Illinois Review

Afternoon events from the "In Defense of Life" Seminar in Tinley Park

By Irene F. Starkehaus -

Dr. Eric M. Wallace and The Freedom's Journal Institute sponsored a symposium discussing abortion's devastating effects on society entitled In Defense of Life: Why All Lives Matter in Tinley, Park Illinois on Friday, July 31.

Presidential hopeful Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke to an enthusiastic crowd that was not necessarily Republican, but was in tune with Huckabee's message about a need for national repentance and defense of life. Gov. Huckabee hit on several issues that highlighted his prolife perspective.

In his speech, Mike Huckabee established that there are three ways in which the country is in trouble:

The economy – the nation needs to fix the unemployment problems. It is not acceptable that men and women are having to take on 2 or 3 part time jobs just to stay even with where they were a decade ago. The loss of 5 million manufacturing jobs is not acceptable. That must be reversed.

Morning events at In Defense of Life Seminar in Tinley Park

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

Dr. Eric M. Wallace and The Freedom's Journal Institute sponsored a symposium discussing abortion's devastating effects on society entitled In Defense of Life: Why All Lives Matter in Tinley, Park Illinois on Friday, July 31.

Morning presentations came from Pastor Ceasar LaFlore of New Community Church, Rev. John Morales of the Film 40, Emily Zender of Illinois Right to Life and Rev. Brian Walker of Prolife Action Series. Speakers focused on the state of the prolife movement in Illinois and the United States and opportunities for advancing the prolife agenda.

Rev. LaFlore emphasized prospects for changing the hearts and minds of pro-abort voters drawing connections to the "Black Lives Matter" movement that arose out of police brutality cases that have been erupting around the country. Rev. LaFlore underscored that Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood have damaged Black communities at a higher rate than the KKK has and called for an end to the "abortion holocaust" that ravages communities.

Thorner/Ingold: What's Wrong with this Picture in Deterring Criminals?

By Nancy Thorner and Ed Ingold - 

The picture, of course, is the pistol crossed out with a red line as seen above -- the ubiquitous “No Gun” sign, otherwise known as a “Criminal Protection Zone.”  The recruiting office in Chattanooga, TN, and the theaters in Aurora, CO and Lafayette, LA had signs similar to the above graphic, but exactly whom did they protect?

Anti-gun zealots like Mayor Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton and now Bernie Sanders are lining up to decry our lax gun laws, wanting to restrict this Constitutional right even further. President Obama “regrets” that he failed in this endeavor.

President Obama in his 2012 State of the Union Address promised he would continue his gun control efforts "with or without Congress."  He has followed through with this promise, using multiple secret, backdoor methods to limit an individual's rights to own certain types of firearms and ammunition.  They include:

Retail merchants trash Chicago plastic bag ban starting Saturday

CHICAGO - Retailers are paying between $40,000 and $3 million for shopping bags that will be legal in Chicago stores, starting Saturday and they're not happy about it. 

They want customers to bring their own bags to help carry the expense of Chicago's latest ban.

"The overwhelming majority of cities around the country have implemented a ban plus fee model which has proven to be successful in getting consumers to bring their own reusable bags and cutting down on the number of bags that end up in landfills and on our streets as litter," said Tanya Triche, vice president and general counsel at Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

Ives' commentary stirs AFSCME activity

WHEATON - Seeming to react with a rather defensive tone, AFSCME's Twitter feed posted "I Will Never Apologize for being Union" Thursday night after following an Illinois House member that made public the unions contracts demands.`

After Tweeting out several criticisms about those demands the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union is making during Illinois contract negotiations, State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) welcomed AFSCME to her Twitter feed Thursday.

Ives' op-ed published in Illinois Review Thursday afternoon is drawing attention among AFSCME members, who aren't privy to all their representatives are insisting be included in this year's contract. 

Kirk numbers falling, poll shows; Clinton, Walker lead among Illinois voters

WASHINGTON - Thursday night, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk sent a fundraising email to supporters telling them he needs their help, and one poll shows he's not crying "Wolf!"

Friday night closes out an FEC reporting period that will indicate check writers' support for Kirk. "I need your help," Kirk says in the message, "I’m working hard in the Senate to protect the livelihood of millions of Illinois families."

How is Kirk helping Illinois families? By pushing a bill to rid the Great Lakes of sewage dumping and working with GOP leadership to reauthorize the Export Import Bank. Together, those efforts, Kirk says, will save 4.3 million jobs, especially in areas like Peoria and Moline. 

But Kirk is going to need more than that plea to get financial support from Illinoisans. Public Policy Polling, a Democrat opinion group, says Kirk's approval numbers are sinking fast. And his disapproval numbers are spiking:

Kirk was already struggling when we last polled the state in February- only 28% of voters approved of the job he was doing to 32% who disapproved. After getting involved in a series of controversies over the last five months his numbers have turned even more in the wrong direction- now only 25% approve of him with his disapproval spiking up to 42%.

White House declares Planned Parenthood videos "fraudulent"

WASHINGTON DC - From the Daily Caller - 

The White House expressed its firm belief Thursday that recently-released videos attacking Planned Parenthood are “fraudulent.” Their source: Planned Parenthood.

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, was speaking with reporters when they raised the matter of the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress which appear to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal organs for profit, a violation of federal law. He claimed the videos were released in a “fraudulent way” with “not a lot of evidence” behind them.

“There is ample reason to think that this is merely the tried and true tactic that we’ve seen from extremists on the right to edit this video and selectively release this edited version of the video that grossly distorts the position of the person that’s actually speaking,” Earnest said.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/30/white-house-says-planned-parenthood-videos-are-fake-cites-planned-parenthood/#ixzz3hPLJneW7

Where's Weyermuller? With Governor Scott Walker in Chicago

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Governor Scott Walker was in Illinois Monday for meetings, appearances, fundraising, and even a "cheezeborger."

He started the day in Bloomington at a Harley Davidson Motorcycle dealership. This was a joint appearance with 17th CD Congressional candidate Darin LaHood. Walker spoke of cutting state funding in Wisconsin for Planned Parenthood and strengthening voter laws with photo identification.  He also touted his success in taking on government unions while increasing the quality of education. 

After that, Walker headed to the Billy Goat Tavern on Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago. The Billy Goat was immortalized in a skit on Saturday Night Live in 1978. "Cheezeborger, cheezeborger, no Pepsi, Coke"  is one of the famous lines yelled over and over by the late Jim Belushi in his comedy classic. Walker felt right at home as he saw the beer that made Milwaukee famous on a huge sign.  He said, "Schlitz! That's great." 

Duckworth raises money on Planned Parenthood video scandal

CHICAGO - Democrat 2016 candidate for U.S. Senate Tammy Duckworth and GOP incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk agree on at least one topic: they both have publicly declared their support for Planned Parenthood and their intentions to oppose any effort to defund the scandal-ridden, federally-funded agency.    

Duckworth, a new, first time mother herself, said via Twitter that she "proudly" supports Planned Parenthood, and Wednesday, Mark Kirk told The Hill he would not be one of the badly-needed Republican votes in the U.S. Senate to stop taxpayer funding for the abortion-providing clinics.

“In other states tissue donation programs should be investigated but in Illinois there is no similar program,” Kirk said in a statement to The Hill. “I do not plan to cut access to basic health care and contraception for women, the majority of whom have no other resources.” 

However, in the first video transcript, the Planned Parenthood official suggested body part buyers check with Stroger Hospital in Cook County.

But as of Thursday afternoon, Kirk has not gone as far as Tammy Duckworth in using the information released on undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials to raise funds for her upcoming campaign.

Chicago GOP offers chance to view first 2016 presidential debate in Cleveland

CHICAGO - Next Thursday night will be the first GOP presidential debate with the top 10 candidates in Cleveland Ohio, and the Chicago GOP boasts they have two tickets they're raffling off Thursday and Friday.

Just now, the Chicago GOP managed to acquire a pair of tickets to the first presidential debate in Cleveland next week. 

Here's the problem: for security reasons, they need to have the names of the attendees no later than close of business tomorrow, Friday.

So we're running an emergency, 24-hour raffle to give away the pair of tickets. Make a donation to the Chicago GOP of $10 or more no later than noon tomorrow, Friday, and we'll put your name on the list to win.

Got $10 to invest in the Chicago GOP for a chance to go? The Chicago GOP entices with:

Ives: AFSCME’s Big, Fat Greek Contract

By  State Representative Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) - 

As you are aware, agreements between the Executive Branch and labor unions representing state employees expired on June 30, 2015. The governor’s office has signed an extension until September 30, 2015 or whenever the parties reach an impasse in negotiations. This positive development allows additional time to reach agreement without the threat of a strike during the negotiations.

Contrary to incendiary comments in AFSCME’s newsletters that have been reported publicly, with or without a tolling agreement the Governor will not lock out state employees.  AFSCME leaders have been notified of that, but they have refused to inform their members.

I feel that all taxpayers and union members should be made aware of the latest developments in these negotiations and the positions of both parties.

Co-founder of Greenpeace says "carbon dioxide" aren't really two dirty words

Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, says two of the dirtiest words in the English language are two that represent the most crucial elements for greening the Earth. In Prager University's new video, Moore explains why carbon dioxide is so important to the Earth's survival, despite what environmentalists say.

"It turns out that carbon dioxide are not dirty words after all," Moore concludes.

Arn: Kinzinger GOP challenger says he hasn't paid taxes In three years

By Ulysses Arn - 

After Tuesday night's meeting of the LaSalle County Tea Party in Ottawa at which Colin McGroarty spoke, he told reporters with 1430 WCMY and The Ottawa Times that he had not paid any federal or state income taxes for the last three years. He did not tell the Tea Party audience about that.

Two weeks ago. McGroarty announced his intention to run in the Republican primary in 2016 against incumbent Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

McGroarty has been a technology consultant in Rockford for the last 10 years.  As a small business owner/self-employed, he is responsible for paying federal and state income taxes, almost certainly on a quarterly basis.

4th video: Planned Parenthood VP says fetuses may come out intact. "It's a boy!"

The Center for Medical Progress released a fourth video Thursday, in which a Planned Parenthood abortionist in Denver Colorado explains how "intact fetus" specimens could be purchased.

Dr. Savita Ginde suggests the "buyers" provide photos of the type of specimens they would consider most desirable and, therefore, most valuable. 

"Even if you have pictures, cause I think that some of it is visual at least at this level ..." she says. "I know I've seen livers, I've seen stomachs, I've seen plenty of neural tissue.  usually you can see the whole brain usually come out. 

"You know, when you get to 17 or 18 week [fetuses], 'cause we do some of those..."

After the interview, the "buyers" are taken into the lab, where they pick through body parts and when one particular body part is discovered among the other specimens, they exclaim, "It's a boy...another boy! "

Rand Paul to be in Niles Saturday

Senator Rand Paul (photo by Mark Weyermuller)

NILES - Not only has Governor Scott Walker and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham been in Chicago this week, Friday, former Governor Mike Huckabee and Dr. Ben Carson will be in Tinley Park Friday, and Saturday, August 1, yet another presidential hopeful will be in the northern suburbs - U.S. Senator Rand Paul.

Senator Paul is the first of an array of Republican presidential candidates the Maine Township Republican Organization (MTRO) hopes to be hosting over the next several months.

"We have a large field of GOP presidential contenders - and ROMT has invited all of them to Maine Township," Char Foss-Eggemann, Maine Township Republican Committeeman said.

Is the GOP on the brink of a civil war, Rasmussen asks

By Fran Coombs of Rasmussen Reports - 

Senator Ted Cruz voiced the unhappiness of many Republican conservatives when he took to the floor of the Senate last Friday and in a rare intraparty broadside accused GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell of lying. Veteran Republican senators quickly rallied to McConnell’s defense.

Was it the shot fired at Fort Sumter that signals the real start of a GOP civil war?

Cruz said McConnell had told Republican conservatives in the Senate that there was no behind-the-scenes deal to revive the controversial Export-Import Bank. Conservatives view the bank as corporate welfare, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and pro-business Republicans are big supporters of it. But rather than let the bank stand or fall on a separate vote, McConnell announced at the last minute that a measure allowing reauthorization of the bank would be attached to much more popular legislation for funding highways. This maneuver guaranteed the bank’s reauthorization.

Conservative senators hit the ceiling. “The American people elected a Republican majority believing that a Republican majority would be somehow different from a Democratic majority in the United States Senate,” Cruz said, comparing McConnell to his predecessor as Senate majority leader, Democrat Harry Reid. “Unfortunately, the way the current Senate operates, there is one party, the Washington party.”

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republican voters agreed with Cruz recently when he responded to Jeb Bush’s comment about the need for Americans to work harder by saying: “The problem is not that Americans aren't working hard enough. It is that the Washington cartel of career politicians, special interests and lobbyists have rigged the game against them.” [Just 38% of Republicans agreed with Bush.]

Illinois corn maze honors American Sniper Chris Kyle

LOCKPORT TOWNSHIP - Every year, the Siegel's Cottonwood Farm in Lockport Township - southwest of Chicago - carves into its cornfields a noteworthy maze that suburban adventurers eagerly investigate.

Last year, the maze was an image of the Chicago Blackhawks.  This year, it's a display to honor American Sniper, the late Chris Kyle. From the Herald-News:

 

“The movie came out and it did so well,” said Zach Siegel, a farm manager. “I’ve always been a fan of him.”

Kyle is regarded as the most lethal U.S. military sniper in history. Unofficial counts credit him with 160 kills. Kyle was killed Feb. 2, 2013, by a fellow Marine veteran who he was helping cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The movie grossed more than $500 million at the box office.

The corn maze, located at 17250 Weber Road in Lockport, Illinois, will open September 26.

(Photo provided)

Illinois House members call for Planned Parenthood investigation

SPRINGFIELD - A group of Republican House members and one Downstate Democrat are calling for an investigation into Illinois' Planned Parenthood clinics after three undercover videos emerged with Planned Parenthood officials in California and Colorado were recorded in conversations about selling specimens from abortions.

The third video released Tuesday was the final straw for Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), who sponsored the resolution that now awaits consideration in the Illinois House.

"The gruesome revelations in this video go beyond the debate over abortion. If these practices are occurring in Illinois, they would be in stark violation of federal and state law," Ives said in a press release.

Boulton: 10 Years Ago, the Cook County GOP challenged the Chicago Machine

By Steve Boulton - 

Ten years ago, on July 27, 2005, Cook County Republican Chairman Gary Skoien announced a $10,000 reward for evidence leading to the conviction of Mayor Richard J. Daley on corruption charges. The idea of the reward did not originate with me, but I was quite involved as General Counsel of the County Party, with knowledge of the emerging federal probes of Chicago corruption. 

In 2005, the Department of Justice employed specialized anti-corruption strike teams, each made up of a score of FBI agents and prosecutors.  Only a select few cities had a strike team, but Chicago had three.

The reward was issued days after the indictment of Robert Sorich, head of the Office of Governmental Affairs, as federal prosecutors slowly revealed a massive, illegal scheme to unlawfully award jobs to Democrat campaign workers without regard to qualification and ahead of legitimate aspirants.  Sorich, a Daley stalwart, had an office just steps from the Mayor’s in City Hall. 

That fateful afternoon the Chicago political reporter corps was assembled in the offices of the Cook GOP in the Loop. In a side office with the door shut, Gary Skoien sat with Executive Director Tom Swiss and me, still weighing whether to issue the reward.   Gary looked me in the eye and quietly asked “Will they get Daley?” 

IL GOP insider calls for Kirk to step down, then recants

Ron Gidwitz (center) with the late Judy Baar Topinka, Kirk Dillard, Jim Oberweis and Bill Brady

CHICAGO - Chicago businessman and longtime Republican Party fundraiser Ron Gidwitz called on U.S. Senator Mark Kirk to step down and not run for re-election Tuesday, but did his best to walk it back.

Gidwitz, who ran in the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary that Judy Baar Topinka eventually won, vocalized what insider Republicans throughout the state have been saying privately for months. But because Governor Rauner and Kirk's staffers have such powerful connections between the offices and the party, none have been willing to go on record.

Gidwitz told Crain's Greg Hinz that he's concerned about the Republican Party holding Kirk's Senate seat in 2016 in light of the array of Kirk's verbal gaffes his staff has had to maneuver around. Hinz writes:

Gidwitz was remarkably candid. But what he said today only echoes what some other Republican leaders are saying in private after Kirk in recent weeks referred to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as "a bro' with no ho," said President Barack Obama wants "to get nukes to Iran," and questioned at a Senate hearing whether a federal financial unit is acting like the Chinese intelligence service and collecting information on members of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Kirk has always had a big mouth," said one major party backer in Illinois who asked to remain anonymous, referring to an episode six years ago when Kirk exaggerated his service as a military intelligence officer. "But it's gotten worse."

"There is great concern out there about Mark Kirk's ability to run a robust campaign," said another. Democrats have been "holding back" in attacking Kirk over his misstatements lately, he said, because they know how useful the material could be in next year's general election.

Former Congressman Joe Walsh has been calling for Kirk to step down for months since he suffered a debilitating stroke. But Gidwitz's on-again, off-again comment to Hinz is a first among the Republican Party insiders that could bring the conversation out in the open.

"Women Betrayed" protest Chicago's Planned Parenthood

CHICAGO - Tuesday afternoon, a crowd protested in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago saying, "Planned Parenthood lies to you."

The group "Students for Life," coordinated a "Women Betrayed" campaign in over 40 cities nationwide within days of the Center for Medical Progress' first video that showed a Planned Parenthood official explaining how aborted babies' body parts are extracted for medical experimentation.

In the conversation from which the first video was taken, the Planned Parenthood doctor encouraged actors pretending to buy baby body parts to check with a family planning doctor at Chicago's Stroger Hospital.

RNC Committeewoman Demetra DeMonte: I'm As Frustrated As You Are [Video]

By Ulysses S. Arn -

Speaking at Tuesday night's meeting of the LaSalle County Tea Party Republican National Committeewoman, and former RNC Secretary Demetra DeMonte took a question from the audience about the conservative base of the Republican Party. The questioner expressed anger with GOP leadership who continually lie to get elected and make big promises only to do nothing once they get to Washington, and worse.

DeMonte said that she shares those concerns and wants to see the Republican Party embrace conservatives more.

"I know your frustration," DeMonte said. 

Starkehaus: With Congress’s threats against whistleblowers, are Dems undermining boycotts?

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

When the Center for Medical Progress broke the story last week about Planned Parenthood and the trafficking of aborted human remains, many pro-lifers and pro-aborts alike cringed in revulsion over the videoed confirmation of gruesome practices associated with the reaping of human infants. By providing visual documentation, the Center for Medical Progress successfully exposed the rampant materialism engrained in Planned Parenthood's corporate culture as representatives callously laid out the appalling procedures for procuring viable organs and tissue while haggled over the price.

Reactions to the videos have run the gamut. See the latest video from the Center for Medical Progress here. Pro-abort fundamentalists, of course, are not finding fault with Planned Parenthood's discussed best practices for harvesting but rather with the means by which the video was obtained. According to Fox News, Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation of the Center for Medical Progress by the DOJ stating:

"Let's have an investigation of those people who were trying to ensnare Planned Parenthood in a controversy that doesn't exist."

This reaction from Rep. Pelosi is surprisingly consistent with the Left's mantra of "the nature of the evidence is irrelevant; it's the seriousness of the charge that matters," so we must commend Ms. Pelosi for being such a dependable ideologue for our nation's emergent death culture.

Illinois House passes measure to reject lawmakers' automatic pay raise

SPRINGFIELD - A proposal that would reject state lawmakers' automatic pay hike was passed in the Illinois House Tuesday. SB 576, which passed the House with only one negative vote, now will proceed to the Illinois Senate. The governor and the state legislature is in a tough stalemate over FY 2016's budget.

Both Democrats and Republicans signed on to sponsor the legislation, including Rep. Michael J. Madigan - John E. Bradley - Katherine Cloonen - Martin J. Moylan - David McSweeney, Deborah Conroy, Brandon W. Phelps, Jerry F. Costello, II, Sam Yingling, Michelle Mussman, Daniel V. Beiser, Randy Frese, Tom Demmer, Norine Hammond, Raymond Poe, Donald L. Moffitt, Keith P. Sommer, Reginald Phillips, C.D. Davidsmeyer, Bill Mitchell, David Reis, Jim Durkin, Jeanne M Ives, Patricia R. Bellock, Keith Wheeler, Thomas Morrison, Michael W. Tryon,Thomas Bennett, Charles E. Meier, Chad Hays, Jack D. Franks, Carol A. Sente, Steven Andersson,Ed Sullivan, Barbara Wheeler, Peter Breen, Brian W. Stewart, John D. Cavaletto, Robert W. Pritchard, David R. Leitch, John D. Anthony, Mark Batinick, Avery Bourne, John M. Cabello, Dwight Kay, Tim Butler, Michael Unes, Ron Sandack, Joe Sosnowski, Grant Wehrli, Margo McDermed, Lou Lang, Sheri L Jesiel, Christine Winger, Terri Bryant, Michael P. McAuliffe, Adam Brown, David Harris, Dan Brady and Mike Fortner. 

Effective as soon as the Illinois Senate passes it and Governor Rauner signs it into law, the bill "prohibits cost-of-living adjustments for or during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015 for State government legislative and executive elected officers and appointees in positions for which the Compensation Review Board previously recommended or determined compensation. "

Third Undercover Planned Parenthood video released: Inside a baby body parts lab

IRVINE, CA - The Center for Medical Progress - which claims to have hundreds of hours of hidden video interviews with Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of baby body parts - released a third video Tuesday morning.

Entitled "Human Capital - Episode 1: Planned Parenthood's Black Market in Baby Parts," the 11.49 minute undercover video goes inside pathology lab and reveals how babies' body parts are sorted and priced for sale to procurement businesses. 

Episode 1 introduces Holly O’Donnell, a licensed phlebotomist who unsuspectingly took a job as a “procurement technician” at the fetal tissue company and biotech start-up StemExpress in late 2012.

“I thought I was going to be just drawing blood, not procuring tissue from aborted fetuses,” says O’Donnell, who fainted in shock on her first day of work in a Planned Parenthood clinic when suddenly asked to dissect a freshly-aborted fetus during her on-the-job training.

Where's Weyermuller? At Bug House Square Soapbox Debates

By Mark Weyermuller -

Standing on a soapbox giving a political speech sounds like fun. That was the order of business this past Saturday at Bug House Square. This is the informal name of Washington Square, a park at Clark and Walton on the near north side of Chicago. The event was sponsored by the Newberry Library, which is across the street.

I came out to hear my friend Bruno Behrend speak on the subject "Public or Private? What should be the future of public schools in Chicago?" He debated Troy LaRaviere, a Chicago Public School principal.

You can imagine the topics. Bruno spoke of school choice, charter schools, right to work, vouchers, private schools, with focus on the residents, taxpayers, and children. Bruno is known  for using the term, "government education complex."

Time Running Out to Stop Legislator Pay Raise

SPRINGFIELD - As the Illinois House reconvenes Tuesday - four weeks into Fiscal Year 2016 without an agreed upon budget - the governor's office is saying that this is the Democrat-controlled legislature's last chance to stop the upcoming legislator pay raise of $1350.

"As we approach the end of the month, Speaker Madigan and the politicians he controls have one final chance to side with Republicans and make a clean up or down vote on stopping themselves from getting an automatic pay increase" said Lance Trover of Governor Rauner's office.  

"After passing a $4 billion unbalanced budget and refusing to work with Governor Rauner on turning this state around, the last thing the Speaker and his allies deserve is a pay raise. That is why the Speaker should call up the Republican bill - without any poison pills or gimmicks - that will stop him and the politicians he controls from receiving a pay raise."

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is in full agreement with the governor's criticism. 

Andrzejewski: Why Does IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan Refuse To Prosecute Public Corruption?

By Adam Andrzejewski - 

She’s allowed felons to serve in municipal office; out-of-towners to serve as city alderman; many politicians to hold multiple – and conflicting – offices; a junior college to award more than $4 million in compensation to its president without a lawful board vote; and much more…

Lisa Madigan – daughter of power Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan – first ran for attorney general in 2002 vowing, “It’s time that Illinois’ highest legal official takes an active, hands-on role in cleaning up government. And I will not let them down.”

Madigan said she’d even prosecute her father if he were corrupt. It was tough language and a high promise.

Our organization, American Transparency (OpenTheBooks.com) fact checked her campaign promise. After ten years in office, Lisa Madigan had prosecuted only fourteen public officials for corruption: half were for DUI, reckless driving, or substance possession and she lost close to half of those cases. That’s an appalling record in a state with 7,000 units of government.

Madigan switched positions on public crime busting in 2014 saying her office lacked statutory power. The Chicago Tribune editorial board refused to endorse her for re-election recognizing the depth of statewide corruption and her reluctance to rein it in.

But, recently, we found that Lisa Madigan does have statutory power – and plenty of it.

More HERE

Senator Kirk boasts likely revival of Ex-Im Bank

WASHINGTON – The controversial Export-Import Bank will get yet another chance Monday, when an amendment U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (IL) is being credited for adding to the highway bill is expected to be voted upon in the U.S. Senate. 

The Kirk-Heitkamp bill - Amendment #2327 - will keep the Ex-Im Bank open, Kirk's statement said, "and we are one step closer to keeping American jobs here in America and not lost to countries like China."

Fiscal conservative Republicans nationwide oppose the effort to restart the bank, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers support the legislation. All Democrats - including Illinois' U.S. Senator Dick Durbin - voted "yes" on the measure and among the 26 Republicans that opposed Kirk's amendment were senators Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT) and Rand Paul (KY).

IL GOP adds 2012 platform back onto website

CHICAGO - After a flurry of emails and phone calls late Friday afternoon and Saturday, the Illinois Republican Party added the state party's 2012 platform back onto its website Monday morning.

The ILGOP responded Saturday to Illinois Review's query, saying the situation was all a mistake, and the platform is now back on the website. It can be found at www.weareillinois.org , linked under "About" the Illinois Republican Party HERE.

"The ILGOP has engaged in a revamp of the website and took down some content including the Code of Ethics, bylaws, past meeting & event information, links, pictures, etc. that have not had much web traffic for some time," IL GOP Executive Director Nick Klitzing told Illinois Review. "The platform was on one of those pages. The party platform was inadvertently taken down."

Republican county chairmen and former platform committee members voiced their disapproval of the missing platform Friday afternoon. Some asked if the missing platform was a signal that the current leadership wanted to distance itself from the strong social issue statements in the 2012 platform.

"It makes me wonder, especially since the new website listed what the IL GOP stands for, and left out only social issues from the list," one GOP leader said.

Huston: Fascist NBC Commentator Says FCC Should Fine Those Who Call 'Transgender' people the Wrong Name

By Warner Todd Huston - 

Wackjob "NBC Black Contributor" Danielle Moodie-Mills tells the Melissa Harris-Perry show that anyone in the media who refuses to use what ever label the transgenders want this week should be fined by the FCC. Just like all fascist liberals, Moodie-Mills pretends to like freedom until someone says something she doesn't like. Then she wants to fine or jail those she disagrees with.

Rauner election could signal turnaround for Illinois' business community, lobbyist says

SPRINGFIELD - Manufacturers in Illinois are facing tough times because of the state's business policies, but according to Jay Shattuck, who lobbies at the State Capitol for the Technology|Manufacturing Association,  there's a renewed hope that things may be looking up. 

“I think the election of Bruce Rauner has signaled a turnaround for the business community – and certainly for manufacturing – in Illinois,” Shattuck said in a recent interview with TMA's monthly News Bulletin.

There’s a new, more positive outlook with state lawmakers and agencies, he said. Manufacturers’ needs are now taken seriously.

“The governor’s office is looking for input from the business community first,” Shattuck says. “In prior administrations, our input was asked for, but in terms of the level of what importance and credence it was given, it was pretty low on the totem pole.”

Starting with last fall’s transition period, the Rauner Administration has been calling and asking Shattuck for advice and ideas.

“They’re looking for ways to increase manufacturing jobs in Illinois,” he said. “It’s a nice change."

Environmentalism and religion pair up in Chicago to launch "creation care"

CHICAGO - Pope Francis' call last month to "protect the planet" was heard and is being heeded in Chicago's Catholic Archdiocese. The Chicago Office for Peace and Justice announced the Archdiocese will now be keeping track of energy usage and their properties' carbon emission footprint, among other energy awareness projects.

Last Friday, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gina McCarthy co-authored an op-ed for the Chicago Sun-Times, declaring the urgency of new climate change policies put into effect throughout the Chicago area's Catholic circles. In the piece, entitled "We have a moral obligation on climate change," they write:

Gutierrez and Dold pair up to discuss common immigration views

Congressman Bob Dold hosted Democratic colleague Luis Gutierrez in the 10th CD Saturday

CHICAGO - Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) said he was delighted to link up with Republican Congressman Bob Dold (IL-10) to discuss their common ground on immigration issues in a town hall forum Saturday.

"Thanks @RepDold for proving not all Republicans share Trump’s views and want to demonize our community," Gutierrez tweeted from the forum. 

Dold made a public statement about sanctuary cities earlier in the week, explaining why he was one of five Republicans nationwide that opposed defunding sanctuary cities - H.R. 3009.

State forbids pastors calling homosexuality 'sinful'

The state of Kentucky has begun imposing a religious test on volunteer pastor counselors in its youth division, insisting that they refrain from calling homosexuality “sinful” and dismissing those who cannot bend their religious faith to accommodate the state requirements.

The policy was uncovered by Liberty Counsel, which has sent a letter to Bob Hayter, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, demanding that the state religious test be dropped and that a dismissed counselor be reinstated.

“Liberty Counsel writes regarding the blatantly unconstitutional revocation of volunteer prison minister status of ordained Christian minister David Wells, who has provided voluntary spiritual counseling and mentorship to juvenile inmates under the control of the Department of Juvenile Justice. … This revocation was issued by Warren County Regional Juvenile Detention Center on the basis of the April 4, 2014, DJJ Policy 912, which mandates full DJJ support of homosexuality and transvestism.

More HERE

Conservative Women in Popular Culture

Rachel Campos-Duffy addresses the Conservative Women's Network.

Rhoads: Accurate polls but still nonsense

By Mark Rhoads - 

I have been contacting old high school friends for a class reunion and many of them are not very interested in politics. But I was shocked to find a husband who liked Donald Trump while his wife said she was for Bernie Sanders.

One possible explanation might be that there is a big difference in the way people answer polls now and the way they will actually vote later when it counts.

Defund Planned Parenthood Protest in Sycamore, Illinois [video]

By Ulysses Arn - 

On Saturday a small but dedicated group of pro-lifers gathered at the Dekalb county courthouse in Sycamore to protest the hundreds of millions of dollars given annually by the federal government to the nations largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood following the release of undercover videos from the Center for Medical Progress that show PP selling the organs and other body parts from aborted babies.

Speaker of the House John Boehner, GOP presidential candidates such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and others have and are demanding that Planned Parenthoods federal funding be pulled in light of the Nazi like barbarism being perpetrated by Planned Parenthood.

It is against federal law to sell aborted baby body parts for profit and it is against federal law to alter the means and methods of an abortion so as to keep its organs intact for harvesting.  Planned Parenthood is clearly and blatantly violating the law and their butchery of innocent babies needs to come to an immediate end.

U.S. appeals court denies pharmacists right of conscience

The state of Washington can require a pharmacy to deliver medicine even if the pharmacy's owner has a religious objection, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, the latest in a series of judgements on whether religious believers can opt out of providing services.

The ruling, from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, came in a case filed by pharmacists who objected to delivering emergency contraceptives. The 9th Circuit overturned a lower court that had said the rules were unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year allowed closely held corporations to seek exemptions from the Obamacare health law's contraception requirement.

In Washington, the state permits a religiously objecting individual pharmacist to deny medicine, so long as another pharmacist working there provides timely delivery. The rules require a pharmacy to deliver all medicine, even if the owner objects.

More HERE

3 million more children in poverty under Obama

Ever since President Obama took office, the poverty rate among children has soared to 22 percent, with three million more children living in poor conditions, according to an authoritative new report.

The 2015 "KIDS COUNT" report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation said that the percentage of children living in poverty jumped from 18 percent in 2008, the year Obama was elected, to 22 percent in 2013.

More HERE

Detroit: ‘Largest Public Satanic Ceremony In History’

A group is planning to unveil an 8-foot-tall bronze statue featuring a goat-headed Satan in Detroit during a gathering that’s being billed as the “largest public satanic ceremony in history.”

The Satanic Temple has said Saturday’s private event will be open only to people with tickets, $25 each. Invitations to “The Unveiling” summoned guests to prepare for “a night of chaos, noise, and debauchery… Come dance with the Devil and experience history in the making.” The event location is not being announced publicly and is known only to those with tickets.

The group said the bronze Baphomet monument, which weighs about one ton and has never been seen before in public, “is not only an unparalleled artistic triumph, but stands as a testament to plurality and the power of collective action.”

More HERE

545 vs. 300,000,000 People

By Charley Reese - 

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why if all politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices — 545 human beings out of 235 million— are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

Rep. Smiddy: Gov. Rauner Not A Good Politician, He's Like Donald Trump

By Ulysses Arn - 

Democrat state Rep. Mike Smiddy (photo above) doesn't like Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner or his Turn Around Agenda reforms that seek to change the business and political landscape in Illinois.

At a town hall meeting Thursday at the Sterling public library Smiddy said that the recently elected Governor wasn't a good politician and that he was a lot like GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The Dixon Telegraph has more:

Masters of Manufacturing Series: Craig Zoberis, President, Fusion OEM

BURR RIDGE - Founding a first-generation manufacturing company requires ingenuity and confidence.  Fusion OEM's President, Craig Zoberis, delivers on both.

Zoberis, 46, started Fusion OEM in his garage, and a little over a decade later, the company is positioned to gross $14 million in sales.  It's a part of the "Painted Picture" - the strategic company vision posted throughout Fusion OEM's buildings in Burr Ridge, Illinois. Fusion's Painted Picture illuminates where Fusion is today, where Fusion will be by the end of the year, and how each employee will contribute to their evolution.

Fusion OEM started with one product - a sheet feeder - in 2002. Today, it manufactures products for the printing, packaging, medical and food service industries. Fusion has also developed custom machines for clients ranging from the automotive to the electronics industries.

"We are successful because of our company culture, lean processes, ISO registration and our ability to add new OEM clients with ease. We are a financially stable company with a diverse set of clients from multiple industries," Zoberis says.

UPDATE: Prez candidates Huckabee, Carson, Walker and Graham to visit Illinois next week

CHICAGO - At least four three of the 15 GOP presidential candidates are scheduled to visit Illinois next week, campaigns are saying. 

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and retired surgeon Ben Carson will be in Tinley Park during the RISE Initiative Conference during the lunch hour Friday, July 31st at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will be in Bloomington, Monday, July 26, 2015 at Chuck's Harley-Davidson Center at 1:15 PM.

UPDATE: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham will be speaking about the need for comprehensive immigration reform at the Illinois Business Immigration Council (IBIC) Thursday at 1:30 PM at LaCasa, The Resurrection Project at 1815 South Paulina in Chicago. 

Duckworth "proud" to support Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON - Illinois' Democrat Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08), who is also running for U.S. Senate in 2016, declared via Twitter this week that despite the videos showing Planned Parenthood leaders haggling over baby parts for experimentation, she continues to support them.

Duckworth, a first-time mother earlier this year, said she "proudly stands" with Planned Parenthood and declared they should never be defunded. 

Incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk has historically supported Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, as well.

Illinois’ war of words intensifies as budget stalemate continues

SPRINGFIELD - For right now, Illinois state employees are drawing normal pay via court decrees and part-time state lawmakers are not only getting paid, their paychecks are two percent higher than they were in June–despite the governor’s veto.

“Last Thursday, a St. Clair County circuit judge granted our request to pay state employees in order to comply with the Federal Labor Standards Act,” State Comptroller Leslie Munger said on WGN Radio July 15th. “That’s a good thing, because we would subject the state to triple fines on a payroll that we would miss.”

That St. Clair County court ruled that interrupting state employees’ pay would have contradicted the state’s constitutional compensation protection.

That judges ruling lined up with an appellate court in northern Illinois that overruled a lower Cook County court to say that as State Comptroller Leslie Munger argued, the state’s accounting system was so antiquated, it could not designate which state employees were covered by federal law. Therefore, the judge ruled, all state employees had to be paid their normal salaries.

Butcher, Baker, and Photograph Taker

From Salvo Magazine

UPDATE: Illinois Republican Party scrubs its website of 2012 platform

UPDATE: IL GOP Executive Director Nick Klitzing notified Illinois Review Saturday afternoon that "a volunteer web designer for the ILGOP revamped the website and took down some content, including the Code of Ethics, past meeting & event information, links, pictures, etc. that have not had much web traffic for some time.

"The platform was on one of those pages," Klitzing said in an email. "I didn't even know the platform wasn't on the website until you alerted me ... The 2012 party platform is the official platform of the ILGOP and will remain so, until the 2016 convention platform committee makes changes (if any)."

SPRINGFIELD, IL - The Illinois Republican Party's website no longer displays its most recent party platform, which was adopted at the state party convention in 2012. The Party's Executive Director, Nick Klitzing, had no comment when asked about the omission.

"Maybe they're just redoing the site, or updating it," former McLean County Chairman John Parrott told Illinois Review. "I hope this is the case, because it's very important for people to become educated on the values and positions that we as a party stand for."

Speculation among IL GOP observers is that the platform may have been removed because Republican Governor Bruce Rauner disagrees with several of its planks. The speculation is fueling concern that the Party may seek to scrub the platform of traditional, conservative issues such as abortion and sanctity of marriage.

READ A COPY OF THE 2012 ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM HERE

"Rauner owns the Illinois Republican Party lock, stock and barrel," another party leader who wanted to remain nameless, said. "Neither Rauner nor Kirk want to talk about social issues."

In place of the official platform is a section on the website called "What We Stand for" which has no reference to social issues, and is silent on the Second Amendment and immigration as well.

The omissions frustrate Macoupin County GOP Chairman Terri Koyne, a conservative Republican that has worked hard to develop her county's GOP prominence.

"The platform was presented, approved and ratified by the state convention in 2012. It is our party's standard until it is officially changed, regardless of personal opinions," she told Illinois Review.

Karen Hayes, a precinct captain in Cook County's Worth Township, served on the 2012 platform committee after being appointed by then-1st CD State Central Committeeman Steve Daglas.

"I can think of no logical reason to explain why the ILGOP Platform was inexplicably removed from the website. The Convention voted to approve a platform that much work, thought and discussion had gone into.  I would like to know what happened,” Hayes told Illinois Review.

Illinois Libertarian Party Announces 2015 State Convention Plans

LEMONT, IL - The Libertarian Party of Illinois announced today that it will hold its Yearly Convention on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, Illinois.

According to a press release, Libertarian National Committee Chair, Nicholas Sarwark, will give the keynote address, and a number of prospective 2016 candidates could be in attendance, including Chris Michel for US Senate and Scott Schluter for Illinois’ General Assembly who is currently chairman of a Southern Illinoisan Libertarian Party.

The two-day event will also host a number of events, including a Q&A session between Illinois' State Chairman, Lex Green and guest LNC Chairman Nicholas Sarwark.