Illinois Review

Rep. Ozinga Introduces Resolution to Promote Non-Public School Autonomy

MOKENA - State Representative Tim Ozinga (R – Mokena) introduced a resolution to encourage state policy to honor the traditional autonomy of non-public schools in Illinois when making decisions for those schools.

"Illinois has always had a long history of allowing parochial, Montessori, and other private schools to dictate their policies," Rep. Ozinga said.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) removed recognition status from 15 non-public schools following non-compliance to the Governor's school mask mandate.

"The existing state policy of supporting our non-public schools and promoting our voluntary process of recognition is paramount to the education of our children. We should not ruin this relationship no matter how noble policymakers believe their goals to be,” Rep. Ozinga continued.

Rep. Ozinga filed the resolution, HR 471, on September 28, 2021, after consultation with many parents and private school officials who have become increasingly frustrated with the Governor and proposed legislation seeking to supersede their traditional autonomy to function.

Di Leo: From Big Banker to Big Brother: Your $600 and You

 
By John F. Di Leo - 

The federal government has always required large personal bank transactions to be reported, just in case. I remember that number being $10,000… Somewhere along the way, it was increased to $20,000. With inflation, that makes sense.

Why the requirement? Because large cash transactions might be an indicator for black market activity, such as drug dealing, contract hits, political bribery, etc.

Americans have a healthy distrust of government. We don’t want every personal transaction reported to the feds, but we understand the need to report some. With inflation, we expect such numbers to be periodically revised upward.

We certainly do not expect them to be revised downward.… But that’s just what will happen if the Democrats’ tyrannical Build Back Better Act is somehow passed into law.

Cook County Board to consider "cancel culturing" Texas' right to life law

COOK COUNTY - The county that is home to crime-ridden Chicago, where children are especially vulnerable to gang violence and crime, will likely consider a resolution next week that enacts cancel culture tactics against the state of Texas and any elected officials that supported the state's recently enacted Senate Bill 8 to protect unborn children whose hearts are beating within their mother's wombs. 

The resolution would ban non-essential County-funded travel or other travel to Texas for Cook County business and any official business with the State of Texas Government in response to Texas Senate Bill 8; and sever financial ties to any corporations that financially contribute to the campaigns of those that supported the measure.

The sponsors of the proposal are Cook County Commissioners Kevin Morrison, Alma Anaya and Brandon Johnson. 

The resolution reads as following:

Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk endorses Rabine for IL Governor

CHICAGO - Wheeling Illinois native Charlie Kirk - founder of Turning Point USA - is endorsing GOP gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine, the campaign said Wednesday in a press release.

Kirk shares some of his political views in this included video:

“Gary Rabine has been there from the very beginning in helping me to build Turning Point into what it is today,” Kirk said. “He is a business builder and a true conservative who will stand up for the values we embrace. He is a true outsider who will help Illinois comeback from decades of poor policies that have put a once great state into decline.

"I care about Illinois, and I want to see my home state thrive. I am tired of seeing people leave Illinois for other states. I am supporting Gary Rabine for Governor because he is the best candidate and the one I know can beat JB Pritzker and as importantly, turn our state around. Gary is a dear friend who has always been there to help me, and I believe firmly in backing my friends. Gary will be a terrific Governor and has my total endorsement.”

More information about Rabine at his website rabineforgovernor.com

GOP candidate Bailey meme blasts Pritzker, the Obamas and Lightfoot as destructive "political elites"

CHICAGO - Pointing to a photo taken Tuesday when the Obamas were in Chicago to celebrate the ground breaking of the Obama Presidential Library, GOP candidate for governor Darren Bailey blasted Governor Pritzker, former President and Mrs. Obama as well as Chicago Mayor Lightfoot as "political elites" that don't follow their own rules.

Natural gas prices to skyrocket this winter, thanks to Biden's climate change plan

CHICAGO - Homes heated with natural gas will face steep heating bill costs, the result of natural gas production being cut dramatically by the Biden Administration. The cost of natural gas is up 180% percent. 

In Chicago, bills could be 35% higher than last year. It could be even higher in the suburbs, Crain's reports.

For the average Chicago household, assuming normal winter weather, the five-month heating bill will be around $938, or $188 a month on average, according to a Crain’s analysis, using data from Peoples Gas combined with gas-price futures. The projection jibes with what Peoples anticipates, a spokeswoman said.

That would be a 35% increase over last year’s average household gas bill over the official five-month heating season of $693, or $139 a month.

And while that's a substantial hike, Crain's says suburban home owners will be hit even harder.

Thorner: Democrats set up America for economic collapse

The Verge photo

By Nancy Thorner - 

Last week, I recall Pelosi saying she would hold a vote on the $1.1 trillion, bipartisan infrastructure bill H.R. 3684 on Monday, Sept. 27.2021. On Sunday, September 26, 2021, during an appearance on ABC News, Pelosi revealed she had apparently changed her mind, changing the vote on the bill from Monday to sometime “this week.”   

Later in the day on Sunday, Pelosi sent a letter to her fellow House Democrats stating that the vote will take place on Thursday, Sept. 30.

Biden Climate Plan Benefits China, Taliban

As President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats continue their push to impose sweeping reforms meant to tackle climate change, the Taliban—with substantial help from China—is positioning itself to take advantage.

More HERE

4 Ways to Understand Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill

(Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

This legislation is simply too long, too expensive, and would do too much damage to the economy to properly justify it. David Ditch writes:

House Democrats have unveiled pieces of the $3.5 trillion spending bill over the past several weeks.

Most legislation focuses on specific issues, which makes it possible to have constructive debate. However, this bill covers welfare, immigration, taxes, energy, families, and much more, making it extremely difficult to comprehend.

China Begins to Realize Cronyism and Big Tech Do Way More Harm Than Good

Last week's stock market slide could have been a response to any of the very many awful economic indicators we are currently facing.

A lot of the blamers were blaming China’s over-leveraged monster property development company The Evergrande Group.  Evergrande just noted that perhaps they may not be able to pay back the $300+ billion they currently owe.  That they borrowed from suckers – oops, I mean lenders – all over the world.  So their looming default threatens the entire world’s economy.

China’s uber-cronyism made Evergrande into a global monster – #122 on Fortune’s August Global 500 hugest companies list.  Because no one succeeds in China – unless the Communist government allows it to happen.  Many of the Communists’ favored companies – have gotten really, REALLY huge.

Now it looks like China is realizing that having a few crony companies dominate the entire economy may not be the best way to run a railroad.  Over the last several months, China has started to undo its cronyism for once-favored companies.

No company is “too big to fail” – when the government cuts off the cronyism.

More HERE

Everything You Need to Know About Mask Folly

TThe use of face masks for COVID-19 mitigation has little basis in scientific evidence, and can cause a host of deleterious health problems.

In a terse essay titled “Science and Dictatorship,” Albert Einstein warned that “Science can flourish only in an atmosphere of free speech.” And on his deathbed, Einstein cautioned, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted in important affairs.” 

With reckless disregard for both of those principles, powerful government officials and big tech executives have corrupted or suppressed the central scientific facts about face masks. The impacts of this extend far beyond the issue of masks and have caused widespread harm and countless deaths.

Despite the fog of contradictory claims and changing government guidelines, dozens of scientific journals have published consistent data that establish these facts:

Illinois' university profs concerned over how Texas abortion ban could affect "trans men"

EVANSTON - Illinois' prestigious Northwestern University professors wrote in the school's online news source last week that Texas' new ban on aborting babies with a heartbeat could negatively affect pregnant women who identify as a man.

In the Northwestern Now, the story says:

A trans man living in Texas may choose to conceal his transgender status to coworkers, friends and even in-laws to protect himself from violence and gender dysphoria. As his abdomen grows due to a pregnancy for which he can no longer legally get an abortion, however, keeping identity private in public spaces may become next to impossible.

The abortion ban in Texas imposes the burden of pregnancy — and with it, the burden of potential dysphoria, being outed or violence — on trans and gender nonconforming individuals without viable alternative choices.

Di Leo: "$3.5 Trillion or $5.5 Trillion?" Is Entirely the Wrong Question to ask

By John F. Di Leo - 

“Hey, do we have seventy-five bucks each?”

“Seventy-five bucks?”

“Yeah, seventy-five bucks each.”

“You mean for you and me, so it’s $150?”

“Well, it’s for the kids too, so it’s $375, total.”

“Oh.  Well….  I don’t know… Depends.”

“Can we do it or not?”

“Well, I don’t know, when would we need it? Is this for today?”

“I’m thinking, we could charge it… or you could volunteer for some overtime for a couple weeks… or I could hock Grandpa’s watch….”

“Well, it depends.  Tell me… What’s all this for?”

Parker: Clarence Thomas and the Declaration of Independence

By Star Parker - 

Recently, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas arrived at the University of Notre Dame to speak about the Declaration of Independence.

Speaking invitations like this that Thomas accepts are few and far between.

Anyone who cares about our country and listens to this address will wish that he would agree to speak more.

His presentation was a brilliant and profound articulation of what America is about at its core.

It is what every American needs to hear in these troublesome and divisive times.

More HERE

Where’s Weyermuller? Searching for the invisible, but costly, Kenilworth Public Library

By Mark Weyermuller - 

The Kenilworth Library District with a population of 2500 residents has a property tax levy of $315,000 yet they have no building & NO BOOKS. They spend $27,000 in admin costs to give that money to the Wilmette & Winnetka libraries on a contract basis. Information on this district can be found HERE.

Anybody can use these libraries for free from any community with no photo identification is required to enter and read books on site. My understanding is only residents can check out books to take off site.

Last week I attended one the Kenilworth Library Board meetings. They have five board meetings a year yet they have no building and no books in their village. I asked a variety of questions during a four minute presentation for public comment. As per Illinois' Open Meetings Act, any person can attend and speak at these meetings.

Thorner: Why are coronavirus cocktails so difficult to get?

The below is not intended as medical counsel, only as information to be considered in researching treatments. 

By Nancy Thorner -

A monoclonal antibody is a laboratory-produced protein that functions like the antibodies made by the immune system in response to infection.

 

By binding to a specific molecule on a virus or bacteria — known as an antigen — a monoclonal antibody can enhance or restore the immune response against these pathogens and can help prevent the virus from infecting human cells

 

Most of the monoclonal antibodies being developed to treat COVID-19 target the spike protein, which the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) uses to enter the host cells.

Biden Wants to Ban Many Popular Bulbs

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed a new set of stricter energy efficiency standards for light bulbs.

The scheme, published in the Federal Register on August 9, sets new efficiency standards for around 2 billion bulbs, including those in decorative fixtures, recessed, and track lighting. Many of these types of bulbs had not been regulated under previous efficiency standards.

Because many of the most popular types of bulbs are unable to meet the new efficiency standards, should the rule be finalized, billions of popular light bulbs would be banned from sale.

More HERE

Attorney: A fundamental right to bodily integrity

An Ohio-based attorney told LifeSiteNews that vaccine mandates, whether put in place by private companies or the federal government, are not on a sound legal footing.

Thomas Renz, who is representing healthcare workers in Michigan in a legal challenge to jab requirements, said there’s “no question that the fundamental right to bodily integrity exists, and supersedes the state’s interest, even in preserving life.”

Renz’s clients include a group of Henry Ford Health System employees in Michigan who objected to the healthcare organization’s jab requirement. Renz withdrew the lawsuit on September 10 in response to pending jab requirements from President Joe Biden’s administration. His clients remain in legal limbo, he said, though he expects they will win their lawsuit.

“We’re not done with this, we just have to change it,” Renz said. “Ethics are super, super important to me … and it’s not appropriate to waste the court’s time with it.”

The clients he represents, including nurses and other health care staff, “have a fundamental right to bodily integrity as recognized under the law, but that’s being egregiously ignored around the country.”

More HERE

Biden’s Failure at Del Rio

The number of Haitian migrants at Del Rio may dissipate, but the border crisis won't go away. The Editors at National Review write:

A crisis is a terrible thing to create.

The incredible scenes in Del Rio, Texas, over the last week of the formation of an instant migrant encampment of 15,000 people on U.S. soil are a direct result of the Biden administration’s feckless policies at the border.

2 Illinois Congress members vote against funding Israel's Iron Dome

Jerusalem Post photo

DC - Two Democrat members from Illinois of the US House - Marie Newman (IL-3) and Chuy Garcia (IL-5) joined with the Liberal Left Thursday to oppose American financial aid to Israel's key protection from radical terrorist attacks. 

The bill to help Israel retain its missile defense system called the "Iron Dome" passed the House with an overwhelming 420 to 9 vote.

The "no" votes were Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; André Carson, D-Ind.; Marie Newman, D-Ill., Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.; Chuy Garcia, D-Ill.; and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Defense News explained what happened.

Illinois Policy searches for free-market candidates

CHICAGO - Illinois Policy is undertaking an historic effort to increase competition in state representative district across Illinois, and if you're interested at all, they'd love to speak with you. 

While very aware of the startling numbers of folks moving out of the Prairie State, the non-profit group says "We want you to stay and fight!" 

Over the past decade, Illinois Policy argues, there have been hundreds of instances where the only choice presented ona ballot was for a single candidate, often an incumbent. This has been especially true in Chicago and Cook County. 

"We seek civic-minded, qualified and capable candidates that share our free-market ideas, to be candidates in one of the many districts that have been deprived of competition over the past ten years or more," Illinois Policy said in a statement. 

"We are interested in hearing from you even if you have never run for or held public office in the past," they write. 

More information can be found at www.illin.is/lincoln or email Dan Patlak at dpatlak@illinoispolicy.org.

Miller only IL Republican to oppose federal bill requiring girls to register for draft

WASHINGTON - Thursday, Congresswoman Mary Miller (IL-15) voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), saying the measure "provides the American people with zero accountability for the disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan and requires young girls to register for the military draft."

"As of today, neither Secretary Lloyd Austin nor General Mark Milley have testified or resigned over the disaster they created in Afghanistan,” Miller said. “We still have no idea if $20 billion or $80 billion in weapons is now in the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda. We have no idea how many al Qaeda terrorists were released from the prison at Bagram. The Biden Administration's incompetence left us with 13 dead Americans because they were relying on the Taliban to secure their perimeter, and now the Administration is asking for a blank check for the NDAA. Why on earth would we sign off on this?”

Miller was the only Republican from Illinois to vote "No," along with three Democrats from Illinois - Danny Davis, Chuy Garcia and Jan Schakowsky.

Di Leo: Turkey and Sage Dumpling Soup with Basement Joe

By John F. Di Leo -

Introduction: Imagine, if you will, an alternate universe in which a confused old man - Joe Buckstop - stumbles into the presidency, and spends his entire term in his basement. Each evening, an aide walks downstairs and serves him his bowl of soup, and engages him in conversation about current events, in a losing effort to keep him hale. Tonight's episode is an excerpt from the ongoing series, "Evening Soup with Basement Joe," by John F. Di Leo, a fictional chronicle of the events of 2021, a political satire available in paperback or eBook from Amazon.

"Good evening, sir! You hungry?"

 

"Come on, man! Leave me alone, I'm sleeping here!"

 

"Oh, sorry to wake you, sir, but it's time for your nightly bowl of soup, sir!"

 

"I'd rather sleep."

 

"I'm sure the whole world would rather have you sleep too, sir, considering what happens when you're awake, but my job is to wake you up for your soup, sir."

 

"Why?"

 

"Because they want you to have some food in you before your cocktail, sir."

 

"Cocktail? I'm not having a cocktail."

 

"I mean your jab, sir. Your vitamin shot, sir."

Liberty Counsel calls on Southern Illinois Healthcare to accept employees' religious exemption

The non-profit legal counsel group Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) on behalf of seven employees and numerous others who have been unlawfully denied religious exemption from the COVID shot mandate without explanation or ability to appeal. 

SIH advised its health care workers that their deadline to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 injection is September 24, 2021. SIH requires employees seeking religious exemption from the shot mandate to submit their requests on the specified form. In addition to requiring each employee’s personal statement explaining the employee’s religious objection to the injection, the form illegally demands that a third-party religious leader verify the sincerity of the employee’s beliefs and the employee’s membership “in good standing” of a religious organization. 

However, Liberty Counsel wrote in a statement on the issue, SIH does not inform its employees of the increasingly apparent policy of the SIH Exemption Committee and SIH Occupational Health & Safety to deny nearly all religious exemption requests without explanation. In addition, some employees have received religious exemptions based on the same reasons given by employees who have been denied. SIH does not provide any reasons for its denials and refuses to provide them even after employees have requested them. All this is an apparent attempt to hide its illegal reasons.

Illinois Republicans want to allow voters to recall elected officials, others

(The Center Square) – Illinois Republicans are pushing for a constitutional amendment they say empowers voters to deal with corrupt elected officials up and down the ballot.

Illinois has a recall provision but it’s only for governor. State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said it’s unworkable because it requires 30 members of the legislature, half from each party, to sign off.

“Without that affidavit, you can’t proceed and again what this creates is an impossible tool for the public to actually ever use,” Barickman said during a news conference.

Marter to Underwood: Condemn Ilhan Omar's anti-Semitism

Underwood & Omar

Oswego, IL – GOP Congressional Candidate James Marter called out Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14( Wednesday for being a "friend to anti-Semites" instead of a friend to Israel.

"Representative Underwood failed to denounce her friend, [Congresswoman] Ilhan Omar in 2019, for what Illinois NPR called hate speech towards Israel," said Marter. "Now in 2021, Congresswoman Underwood failed us again, remaining silent in response to Omar's remarks comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas. How can we let a representative remain in office if they can't tell an ally from a terrorist organization?"

Referring to The Hill and Roll Call news sources, Marter said Democrats stripped away $1 billion dollars in funding for Israel’s critical Iron Dome self-defense system. The Iron Dome protects Israeli civilians from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah and Hamas.

Illinoisans deserve better, as does our nation and our ally Israel, Marter said in the statement.

Thorner/O’Neil: Get informed. Then Act.

Outsons photo

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

Pew Research has been around for a long time and has a good reputation. The organization seeks citizens’ opinions about a variety of different issues and subjects in order to better understand the direction the USA is headed based on their public opinion polling.

Conservatives can/should make their views more public, because our political opponents are doing so and thus having an influence on how people view specific aspects of our society and lives.

Dr. Orient Op-Ed: This Is Not about Freedom or Personal Choice

by Jane M. Orient, M.D.

Today we have two contrasting quotations from world leaders. One said: “Mandatory vaccinations will never be allowed because [this] is a free country and its people are sovereign.” The other said: “This is not about freedom or personal choice.”

The first was by Vladimir Putin. Russia, a free country! The second was by Joe Biden. The U.S. is no longer a free country, and the people are not sovereign. Nor are the once-sovereign states. If state governors won’t cooperate with him, “I’ll use my power as president to get them out of the way.” It is not clear exactly how he would accomplish that. Invade the state and occupy its capitol and its courts? Arrest the governor and perhaps the legislature and throw them into prison without bail like some January 6 demonstrators? Already, many states are suing—perhaps we will learn whether the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has any meaning.

Who would have believed that a U.S. President would ever say such things?

President Trump Cancelled FDA Contracts to Buy Aborted Baby Parts, It Hasn’t Purchased Any Since

The Food and Drug Administration assured the Daily Caller News Foundation Friday that it has not entered into any contracts “for the purchase of human fetal tissue” since 2018.

The agency’s response follows the release of documentation obtained by Judicial Watch showing that the FDA procured fetal organs, tissue, and heads for research that involved “humanized mice.” Previous documents uncovered by Judicial Watch found that the FDA requested “fresh and never frozen” fetal organs.

“I’ve been doing this for 23 years. These documents we’ve gotten from the FDA and our other lawsuit…they are the worst things I’ve ever seen,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told the Daily Caller News Foundation Friday. “The most troubling documents I’ve ever seen.”

More HERE

Di Leo: The Personal Side of Social Media Censorship

Fred J. Di Leo

By John F. Di Leo - 

On September 20, AD 2011, my father, Fred J. Di Leo, passed away at the age of 80.

Dad was special, in many ways… An active member of his parish, a retired middle manager at Standard Oil of Indiana, a wonderful actor in Park Ridge community theater in the 1970s and 80s. Dad had been a competitive pistol marksman in the 1950s, then a park commissioner and Republican party activist in Evanston in the 1960s and 70s, and his life was full of thousands of wonderful moments, so many wonderful anecdotes to remember him by.

Normally, I write a Facebook post or two on anniversaries like this, recounting those anecdotes for friends and family, helping his memory live on. Most of us with accounts on Facebook do the same, posting sweet, funny, or sometimes sad, memories of those we have lost, on the anniversaries of their births or deaths.

Today’s column is not such a memorial - I’m not here to write about my wonderful Dad - but an explanation of why I could NOT make such a post today, and why so many others cannot either, because of an odd, modern, and particularly offensive form of censorship: the concept known as Facebook jail.

US headed in right direction? 68% don't think so.

DC - An overwhelming majority of American likely voters are not happy with the nation's direction a new poll says. 

Thirty-two percent (32%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey for the week ending September 16, 2021.

This week’s finding is down two points from a week ago.

The national telephone survey of 2,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from September 12-16, 2021. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. 

Job Creators Network lawsuit endorsed by GOP gubernatorial candidate

WOODSTOCK – The Job Creators Network (JCN) is preparing a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on companies with 100 or more employees, a move Gary Rabine, a JCN Board member, endorses.

“Biden’s Administration, the Administration that Pritzker & AOC support is off their rockers! Their main goal seems to be kill jobs, kill freedom, and tax more!" said Rabine in a statement issued last Friday.

Rabine said as one of the founding board members of Job Creators Network, he endorses their lawsuit against Biden.

"We have been a strong voice against terrible regulations that kill jobs but this mandate by Biden might be the most aggressive, freedom crushing bill that we have ever seen. If we allow this, what freedom will we give up next?" Rabine said.

"Our businesses at the Rabine Group have amazing people who are like family to us, and some will choose not to take this vaccine for their own personal reasons. Some of these invaluable people will choose to leave the small businesses they call home to work for a smaller company that doesn’t fall under the mandate. Some of them will move to a state that fights for their freedom against a tyrannical federal government. How many more Illinoisans can we afford to chase out?" 

Del Rio TX mayor disses VP Harris' immigration policy leadership fail

The VP is able to visit the fun events across the country, while American communities continue to grapple with failed immigration reform. Where is the visit to Del Rio, TX? @potus @cnn @FoxNews @USATODAY @GovAbbott @CBSNews @NBCNews https://t.co/pt9DSwKn6p

— Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano (@BrunoRalphy) September 19, 2021

Thorner: Time for open, honest dialogue about treating coronavirus - Part 2

(This article is informational only, not intended to be medical advice. Pros and cons of the treatment are offered) 

By Nancy Thorner -

There's plenty of information on the internet about the reasons doctors are giving not to use ivermectin to treat COVID. It's not so easy to find reasons why lots of doctors have found the treatment to be effective in fighting COVID, especially when started early on. 

Otherwise, patients are being told they are positive to COVID tests, and little - if any - treatments for COVID are ever offered before hospitalization. Only a warning to call 911 if a patient can't breathe is suggested - sometimes two weeks after the diagnosis. 

Why is that? And how can it be handled differently? Should more choices be offered to COVID patients?

Maine governor sued on behalf of 2000 health care workers over mandated vaccine policy

AUGUSTA, ME – Liberty Counsel has filed the reply in support of a preliminary injunction on behalf of more than 2,000 health care workers against Governor Janet Mills, health officials of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and five of Maine’s largest hospital systems.

Gov. Janet Mills’ executive order purports to override both Title VII employment law and the First Amendment Free Exercise clause. Her discriminatory order mandates the shots and states health care workers cannot raise religious exemptions claims. The hearing is set for Monday, September 20 in the U.S. District Court.

On August 12, 2021, Governor Mills announced that Maine will require health care workers to accept or receive one of the three, currently available COVID-19 shots to remain employed in the healthcare profession. This edict would force numerous doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and other health care workers to choose between the exercise of their sincerely held religious beliefs and their employment.

Di Leo: Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup with Basement Joe

Illinois Review is proud to be sharing samples of IR columnist John F. Di Leo's popular soup series - one he's been writing since January 2021 - when President Joe Biden was first sworn into office. John's new book is available on Amazon.com. 

By John F. Di Leo - 

Introduction: Imagine, if you will, an alternate universe in which a confused old man - Joe Buckstop - stumbles into the presidency, and spends his entire term in his basement. Each evening, an aide walks downstairs and serves him his bowl of soup, and engages him in conversation about current events, in a losing effort to keep him hale. Tonight's episode is an excerpt from the ongoing series, "Evening Soup with Basement Joe," a fictional chronicle of the events of 2021, available in paperback or eBook from Amazon.

"Good evening, sir. I trust you're ready for a bowl of soup?"

"Wait! Don't come in!"

"Oh, sorry, sir, okay, I'll wait... hmm... I'll put the tray down here on the table for a minute..."

"Yeah! That's it! I'm on fire!"

"Beg your pardon, sir? Are you okay, sir?"

"Huh? Yeah, never mind, never mind... just working here.... gimme a minute ... YEAH! Take THAT! Man... a little closer... a little closer... mmm... pick up some health... mmm... some gems... that'll help... YEAH! That's it!"

Woke Companies Need to Wake up on ESG Scores

Prevailing ‘ethics’ models ignore vital energy, environmental, labor and human rights issues.

Growing numbers of companies, banks, universities and investment houses are adopting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and disclosure rules. They’re pressured to do so by activists, legislators and regulators. Many expect to get rich via taxpayer-subsidized “renewable” energy projects.
 
Nearly all hope to “greenwash” their reputations, by claiming they’ll “make the world a better place,” by reducing fossil fuel emissions, and thus planetary temperatures and extreme weather events.
 
They recently got a boost from the US House of Representatives. It voted 215-214 party-line to pass a bill supporting Securities and Exchange Commission plans to impose new ESG rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose “climate risks” allegedly caused by oil, gas and coal production and use. Some think the SEC might now give greater scrutiny to ESG climate claims and misconduct, but that seems unlikely.
 
Regardless, woke organizations need to wake up to climate, renewable energy and ESG realities.

More HERE
 

Lawmakers Demand Answers on State Nursing Home Deaths

A number of state legislators and U.S. Senate Republicans are demanding answers to nursing home deaths after COVID-19 lockdowns and other preventative measures under blue state governors.

After the U.S. Department of Justice dropped investigations on the nursing home deaths in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and fellow Senate Republicans sent a letter to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, demanding congressional oversight.

“The decision not to pursue potential civil rights violations in states with high profile Democrat governors raises serious concerns that the Biden administration is acting based on politics, not the law,” the senators wrote in the letter.

Meanwhile, investigations continue at the state level, with many Americans wondering how accountable governors can be once they leave office.

More HERE

The Left Controls "Acceptable" Vernacular

“The terms, they are a-changin’” – S.T. Karnick

In this day and age, thoughtful college students are besieged by the intellectual left.

I suppose it begins when a supposedly woke professor, quite like his or her counterpart government functionary or mainstream media talking head, chooses to avoid punishment.

More HERE

Thorner: Time for open, honest dialogue about treating coronavirus - Part 1

(This article is informational only, not intended to be medical advice. Pros and cons of treatments are offered) 

By Nancy Thorner - 

"Yep, you're COVID positive. Go home and stay home until you're negative. Call 911 if you can't breathe." 

That's about the extent of what those stricken with COVID over the past 18 months have been told on how to treat the virus symptoms. Little, if any, other help is offered to keep one from ending up in the hospital. It's a dilemma that has baffled anyone observing the pandemic. 

But the question is "Why?" And why is the media slapping down any possible treatments that some find that work? 

In a report published by Liberty Counsel on Sept. 14, 2021, Ivermectin: Scare Tactics Unfounded, the report begins as follows: "The media is attempting to paint a picture in our minds that ivermectin is a 'horse wormer' and isn’t for human consumption. There are in fact two different forms of ivermectin. One is for livestock and the other is for human beings. As for safety, over four billion doses have been given to human patients since 1998."

“In 2015, the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, in its only award for treatments of infectious diseases for six decades prior, honored the discovery of ivermectin, a multifaceted drug deployed against some of the world’s most devastating tropical diseases. Since it came on the market, it has been used off-label for other diseases and conditions such as Systemic Lupus and Papulopustular Rosacea. In 2018, a patent was filed to treat certain autoimmune disorders.”

 

Said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Stacer: “The FDA, CDC, Fauci and Biden are deceiving the American people in support of Big Pharma. We need open and honest dialogue, not propaganda sponsored and directed by Big Pharma. The censorship and misinformation must end. ivermectin has been proven time and time again to be a viable option in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.”

Don’t Be Evil

A Google employee program claims that America is a “system of white supremacy” and that all Americans are “raised to be racist.” Christopher F. Rufo writes:

Technology giant Google has launched an “antiracism” initiative that presents speakers and materials claiming that America is a “system of white supremacy” and that all Americans are “raised to be racist.”

I have obtained a trove of whistleblower documents from inside Google that reveal the company’s extensive racial-reeducation program, based on the core tenets of critical race theory—including “intersectionality,” “white privilege,” and “systemic racism.” In a foundational training module called “Allyship in Action,” Google’s head of systemic allyship Randy Reyes and a team of consultants from The Ladipo Group train employees to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, and then rank themselves on a hierarchy of “power [and] privilege.” The trainers then instruct the employees to “manage [their] reactions to privilege”—which are likely to include feelings of “embarrassment, shame, fear, [and] anger”—through “body movement,” “deep breathing,” “accessing [their] ‘happy place,’” and “cry[ing].”

Democrats' New Plan to Restrict Your Gun Rights

President Joe Biden’s State Department announced new sanctions banning the importation of ammunition and firearms from Russia, a decision that comes in the midst of a large ammunition shortage that has forced U.S. retailers to depend on foreign suppliers to meet demand. Since 2019, ammunition imports have increased by about 225 percent.

President Biden and his elitist allies in woke banks and investment firms know that severe restrictions on Second Amendment rights aren’t possible given the current composition of the Supreme Court, thanks in large part to President Trump. So they are turning to other tactics instead, most of which aren’t being covered by the press, to get the job done. It’s working.

More HERE

Federal Court issues restraining order in New York medical workers' religious exemption case

NEW YORK - Chicago-based Thomas More Society, representing a group of New York medical workers, won a temporary restraining order against the new governor of New York on behalf of the non-profit legal group's clients Tuesday.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York granted a Temporary Restraining Order against the governor of New York and her administration at the request of a group of New York medical workers in Dr. A, et al. v. Kathy Hochul, et al. on September 14, 2021.

The seventeen health professionals, including doctors and nurses, are suing the state of New York for violating their Title VII and Constitutional rights with the Covid-19 vaccination mandate while disallowing religious exemptions.

Center Square: JCAR unanimously demands rule from ISBE over Pritzker’s mask mandate

(The Center Square) – Four public schools and nine private schools in Illinois have not complied with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate.

The public schools are on probation. The private schools’ recognition has been stripped.

A body of state lawmakers says the Illinois State Board of Education may be overstepping its authority by revoking recognition of schools, public and private, because of masking policies.

“There is a concern that policy outside of rule may exist and [Joint Committee on Administrative Rules] encourages ISBE to place all guidance and policy in rule,” the clerk for JCAR read during Tuesday hearing.

READ the rest of this important story on The Center Square - with a video of the JCAR hearing. 

Pritzker signs into law Green Energy bill

CHICAGO - A press release from Governor Pritzker’s office offers details of SB 2408, passed by the Illinois General Assembly earlier this week, which he signed into law Wednesday:  

Ensures Equity is Prioritized in Just Transition to Green Economy

CHICAGO – Delivering on principles previously laid out, Governor JB Pritzker signed landmark legislation into law that puts the state on a path toward 100% clean energy, invests in training a diverse workforce for the jobs of the future, institutes key ratepayer and residential customer protections, and prioritizes meaningful ethics and transparency reforms. Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to enact legislation to combat the climate crisis and build an economy for the future.

“We can’t outrun or hide from climate change – not to the north, where the Boundary Waters burn; not to the south, where Ida swallows lives and livelihoods in the blink of an eye,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “There is no time to lose. Thanks to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, Illinois is taking action in the fight to stop and even reverse the damage that’s been done to our climate. As of today, Illinois is a force for good, for an environmental future we can be proud of. With economic growth and jobs woven into its fabric, this new law is the most significant step Illinois has taken in a generation toward a reliable, renewable, affordable and clean energy future in a generation.”

American Systems Mirror China's

Corporate Social Responsibility, ESG Scores, and China’s latest foray into totalitarianism via its recently introduced Social Credit System share significant commonality. Each system engenders the same erosion of individual liberty via the propagation of a singular “morality” unilaterally determined by an authoritarian overseer. That the governance structure surrounding the former is made up of economic elites operating from a relatively free society, while the latter is made up of high-ranking governmental officials in a significantly less free society, is immaterial.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined by Investopedia as “a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable -- to itself, its stakeholders, and the public… to engage in CSR means that, in the ordinary course of business, a company is operating in ways that enhance society and the environment.”

Environmental, Social, and Governance Scores (ESG) are defined as “a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments.” ESG scores are most commonly used to assess investment risk; a high ESG score is theoretically supposed to indicate a low risk level. However, the score consists of a set of metrics that are highly subjective, and arbitrarily determined by a small group of elites rather than any sort of democratic process.

More HERE

The Case for Electric Vehicles Loses Its Charge

By Kenneth Green - 

I’m not a climate skeptic. As an environmental scientist/engineer by training, I think climate change is real. But it’s like every other environmental issue: a more-or-less routine engineering challenge, rather than a world-altering disaster justifying the fever-dreams of the radical greens.

Electric Vehicle Skeptic

I am, however, an electric vehicle skeptic. Or, more broadly, I’m skeptical that electric vehicles, adopted either voluntarily or via government mandates (increasingly the norm), will do much of anything to address the risk of climate change or to significantly reduce any other environmental problem that one might point out.

I’m solidly convinced that shifting away from the internal combustion of hydrocarbons to battery-stored electricity (generated from pretty much any source) will likely make environmental problems worse, not better.

Along the way, the push to force EVs onto the public will come with a bunch of social injustices that will only compound the environmental challenges society faces.

More HERE

Transforming America in 17 Days

Democrats rush to pass their cradle-to-grave entitlement agenda with little debate or scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes:

Congress is back in session, and don’t blink or you may miss the plan to transform America in 17 days. Never mind Sen. Joe Manchin’s “strategic pause.” Democratic leaders are moving to ram into law their $3.5 trillion plan for cradle-to-grave entitlements with the narrowest of majorities before Americans figure out what they’re doing. As Nancy Pelosi famously said about ObamaCare, Congress will pass the bill so people can find out what’s in it.

GOP Senators Rezin and Curran vote "yes" on energy bill

UPDATE: Yesterday, we mistakenly overlooked that not only Republican State Senator Sue Rezin, but also GOP State Senator John Curran of Lemont voted for HB 2408.

SPRINGFIELD - Needing 36 votes to pass the energy bill in the Illinois Senate, 35 36 Democrats voted "yes," but two one Republicans senators also voted "Yes": State Senator John Curran of Lemont, IL and State Senator Sue Rezin of Morris, Illinois ... 

Here's Senator Rezin's statement on her SB 2408 vote: 

Springfield, IL – On Sept. 13, Senate lawmakers returned to Springfield to vote on a comprehensive energy package that preserves the state’s nuclear fleet. State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) issued the following statement after Senate Bill 2408 passed with a 37 to 17 vote:

“For over two years, we have spent countless hours fighting to preserve our state’s entire nuclear fleet. On the day that the Byron Generating Station was scheduled for decommission, we finally passed a bill that makes that a reality.

“While I don’t agree with everything that is included in Senate Bill 2408, it does keep our nuclear plants online, saves thousands of Illinois jobs, and puts our state on a realistic path to 100 percent clean, carbon-free energy.

“Without this bill, any hope of bringing a carbon-free energy future to Illinois by 2050 will be all but impossible and thousands of good-paying jobs would be lost throughout our state.”

Governor Pritzker says he will sign the measure into law. 

Pritzker says "science has prevailed" with passage of green energy bill

SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement on the Senate passage of the comprehensive energy package, Senate Bill 2408, that he says "puts consumers and the climate first", while the Illinois Chamber of Commerce says it will bring the largest electric rate hike in the state's history: 

“Today, with the Senate passage of SB 2408, the State of Illinois is making history by setting aggressive standards for a 100 percent clean energy future. After years of debate and discussion, science has prevailed, and we are charting a new future that works to mitigate the impacts of climate change here in Illinois.

“SB 2408 puts the state on a path toward 100% clean energy and invests in training a diverse workforce for the jobs of the future. Illinois will become the best state in the nation to manufacture and drive an electric vehicle, and equity will be prioritized in every new program created. SB2408 puts consumers and climate at the forefront, prioritizing meaningful ethics and transparency reforms, and institutes key ratepayer and residential customer protections.