Illinois Review

UPDATE x3: IL Senate & House pass effort to weaken Healthcare Conscience Act; effective June 2022

UPDATE x1: At 10:39 PM Wednesday night (10/27), the Illinois House passed 64-52 another version of Rep. Gabel's changes to SB 1169 - with 7 Democrats joining the House's 45 Republicans in voting no. An effort rushed to vote during the short "veto" session, the measure now moves to the Illinois Senate, where it is sponsored by Senators Don Harmon and Melinda Bush - both Democrats. 

Amendment 3 amends the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. Provides that it is not a violation of the Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer to take any measures or impose any requirements intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations. Provides that it is not a violation of the Act to enforce such measures or requirements. Provides that the Section applies to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act.

UPDATE x2: Here's what State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) wrote on a Facebook page about the vote:

Democrats did not have the votes to change the law so they did what they do best, changed the rules and lowered the number of votes needed to pass the bill.

Under the new bill the law does not go into effect until June of ‘22 . This tells you it is not about Covid.

As I have said from day one, this is about the Governor taking full control over peoples lives.

These people are dangerous!

UPDATE x3: Despite thousands of opposition slips, the Illinois Senate rushed through a vote on SB 1169 late Thursday night (10/28)- and the Democrats carried the vote across the finish line with Rep. Gabel's amendment above. However, the measure does NOT go into effect until June 2022. Until then, the unamended state law remains in effect - even after Governor Pritzker signs SB 1169 into law.

 

Judge Blocks Biden Admin From Firing Unvaccinated Employees With Pending Religious Exemptions

From The Epoch Times - 

A district court judge in Washington, D.C. issued a temporary injunction Thursday that bars both civilian and military plaintiffs from being fired after they filed a lawsuit against the White House’s vaccine mandate.

District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting preventing the plaintiffs from being fired while their religious exemption requests to the COVID-19 vaccine are pending.

“None of the civilian employee plaintiffs will be subject to discipline while his or her request for a religious exception is pending,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in an order, dated Thursday.

The judge also ruled that “active duty military plaintiffs, whose religious exception requests have been denied, will not be disciplined or separated during the pendency of their appeals,” noting that the federal government has provided “no guarantee of what will happen … if their exemption requests are denied.”

More in The Epoch Times 

BREAKING: Court Issues Restraining Order Against IL Hospital Over Vaccine Mandate

CHICAGO, IL – Friday, at the conclusion of an emergency hearing, a federal District Court of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order against NorthShore University HealthSystem on behalf of 14 health care workers who have been unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. The court said the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on Title VII and the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

UPDATE coming on the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act later today on Illinois Review.

The court set November 16 for a preliminary injunction hearing. In the meantime, Liberty Counsel will file a brief with the court for conditional class status to extend the relief for the entire class of healthcare workers.

As of last Friday, NorthShore had already started purging employees with sincere religious objections to its “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy,” by removing many of those employees from the November work schedule, including those whose appeals were still pending.

GOP Candidate Bailey calls for ballot integrity reform in four steps

LOUISVILLE - Gubernatorial candidate state Senator Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) is calling for Illinois to reform its ballot system.

"My team and I are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of our election process in Illinois. Thousands of Illinoisans are concerned with the process, and we must work to improve and restore confidence in our elections moving forward. This means we put in place common-sense processes that make it easy for Illinoisans to register and vote and easy for us to identify and eliminate any potential fraud," he said in a statement. 

He introduced legislation with four specific recommendations:

What Congressional District will you be in?

What Congressional District will you be in for the 2022 Election and the next ten years?  Here's a map for you to determine who you'll be hearing from over the next 12 months ... 

What do you think about how the Democrats changed your district? Gerrymandered or fair? 

IL Parents continue to be notified when minors seek tattoos, piercings; no longer for abortions

SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois minors must get permission to get a tattoo, piercing or enter a tanning booth, no longer will they need parents permission to get an abortion in Illinois - despite abortion being considered a substantial medical procedure. 

The Democrat majority in the Illinois House and Illinois Senate voted to repeal the parents' involvement in those decisions.

Governor Pritzker has already committee to signing it into law.

Phyllis Schlafly's prediction comes true

ST LOUIS - The late Phyllis Schlafly, a national conservative leader that fought the implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment nearly 50 years ago, predicted if the Leftist feminists of her day had their way, a time would come when there would be no difference between men and women bathrooms. 

At the time, the media laughed at what they considered her hysteria. 

Schlafly's son Andy recalled hearing her words, and sent this over to Illinois Review for publication. We're honored. 

Phyllis Schlafly, sadly, was absolutely right - and urges Virginia voters to "vote to stop it" next week in their gubernatorial race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin.

Youngkin has taken a late lead in the blue state. 

LaHood in for 2022 re-election bid

LaHood announces he is running for re-election to his newly redrawn district

PEORIA, IL – U.S. Representative Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) announced Friday he is running for re-election to Congress in 2022 and intends to run in the newly drawn 16th Congressional District.

“As the redistricting process comes to a conclusion I am confident the opportunity exists for me to continue my service in Congress and I am announcing my intent to run for re-election in 2022,” said LaHood. “It’s unfortunate that politics has played such a huge role in this process, and that Governor Pritzker lied to voters when he promised to take politics out of the mapping process in Illinois. I am grateful to the residents across Illinois who have encouraged me to run and already pledged their support to our campaign. I look forward to hitting the campaign trail, running a vigorous race, and working hard to win in 2022.” 

LaHood was first elected in to serve the 18th District of Illinois in 2015, and was re-elected in 2016, 2018, and 2020. He was endorsed by President Trump in 2020 and won that year with over 70% of the vote. Prior to serving in Congress, LaHood represented north-central Illinois in the Illinois State Senate’s 37th District. During his time in Congress and in the State Senate, LaHood has represented over 50% of the counties in the newly drawn 16th District.

Kinzinger will not run again for US Congress

CHANNAHON - Adam Kinzinger says he will not run for the US Congress again in 2022 in a video released Friday morning.

"Dehumanizing each other has become the norm," Kinzinger said in the announcement. "We've taken it from social media to the streets. We've allowed leaders to reach power welling the false premise that strength comes from degrading others.  And dehumanizing those that look, act of think differently than we do.

As a country, we've fallen for those lies and now we face a poisoned country filled with outrage blinding our ability to achieve real strength," he went on to say. "It has become increasingly obvious to me that as a country, we must unplug from the mistruths we've been fed." 

He said he has a "broader fight" nationwide to address rather than represent his district. "This isn't the end of my political future, but the beginning..." 

Once again confirming his belief that he, as a Republican representing central Illinois, did the right thing when he voted to impeach President Donald Trump, he suggests that vote caused him and others to potentially pay a price in his district. 

Kinzinger is the second GOP member of US Congress that voted to impeach Trump to announce they are not seeking re-election. The first was Rep. Anthony Gonzales of Ohio.

Trump's response to Kinzinger's announcement: 

Kinzinger's announcement video: 

Illinois Review began covering Adam Kinzinger in August, 2009 - when he was serving as the youngest member of the McLean County Board in Bloomington. Here's what he had to say then:

Pritzker stands by goal of 1 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030

(The Center Square) – There are about 35,000 electric vehicles on Illinois roadways, so the state’s goal of one million by 2030 could be called ambitious.

The objective of one million electric vehicles by the end of the decade was part of a green energy bill passed by Illinois lawmakers on September 15. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law shortly after it was approved.

More HERE

How Can We Stop Student Indoctrination?

To ensure transparency, all classroom lessons should be recorded.

Over the past year, there have been many suggestions as to how concerned parents could deal with the “woke” agenda that has become all too prevalent in our nation’s classrooms. Most recently, a new group, Parents Unite, held a conference in which several fight-back strategies for parents were put forth – common sense stuff, like becoming more active in their kids’ school lives and getting involved with the myriad groups that have arisen to fight Critical Race Theory. 

The one recommendation that really jumps out is “demand transparency.” The organization justly insists that parents have a right to know what schools are teaching, and that if a school is withholding, parents should file a public records request.

In the same vein, the American Enterprise Institute’s Max Eden writes that parents need a clear and direct window into school curriculum. He cites the Goldwater Institute’s Matt Beienburg who proposes that schools should “publicly post all materials used in the classroom so parents can see – at a glance online – what is being taught.”

While this strategy certainly should be employed, it does not go far enough. Schools can post all sorts of materials, rules, etc., but when the kids are in a classroom with a teacher, and the lesson is conducted behind closed doors, school rules don’t mean much if a teacher decides not to follow them.

More HERE

Shapiro: The End of Risk and the End of Civilization

By Ben Shapiro - 

Human beings aren’t great at assessing risk.

In 1979, psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky posited a new branch of behavioral economics, which they titled prospect theory. One of their key findings was that human beings are naturally loss-averse — we generally are willing to forego the probability of gains in order to minimize the chance of losses. Because of our loss aversion, human beings are also subject to what Kahneman and Tversky label the “planning fallacy”: our self-serving bias toward believing that we are capable of planning for contingency more successfully than we are. As Kahneman writes, “Exaggerated optimism protects individuals and organizations from the paralyzing effects of loss aversion; loss aversion protects them from the follies of overconfident optimism.” If we feel that we can solve problems, we might be more likely to take risks — and if we feel that risks are a problem, we might be more cautious with our plans.

But what if the problem we are seeking to solve is risk itself? What if our policymakers aren’t concerned with counterbalancing loss aversion on behalf of more productive risk-taking? What if, instead, our policymakers lie to us, and tell us that risk is no longer necessary at all?

More HERE

Di Leo: Sundae Time with Basement Joe - Foreign Travel and Ancient Lessons

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 evening snack, and engages him in conversation about current events, in a losing effort to keep his mind 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.

 

"Buona Mattina, Signore!"

 

"Huh? Don't they have anybody around here who speaks English?"

 

"Yes, signore, I speak English... but it is Rome, and we always greet people in Italian here, even if the conversation is in English. You know the old saying, 'When in Rome,' eh?"

 

"What saying is that?"

 

"Well, you know, ahh, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, you know, signore?"

UPDATE x1: IL Dems lock arms to stand between parents, children on abortion decisions

UPDATE x1: The controlling Illinois House Democrats voted to repeal the 1995 Parental Notification law Wednesday night and the measure will be signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker - another blow to parents' rights in Illinois, activists are saying. 

PALATINE—Following a contentious vote last night in the Illinois House of Representatives to repeal the Parental Notification Act, State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) released the following statement:

The Democratic legislators who voted yes tonight acted shamefully and recklessly against minor girls and their parents. They ignored the opinion of most Illinois residents--including a majority of pro-choice residents, according to polls.  

Parents deserve the right to know about their children’s health care, especially for a procedure such as abortion. This legislation not only strips parents of the right to be informed—to help their daughters in this most difficult circumstance—it also increases the likelihood that the sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking of minor girls will continue undetected.

Where’s Weyermuller? At City Hall, rallying for Chicago Cops' medical privacy

By Mark Weyermuller -

A year ago, nurses, doctors, firefighters, and police officers were considered essential workers as Chicago and the world faced the COVID-19 health crisis. Now Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to fire these same first responders, who will not report their vaccination status. 

Monday morning, several hundred first responders - mostly Chicago police officers -- gathered for a rally and protest at the City Hall in Chicago prior to the city council meeting. The group of perhaps 700 crowded the street on LaSalle and into the 1st floor hallways of City Hall. The Chicago City Council was meeting upstairs on the 2nd floor with very limited access to the public.  

FOP President John Catanzara

Where’s Weyermuller? Attending Illinois' GOP's “Law & Order” Luncheon

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Tuesday, the Illinois Republican Party - headed by Chairman Don Tracy - hosted a panel discussion and lunch at Maggiano’s in Chicago's River North. The Cook County GOP and the Chicago GOP co-hosted the event.

Crime in Chicago has increased significantly over the past few years. Many are blaming it on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, and Cook County judges.  

Thomas More Society to host webcast Thursday night on vaccine mandates

CHICAGO - Thursday, October 28th, at 8:00 pm ET the Thomas More Society is hosting an exclusive Emergency Nationwide Vaccine Mandate Webcast open to the public. 

The live webcast will discuss topics discuss topics such as:

• Breaking news about new vaccine mandates that compel people to violate their faith and conscience under threat of severe consequences—including termination of employment
• Practical ways to defend sincerely-held religious beliefs from coercive government or employer directives and sanctions
• A deep-dive discussion about the latest 2021 vaccine mandate cases that are proliferating across the United States
• Why recent legal rulings could lead to significant outcomes that will affect religious rights now, and also in the future
• What can be done to protect religious freedoms from draconian measures

Thomas More Society says they have been inundated with requests for legal help from thousands of people across the United States.

Illinois Supreme Court strikes down Cook County tax on guns as unconstitutional

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a Cook County tax on gun purchases is unconstitutional.

The Cook County gun tax, which took effect in April 2013, imposed a $25 fee for retail gun purchases in the county, as well as a 5 cent fee per cartridge of centerfire ammunition and 1 cent per cartridge fee for rimfire ammunition.

The taxes were challenged by the trade group Guns Save Life Inc. in a lawsuit against the county.

More HERE

Nearly half of US voters say Fauci should resign

NEW JERSEY - Not only are animal lovers upset about Dr. Anthony Fauci's connections to newly-revealed experiments on beagles, nearly half of voters believe Dr. Anthony Fauci lied about U.S. funding for “gain-of-function” research. A plurality think the government’s top COVID-19 expert should be forced to resign.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 33% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Fauci has told the truth about U.S. government funding for gain-of-function virus research. That’s a decline from June, when 40% believed Fauci had told the truth.  

Forty-nine percent (49%) now say Fauci hasn’t told the truth about funding gain-of-function research. Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure.

Maine Health Care Workers Reply to SCOTUS for Emergency Relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Around 2:00 a.m. this morning, Liberty Counsel filed its reply brief to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking immediate relief for more than 2,000 health care workers.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) ordered that all healthcare workers be fully vaccinated by Friday, October 29, or be terminated. Under her order, any health care or dental employer that grants employees religious accommodation will lose their license to do business. 

Justice Stephen Breyer ordered the state to respond by Monday, October 25, to Liberty Counsel’s request for immediate relief for health care workers. Liberty Counsel will later file a petition for writ of certiorari since there is now a split in the circuits, with the First Circuit (governing Maine) denying injunctive relief and the Second Circuit (governing New York), granting injunctive relief regarding virtually identical factual and legal issues.

Malkin: Who’s Choking Off Your Children?

By Michelle Malkin - 

The latest horror story involving COVID-19 control freaks erupted right here in my backyard on Friday. It’s breathtaking. Literally. No responsible parent can in good conscience sit by silently while pandemic tyrants choke off our children’s freedom and oxygen supply.

Stephanie M. is a work-at-home mother of three young daughters. On Friday, she received a text from her sixth grade daughter, Rylee. It was a selfie photo of the girl taken at Chinook Trail Middle School in Colorado Springs. The school is in District 20, which imposed a blanket indoor mask mandate a month ago for all preschool through 12th grade students. Rylee’s face was covered not only by a black mask but also by three thick strips of blue painter’s tape sealing the top of the mask over the bridge of her nose.

More HERE

Prager: The Left Is Evil — And Liberals Keep Voting for Them

By Dennis Prager - 

As I have noted repeatedly, liberalism and leftism have virtually nothing in common. In fact, leftism is the enemy of liberalism — as a handful of liberals such as former New York Times writer Bari Weiss, former Young Turk Dave Rubin and others have come to recognize.

The Left has never believed in free speech and has suppressed dissent wherever it has assumed power. Free speech is a pillar of liberalism, and it has always embraced dissent.

The Left rejects the anti-racist ideal of colorblindness. Colorblind is the liberal racial ideal.

The Left supports racial segregation — such as all-black dorms and separate black graduations. Liberals have always advocated racial integration.

The Left has always loathed capitalism. Liberals were always major advocates of capitalism — recognizing that only capitalism has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

More HERE

Unvaccinated Patients Denied Care

Strict pandemic policies are putting health care providers in a position where they might be able to deny care for individuals who have chosen not to get one of the COVID-19 vaccines.

In October, the UCHealth health care system in Colorado denied a kidney transplant to an unvaccinated woman. Leilani Lutali, 56, was undergoing stage 5 renal failure and was in line to receive the transplant from donor Jaimee Fougner within months. Neither Lutali nor Fougner had received shots. A transplant or dialysis is usually necessary for survival for a patient with stage 5 renal failure.

UCHealth sent Lutali a letter informing her she “will be inactivated on the list for non-compliance by not receiving the COVID vaccine.” UCHealth gave her 30 days to begin the vaccination series, telling her that if she refused, she would be removed from the kidney transplant waiting list.

More HERE

The Center Square: Illinois schools prepare to vaccinate kids 5-11

(The Center Square) – Illinois schools will likely play a role in delivering COVID-19 vaccines to kids aged 5 through 11.

A Pfizer vaccine will likely be approved for that age group in the coming weeks. Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the benefits of giving shots to young kids.

The White House reportedly told Gov. J.B. Pritzker to start preparing the state to vaccinate children 5 and older by early November. The Biden administration has purchased 65 million pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to vaccinate 28 million children. Pfizer’s vaccine is currently the only vaccine authorized for emergency use in children as young as 12.

Deere workers strike reminds potential electric vehicle makers Illinois wants to ban right to work

Bloomberg

WATERTOWN - Governor Pritzker is working to attract electric vehicle manufacturers to Illinois, but the ongoing strike at Deere is throwing a wrench into his plans. The strike reminds all those potential manufacturers that Illinois is not a right-to-work state. 

Indeed, Governor Pritzker and his Democrat supermajority in the Illinois General Assembly are set on being the first state to ban ANY non-union shops in the state. Next year, Illinois voters will be able to determine if they want such a ban placed in the state's constitution. 

Crain's tells what's going on ...

The first strike at Deere in 35 years, and the first large-scale walkout at a major manufacturer in Illinois since a Caterpillar strike ended in 1995, is generating national headlines just as the state makes a play for new factories. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is vying with right-to-work states such as Tennessee and Texas, as well as Midwest neighbors, for electric vehicle and battery plants that could bring billions in new investment and thousands of high-paying jobs. As Illinois tries to propel its century-old automotive and heavy equipment manufacturing forward for another generation, it must grapple with its past. 

The Deere strike “puts the spotlight on Illinois not being a right-to-work state,” says John Boyd, a principal at the Boyd Company, a site-selection consultant in Boca Raton, Fla., that has worked on electric-vehicle manufacturing projects. “Most searches prioritize right-to-work states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas.”

The situation at Deere could be embarrassing for Pritzker and the Illinois Manufacturing Association, which declared Monday how supportive they are of Governor Pritzker's effort to make bring electrical vehicle production to Illinois.

Downers Grove parents, citizens lock arms to defend students

DOWNERS GROVE - Parents and concerned citizens in Downers Grove are locking arms to defend District 99 students against the demands being placed on their kids - while at the same time challenging what they see as hypocrisy at the district's highest levels.

The group - WAKE UP D99 - is a part of a growing movement statewide, all concerned about their children's welfare.

Together, this emerging group of D99 parents and citizens raised $5400 to join a lawsuit filed Wednesday of 145 schools with almost 900,000 students to challenge Governor JB Pritzker's statewide mask mandate. The suit, filed by downstate attorney Thomas DeVore, is scheduled to be heard November 5th at the Macoupin County Court in Carlinville, Illinois. 

But concerned citizens of District 99 have also set up a website and Facebook page to publicly detail challenges they are mounting towards district officials - specifically D 99 Superintendent Hank Thiele. After viewing social media photos posted from a recent Illinois Association of School Administrators conference, the taxpayers reported responses they received from Dr. Thiele, who is part of the IASA's leadership.

Di Leo: From the Siege of Boston to the Baldwin Shooting

By John F. Di Leo - 

On Thursday, October 21, AD 2021, actor Alec Baldwin, a well-known anti-gun extremist, allegedly killed a cinematographer and injured the director, by firing a loaded gun directly at them during the making of a western movie called “Rust” on a remote film set in New Mexico.

As more information comes out every day, it is too early to write a definitive account of the incident, or even to completely rule out intentional homicide.  At this writing, it appears to be agreed that an assistant director took a gun from a table, announced “Cold Gun” and handed it to Baldwin, who accepted it without personally checking it, then aimed it at the camera for a “point of view” shot, practicing his cross-draw before filming it, hitting both the cinematographer and the director with a single round.

There will likely be legal precedents set by this case; there will certainly be an avalanche of books and op/eds about it. Alec Baldwin will be pilloried in the press, and rightly so, but I wonder if the most important lesson of the incident may be lost in the storm.

Concerned parents to rally at State Capitol Tuesday

SPRINGFIELD - The radical Leftists that control the Illinois General Assembly are working to repeal Illinois' only abortion-limiting policy - its Parental Notice of Abortion law.  Governor JB Pritzker is eagerly waiting to sign into law any measure that would allow minor girls to get abortions without their parents' knowledge. 

 

Pro-lifers are planning to urge the lawmakers to leave the law as it is with a rally Tuesday, October 26th at the State Capitol in Springfield. 

 

Planners are asking those concerned about the issue to arrive at 10 am and stand for a few hours outside the building.

Thorner: What’s President Joe Biden's Fascination With Trains?

ABC News - Disney photo

By Nancy Thorner - 

Why is Joe Biden so fascinated with trains? Could it be because Biden's son Hunter in 2006 was appointed to a five-year term as an Amtrak board member under President Bush?

In an article written by Brent Scher dated October 15, 2019, FLASHBACK: Hunter Biden’s One Qualification for Amtrak Board Was Taking Trains:  "Hunter Biden's only qualification for obtaining a seat on the Amtrak board of directors in 2006 was that he often rode trains.”

Napolitano: Who Writes the Laws?

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano - 

It is distressing for those of us who believe that the Constitution means what it says to observe the destruction of liberty caused by vaccine mandates.

On one side of this destruction are those whose opposition to vaccines finds comfort in the executive orders of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who purported to prohibit private businesses in Texas, from mom-and-pop stores to Fortune 100 conglomerates, from requiring their employees to prove COVID-19 vaccinations in order to use the employer’s private property.

On the other side of this chasm are supporters of President Joseph R. Biden, who announced last month that he plans to order the Department of Labor to compel all employers in America of 100 or more persons to require their employees to prove vaccination against COVID-19 on the employer’s private property.

One edict prohibits behavior on private property. The other edict compels behavior on private property. Both violate liberty.

More HERE

Democrats Want to Turn the U.S. Into Europe

More destructive than any specific policy item modern Democrats are pushing this year are the ideas they use to justify their agenda.

The $3.5 trillion bill that President Joe Biden and Democrats are now attempting to cram through Congress via reconciliation is meant to create a European-style cradle-to-grave welfare state here in the United States. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the bill’s Senate author, has, for years, praised systems across the Atlantic. As have many other Democrats.

Rossi: Biden’s Southern Border Catastrophe Finally Exposed

By Randy Rossi - 

While any informed American already knew that Democrat President Joe Biden has created a national disaster at our southern border, President Biden and his administration have constantly denied it with the help of the “Fake News” which almost never reports on it and never shows the thousands of illegal immigrants storming our border every day. But they can’t hide it anymore thanks to a new report from the Department of Customs & Border Protection which reports to President Biden.

In that report, they confirmed that 1.73 million illegal immigrants were arrested for illegally crossing our border in fiscal 2021 (October 2020-September 2021). That is the highest number of illegal immigrants in one year in U.S. history! And that does not include the estimated 560,000 “Got-Aways” or illegal immigrants who were not caught. Contrary to the liberal pitch that most of these illegal immigrants were families with children, 1.1 million (65%) were single adults. This is a national disaster that impacts every American taxpayer, the rule of law, and our national security yet our Democrat president and vice president deny it and ignore it with the help of the “Fake News”.

Kinzinger condemns Trump associate Steve Bannon

Bost discusses Dems' removal of Hyde Amendment in latest federal spending spree

Gary Rabine: Legislature must reject efforts to overturn parental notification

WOODSTOCK – Illinois Republican candidate for governor, Gary Rabine, is calling on state lawmakers to reject efforts to overturn the state’s parental notification laws during the fall Veto Session.

"Far-left extremists in the House and the Senate are pushing legislation to repeal Illinois’s current law requiring parental or guardian notification whenever a minor 17 years and younger seeks to have an abortion," Rabine's press release says.

“The war on families in Illinois continues,” Rabine said in the statement. “Minors need parental consent to get their ears pierced, go on school field trips or open a checking account, but the far left wants to allow minors to get abortions without parental notification? This is an assault on families. It is wrong. The advocates behind this legislation know it is wrong. Lawmakers must stand up for the rights of parents.”

Illinois GOP senators call on General Assembly to protect parental rights

SPRINGFIELD – Earlier this week, the women members of the Senate Republican Caucus joined together to protect parental rights when it comes to protecting and providing support to their child who has decided to receive an abortion.

During a Capitol press conference, Senate Republican Deputy Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris), State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and State Senator Sally Turner (R-Beason) defended the necessity for Illinois’ Parental Notice of Abortion (PNA) Act.

David Pennington: The Poor Will Always Be With Us

By David Pennington - 

The foundation: There will always be poor people, because life is worth living, even if being poor is the best you can achieve. 

This fact contradicts one of the main tenets of the Marxists, which is that poverty is evidence of systemic unfairness.

1. They attempt to lay "blame" for poverty at the feet of the successful. (Their Stick) - We are not guilty.

 

2. They lobby to remake the fabric of society with the promise of eliminating poverty. (Their Carrot) - Their promise is hollow.

 

Today's 'bleeding heart liberal' is personally attached to living comfortably and projects his or her own fear, of life without those comforts, onto people who don't have them and never have. I believe it is this projected fear that makes them vulnerable to the suggestion that they are to blame for poverty.

 

People in general are charitable. Many support anti-poverty charities, other initiatives, and government programs because it makes them feel good, and—in my view—because they have not subjected the matter to critical thought. (I’m opposed to hand-out programs, but support “hand-up” programs: “Teach a man to fish….”)

Di Leo: Sometimes, the Price Tag is Just a Distraction

By John F. Di Leo - 

Let’s say it would cost $5.5 trillion dollars to wipe out your city by planting landmines under all the streets and sidewalks.

Another proposal on the table is to wipe out the city by buying old poison gas on the dark web, and planting it in public buildings and public places when crowds are expected; this proposal only costs $3.5 trillion.

A third proposal, only just recently promulgated, would involve the hiring of foreign mercenaries to shoot up the place; they work cheap, by comparison, and the bill is expected to only range between $1.5 and $1.75 trillion to wipe out the town this way.

I won’t bother to ask you which of the three is the most responsible choice, because, Gentle Reader, you know that the price tag isn’t the main issue here; the real issue is the end game, the horrible goal of wiping out the town.  The method, the price tag, even the perpetrators don’t matter; the very goal is domestic terrorism, and it must be opposed.  At any cost, without compromise.  We must stop this effort.

Nationwide effort to place cameras in the classroom launches

SACRAMENTO -- As education throughout the United States suffers the effects of an increasing ideological and cultural divide, more parents, students and educators are calling for a simple, technological fix: cameras in the classroom.
 
Capitol Resource Institute (CRI) and Nevada Family Alliance (NFA) are leading a nationwide campaign calling for cameras in all K-12 public school classrooms, CamerasInTheClassroom.org.
 
"This is not only a call for transparency in what is being presented to our children, we believe it is a valuable tool for creating a safer learning environment. Cameras in every classroom will help restore the cooperative process between parents and educators in teaching our children," said Karen England, Executive Director of CRI.

Rossi: President Biden's Disastrous Inflation Will Hurt You & Your Family

By Randy Rossi - 

Democrat Joe Biden has only been president for roughly 10 months but he has already caused massive damage to America, our reputation, and the future’s of our children. But a lot of that damage has not been personally felt yet by the average American. Biden’s disastrous, unpatriotic, and embarrassing retreat from Afghanistan caused world wide damage to America’s reputation, honor, and world peace; but the average American has not felt the pain yet.

The incredible chaos that Joe Biden has caused at our southern border by promoting anarchy and open borders has not impacted the average American yet, but it will. The Biden administration’s attack on our traditional American values and freedoms should be obvious to all Americans but it has not affected their lives yet.

Illinois Review contributor John F. Di Leo featured with Mark Vargas on AM 560 The Answer's "Mark My Words"

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS - John F. Di Leo - a longtime contributor to Illinois Review - was featured Sunday night on Mark Vargas' "Mark My Words" AM 560 radio show. Di Leo spoke about the current hot topic "Supply Chain Crisis."  John's part in the show starts at right 51:49 below ...

John, a transportation expert for over 30 years, was also recently featured in the Technology & Manufacturing Association's News Bulletin on the topic of the Supply Chain Crisis.

Dr. Eric Wallace speaks with Dr. Alveda King on the topic of abortion

CHICAGO - Dr. Eric Wallace - a conservative well-known in Illinois - launched a new video series "Kingdom in Konflict" with Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, who is an outspoken advocate for life. 

"Is it possible to regain legal protection for the most innocent?" Dr. King discusses the question in an interview with Dr. Wallace, who also publishes Freedom's Journal Magazine.

Thorner: Common Sense Protects Borders and Nations

Yahoo News image

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

Eleven times between May and Sept. 2021, Croatia has pushed back against illegal migrants at four locations along the country’s border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their riot police carried out the push backs as part of a national strategy code named “Koridor”, which is part-funded by the EU. 

 

Greece and Romania have also carried out hundreds of what’s claimed to be illegal pushback operations at the European Union’s external borders since early 2020 as part of a “violent campaign” to deny access.

 

The findings, recently published by the Amsterdam-based investigative news organization Lighthouse Reports, reveal that masked security forces and police units in the three EU member states have repeatedly taken coordinated, clandestine action to prevent asylum seekers from crossing their borders.

Libertarians nominate 2022 gubernatorial candidate

SPRINGFIELD - The Democrats' nominee in the 2022 gubernatorial election will be incumbent JB Pritzker. The IL GOP has several that are vying for the chance to challenge Pritzker in 2022: State Senator Darren Bailey, former State Senator Paul Schimpf, businessman Gary Rabine, and the latest entry entrepreneur millionaire Jesse Sullivan.

How much of a difference could a Libertarian candidate make in 2022? Here's how the vote went in 2018: 

The Time to Fund New Universities Is Now

The morale of a nation is ultimately a question of spirit rather than matter. James M. Patterson writes:

The publication of God and Man at Yale in 1951 announced an enduring theme of modern American conservatism. In his bestselling book, William F. Buckley, Jr. condemned universities for their failure to preserve traditions of learning in favor of godless preening. The villains of Buckley’s polemic were a callow faculty freeloading off the institutional capital the university had accrued over the centuries. Countless articles and books have made much the same argument ever since. Indeed, conservatism in America itself owed something to the universities and their leftward turn in the decades following World War II.

The social significance of universities changed during the same period, too. Rather than serving as a preserve of the elite, higher education became a middle-class entitlement. Increasing enrollment and growing government funding for large-scale research shifted the balance of power away from the university’s traditional mission with its old-fashioned scholars to a new class of administrators, who pursued institutional efficiency and satisfaction of a wide range of stakeholders.

Rossi: America Is Waking Up to President Biden’s Severe Damage to Our Republic

By Randy Rossi - 

As painful as things have been for patriotic conservative Americans as we watch the Biden Administration cause massive damage to our great republic and our children’s futures, we just got some good news. The massive pain that Democrat President Joe Biden, his clueless administration, and his socialist Democrat allies are causing to our great nation are being noticed by a growing number of Americans. Sadly as many experts say, it usually takes great pain to wake people up to reality and a new October 6th Quinnipiac University poll  shows a huge drop in President Biden’s approval ratings across the board in America due to the pain he and his administration are bringing to America. That bad news for President Biden is even being shared on the liberal “Fake News” sources that usually try to hide bad news for Democrats.

Here are some stunning results of that new Quinnipiac Poll that bring hope to loyal patriots as we begin to approach the 2022 midterm elections that may be the most important elections in decades that can save our great republic:

Subject                                  Biden Approval          Biden Disapproval

Overall approval rating           38%                            53%

Biden admin competence        42% (competent)        55% (not competent)

Good leadership skills             41% (yes)                   56% (no)

That is the “Big Picture” and it shows a dramatic drop in President Biden’s approval with the American people. That 38% overall approval rating is ten points down from President Obama’s approval ratings at the same time in his presidency and a huge drop since February. This is good news because it shows that American voters are paying attention to the disaster that President Biden, his administration, and Democrats in the House and Senate are bringing to America which is now causing serious pain to the average American. That poll provides even more proof of the damage and pain that “Senile” Joe and his administration are bringing to the average American. Here are some examples of that pain and it gets worse as you go down the list:

IDPH adopts CDC's recommended definition for "school outbreak" of COVID

From the Illinois Department of Public Health Friday afternoon - 

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to adopt the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ (CSTE) guidance for PreK-12 school-associated outbreaks.  Previously, CDC recommended that two cases associated with a school would constitute an outbreak.  The new national recommendation that Illinois is adopting defines a school outbreak as either (1) multiple cases comprising at least 10% of students, teachers, or staff within a core group or (2) at least three cases within a specified core group.  A core group means only those individuals who were together during an exposure period.  For example, this could be limited to a classroom, a sports team, before/after school care, performing arts, or other groups and likely does not apply to the entire school population. 

More information about school outbreaks, exclusion, guidance, and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the IDPH website on a new COVID-19 Youth and School Resources page, including youth vaccination rates by county, youth cases over time, and youth emergency department visits.  https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/youth-school.html.

Liberty Counsel: Military, Federal Employees and Civilian Contractors Sue Biden

A statement distributed to the press from Liberty Counsel - 

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Liberty Counsel has filed a class action lawsuit against Joseph R. Biden, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on behalf of members from all five branches of the military -- Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard -- federal employees and federal civilian contractors, who have been unlawfully mandated to get the COVID shots or face dishonorable discharge from the military or termination from employment.

The military plaintiffs include two Navy SEALs, a Navy EOD Officer, a Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer, a Navy Chaplain, two Marine Lt. Colonels, two Marine Lance Corporals, an Air Force Major, an Air Force Technical Sergeant, an Army National Guardsman, an Army Colonel, and a Coast Guard Lieutenant.

The non-military plaintiffs include a Department of Defense contractor who has conducted Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) quantitative and qualitative assessments and studies, whose assessments are briefed to DOD senior leadership to inform decisions on future employment, allocation, and procurement; a federal civilian engineer employed by a large military defense contractor that provides LCD screens used in United States Armed Forces aircraft; a federal civilian contractor employer whose company develops and supports military weapons systems, including current and next generation land vehicles for the Army and next generation Navy vessels; a federal nuclear contractor employee who is a young woman opposed to abortion and who desires to have children of her own one day; and a Department of Energy Civilian Nuclear Tech who works at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Democrats' Congressional Map Proposal: "A Complete Joke." "A Slap in the Face."

CHICAGO - Friday, Illinois Democrats released the Congressional District map they want for the next ten years, and it's an embarrassment, Republicans are saying - especially those that will be directly affected by its bizarre appearance and its heavy emphasis on Democrats gaining more power for a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress.

Illinois Democrats would likely control 14 of Illinois' 17 Congressional Districts as the map is currently drawn. 

“As expected, our lying Governor teamed up with state Democrats to draw a shameful, partisan gerrymander in a desperate attempt to keep Nancy Pelosi in power. This proposed map, along with this entire redistricting process, is a complete joke. It’s clear Governor Pritzker and the Democrats will stoop to any low if it means they can keep their corrupt system going," said GOP Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13)

GOP Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) is also unhappy with the map.

Freedom Initiative Network hosts black conservative David J. Harris, Jr. October 20th

ROLLING MEADOWS - Freedom Initiative Network will host black conservative rising star David J. Harris, Jr. October 20th at Meridian Banquets in Rolling Meadows, and they're offering a 25% discount if ticket buyers use the CODE FIN. 

David Harris Jr is an entrepreneur, author, and podcast host that delivers thought-provoking and engaging presentations that challenge audiences to pay attention to important political, social, and economic issues. He has shared the stage with many notable individuals, such as Kirk Cameron, Dinesh D'Souza, Candace Owens, and Charlie Kirk. Reaching millions of people through his social media channels, radio show, and book, Why I Couldn't Stay Silent, David strives to break down the racial, political, and assumptive barriers that are currently causing division throughout our nation. Taking a stand for the Constitution and freedom of every American, he frequently appears as a guest on Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox & Friends, and several shows on the OAN Network.

Harris will be joined by several other conservative leaders. Buy Tickets HERE and use the code FIN to get a 25% discount. 

View a recent David J. Harris Jr video on Rumble: