Illinois Review

UPDATE 1x: King announces she'll run in 2022; Bustos not to seek re-election in IL's 17th CD

Republican Esther Joy King - who came near to beating Cheri Bustos in 2020 - announces she's going to run again in 2022. See full quote below! 

QUAD CITIES - Illinois is losing one congressional seat in the upcoming re-districting map, as the state's population continues to shrink. One of those districts likely to be affected by the remap is IL's 17th CD.

At once represented by the late Tea Party Republican Bobby Schilling, Democrats in the 17th CD have mystified many with the repeated re-elections of five-term Democrat Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, a close ally of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel . 

Quad Cities' media is reporting Friday that Bustos will not seek re-election in 2022. 

Bustos faced a very close race in 2020 with first timer Republican Esther Joy King, winning by just 52% of the vote. 

"I've never lost an election in my life," Bustos said - and 2022 is likely to be a tough year for Democrats - especially those in districts where Trump won in 2016 and 2020. 

It is unknown whether Esther Joy King will try again in 2022.

UPDATE: King sent out this quote after the original story was published: 

I want to thank Cheri Bustos for her service and I wish her the best going forward. Cheri has always claimed she knew this district well – so she clearly saw what we’re seeing every day: IL-17 was going to make a change in 2022 and Cheri was destined to lose. The people of the IL-17th accomplished this! I’m proud to be part of a movement to bring better representation to the best people I know.

And while we were planning to make this official in a couple weeks – I’m announcing today that yes, I am running for Congress in 2022 because I know that the residents of this district deserve so much better than what the liberal elites have been serving them up in Washington. We need a battle-ready leader. We need a fighter who won’t back down. Someone who knows that the residents of the 17th district matter more than Washington DC special interests. I can’t wait to share that message with everyone in IL-17 and look forward to the battle ahead.

The development drew a comment from the NRCC's Mike Berg, who said,“Cheri Bustos made the right decision to retire rather than face defeat in 2022.”

Di Leo: George Washington: The right leader for a new nation

By John F. Di Leo - 

Reflections on the anniversary of George Washington‘s first inauguration…

The United States of America declared our independence in 1776, and amazingly, won a revolution against the greatest military power on earth, as a loose and perpetually destitute federation. 

The Constitutional Convention in 1787, accompanied by its subsequent statewide ratification conventions, unified us as a nation, and set forth the building blocks for future success.

We held elections in 1788... a new House and Senate found their way to the temporary capital in New York in the spring of 1789, and finally, on April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath to become our first President, under this new and groundbreaking system.

Americans still prefer capitalism over socialism, 3 to 1

All is not lost, America ... There appears to be some common sense hiding within the minds of common sense Americans. 

Despite all the criticism capitalism has endured in recent years, American voters still overwhelmingly prefer it to socialism.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 18% of Likely U.S. Voters say socialism is a better system than capitalism. More than three times as many voters (65%) say capitalism is better. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure.

(To see survey question wording, click here.)

Thorner: New Election Integrity Report offers US voting system recommendations

By Nancy Thorner -

On April 23, 2020, North Carolina Physicist John Droz, Jr., along with his team of independent experts, announced the official public release of their Election Integrity: Recommendations Report.

I've been following John's excellent reports for years. This one demanded widespread public attention.  

 

Although eight other major reports pertaining to U.S. elections have been written by John and is team of experts, this one is the most important one by far.  Election integrity should be the top priority in every state legislature, after the problems encountered in the past November 2020 presidential election.

 

As John related, the report took the group about four months to develop, during which time they set for themselves the following four standards: Competent, Comprehensive, Collaborative and Creative.

 

Mr. Droz admitted there was no shortage of partisan ideas regarding the U.S. election process (e.g. HR.1/ S.1); however, an  attempt was made to reasonably bridge the currently cavernous divide, which did prove to be an herculean challenge.

OP-ED - Rabine: We Illinoisans can't afford more taxes

By Gary Rabine, GOP candidate for governor - 

Tax Freedom Day is the day of the year when, as an average income earner, you stop working to pay taxes and finally start working for yourself. Illinois citizens’ Tax Freedom Day seems to be getting later and later as Governor Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers’ only solution to unsustainable debt is more taxes. 

Hypothetically, if you put every dollar earned towards your annual tax burden starting on January 1st, you would be done paying on April 24th and the rest of the money earned would be the amount you take home. Think about that, almost 16 weeks! 

April 24th is one of the latest Tax Freedom Days in the country. New York has the latest Tax Freedom Day, as taxpayers there are able to start working for themselves on May 3rd. 

Abortion rivals in Illinois should agree on this issue, social justice activist says

CHICAGO - Rivals on the abortion issue should be able to agree on fighting human trafficking, says Renee Pollino, the owner of My Half of the Sky, a social justice coffee shop that employs refugees, those living in poverty and women who have been trafficked.

Ms. Pollino says no matter what side of the fence one is on politically, or religiously we have to come to together to make sure the nation's young girls are protected.

With that goal in mind, she asks Illinois lawmakers to keep the parental notification of abortion law.

Dr. Brook Bello pleads with Illinois lawmakers to keep parental notification

Parents need to be made aware before their minor children receive crucial medical treatments and procedures, Dr. Brook Bello says in an Illinois Family Institute video.

The Illinois General Assembly majority is siding with the abortion industry and its activists to remove the requirement. 

"I plead illinois to please notify parents," she says.

Illinois law currently requires parents to be notified before their minor children receive tattoos, enter a tanning booth or obtain body piercings. 

Dr. Bello works with girls that have been rescued from child trafficking:

ISRA applauds Circuit Court decision striking down Illinois’ FOID card law

CHATSWORTH, IL – White County's Judge T. Scott Webb ruled this week that Illinois’ FOID card law is unconstitutional, paving the way for the Illinois Supreme Court to take up the issue, according to Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The case is The People of Illinois vs. Vivian Claudine Brown. In March of 2017, Brown was accused of possessing a firearm without a FOID card. In dismissing the charges against Brown, Judge Webb also ruled the FOID card unconstitutional.

In his ruling, Judge Webb stated, “A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second Amendment right. Nor does that right insure when a citizen turns 18 or 21 years of age. It is a façade. They only gain that right if they pay a $10 fee, complete the proper application, and submit a photograph. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be no burden on the citizenry to enjoy those rights, especially within the confines and privacy of their own homes.

RIP: Marty Ozinga III of Ozinga Company

MOKENA, IL – It is with a heavy heart that the Ozinga Company of Mokena, IL announced the sudden passing of Martin (Marty) Ozinga III, the company’s Chairman of the Board, Monday morning. Mr. Ozinga was 71 years old.

Marty Ozinga IV, Ozinga CEO, issued the following statement: “It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the passing of our dad, Marty Ozinga III.  He passed away suddenly this morning [the 26th] at his home. Dad was loved by many, including his family, his coworkers, customers and friends in the community. Please keep the Ozinga family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Not included in the Ozinga Company's press release was the exemplary generosity Marty III and his family demonstrated over the years towards the Christian community, especially in Chicago's southwest suburbs. Under Marty III's direction, the company poured concrete foundations for and financially supported numerous churches, schools and colleges, and causes as well.

Among his numerous charitable services over the years, Ozinga served on Illinois' United Republican Fund board and as its chairman in the mid-2000s. He himself ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2008 to unseat Congresswoman Debbie Halverson (D) in Illinois' 11th CD. One of his sons, Timothy, was elected to the Illinois House in 2020.

Teachers' union leads effort for state to control non-public, home schools during health emergencies

SPRINGFIELD - Imagine a scenario like this: There's a knock at the door. A mom tells her kids to work on their math assignment while she answers the door. There she finds representatives from the Department of Public Health demanding to be allowed to come in and confirm her "home school students" are complying with emergency health orders. Orders that demand the school's pupils be separated by six feet, wear COVID masks and be screened for symptoms. If found not to be in compliance, the Department could close the school. 

Crazy? Impossible? 

HB 2789 is a measure that passed the Democrat-controlled Illinois House last Friday and is now on its way to being heard in the Democrat-controlled Illinois Senate would set the path for such a scenario, critics say. 

In Illinois, a home school is a private school. A private school is a non-public school. HB 2789 gives the Department of Public Health new and ruling powers over both non-public and public schools during a health emergency like the one Illinois is still experiencing after 13 months.

Ironically, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Department of Public Health is reportedly opposing the amendment that will add non-public schools to their oversight.

It's the Illinois Education Association - one of two major teachers' unions in Illinois - that is pushing HB 2789.

#YourTake: Agree or disagree with Chauvin verdict?

So what's #YOURTAKE?

In the wake of a former Minneapolis police officer’s murder conviction in the death of George Floyd, Americans overwhelming agree with the guilty verdict, but a majority believe politics influenced the outcome.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 70% of American Adults agree with the jury’s guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin, including 46% who Strongly Agree. Only 20% disagree with Chauvin’s conviction, including 7% who Strongly Disagree. 

If you weren't one of the 1000 American Adults that Rasmussen Reports contacted between April 21 and 22, what are your thoughts on the matter?

Do you agree with the jury's decision to find the former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter? 

In a CBS/YouGov poll released over the weekend, 49 percent of respondents that backed Donald Trump in 2020 disagreed with the guilty verdict, while a slim majority of Trump voters — 51 percent — agreed with the jury's decision.

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on April 21-22, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. 

Thorner: An Article V Convention would be the US Constitution's Death Blow

By Nancy Thorner - 

Article V of the US Constitution says that “on the Application of two thirds of the Legislatures of the several States, [Congress] shall call a Convention for proposing amendments.” The convention can propose amendments, whether Congress approves of them or not. Those proposed amendments would then be sent to the states for ratification.

While many Americans are being fooled by rhetoric promoting an Article V Convention as a good thing, my friend Publius Huldah wrote a masterful short article that was initially published on April 24,  2021 at www.renewamerica.com, titled, "The death blow: An Article V convention to replace our constitution."

Publius Huldah is a retired litigation attorney who now lives in Tennessee. Before getting a law degree, she got a degree in philosophy where she specialized in political philosophy and epistemology (theories of knowledge).

According to P.H., there is no official count as to how many states would be needed to ratify Constitutional amendments that she knows of.  The different groups count differently.  Now they are aggregating all kinds of different applications to try to get to 34 states. 

P.H. wants Americans to open their eyes to see what is going on in their country. If we don't face up to reality right now and act accordingly, we are doomed.  Her article follows:

God’s Global Work

Around the world, the number of professing Christians is on the rise. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity now estimates that the number of evangelicals and Protestants will grow by 50 percent from nearly one billion to more than 1.5 billion by 2050. Meanwhile, the United Nations anticipates the growth of the global population will continue to accelerate, forecasting that two billion additional souls will inhabit the planet as we race toward 9.8 billion people in the next thirty years. Remarkably, more than 50 percent of this growth will come from only nine countries.

More HERE

Hundreds of Profs Unveil ‘Academic Freedom Alliance’ to Promote 1st Amendment on Campus

Professors launched a nonprofit to promote free expression on college campuses.

The Academic Freedom Alliance describes itself as a consortium of “college and university faculty members who are dedicated to upholding the principle of academic freedom.” Their members range “across the political spectrum” and recognize that “an attack on academic freedom anywhere is an attack on academic freedom everywhere.”

In addition to defending academics’ freedom of thought in their work as professors and citizens, the Academic Freedom Alliance’s members will “aid in providing legal support to faculty whose academic freedom is threatened by institutions’ or officials’ violations of constitutional, statutory, contractual, or school-based rights.”

Members of the group “pledge to support fellow AFA members whose rights have been violated or are threatened.”

More HERE

Rossi: Welcome to America’s 2nd Civil War

By Randy Rossi - 

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 launched by Democrats through their Confederate Army was the greatest threat to the USA and freedom in US history and more than 650,000 Americans died in that war to preserve America than died in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the war in Vietnam combined. Democrats started that civil war to keep their slaves on their plantations. As horrific as that Civil War was, America is facing a 2nd civil war that could be even worse. Today Democrats are attacking our Constitution, Bill of Rights, individual liberty, and traditional American values with a goal of making all Americans slaves on the government plantation which will rule every aspect of their lives. In just a few months after Democrat President Joe Biden was elected, those Democrats have launched a war on our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, our 2nd Amendment, state’s rights, voter integrity, the Supreme Court, and virtually every aspect of our great republic and liberty.

Filthy Rich: Illinois Billionaires Got Wealthier During Pandemic

A financial think tank analysis released last week on the growth of billionaire wealth found that after seeing their fortunes steadily rise over the past three decades, the ultra-rich saw their money explode during the pandemic.

Billionaires in Illinois whose wealth increased substantially during the pandemic include:

• Ken Griffin, owner of Citadel Securities, a hedge fund that manages $38 billion and is responsible for about 40 percent of stock trades in the country, saw his wealth grow 32.2 percent.
• Neil Bluhm, a casino magnate, saw his wealth grow 52 percent.
• Sam Zell, who made billions in real estate and private equity investment, saw his wealth grow 10.7 percent.
• Joe Mansueto, who founded Morningstar, a financial services company, saw his wealth grow 84.4 percent.
• Mark Walter, another hedge fund manager, saw his wealth grow 74.2 percent.
• Thomas Pritzker, Hyatt Hotels magnate, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's cousin, and heir to his father, Jay Pritzker's, fortune, saw his wealth grow 42.8 percent.
• Eric Lefkofsky, a venture capitalist and co-founder of Groupon, saw his wealth grow by 55.4 percent.
• Ty Warner, a toy manufacturer who started the beanie babies craze in the late '90s, saw his wealth grow by 45.5 percent.
• J.B. Pritzker, the state's governor, inherited money from his father, a Hyatt hotels co-founder and, in turn, co-founded The Pritzker Group, a private capital firm; he saw his wealth grow 3.7 percent.
• Patrick Ryan, who founded Aon Corporation, an insurance company, saw his wealth rise 18.1 percent.
• Penny Pritzker, like her brother the governor, inherited money from her father, a co-founder of Hyatt Hotels, worked her way up in the family business and started her own real estate and private investment company. Her wealth grew 21.7 percent.
• Steven Sarowitz, founder of cloud-based payroll company Paylocity, saw his wealth grow 114.4 percent.
• Justin Ishibia, a new billionaire, made the list when his brother's mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage, went public last year through a SPAC deal, and his stock exploded in value.
• Joseph Grendys, CEO of Koch Foods, saw his wealth grow 6.5 percent.
• Jennifer Pritzker, the last Pritzker on the list, is another of the governor's cousins, heir to the Pritzker family business and founder of a private wealth management company; her wealth grew by 5.8 percent.
• Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox, made a fortune through a real estate tax loophole that allowed him to take tax deductions on property he sold. His wealth grew 11.8 percent.
• Matthew Rosznak, who settled insider trading allegations with the SEC, made the list for the first time after investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He claims to have given Bill Clinton and Richard Branson their first bitcoins.
• Michael Polsky, one of the country's first green energy billionaires, owns a company that builds windfarms.
• Michael Krasny, founder of Computer Discount Warehouse, was the only billionaire on the list to see his wealth decline — about 3.6 percent.
• Carl Thoma is the co-founder of Thoma Bravo, a private capital firm that buys companies, lays off their employees and sells off their assets for profits, according to multiple media reports. His wealth increased by 10 percent.
• Hartley Rogers, the last new billionaire on the list, is the managing director of Hamilton Lane, an asset management company.

More HERE

‘America First’ in Vaccinations

In the race to save lives, the United States and England are winning. A stunning 47% of U.K. residents and 36% of U.S. residents have received at least one dose. Compare that with the European Union, where only 15% have gotten at least one jab. The U.S. and the U.K. are way ahead thanks to the brash nationalism of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former President Donald Trump.

The U.S. is now vaccinating as many as 4 million people a day, and President Joe Biden has announced vaccines are plentiful enough that all adults will be eligible by May 1. A remarkable achievement. Biden gets some credit for distributing the shots, but Trump is responsible for producing vaccines in record time and guaranteeing that America had first dibs on the supply. The current president claims he inherited a mess. In fact, he inherited a miracle — Trump’s Operation Warp Speed.

More HERE

Media’s Racial Narrative Targets Whites, Harms Blacks

An insistence on ‘systemic’ racism tells minority communities they have no power over their own lives. Robert L. Woodson Sr. writes:

Are only white people capable of hate crimes? If you get all your news from mainstream media sources, that’s what you’d think. A 51-year-old black man allegedly stabbing a 12-year-old white boy in Pittsburgh while shouting racial epithets barely made national news. The same was true when a black man was arrested for savagely beating a 65-year-old Asian woman in Midtown Manhattan. We saw endless coverage of the despicable assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, but when a 25-year-old black male allegedly killed a Capitol police officer last week, MSNBC erroneously reported the suspect was white.

Why Biden’s China Strategy Is Destined for Failure

The early returns are not good regarding the Biden administration's China strategy. Tim Murtaugh writes:

Biden’s mistakes regarding China are alarming enough on their own, even without considering the financial ties to China his son Hunter Biden has maintained for years.

While his father was vice president, Hunter Biden rode aboard Air Force Two to Beijing, conducted meetings, and scored a massive deal with the state-owned Bank of China. One of Hunter Biden’s former business partners alleged that Joe Biden was aware of the various schemes and even had a part of some of them.

Taxpayers Must Now Fund Trafficking of Baby Body Parts

Life Legal Defense Association graphic

From the Liberty Counsel - 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed a policy put in place under President Donald Trump that halted all NIH funded research using aborted fetal tissue. The Biden administration will now force taxpayers to fund the trafficking of aborted baby body parts.

Gov. Pritzker’s Statement on the Conviction of Derek Chauvin

CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

“No courtroom can ever replace a life, but it can and should deliver justice. Today, the jury in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial honored that truth.

“My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd, who deserve to have him alive today. I’m also thinking of all our Black communities and other communities of color who see their children or their parents or themselves in George Floyd, and Daunte Wright, and Adam Toledo, and Breonna Taylor, and Laquan McDonald.

Thorner: Critical Race Theory, a Tool For Political Power

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

In a “Heritage Explains ” podcast of 10/25/2020 , Christopher Rufo, a Heritage Foundation visiting fellow, explains what critical race theory is and how it’s dividing America . The “Heritage Explains” podcast also featured Michelle Cordero who oversees the day-to-day editorial operations of Heritage.org.    

 

Christopher F. Rufo is founder and director of Battlefront, a public policy research center. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and a former Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy.

 

Opening dialogue between Rufo and Cordero:     

 

“Michelle Cordero:  Chris, I want to just start out by asking if you could explain at a 101 level what critical race theory is because it sounds pretty academic.

A Short History of the Filibuster

The filibuster suits the Senate’s intended character. John Steele Gordon writes:

Deepening partisan divisions leave the filibuster’s future uncertain. In the 2000s, both parties began to threaten the “nuclear option” to eliminate filibusters for Senate-confirmed nominees. In 2013, the Democrats exercised it for all nominations except for the Supreme Court. Republicans finished the job four years later, removing the Supreme Court exception. Now many Democrats, having the most tenuous of majorities, want to eliminate the tactic altogether. Both President Biden and nearly every sitting Democratic senator have deplored the filibuster while in the majority and defended it while in the minority, a reminder that transitory political advantage can be a powerful motivation.

Dr. Savage: COVID Vaccines for Kids is a Bad Idea

By Chad Savage, M.D. - 

I love the COVID-19 vaccines.

I am truly blown away by the new mRNA vaccines and how amazingly effective they are. I love it so much that I eagerly lined up for my own vaccination when it became available. As a middle-aged man, I recognize that my risk of serious complications or death is increasing as I age, so I am happy to be protected by this incredible new technology.

However, that does not mean I am ready to give the COVID-19 vaccine to my kids. Children are at a vanishingly low risk of dying from COVID, and any vaccine to mitigate such a low risk should be safer than the minimal risk it is attempting to mitigate. Basically, the cure cannot be worse than the disease.

Thus far, the COVID-19 vaccines being distributed in the United States are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Pfizer and Moderna are now seeking an EUA for COVID vaccine use in children. Preliminary study results are highly encouraging.

But is an EUA the correct mechanism needed for approval of childhood COVID vaccines?

More HERE

Whatever Happened to No Child Left Behind?

Remember when the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was signed into law in 2002 by former President George W. Bush? The intention of NCLB was to hold schools accountable to ensure that all students were granted similar opportunities regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances.

Although NCLB had good intentions, it produced unintended consequences such as high stakes testing and tethering funds with performance on high stakes tests.

In 2015, NCLB was replaced with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which sought to meet similar goals. Although the objective of both of these laws was and still is to make sure all students, regardless of race, gender, and socioeconomic status, receive an equal chance to learn and grow in school, they have failed miserably.

Fast forward to 2021. We have seen that those in positions of power have used COVID-19 as leverage for money, power, or whatever else can be used to their benefit, regardless of the damage these decisions have wrought on millions of American families.

More HERE

Beckman: The Photo ID Controversy

By Hank Beckman - 

In light of the controversy over Georgia’s recent overhaul of its election system, liberal Democrats need to answer a critical question. 

Are they and their public relations advisors in media satisfied with continuing to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of African Americans by requiring photo IDs for legal gun purchases?

That would appear to be the case, at least in the State of Illinois.

The Land of Lincoln mandates that residents provide photo identification when applying for a Firearms Owner Identification Card. Exceptions are granted to out-of-state residents who are legally allowed to own a firearm in their home state, but if an Illinois resident wants to live on the right side of the law—and avoid the penalty of up to seven years in prison—they damn well better provide that photo ID to get the required FOID card.

von Spakovsky: Leftists’ Objections to Election Reform in West Virginia Seem Like a Parody of Themselves

(Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

By Hans von Spakovsky -

The Judiciary Committee of the West Virginia House of Representatives held a virtual hearing on an election reform bill on April 5. What took place was like a story from the parody site The Babylon Bee.

I was invited to testify in support of the bill by some West Virginians, so I made a serious, but very short presentation on why this is a good bill that makes needed changes to West Virginia’s election laws.

While waiting to testify, I had to listen to a whole line of liberals who were speaking out against the legislation. If it had not been such a serious topic, I would have been laughing at the ridiculous claims and assertions made about the bill.

So what is in this bill that is supposedly so repressive and restrictive?

Several years ago, West Virginia implemented automatic voter registration to register anyone who comes into the Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for a driver’s license. The election reform bill simply clarifies that an applicant will be automatically registered unless she “affirmatively declines” to be registered.

But in the liberal fantasy world that equates any election reform with “Jim Crow,” asking someone if they want to register to vote—giving them an option—rather than just registering them without their permission or knowledge, is considered “voter suppression.”

More HERE

No To Georgia, Yes To China

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

While Biden and top Democrats on Capitol Hill demanded that Major League Baseball pull the All-Star Game from Georgia, the Biden administration announced that their position on the upcoming 2022 Olympics in Beijing “has not changed” and that they have not discussed any boycotts.

The State Department issued a statement saying it was not considering a boycott after spokesman Ned Price suggested earlier in the day that one was possible in response to China’s human rights abuses.

“Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed,” a senior State Department official told CNBC. “We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners.”

A former senior Treasury official told CNBC that boycotting the Olympics would be seen as a “Cold War statement” and that “it’s better to go there and dominate.”

“It’s better to be Jesse Owens than the Soviets in ’84,” the official added.

Alarmists Sound the French Fry Alarm

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate propaganda site, Climate.gov, features an article claiming climate change threatens potato production and, therefore, French fries. The article, titled “Climate & French fries,” claims global warming is making temperatures too warm for ideal potato production, creating more drought that stifles potato production, threatening an increase in potato diseases, and threatening an increase in insect pests that reduce potato yields. The NOAA article is similar to other media articles that identify popular products – like coffee, wine, beer, chocolate, etc. – and then claim the products are being harmed by climate change. Just like the other media articles and claimed negative impacts, objective data and scientific evidence destroy the NOAA myth that climate change is harming potatoes and French fries.

More HERE

Ending Big Tech Tyranny

Justice Clarence Thomas recently announced that the Supreme Court soon will have to put an end to big tech tyranny. He cited the “glaring” problem of social media platforms like Facebook and Google wielding unlimited power to censor users whose views they don’t like. These tech giants, he argued, ought to be regulated like “common carriers,” which are legally required to serve all customers. AT&T can’t refuse to open a phone account for you or limit your conversations. Amtrak cannot pick and choose who rides its trains.

Thomas’s opinion offers hope at a time when Democrats controlling Congress are demanding tech giants do more censoring, not less. On March 25, Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered tech CEOs clamp down on “disinformation” and silence views that “undermine social justice movements.” Spoken like true totalitarians.

More HERE

Why the Push Is on to Make Pandemic Life ‘Permanent’

One year after Americans were ordered to close down society for “two weeks to flatten the curve,” Bloomberg columnist Andreas Kluth warned, “We Must Start Planning for a Permanent Pandemic.”

Because new variants of SARS-COV-2 are impervious to existing vaccines, says Kluth, and pharmaceutical companies will never be able to develop new vaccines fast enough to keep up, we will never be able to get “back to normal.”

“Get back to normal” means recovering the relative liberty we had in our already overregulated, pre-Covid lives. This is just the latest in a long series of crises that always seem to lead our wise rulers to the same conclusion: we just cannot afford freedom anymore.

More HERE

The EPA's Totalitarian Plans for the U.S.

Biden-Harris Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan is clearly on a mission. He has “bold aspirations, and a long to-do list,” says The Washington Post. But to succeed, the Post acknowledges, he must “help the EPA get its groove back.” As Reagan put it, “We’ve got a lot of work to do, starting with rebuilding staff morale and getting all our staff back to feeling as if they matter, their voices matter.”

Regan says his job is “to restore the scientific integrity and the utilization of data, of facts, as we move forward, and make some very important decisions.” His second goal is to increase “cooperation” between the EPA and its “subordinate” state environmental agencies. EPA will dictate; states will fall in line.

More HERE

New York Puts Americans Last

New York just announced a $2.1 billion fund to give one-time payments of $15,600 to illegal immigrants who lost work during the pandemic. This comes after New York begged the federal government for bailout money because they could not afford relief for their citizens. Your taxpayer dollars are now footing the bill for a $2.1 billion fund solely for illegal immigrants in New York.

Based on our recent polling, 3 in 4 Americans agree “it’s unfair for illegal immigrants to get social services ahead of American citizens.”

Here’s the breakdown of who agrees:

• 57% of Democrats
• 73% of Independents
• 89% of Republicans
• 69% of Hispanics

Taxpayers from across the country paid into a system that was supposed to aid in pandemic recovery, but now is putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.

Di Leo: Foreign Policy Errors, from May to September

New York Times photo 

By John F Di Leo - 

On September 11, 2001, four groups of terrorists, associated with Al Qaeda, hijacked domestic airplanes with the intention of crash-landing into four key symbols of the United States, both public and private landmarks.  While a patriotic group of passengers in the fourth plane foiled one of the four plans, by the time it was all over, 3000 innocent people in New York and Washington had been murdered, and billions of dollars in property were destroyed.

The islamofascist movement – call it what you will: muslim terrorists, Islamic extremists, jihadists, Satanists, whatever – jumped for joy around the globe.  Those of us old enough to remember that awful day will never forget the news coverage, as it showed crowds cheering in much of the middle east, in celebration that “their side” had landed a successful sucker punch on the United States of America.

The world would be plunged into recession immediately. These crowds and their own countries suffered too, in this worldwide recession, but they didn’t care.  The big deal for them was that “their side” had scored a blow on the West.

Thorner: The ‘Great Reset’ Looms Large in Obama/Harris Administration

By Nancy Thorner - 

Alex Newman, senior editor of The New American and author of the new book Deep State: The Invisible Government Behind the scenes, begins his article in the January 4, 2021 issue of The New American, The Great Reset: Deep State globalists taking over the world and you!, with the following words: 

“In the not-to-distant future, you will own absolutely nothing, but you will like it and be happy," according to the totalitarians and Deep State globalists pushing what they call the 'Great Reset.'  You will also have no privacy, they say.  Everything will change. And yet, somehow, the advocates of this communistic-feudalistic vision of the future--the World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the British Royal family, and more -- have decreed that 'you'll be happy.'”

Mandating COVID-19 Digital Passports? Too Close to a Dystopian Novel for Me

Source: AP Photo/Frank Augstein

The draconian measures taken during this pandemic have shown that COVID-19 is being used as nothing more than a chance for the ruling class to grab more power. This is truly concerning now that a vaccine has been distributed to nearly 20 percent of the population. Knowing that the elderly and sick who obtain the highest risk factors of complications from the virus are being offered the vaccine first, one would think we are closer to the end than to the beginning of this pandemic.

Yet it seems that some politicians don’t ever want this “emergency” to end. Every day we are introduced to new ideas by power hungry politicians such as the recent onset of vaccine mandated cards being discussed as a requirement for travel and other public activities. 

Thankfully, a handful of politicians are speaking out against the madness. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said it best: “I say enough. I urge everyone to get the vaccine if you think you need or want it. And then I urge everyone in America to throw away their masks, demand their schools be open, and live your lives free of more government mandates and interference. Burn your vaccine passport if they try to give it to you and vote out any politician who won’t do the same.”

More HERE

Rossi: Our Founding Fathers Debate President Biden On Our 2nd Amendment

By Randy Rossi - 

Obviously Democrat President Biden did not do well in history while in high school because he simply doesn’t understand why our Founding Fathers gave us the wonderful gift of our Bill of Rights and our 2nd Amendment. When he announced his intention to use his executive power to limit the American people’s right to bear arms, he did exactly what our Founding Fathers warned us about. The goal of this piece is to allow our Founding Fathers to defend and explain their gift to us of the Bill of Rights and particularly the 2nd Amendment in their own words. Their explanations are crystal clear and frankly, quite simple and easy to understand. They completely decimate President Biden and the Democrats that want to take away our sacred 2nd Amendment rights.

First let’s let our Founding Fathers explain why we have a Republic with a Bill of Rights that protect our God given rights instead of a pure democracy ruled by men. In just three sentences, they explain that in such a simple way that even a Democrat should be able to understand:

Debunking Leftist Myths on Gun Control

In the wake of the Boulder supermarket massacre and other mass shootings, progressive activists, politicians, and journalists have misled the public about major aspects of these tragedies.

Within a week of blaming “white supremacy” for the murder of six Asian and two white women by a white man in Georgia, progressives are now blaming “assault weapons” for a mass shooting in which a Trump-hating Muslim immigrant with a history of violence, mental illness, and racial animus gunned down 10 white people in a Boulder, Colorado supermarket.

Beyond the duplicity of highlighting race only when the killer is white and the victims are not, progressive lawmakers, activists, and journalists are using a litany of falsehoods in an attempt to ban common semi-automatic guns used for home defense and hunting.

More HERE

The Tyranny of the Majority

“Which is better — to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away, or three thousand tyrants one mile away?” — Rev. Mather Blyes (1706-1788)

Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature? This conundrum, along with the witty version of it put to a Boston crowd in 1775 by the little-known colonial-era preacher with the famous uncle — Cotton Mather, addresses the age-old question of whether liberty can survive in a democracy.

More HERE

Solar Industry’s Reliance on Chinese Forced Labor Threatens Biden’s Green Economy

An unlikely coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and labor leaders are concerned by the solar industry's dependence on goods linked to Chinese forced labor camps, a development that threatens President Joe Biden's push for a green energy economy.

Western China's Xinjiang region—where China is forcing more than a million Uyghurs into brutal forced labor regimes—dominates the solar sector's supply chain. Nearly half of the world's polysilicon, a raw material crucial to producing solar cells, comes from Xinjiang. That economic dependency is attracting the attention of a bipartisan group of lawmakers and union heads, who cite credible reports linking the solar industry to the modern-day slavery regime.

More HERE

The Woke Revolution Is Powered by the Elites

(Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Ed Bastian made $17 million in 2019 as chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, Georgia’s largest employer. Bastian just blasted Georgia’s new voting law. He thinks it is racist to require the same sort of ID to vote that Delta requires for its passengers to check in.

Yet most Americans believe voting is a more sacred act than flying Delta and, moreover, may have noticed that Delta has partnerships with systemically racist China. Also, a recent Associated Press poll showed that 72% of Americans favor requiring photo ID to vote.

The most privileged CEOs of corporate America—those who sell us everything from soft drinks and sneakers to professional sports and social media—now jabber to America about its racism, sexism, and other assorted sins.

The rules of cynical CEO censure are transparent.

More HERE

Upset Glendale Heights voters plan protest Tuesday

Henry Ford College graphic

GLENDALE HEIGHTS - Consolidated Election voters in Glendale Heights are not happy with how their choice for village president was handled last week. They are so upset, in fact, that they're planning to protest in front of the DuPage County Clerk's office Tuesday, April 13th at 10 am.

They say their votes, and their voices, were ignored or are purposely being suppressed.

On Friday, April 2nd, the Illinois Supreme Court came down with a decision overturning three lower courts - objecting to the number of petition signatures five-term incumbent Glendale Heights Village President Linda Jackson and another candidate, Ed Pope, submitted for the April 6th election. The Supreme Court's decision tossed Jackson and Pope off the April 6th ballot four days before the election. 

The result was confusion at the polls, upset voters and a major loss for President Jackson. 

Glendale Heights resident Cheryl Swanson believes the people were cheated out of their right to choose their local officials.

McCullough at Townhall.com: Why Biden is Erasing America

Former Chicago suburbanite Kevin McCullough writes in Townhall.com today that President Joe Biden is "erasing America" with his overreaching executive orders of which few are paying attention: 

He’s attempting to undo American accountability in elections through his support of HR1. He’s attempting to undo our economic foundations with massive printing (read that: devaluing) of our currency. He’s attempting to destroy free enterprise and job growth with coming massive tax increases. He’s attempting to take away individual liberties with proposed mask mandates, and desired lockdowns. He supports any attempt to end the Senate filibuster—in order to push through horrific laws by the thinnest margins ever attempted. He’s attempting to overwhelm our security at our borders by encouraging 100’s of 1000’s of unverifiable persons of unknown origins to cross our borders without scrutiny nor penalty. He wants the police weakened. He is pledging to take guns away from law abiding owners. And he wants to pervert the justice system so dramatically that the Constitution becomes unrecognizable.

McCullough goes on to explain Biden's nation-changing moves ... HERE

Rossi: Heartbreaking Voter Apathy

By Randi Rossi - 

April 6 may have been the most important local elections in decades because so many people have suffered so much because of really bad politicians. Yet in Lake County Illinois, only 13% of registered voters bothered to do their civic duty and vote! The worst suffering is centered on our 55 million school age children that were kicked out of school for almost an entire year for no good reason. The CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, and other scientific sources have told us for months that children must get back to school ASAP and keeping them out of school causes life long academic, social, and psychological damage. Ten times more school age kids have died from suicide than Covid. 3 times more have died from the annual flu. The odds of a kid 19 and younger surviving Covid is 99.9978%! Yet local school boards agreed to shut down our schools and cause massive suffering for our kids either out of ignorance or to curry favor with the Teacher’s Unions. And our kids have suffered enormously because of that.

How Georgia’s Voting Law Compares to 7 Blue, Purple States’ Laws

(Photo: Wang Ying/Xinhua/Getty Images)

Here are the facts about how the Georgia voting law compares to other states. Fred Lucas writes:

Democrats have repeatedly denounced the new Georgia election integrity law that requires IDs for absentee ballots, but seldom criticize blue states that have comparable laws on their books—or in some cases, laws making it more difficult to vote than in Georgia.

“Overall, the Georgia law is pretty much in the mainstream and is not regressive or restrictive,” Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, told The Daily Signal. “The availability of absentee ballots and early voting is a lot more progressive than what’s in blue states.”

Biden’s ‘Jim Crow’ Label For Georgia Election Laws Is Insane. Here’s Why

Here's why comparisons of Georgia's election integrity law to Jim Crow are ridiculous. Gabe Kaminsky writes:

In his first press conference in March, President Joe Biden claimed Republicans seeking to ensure election integrity in Georgia and other states “makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle,” insinuating the GOP is worse than segregationists. The president has continued to parrot this illegitimate sentiment, claiming the newly passed Georgia election bill mandating voter ID for absentee ballots, among other things that should be uncontroversial, is “Jim Crow in the 21st century.” Speaking on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Biden said the measure was “Jim Crow on steroids.”

“This is Jim Crow on steroids what they’re doing in Georgia and 40 other states. What is this all about? Imagine passing a law saying you cannot provide water or food for someone standing in line to vote,” Biden said. “Can’t do that? Come on. Or you’re going to close a polling place at 5:00 when working people just get off.”

Illinois Supreme Court decides to hear second NRA-backed case

The Illinois Supreme Court decided to hear an NRA-ILA backed case challenging the city of Deerfield’s so-called “assault weapon” ban under the state’s preemption statute. This is the second NRA-ILA backed case that the court has decided to hear in recent times.

When Illinois adopted its preemption statute, it gave localities a limited timeframe wherein they could pass gun-control ordinances. Deerfield passed its so-called assault-weapon ban outside of that timeframe. It argued that because it already had some gun-control ordinances passed within the timeframe, its new ban was just an amendment of the ordinances that were grandfathered in. The court of appeals sided with them.

Last fall, the Illinois Supreme Court decided to take another case challenging Cook County’s imposition of a supplemental tax on the purchase of firearms and ammunition. The county imposed a $25 tax on the sale of firearms, and a $.05 and $.01 tax per cartridge of center and rimfire ammunition respectively. Despite these taxes singling out and penalizing constitutionally protected conduct, the court of appeals upheld them.      

It’s a good sign that the Illinois Supreme Court decided to hear both of these cases. The Court has issued a number of favorable gun-rights rulings in recent years. And the common wisdom is that the Court would not have taken the cases unless it was going to reverse the court of appeals: if the Court supported the lower courts’ rulings, it would have let them stand.

The cases are called Guns Save Life, Inc. v. Village of Deerfield and Guns Save Life, Inc. v. Ali.

Thorner: Part 2 - Big Tech Curators of Content, Not Publishers

By Nancy Thorner - 

On Monday, March 22, 2021, The Heartland Institute and the Media Research Center held a Zoom webinar at 1:00 p.m. CST, on how to defeat Big Tech censorship, titled, Toe to Toe with Big Tech Titans: How states can protect freedom of speech. View the Zoom video here.

Part 1 featured Brent Bozell, founder and president of the Media Research Center, as posted at Illinois Review on Monday, April 4, 2020.  Part 1: Brent Bozell Discusses the Greatest Threat to Freedom.

Part 2, to follow, will feature comments made by Heartland Institute experts James Taylor, President of The Heartland Institute, and Cameron Sholty, Heartland’s Director of Government Relations.

Staver: Rogue Chicago Mayor Plans Ruin, But God Brings Revival

By Mat Staver - 

One year ago, in a land founded upon religious freedom, many governors began banning or severely restricting worship in churches. When Americans refused to forfeit religious freedom, politicians turned up the heat.

Pastors faced arrest and churchgoers were put on the equivalent of 14-day house arrest, and those at Harvest Rock Church in California were threatened with one-year terms in prison.

And in Chicago, Illinois, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had the audacity to try to seize and destroy Elim Romanian Pentecostal’s beautiful church building. Her Notice of Summary Abatement against Elim still stands.

Mayor Lightfoot threatened to tear down Elim’s church buildings if more than 10 people met in its 1,300-seat sanctuary.

So, God gave Elim more attendees ... and a bigger church in which to worship!

Attendance at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church of Chicago has exploded since the Illinois government began its persecution. Where officials once tried to force all but 10 people at a time from the church, God filled Elim’s sanctuary. When that sanctuary filled to overflowing, God gave them a larger sanctuary!

Beckman: Who’s Hating Asians?

By Hank Beckman - 

Steve Kerr, the socially-conscious coach of the Golden State Warriors, thinks that the way to stop hate crimes against Asian Americans is to engage the nation’s entire citizenry.

In the wake of the recent killings of six Asian women in Atlanta, Kerr tweeted that it “was on all of us” to combat the scourge of the recent rise of hate crimes committed against Asians.

What he means by this is anybody’s guess. The phrase really conveys a message no more detailed or informative than that the person making the statement is a decent, enlightened soul. That’s nice.

You hear the same call for the general population to employ some vague collective action or rhetoric to combat any number of societal problems; it’s on “all of us” Joe Biden once said to stop the “rape culture” crisis supposedly infecting our college campuses; the climate crisis can only be solved through collective action and sacrifice; discrimination against anyone is discrimination against everyone.