Illinois Review

Former IL State Democrat gets nearly 5 years in federal prison for bribery scheme

From an FBI press release issued Friday, a former Illinois state representative Democrat was sentenced to federal prison for participating in a bribe scheme involving a Democrat state senator and a gaming company: 

CHICAGO — Former Illinois State Rep. LUIS ARROYO has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for participating in a bribery scheme involving a fellow state lawmaker and Arroyo’s private lobbying client, a sweepstakes gaming company.

Arroyo, 67, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger imposed a 57-month prison sentence Wednesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Durkin.

Arroyo represented the 3rd District in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2006 to 2019.  He has also managed Spartacus 3 LLC, a private lobbying firm in Chicago.

In 2018 and 2019, Arroyo accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from the gaming company, Collage LLC, in the form of checks made payable to Spartacus.  In exchange for those bribes, Arroyo promoted legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives related to the sweepstakes industry and advised other state lawmakers to support the legislation. 

In August 2019 Arroyo offered to have payments made to an Illinois state senator in return for the senator’s support of sweepstakes-related legislation.  On Aug. 22, 2019, Arroyo met with the senator at a restaurant in Skokie, Ill., and provided him with a $2,500 check from Collage as an initial bribe payment, with the expectation that the senator would receive similar payments for 12 months.  Arroyo told the senator, “This is the jackpot,” and then wrote the name of the senator’s nominee on the company’s check.  The nominee’s name was used for the purpose of concealing the illicit payment.

Di Leo: The Many Lies of a Dishonest Age

By John F. Di Leo - 

The Second Amendment

A former United States Senator and Vice President of the United States, currently pretending to the title of the presidency, Joe Biden said this week that “The Second Amendment is not absolute.”

Wrong, Mr. Biden. The Second Amendment is absolute. The Constitution is absolute. 

It’s our political offices, such as Senator, Vice President, and President, that are not absolute.   Your office is constitutionally limited. That’s the whole point. That’s what living in a constitutional republic means.

Lyons Township Teacher resigns, saying new teaching requirements are "immoral"

LYONS TOWNSHIP - After 17 years of teaching English at Lyons Township High School, Tom Stukel posted online yesterday his resignation and his reasons for his resignation. 

 

Overall, Stukel wrote, "it is immoral to teach the way LT teachers are being asked to work." 

 

The resignation was posted on the LaGrange Patch: 

 

 

Verbatim from the Patch:

 

Effective June 2nd, 2022, I, Tom Stukel, resign from my English teaching position of 17 years at Lyons Township High School because I cannot, in good moral standing, teach students well based on current administrative policies. I care too much about education and too much about students to abide by these policies. Based on my 24 years of experience as a high school teacher, it is my opinion that it is immoral to teach the way LT teachers are being asked to work. Our school has changed the following in recent years:

Leaving Illinois: New IRS migration data shows this state lost another 100,000 residents and a record amount of wealth in 2020

By Ted Dabrowski, President, Wirepoints - 

A Wirepoints analysis of the Internal Revenue Service’s just-released migration data shows Illinois lost, on net, another 101,000 residents to other states in 2020. The state ranked third-worst nationally for net resident losses, both in number of people and per capita.

Illinois’ tax base also took a hit as a result of that flight, losing a net $8.5 billion in taxable income (AGI) to other states in 2020 – a new record. That, too, was the third-worst performance in the country. But when measured as a share of total income, Illinois’ losses were the nation’s 2nd-worst.

In all, Illinois lost people, on net, to 44 other states.

To be clear, the data shown in this piece are migration numbers from the IRS. They are unrelated to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Decennial Census or its 2021 population estimates.

However, this new IRS data does help confirm what the recent 2021 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for Illinois showed: the state is a severe loser in the competition of people and their wealth. The Census reported Illinois’ population declined by 114,000 in 2021 – more than any other state other than New York and California.

More HERE

Justice Thomas: 'We are in danger of destroying the institutions ... required for a free society'

(The Center Square) – It’s been two weeks and there’s still no word on who leaked the U.S. Supreme Court draft brief indicating that the court was set to overturn Roe V. Wade and returning the issue of abortion back to the states.

At a recent event in Dallas, Texas, hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, the Hoover Institution, and the Manhattan Institute, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke about the leak and his concern for the rule of law and credibility of the court.

A roughly 8-minute clip of his talk was published by C-SPAN, in which he said, “I think we are in danger of destroying the institutions that are required for a free society. You can’t have a civil society, a free society without a stable legal system.

More HERE

Thorner: Victor Davis Hanson Reveals Unvarnished Truth About Biden/Harris Administration

By Nancy Thorner - 

 

Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite commentators.   

 

His commentary, Imagine the Unimaginable was posted on May 12, 2022.

 

In that Hanson's commentary is a powerful one that is now unfolding in real time for most Americans, I felt it necessary to share Hanson's brilliance and insight with Illinois Review readers.

 

Hanson's commentary is shocking to read, but the unvarnished truth of what this nation is now experiencing under the Biden/Harris administration is all so real.

 

What follows was excerpted and adapted from a full original report by Mr. Hanson:

Illinois Planned Parenthood Facility Minimizes Drug Allergy to Abortion Drug

Planned Parenthood in Flossmoor, IL called 911 on April 28, 2022, to report an emergency. The presumed employee who made the call was either not overly concerned about the condition of the patient, or she was downplaying it.

The caller calmly said, “We just need a transfer. We have a stable patient, 20 years old. She [is] having an allergic reaction. And we just want her to get further evaluation.”

When questioned by the dispatcher about the patient’s immediate condition, the caller explained she was believed to be having an allergic reaction to Misoprostol, a drug often used to prepare the cervix for dilation in abortions after 14 weeks. It is also used in chemical abortions to induce contractions.

More HERE

Fauci's researchers find better antibody response from natural immunity than Moderna vaccine

A month before America's top infectious disease bureaucrat conceded that mRNA vaccines offer only short-lived protection against COVID-19, Anthony Fauci's researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) offered a possible explanation why.

These vaccines target COVID's spike protein, whereas natural immunity recognizes the whole of the virus, including the nucleocapsid protein that envelops the RNA core.

Among those infected during the "blinded phase" of Moderna's 30,000-adult vaccine trial, only 40% of those given the vaccine developed anti-nucleocapsid antibodies. The figure was more than twice as high (93%) for those given the placebo.

More HERE

Elon Musk’s Twitter Detractors Were Subsidized With $10.5 Million In Taxpayer Funds

By Adam Andrzejewski - 

Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion has 26 activist and progressive policy organizations urging the platform’s advertisers to demand that Musk do as they say or face an advertising boycott.

But some of these groups have benefited from our tax dollars while critics say they try to limit free speech and control the flow of information on Twitter.

More HERE

With the arrest of a Catholic bishop, is Hong Kong now a police state?

The arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen on the charge of “collusion with foreign forces” signals the further withering away of human rights in Hong Kong, the result of an almost complete absorption of the once autonomous region by the People’s Republic of China.

In less than two years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has asserted almost complete control in Hong Kong. Other than possessing a generally open internet, the “special administrative region” is now like any other Chinese city. Although prosperous, Hong Kong is no longer free. The one country, two systems model promised by Beijing when the United Kingdom returned the territory to China in 1997 has become one country, one system.

More HERE

Dunlap Library punishes two employees for reporting patron allegedly viewing child porn

DUNLAP - An Illinois Review reader drew our attention to a situation in Dunlap Illinois, where two library employees were reprimanded for reporting a man allegedly viewing and using the library printer to duplicate photos of little girls. 

The situation was discussed at a library board meeting Tuesday night. From CIProud: 

After a man was caught printing pictures of young girls, visibly aroused at the library, the community raised concern for the children in the area.

“Is it the policy if the guy were to come back, you’d call the police? Because he’s a sex offender, he’s not supposed to be here, he’s not supposed to be around kids, I would think he’s going to jail,” said one of the public commentators.

The board said they would have no response until their June 27th meeting. 

As gas prices go up, Illinois drivers pay more and more in sales tax

PLAINFIELD – Anyone buying gas in Illinois is paying more, much more than neighboring states. One reason is because of the state's sales tax on gas. It skyrockets as per gallon costs skyrockets. 

In response, State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) produced a new video proposing solutions to alleviate this problem for middle and lower income Illinoisans. His video highlighted his recently introduced legislation on this issue, House Bill 5723, in particular.

“Illinoisans are being hurt by high gas prices we are experiencing today,” said Rep. Batinick. “What is not helping is Illinois’ current system of charging a percentage-based additional sales tax on top of a per-gallon gas tax. I introduced House Bill 5723 to provide immediate relief for those who are disproportionately hurt by the current system. This legislation will provide more lasting, meaningful relief than the motor fuel tax increase pause we passed during our spring session. We need to debate and consider this legislation to provide needed relief for Illinoisans.”

House Bill 5723 caps the sales tax on gas at 18 cents per gallon for motor fuel. During this recent spring session, the bill was not released from the House Rules Committee, preventing debate on it.

According to AAA, the Chicago Metro area experienced the highest regular unleaded gasoline price on May 22nd at $5.203 and the highest diesel price on the same day at $5.313.

UPDATE x1: Anti-gambling group says Chicago's casino license could go to Mexican Drug Cartel link

Distrust Continues to Intensify Over Mayor Lightfoot's Proposed Casino Project as State Board Moves to Hand Gambling License to Alleged Money Launderer With Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel

UPDATE x1: From Crain's -Chicago has officially placed a big bet on Bally's, with the City Council approving a $1.7 billion casino and entertainment venue in River West.

Aldermen approved the project in a 41-7 vote, sending the proposal to the Illinois Gaming Board for further vetting. Despite the lop-sided vote, the debate on the City Council floor was anything but calm, with Mayor Lightfoot and frequent sparring partner Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th, shouting over each other as he criticized the “sham” process leading up to the vote.

While Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration faces growing opposition from Chicago residents over concerns about the transparency and thoroughness of the review process for the proposed Chicago casino, the latest actions by the key state regulatory body responsible for examining the fitness of the Chicago casino is amplifying calls to kill the casino project altogether.

According to a press release from the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems (ILCAAP), the Illinois Gambling Board, the government agency charged with overseeing the gambling industry in the state, including the Chicago casino proposal, has advanced an application for an online-only sports wagering license for Grupo Caliente.

"Grupo Caliente and its owner Jorge Hank Rhon have been cited by the New York Inspector General as 'the subject of numerous allegations of illegal activities' and Rhon 'has been suspected by U.S. law enforcement and Mexican authorities of illegal money laundering activities related to illicit drug trafficking, particularly with the Arellano Felix drug cartel based in Tijuana,''" the press release said.

Peoria customers get break on gas prices for 2 hours Wednesday

PEORIA, IL —Americans for Prosperity-Illinois hosted a grassroots awareness event Wednesday, May 25 to highlight the “True Cost of Washington” and its impact on hardworking Illinoisans.

Washington’s reckless spending and crushing regulations have Illinoisans paying more and getting less. Inflation in Illinois is topping nearly 11%, a $594 per month cost per household. Meanwhile, gas prices have skyrocketed to the tune of nearly $5 per gallon in the state.

That’s why AFP-Illinois says they rolled back the price of gasoline to $2.38, the price per gallon on the day President Biden took office. To highlight this stark difference and the true cost of Washington’s policies, AFP paid the difference for nearly 2,500 gallons of gasoline for Beachlers customers in Peoria.

Lightfoot tells federal court she'll stop refusing interviews with reporters based on race

WGN TV Photo

WASHINGTON DC – Judicial Watch announced this week that a federal civil rights lawsuit they filed on behalf of the Daily Caller News Foundation and reporter Thomas Catenacci against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was dismissed after Lightfoot said she will not in the future limit one-on-one interviews to “journalists of color” (Catenacci et al v. Lightfoot (No. 1:21-cv-02852)).  

In dismissing the case, Judicial Watch attorneys noted:

As testified to by her Communications Director and as stated in her motion to dismiss, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has no plans or intentions in the future to exclusively provide one-on-one interviews with journalists of color.   

Judicial Watch filed the civil rights lawsuit against Lightfoot on May 27, 2021 after Catenacci, a white journalist, emailed Lightfoot’s office requesting a one-on-one interview with the mayor. The mayor’s office never replied to the request or to two additional follow-up emails from Catenacci. Catenacci’s request came on one of the days that the mayor admittedly was discriminating against journalists based on race.

Audit Reveals IRS Secretly Destroyed 30 Million Paper-Filed Taxpayer Documents to Clear Backlog

The Internal Revenue Service has been scolded after auditors found 30 million documents were destroyed.

The IRS said in response that taxpayers were never harmed by the destruction, according to Fox Business.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration recently took a close look at IRS operations due to concerns over what was going on amid a backlog of unprocessed records.

More HERE

An Epidemic of Sexual Assaults of Children in Public Schools Has Been Flying Under the Radar

Public schools are quickly becoming even more problematic for America’s children. Not only are progressives desperately trying to use the classroom to indoctrinate kids into their radical ideas on race, sexuality, and gender identity, but now it has been reported that students have become increasingly vulnerable to sexual abuse.

There has been a disturbing uptick in the number of students being sexually assaulted by teachers and other staff members. In 2022 so far, at least 135 teachers and teachers’ aides have been arrested for various child sex-related offenses, ranging from possession of child pornography to child rape.

More HERE

WEF Globalists Debut Their Perfect Future: Carbon Footprint Tracker, 'Recalibration' of Free Speech

Global oligarchs and CEOs arrived for the 2022 conference of the World Economic Forum over the weekend, held in person for the first time in three years.

The annual conference, held in the Swiss luxury ski resort of Davos, has long been criticized as the embodiment of elitism in western politics.

Dozens of mega-wealthy oligarchs fly their private jets to the conference, only to plan measures to limit the carbon footprint of the average citizen the next day.

More HERE

Grassley says new Durham evidence shows FBI misconduct, vendetta against Trump

A key GOP senator who helped unravel the false Russia collusion narrative declared Tuesday that new evidence introduced by Special Counsel John Durham in a criminal trial shows the FBI engaged in misconduct to carry out a "political vendetta" against Donald Trump.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, gave his speech on the Senate floor on the same day that an FBI agent admitted during the trial of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann that he is under criminal investigation by Durham. It was the first admission that current FBI officials face potential criminal liability. 

More HERE

Di Leo: China's Draconian Lockdowns Extend to Tianjin

By John F. Di Leo - 

 

The Chinese government announced on May 19 that they are immediately putting much of the city of Tianjin under the martial-law style Covid lockdowns for which Chairman Xi Jinping will be remembered.

 

As he has previously done in Wuhan, Shenzhen, and other major cities, residents are restricted to their homes and require special permission to leave. While businesses may not be formally closed, they cannot reopen without staff, so they are unable to function unless they are fortunate enough to be completely outside the shuttered zone, and rely on staffs also outside the shuttered zones.

 

Tianjin is the primary seaport for the capital city of Beijing, one of the largest ports in northern China, and one of the busiest ports in the world.

Rossi: The Biggest Scandal In U.S. History Is Being Hidden From the People

By Randy Rossi - 

Thanks to Special Council John Durham’s investigation, we now know that Hillary Clinton with the help of the DNC and corrupt FBI leadership committed the worst scandal in U.S. history by slanderously, knowingly, and treasonously creating and supporting the great “Russian Collusion Hoax” with a goal of illegally defeating or kicking out of office President Donald Trump. We now know that Hillary Clinton created this scandal and she and the DNC paid for it. The real tragedy is that this incredible news has been hidden from the American people by the “Fake News”. As of yesterday (5/21), ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC have not devoted one second to reporting this breakthrough news that has come out of the Sussman trial thanks to Special Counsel Durham. In that trial, multiple witnesses have reported that Hillary and her cohorts knew the “Russian Collusion Hoax” was indeed a hoax, but still presented it to the FBI who then used it and other phony data to illegally obtain FISA warrants to spy on the Trump team.

Did the Disinformation Governance Board originate in a D.C. think tank?

The Department of Homeland Security's new and controversial Disinformation Governance Board may have originated from an under-the-radar think tank report that called on the department to change its focus by prioritizing "nonmilitary threats," such as white supremacism and disinformation.

The report, titled "Future of DHS Project: Key Findings and Recommendations," was published in September 2020 by the Atlantic Council, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and committed to a mission of "shaping the global future together."

Thomas Warrick and Caitlin Durkovich, the report's authors, both served in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but left their posts during the Trump administration. Durkovich currently serves on the White House National Security Council.

More HERE

Dare We Forget?

By James M. Kushiner -

In his Templeton Address, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, “More than half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’”

How did Solzhenitsyn come to agree? He looked back:

“Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our Revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’”

This amnesia was widespread:

Against American Mobocracy

Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address proves prescient about the dangers of enflaming citizens’ passions for political ends. Josh Hammer writes:

In his 1838 Lyceum Address in Springfield, Illinois, a 28-year-old Abraham Lincoln spoke on “the perpetuation of our political institutions.” The speech was eerily prescient, coming 23 years as it did before then-President Lincoln presided over a nation tragically brought into a grisly Civil War — the ultimate test of that “perpetuation” — by the assault on Fort Sumter.

48% likely US voters would vote GOP if election were held today

Illinois opened the door on election polls Thursday for the June 28th 2022 primary, meaning the election has officially begun. But how are voters leaning? 

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that, if the elections for Congress were held today, 48% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican candidate, while 39% would vote for the Democrat. Just four percent (4%) would vote for some other candidate, but another eight percent (8%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Republicans have added one point to their congressional advantage since April, when they led 47%-39%.

In May 2018, before voters handed Democrats their first House majority in eight years, Democrats held a one-point advantage (43% to 42%) in the generic ballot question. As the November 2018 midterms neared, and the margin was a statistical dead heat – Republicans 46%, Democrats 45% – in the final poll before Democrats won a slim House majority while Republicans gained Senate seats to maintain control of that chamber.

Laying Siege to the Institutions

Why do I say that we need to lay siege to our institutions? Because of what has happened to our institutions since the 1960s.

The 1960s saw the rise of new and radical ideologies in America that now seem commonplace—ideologies based on ideas like identity politics and cultural revolution. There is a direct line between those ideas born in the ’60s and the public policies being adopted today in leftist-run cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago.

The leftist dream of a working-class rebellion in America fizzled after the ’60s. By the mid-1970s, radical groups like the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground had faded from prominence. But the leftist dreamers didn’t give up. Abandoning hope of a Russian-style revolution, they settled on a more sophisticated strategy—waging a revolution not of the proletariat, but of the elites, and specifically of the knowledge elites. It would proceed not by taking over the means of production, but by taking control of education and culture—a strategy that German Marxist Rudi Dutschke, a student activist in the 1960s, called “the long march through the institutions.”

More HERE

Thorner: Will US agree to new, sweeping powers for WHO Director-General?

By Nancy Thorner - 

The current Administration in D.C. is attempting to subvert control of U.S. healthcare to the Director-General of the WHO alone through sweeping new powers and thus drastically compromise our national sovereignty. The current WHO Dir-Genl, Tedros, is a longtime Marxist essentially appointed by the CCP.    

 

The Biden admin proposed secret amendments to the longstanding WHO International Health Regulations of the World Health Assembly (WHA) will be voted on at the WHO May 22-28 meeting. These regulations are a binding instrument of international law and enforceable in all 193 UN member nations via a broad swath of international agencies.

 

Passage of the amendments is a big step to the US voluntarily ceding its sovereignty to the New World Order or Great Reset.

No Mob Rule, No Criminal Domination

Mob rule will lead to tryanny. Newt Gingrich writes:

Two civilization-destroying streams are coming together to form a river of violence and intimidation that can sweep away the Constitution, the rule of law and the most basic elements of our free society.

On the political front, there is a self-righteous fanaticism dominating the quasi-religious ideology of the Left. This fanaticism has convinced many on the Left that the end justifies the means and therefore, they have the right to break the law for political purposes.

Americans Still Rank ‘Climate Change’ Dead Last Among Environmental Concerns, Reports Gallup

Despite billions spent annually on outreach, education, and outright propaganda, a new Gallup poll shows Americans still don’t think climate change is the most significant environmental concern facing the world. In fact, “Global warming or climate change” ranked dead last among seven environmental issues in the new 2022 Gallup Poll.

Those surveyed ranked the drinking water pollution as their top environmental concern. The “pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs,” ranked second among the public’s environmental concerns. Concern over “the loss of tropical rain forests,” “air pollution,” species extinction, ranked third through fifth in order. “Global warming or climate change,” came in dead last as the environmental concern those surveyed “worried [about] a great deal.”

More HERE

Big Tech Censorship: Biden ‘Disinformation’ Board Prompts Lawsuit

The Biden administration’s formation of a “disinformation” board has sparked momentum for two states to sue the U.S. government, alleging pressure and collusion with Big Tech censorship of political content that challenges the government line.

“If we would’ve tried to bring this lawsuit two or three months ago, I think they would’ve laughed us out of court,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry told The Daily Signal in a phone interview about the new Disinformation Governance Board inside the Department of Homeland Security.

“People are really starting to raise their eyebrows and it’s mostly because of this disinformation branch,” Landry said. “In other words, the government and Big Tech have become basically brazen in the face of the American people, saying, ‘We are going to give you the information that we deem you need.’”

More HERE

How the ESG Movement is Shooting Itself in the Foot

Reputational risk is the wonderfully vague term that is being used more and more to justify decisions to terminate a business relationship when an objective reason is unavailable. According to an excellent article in the Georgia Law Review, "Regulating Bank Reputation Risk," the concept of reputational risk really took off in the 1990s when federal regulators were looking for a way to incorporate subjective policy and social considerations when examining financial institutions.

The first phase of using reputational risk as a regulatory tool culminated in Operation Choke Point, which was a joint effort of the Treasury Department and the FDIC to target certain undesirable, but legal, businesses. The exposure of Operation Choke Point ended the direct use of reputational risk by regulators to force behaviors at individual banks, but the concept was so powerful it continued to incubate and expand. Today, large banks and big corporations are using the reputational risk tool to drive social-justice policies.

As pointed out in the Georgia Law Review article, the reputational risk tool heavily relies on the concept of stakeholder capitalism. Initially, the stakeholder in question was the regulator itself, but just as the power of reputational risk was becoming evident, so too was the role of stakeholders. The concept of stakeholder capitalism has continued to grow and now is an important element of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement.

More HERE

GOP to Disney: You’ve Lost a Friend in Me

Disney went woke, but conservatives are finally fighting back. Suzanne Bowdey writes:

It’s been an unusually quiet week for corporate America after one of the biggest cultural bombshells of the modern age.

The news that the Supreme Court might be on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade hasn’t unleashed an army of woke CEOs on the country like most people expected. On the contrary, most of the country’s brands seem surprisingly mum on an abortion issue that would have sent them into the stratosphere as recently as February.

What changed? Experts say one thing: Disney.

South suburban GOPers pick Salvi, Bailey and Pekau in contested races

6th CD GOP candidates Rob Cruz, Niki Conforti, Keith Pekau, Cathy Ryan O'Shea, Scott Kaspar, Gary Grasso rep and IR Editor Fran Eaton (photos by Mark Weyermuller)

TINLEY PARK - Tuesday night, the Bremen Township Republican Organization in south suburban Cook County picked their favorites for the June 28th IL GOP primary. 

After hearing from nearly 20 candidates or their campaign representatives on an array of current issues, the BTRO attendees gave a sampling of how Cook County suburban Republicans are thinking. 

In contested statewide races, BTRO members picked Kathy Salvi for US Senate, Darren Bailey/Stephanie Trussell for Gov/LG, David Shestokas for Attorney General, Dan Brady for Secretary of State.  

The results on the governor's race surprised many attendees, as GOP candidate Richard Irvin has spent millions of dollars on ads in the Chicago area and received zero votes in the BTRO straw poll. The Irvin campaign argues that Bailey cannot win in the suburbs. 

IL GOP lieutenant governor candidates Aaron Del Mar (Gary Rabine) and Stephanie Trussell (Darren Bailey) participated in BTRO forum

In congressional races that include portions of Bremen Township, the poll's winners were Eric Carlson in the 1st CD, Thomas Lynch in the 2nd CD, and Keith Pekau in the 6th CD. 

For Bremen Township Republican Committeeman, Carl Ivan won over Max Solomon. 

Questions were posed to the candidates by Illinois Review editor and co-founder Fran Eaton on topics that are currently being covered by Illinois Review, ranging from inflation, green energy, supply chain, student loan debt, surging crime, immigration, the US Supreme Court and other topics. 

Event was organized by Bremen Township Deputy Committeeman Sand Czyznikiewicz and Audrey Tancos.

More will be coming in the days ahead in Illinois Review on how the candidates responded to those questions. 

Documentary: Choosing Death [The Legacy of Roe]

Even 50 years after Roe v. Wade, few know the truth behind the landmark decision— a decision that has enabled the destruction of over 64 million human lives since 1973.

The Daily Wire is taking a wrecking ball to the four big lies the abortion industry was built upon. Our new original documentary is streaming now and uncovers the inside story of how Roe v. Wade came to pass and why it needs to pass away.

You’ll discover the facts and stories the abortion regime has suppressed for generations, and witness the brutal reality they desperately don’t want you to see. Some of this content is hard to take in, but few subjects— if any— are more important.

Click HERE to uncover the truth. 

Cartoon of the Week

New Poll: 82 Percent of Likely Voters ‘Concerned’ About Rising Gas Prices Under Biden

According to a new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports on behalf of The Heartland Institute, 82 percent of likely voters say they are either “very” or “somewhat concerned” about rising energy and gas prices under the Biden administration.

Since Joe Biden entered the Oval Office, the cost of energy (especially gasoline and diesel fuel) has absolutely skyrocketed, and this was occurring well before Vladimir Putin arrayed his troops on the Ukrainian border.

More HERE

How Ron DeSantis' Fundraising Compares to Donald Trump

Ron DeSantis' record-breaking fundraising month amid his reelection campaign is putting the Florida Governor on par with Donald Trump in terms of garnering financial support.

DeSantis was able to pull in nearly $10.5 million in donations in April, according to figures shared with Fox News and the Tallahassee Democrat, as the Republican seeks another term in office.

The donations for the record-breaking month included nearly $2.3 million raised by the governor's election campaign team, and $8.2 million from his political committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis.

The total from April means that DeSantis has managed to raise more than $113 million this campaign cycle, dwarfing any other Florida gubernatorial hopeful and approaching the amount that former president Trump is able to raise through his political committees.

More HERE

Pritzker sets new record of over $11M Illinois tax dollars to prevent low-income population growth

CHICAGO - In Illinois "family planning services" are a nicer-sounding term than "abortion clinics" - but whatever one is most comfortable referring to them as, they still perform the same services: finding ways to reject and destroy the next generation of Illinoisans. 

Here's the way Governor Pritzker's office announced Monday that he's giving over $11 Millions of those tax dollars you sent in last month to the State of Illinois to promote "family planning services" in Illinois:

Governor Pritzker Announces Record-Setting $11.2 Million in Funding to Support Family Planning Services Throughout Illinois

$5.4 million HHS grant will expand access to equitable and affordable services

CHICAGO — Governor Pritzker today announced that the State of Illinois has received $5.4 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will support and expand access to equitable and affordable family planning services for low-income populations across Illinois. This federal grant, along with $5.8 million in state general revenue funds, means the Illinois Family Planning Program is providing approximately $11.2 million in funding in state Fiscal Year 2023 to 29 delegate agencies that operate 98 family planning clinics throughout the state.

The new HHS grant to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will support access to Title X services under the Illinois Family Planning Program that were sharply restricted under the previous federal administration, which imposed a “gag rule” that blocked family planning clinics from referring patients to abortion providers.

“Now that the Biden administration has reversed Trump’s gag rule, I am proud to announce we have rejoined the federal Title X program and we’re putting record funding toward our Illinois Family Planning Program,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Let this record-breaking investment remind women that the state of Illinois trusts you to make your own choices. To choose what contraceptives are right for you. To choose whether you want to be a parent or not. And we will make sure that—on top of protecting your right to choose—you get the care that you deserve.”

Gas prices reach an all-time high nationwide, even higher in Illinois

For the seventh straight day in a row, gas prices nationwide have reached an all-time high, this time reaching $4.48 per gallon.

And in Illinois, according to AAA, the numbers are even worse with the latest gas tax hike: 

Di Leo: Abortion and the Will of the People

By John F. Di Leo - 

Abortion has been at the forefront of American politics for 50 years, ever since the Supreme Court chose to nationalize the issue in Roe v. Wade, declaring that the federal government, as constructed by the Constitution, did indeed have a role to play in the question. 

The Court, as expressed by Associate Justice Harry Blackmun, determined that state laws against abortion may conflict with an expectant mother’s Constitutional “right to privacy” – a concept not actually found anywhere in the Constitution, but created for Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965. Under Roe v. Wade, the federal government can therefore split a pregnancy into three arbitrary timeframes – trimesters – in each of which, the states have various limited latitude to restrict the procedure. 

In 1992, after twenty years of ridicule, the Court finally admitted to the illogic of the arbitrary trimester distinctions in their decision on Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Here, they largely replaced the trimester concept with the idea that fetal viability should be the key point at which states and the federal government trade primary authority. And now, in 2022, with the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s 98-page draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it looks likely that our nation’s abortion laws will be changing again. 

Pritzker signs 125+ Democrat super-majority bills into law

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CHICAGO - Monday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law 125+ bills. With a super majority rule in both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate, Democrat lawmakers and Illinois' Democrat governor had little with which to disagree:

• Bill Number: HB2991

Description: Requires DVA to contract for a market research analysis of veterans’ field services, subject to appropriations.

Action: Signed

Effective: January 1st, 2023

• Bill Number: HB3124

Description: Requires the City of Chicago to maintain a rotational tow list.

Action: Signed

Effective: January 1st, 2023

• Bill Number: HB3465

Description: Amends the Unified Code of Corrections to provide that each institution or facility of the Department of Corrections shall hire a reentry specialist to assist with the reentry of offenders into the community.

Action: Signed

Effective: January 1, 2023

• Bill Number: HB4089

Description: Requires a school district to provide a plant-based school lunch option to students.

Action: Signed

Effective: August 1, 2023

• Bill Number: HB4284

Description: Applies a tax at the rate of $15 on a transfer of a motor vehicle from trust to a beneficiary that is not a surviving spouse upon the death of the grantor of the trust and the trust becomes irrevocable as is currently done in other transactions.

Action: Signed

Effective: Immediately

1. Bill Number: HB4304

Description: Creates the Foster Care Investigative Reports Commission to investigate all adverse reports, submitted by foster parents to DCFS, concerning the children placed in their care.

Action: Signed

Effective: January 1, 2023

• Bill Number: HB4320

Description: Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code to require an employer to make an additional contribution to the State Universities Retirement System for certain salary increases greater than 6%. Makes other changes.

Action: Signed

Effective: Immediately

Study shows university diversity, equity and inclusion programs ineffective, overstaffed

(The Center Square) – The promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, on college campuses has become a big focus in academia, but a study says many of the programs are bloated and have a high taxpayer cost.

The Heritage Foundation found that colleges’ vast DEI bureaucracy has little to do with students’ satisfaction with their college.

The study showed the average university has 45.1 people tasked with promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, but some schools have many more.

At the University of Illinois alone, there are 71 DEI personnel, which is four out of every 100 faculty members. At Northwestern University, there are 52 DEI faculty members.

More HERE

Texas Governor Calls for School Choice for Every Child in Lone Star State

The image of Lucy yanking away the football from Charlie Brown has been invoked for years as a metaphor for Texas’ relationship with school choice.

But is the Lone Star State finally about to connect?

Last Monday night, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on the Legislature to allow education dollars to follow children to learning options of their parents’ choice, including to private schools.

More HERE

Teachers’ unions scrutinized over Harvard study of COVID-19 learning

Teachers’ unions are under scrutiny in the wake of a Harvard study that shows racial and economic achievement gaps widened during the COVID-19 virtual-learning lockdowns supported by the labor groups.

Harvard University’s report on testing data from 2.1 million students in 10,000 schools found that high-poverty, multicultural public schools spent more weeks in remote instruction during 2020-21 and suffered bigger declines in scores. By contrast, low-poverty districts that remained largely in-person lost relatively little ground.

Thomas Kane, a Harvard economics and education professor who directed the study, said the poor schools that stayed remote for more than half of 2021 lost “about half of a school year’s worth of typical achievement growth.”

More HERE

Thorner: Do they care more about Ukranians than they care about us?

By Nancy Thorner - 

Late on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 the U. S House of Representatives approved a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine.

 

On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Tucker Carlson presented an excellent commentary about the approval of the U.S. House of Representatives' massive aid package for Ukraine.

 

I transcribed Tucker's entire commentary, believing it well worth the attention of Illinois Review readers.  But the scope and cost of the aid package to Ukraine should be of great concern to all Americans and might even make you angry.

Chicago announces $500k program to include abortions for those out-of-state

(The Center Square) – Chicago city officials announced more taxpayer resources for reproductive health care, including access to abortion for residents of the city and of neighboring states. 

The announced $500,000 from Chicago taxpayers will go to providers and organizations that provide access and resources for abortion care. The city's program will be through the Chicago Department of Public Health, according to the Department's commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady.

"The Chicago Department of Public Health is proud to be newly investing $500,000 as a part of our maternal and reproductive health portfolio to help support patients who need access to reproductive health care, including abortions," Arwady said.

More HERE

You couldn’t have picked a worse Minister of Truth than Nina Jankowicz

The new czar of disinformation is uniquely ill-suited to be an arbiter of truth--a position that has no place in a free country. Benjamin Weingarten writes:

If you were trying to discredit your own regime, you would be hard-pressed to do better than create a Ministry of Truth, house it within your domestic-security apparatus and appoint a serial spewer of untruth to lead it.

But don’t let the folly of the Biden administration’s Nina Jankowicz-led, Department of Homeland Security-housed Disinformation Governance Board fool you. The DGB is not only a discrediting and delegitimizing project but a dangerous one.

Illegal immigrants getting baby formula while Americans left with empty shelves

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack and other Republican lawmakers are calling on the FDA and the Biden administration to take immediate action to solve a months-long baby formula shortage that's left parents scrambling to find healthy food for their infant children.

Cammack, R-Florida, called on Americans to “demand that the administration take action putting the baby formula back on the shelves for American kids,” prioritizing them over illegal immigrants.

Cammack posted photos of stocked shelves of baby formula at a Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas alongside a photo of empty shelves in an American store. Describing them, she said, “The first photo is from this morning at the Ursula Processing Center at the U.S. border. Shelves and pallets packed with baby formula. The second is from a shelf right here at home. Formula is scarce."

More HERE

Thorner: Truth About Student Loan Forgiveness

By Nancy Thorner - 

Rumblings that the Biden administration plans to "forgive" some student-loan debt for potentially millions of upper-class people earning up to $125,000 a year doesn't sit well with many Americans.

 

[..[ "Historically, one powerful check against this wasteful government and educational bloatedness was the fact that - in America - you had to responsibly pay for your own higher education."

 

Now instead of taking away the punch bowl from the rich kids, ole Joe wants to make poor kids pay for the booze. Who will benefit most?

Biden VS. Friedman On Government Spending And Inflation