. But much to my pleasant suprise, many people liked the comment and posted other comments that agreed with my view. The additional irony of course is that secular progressives are usually the first people to claim the Constitution is out of date and should be interpreted only by elitist judges on the Left who make it up as they go along by inventing new rights somewhere in the murky "penumbra" of the written Bill of Rights.

Islamic Jihad -- Target America

According to the Pew Research Center, there are 2.75 million Muslims in the U.S. today. Notably, about 90% of American Muslims are Sunni. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and theNation of Islam have now established more than 2,200 mosques, some of which have become hotbeds of support for Sunni Islamist extremists. The ethnic group with the fastest growing conversion rate to Islam is Latino – 12 million of whom are now in the U.S. illegally, and who continue to pour across our southern border.

Do any of those grim statistics concern you?

At the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War, George Washington wrote that our nation has its roots in “the establishment of civil and religious liberty.”

Islam, on the other hand, is founded on the abolition of civil and religious liberty – which is to say it is diametrically opposed to the notion that Liberty is “endowed by our Creator.”

H/T: Patriot Post

Hotbed of Domestic Terrorists Demands Food Stamps Meet Islamic Standards

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The Somali community in Minneapolis - a hotbed of domestic and foreign terrorist recruitment - is demanding the government provide more Muslim food options for the taxpayer-funded food stamps they use.

Video below:

Where Is Liberalism Going? [video]

Twenty-five years ago, marriage meant what it had always meant, Madonna was considered risqué, and liberals worried about mass immigration, threats to religious liberty and the vulgarity of pop music. The times, they have a-changed. And they will continue to change as the Left presses on.

Where will liberalism be 25 years from now? What new causes will it champion? Will it have exhausted itself or will it continue to grow bolder in its demands? Can conservatives today in any way try to preempt the future agenda of liberalism?

Our America Fund launches new video about Durbin's "pay gap" duplicity [video]

Republicans set sights on Dems in solid-blue states like Illinois

WASHINGTON DC - The Hill is reporting that House Republicans are eyeing pickup opportunities this cycle in enemy territory like Illinois.

Democrats netted four seats in Illinois in 2012, following a friendly gerrymander (a fifth Republican seat was eliminated when Illinois redrew its districts). Now they're struggling to generate the enthusiasm favorite son Obama created two years ago, and privately concede that freshman Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), who barely won his swing seat against a weak opponent in 2012, is likely to sail to reelection this fall. An early target of national Democrats, Davis recently released a poll showing him with a 19-point lead against former Judge Ann Callis (D), once a vaunted recruit.

They’re also fretting about Congressman Bill Enyart, a freshman who’s facing a tough challenge from Illinois state Rep. Mike Bost (R) in a suburban St. Louis district. National groups have been spending heavily on both sides, and Democrats grumble that Enyart has done little to solidify himself in the swing district, while Republicans are increasingly optimistic.

Republicans are also bullish about the chances of former Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL) in his rematch against Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) in Chicago’s North Shore suburbs. Schneider barely beat Dold, despite Obama’s coattails in 2012, and strategists in both parties predict another close race.

The GOP is also hopeful that former Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL) will be able to force a close race against Rep. Cheri Bustos.

Kirk calls for sanctions on Russian banks

WASHINGTON – Wednesday, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and eight U.S. Senators sent a letter urging the Obama Administration to press European financial regulators to cut off Russian banks sanctioned by the European Union (E.U.) from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the global financial messaging service governed by E.U. law.

“Even partial disconnection from SWIFT could have dramatic consequences for the Russian economy, just as it did for Iran in 2012 when international pressure forced SWIFT to cut off Iranian banks,” Senator Kirk said. “As long as Russia continues to threaten Ukraine’s sovereignty, the U.S. and the E.U. must utilize all non-military means to make Russia pay a high price for its illegal actions and to deter Putin from further aggression.”

RFK Jr. calls for energy CEO's and climate skeptics to be jailed for "Treason"

Chicago Federation of Labor endorses Democrats - and three Republicans

CHICAGO - The Chicago Federation of Labor released their endorsements for the November 4th election, and they are urging their members to support and work for Democrats in all statewide races except one - State Comptroller. For that spot, they recommend Judy Baar Topinka, a Republican.

The group endorses all five of the advisories on the statewide ballot, including support for the millionaire's tax, the minimum wage hike, the birth control mandate, No ID voting, and crime victims' rights.

At the congressional level, the CFL endorsed all Democrat incumbents in the U.S. House, and did not support any Republican incumbents nor candidates.

At the State Senate level, they endorsed all Democrats. In the State House, they endorsed all Democrats with one exception - State Rep. Mike McAuliffe, the only Republican House member representing a Chicago district. 

The only other Republican they endorsed is Cook County Commissioner Peter N. Silvestri.

The CFL's endorsement list is HERE

Rutherford staffers charged with manipulating time sheets, harassing staffer

CHICAGO - An ethics report released this week on three top staffers for State Treasurer Dan Rutherford's office suggests Patrick Carlson, Ashvin Lad and George Daglas may have manipulated their time sheets and harassed another female staffer, a Sun-Times story reports.

The evidence presented by the office's ethics investigator general David Wells appalled and disappointed Treasurer Rutherford, he said. 

“Your investigation found that multiple high-level employees in positions of supervisory authority and trust conspired to avoid the systems in place and defraud the state of Illinois. To say the least, their behavior leaves me apalled and disappointed. Furthermore, the vulgar, rude and intimidating actions described in yoru report have no place in my administration or anywhere in any workplace for that matter,” he wrote in a response to Wells.

The three staffers, who were fired in July, argued with the inspector's findings.

More HERE

Bill would allow employers to help pay off employees' students loans

WASHINGTON DC - Student loans are a looming financial crisis and while students are pushing for the federal government to wipe their loan debts clean, others are looking for ways to pay their five and six digit debts.

Illinois' student loans average some of the highest in the nation, over $25,000, according to figures provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Employers would be able to offer prospective employees assistance with their students loans and get tax breaks for doing so if legislation Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13) introduced Wednesday becomes law.

The Employer Participation in Refinancing Act would  help individuals pay down their student loans and provide a new tool to help employers recruit and retain employees by allowing them to help qualified employees repay student loans with pre-tax dollars.

Rauner releases new video: Mayor Harold Washington on Pat Quinn

Schimpf commits to support school choice, home schools

WATERLOO, IL - Wednesday, Republican candidate for attorney general Paul Schimpf committed to aggressively support the right of homeschoolers to educate their children.

“I believe that one of the roles of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office is to limit the intrusive reach of government upon people’s private lives," said Schimpf. "Accordingly, parents and local school boards should have the right to make educational decisions for their children. As such, I will work to ensure that home school children are afforded the educational opportunities commensurate with those of public school children. As Attorney General, I will aggressively defend the right of parents to educate their children in the manner in which they see fit.”

Illinois homeschools are legal and considered private schools based on a 1951 Illinois Supreme Court decision. The court affirmed the parents right to educate their children at home and protected those "schools" from state and local control, in the same way private schools are protected. All Illinois children are required by state law to attend school from age six to 17, and those schools must offer similar basic subjects offered by public schools. 

Union phone banks against Rauner, gives $250K to Quinn

COUNTRYSIDE - The International Union of Operating Engineers is calling for members to man the phone banks to defeat Republican Bruce Rauner.

"We are only six weeks out from the election, and the race for Governor is a dead heat. The stakes couldn't be higher for our union, and we have to make sure Pat Quinn is elected," the email says.  

"Please come spend a couple of hours at a phonebank at the District 1 Hall on Wednesday. We will be calling other union members to make sure they are voting and to tell them to get active against union-buster Bruce Rauner."

Two weeks ago, $250,000 of IUOE Local 150 members 2014 dues also went to Quinn's campaign:

Illinois health department pushes to ban smoking on patios, decks, rooftops

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Illinois politicians and bureaucrats want to outlaw smoking on all public patios, decks, rooftops, and at beer gardens in Illinois.

The idea is to further limit citizen rights, responsibilities and judgement under the guise of keeping second hand smoke away from workers who have to serve people in those areas. A legislative committee is slated to take a vote on the proposal next month. The public can weigh in on the issue until Sept. 29.

It is unclear if second hand smoke includes that emanating from marijuana.

Why Your Plan Was Cancelled: Health Insurance and Obamacare [video]

There's a bizarre reason why millions of Americans saw their health plans cancelled in 2013 and, as explained in a new video featuring Robert Graboyes of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, millions more will lose their plans in years to come.

Insurance coverage for Americans will remain in permanent turmoil because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that all plans fit within cookie-cutter designs called "metallic tiers." (The tiers—bronze, silver, gold, and platinum—refer to the percentage of medical expenses a particular plan pays.) The video also explains that families may have to switch plans repeatedly because, as circumstances change, a plan that fits within a tier one year may not fit in any tier in a later year.

Thorner: Spirit of Freedom alive and well at the IFI Fall Banquet

Wheaton College Horn Quartet

By Nancy Thorner - 

The Illinois Family Institute, David E. Smith, IFI Executive Director, held its Faith, Family & Freedom Fall Banquet on Friday night, September 19, titled, “Freedom in the Balance,” at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, IL. Featured was Bonhoeffer author Eric Metaxas, whose message was a powerful one in light of the coming November elections. The six hundred friends and members of the Illinois Family Institute who attended the event left inspired with a renewed dedication to go out and spread its timely and prophetic message.

Throughout the program the excellent Wheaton College Horn Quartet & Pastor Rob Daniels, Executive Pastor, Westbrook Christian Church, performed hymns and patriotic tunes, among them the "National Anthem, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "America the Beautiful."  Piano music was also provided by the very talented oldest son and daughter of David E. Smith while dinner was being served.

Eric Metaxas on the Church and Religious Freedom [video]

Best-selling author Eric Metaxas says the American Christian Church must boldly defend the religious freedom that allows it to proclaim the Gospel. Mr. Metaxas spoke with IFI before giving the keynote speech at their annual Faith, Family and Freedom Banquet.

Have conservatives lost the debate about the definition of marriage?

Ryan Anderson is a fellow with D.C.'s conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation

CHICAGO - Heritage Foundation's marriage defender Ryan Anderson is in Chicago to speak with two very different audiences - first, law students at Northwest University Tuesday and the Catholic Citizens of Illinois Wednesday night in Oak Brook.

Anderson, 31, says that conservatives have not lost the discussion about the definition of marriage, despite gay rights' activists recent judicial and legislative victories nationwide.

Now a doctrinal candidate at the University of Notre Dame, the Princeton graduate has become one of the nation's leading debaters on the importance of preserving the one-man/one-woman definition of marriage. Anderson co-authored a book with Princeton’s Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis “What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense” that U.S. Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito cited in an opinion on the Defense of Marriage Act.

Illinois Review had the chance to ask him a few questions about the current state of marriage in America. 

IR: Have conservatives already lost the debate about the definition of marriage?

Anderson: No, not at all. I think we're just starting to have that discussion. We're a little late to the game, but there's no reason to think that this discussion is over for the long haul, even if there are temporary setbacks in the short term.

But there's nothing more important for the conservative movement to do than to champion a sound understanding of marriage and the family. If we don't get that right, then we won't get civil society right, and if we don't get civil society right, we can't get limited government right. And if our long term goal is restoring good government - which needs to be limited for government to be good - we need to get the family right, we'll need to get marriage right. 

Former Illinois Department of Public Health Administrator pleads guilty

Director pleads guilty to bribery, kickback scheme and filing false income tax return

SPRINGFIELD, IL - A former human resources director for the Illinois Department of Public Health, Roxanne Jackson, waived indictment and pled guilty today to an information that charges her with participating in a bribery and kickback scheme related to state grants and contracts and filing false income tax returns. The information was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.

Jackson, 49, of Olympia Fields, IL, appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Schanzle-Haskins in Springfield to enter her plea. Sentencing for Jackson has been scheduled for Jan. 26, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough.   

According to court documents, Jackson was an associate of IDPH Chief of Staff Quinshanta Golden when Jackson and Golden devised a scheme to defraud the state related to grant funds and contract monies. Golden previously pled guilty on Apr. 10, 2014, to her role in the bribery and kickback scheme and obstruction of justice. Golden is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31, 2014. ...More HERE

Tax Foundation Publishes State-by-State Sales Tax Survey

Retail sales taxes are one of the more transparent ways to collect tax revenue. While graduated income tax rates and brackets are complex and confusing to many taxpayers, the sales tax is easier to understand: people can reach into their pocket and see the rate printed on a receipt.

Less known, however, are the local sales taxes collected in 38 states. These rates can be substantial, so a state with a moderate statewide sales tax rate could actually have a very high combined state-local rate compared to other states. The graphic above from the Tax Foundation shows the combined state and average local sales tax rates for each state.

More HERE

Gays come out for Quinn, get catty with Rauner

CHICAGO - Not surprisingly, Equality Illinois PAC has endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn for governor. In a press release, the gay activist organization wrote:

"Governor Quinn has stood up time and again on issues important to LGBT Illinoisans and their families, from marriage to health care to anti-bullying laws. Governor Quinn is the only gubernatorial contender who unequivocally supports LGBT equality and he deserves the unequivocal support from all voters who support equal treatment for LGBT Illinoisans," said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.

"As for Gov. Quinn's opponent, Bruce Rauner, we, like most Illinoisans, are alarmed that he blurs the line by saying anything in order to win this election; and with all the gains made during Gov. Quinn's time in office, Illinois cannot risk going backwards on LGBT rights. Bruce Rauner is a dangerous purveyor of empty, mealy-mouthed rhetoric, on the rare occasions he has anything to say about these issues," said Nicole Bashor, chairman of the Equality Illinois PAC.

Rauner releases new video

Conservatives vs. Moderates: Readers Respond to Higgins Op-Ed

CHICAGO - An op-ed by Laurie Higgins (HERE) on Monday has sparked a significant amount of heated discussion among those who identify with the Republican Party. But the bickering hasn't been limited to IR alone. The anonymous authors of a Republican blog have put in their two cents, writing:

When will this nonsense stop?

The fringe (wingnut) element of MY party - the Republican Party - needs to figure out that political parties aren't here to win arguments. They're here to win elections.

When we talk about things that people care about (like jobs, trust, corruption, budgets), we win more folks on our side. When we talk about what happens in people's private bedrooms, we lose.

We here at the Truth Team are proud supporters of moderate Republicans. They're the only ones who can win in Illinois today.

We welcome the confident, albeit commonplace, Republican rejoinder that conservatives are not entirely welcome in the Grand Old Party. The right-wing's inability to be silent in the face of left-wing social engineering is uncomfortable for many. Perhaps most of all for conservatives who argue that they don't seek these fights, but rather these fights are thrust upon them.

As a news and information source, Illinois Review reports...and lets you decide. We encourage debate, and entertain arguments, rebuttals and opinions.

Downstate mineral owners receive false leasing agreement termination letters

Fracking opponents staged at sit in at the State Capitol in May 2013

VIENNA, IL - Some one or some group of fracking opponents created havoc in early September when they wrote and mailed fraudulent letters to Johnson County, Illinois, oil and gas lease holders. 

Letters from the company owner with the Woolsey Energy Corporation logo and letter heading falsely informed oil and gas lease owners their signed agreements had been terminated.

"We offer out sincere apologies for this severance of our business relationship," the letter said.

Then it went on to cite "scientific evidence" that shows links between hydraulic fracturing and water contamination, air pollution, birth defects and earthquakes.

"As a result of these recent findings and lawsuits, our legal team has determined that the Oil and Gas Lease we have signed is an unconscionable contract," the letter says.

Woolsey Energy Corporation vehemently denies having anything to do with the letters. 

D'Souza gets community confinement for election law violation

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza was sentenced on Tuesday to spend eight months in a community confinement center during five years of probation after pleading guilty to a campaign finance law violation.

The defendant, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan. He was also given a $30,000 fine and ordered to do one day of community service a week during his probation.

D'Souza, 53, admitted in May to illegally reimbursing two 'straw donors' who donated $10,000 each to the unsuccessful 2012 U.S. Senate campaign in New York of Wendy Long, a Republican he had known since attending Dartmouth College in the early 1980s.

"It was a crazy idea, it was a bad idea," D'Souza told Berman before being sentenced. "I regret breaking the law."

Prosecutors had sought a 10-to 16-month prison sentence, rejecting defense arguments that D'Souza was "ashamed and contrite" about his crime and deserved probation with community service.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish; Image Source)