Illinois Review

St. Clair and Madison Counties rank #8 among nation's worst 10 lawsuit centers

Litigation about whether products were indeed "all natural" or falsely advertised as such kicked two Illinois metro-east counties up into the nation's 10 worst lawsuit centers for 2018.  This week, the American Tort Reform Foundation released its annual Judicial Hellholes report and named Illinois' Madison and St. Clair Counties together as the Number 8 "Judicial Hellhole" in the U.S.

Madison and St. Clair Counties earned their way to the No. 8 spot due to frivolous “no-injury” consumer class actions, asbestos litigation and judges allowing forum shopping, the group says. "The two Illinois counties house a powerful trial bar and are notorious for their disproportionate volume of litigation and large verdicts," a press statement from ATRF announced. "Excessive tort costs in Illinois result in $4.5 billion in annual direct costs and 81,685 jobs lost annually, according to a recent study."

The large volume of litigation in these counties’ courts includes no-injury consumer class action lawsuits challenging how food is labeled and advertised, such as whether a product qualifies as “all natural.” St. Clair County has been a magnet for these lawsuits – the Nelson & Nelson law firm has filed 21 such cases asserting that products ranging from cake mix to barbeque sauce are not sufficiently natural.

Di Leo: Criminal Justice Reform and Confronting Reality

By John F. Di Leo - 

For the past few cycles, the Democratic Party has added what they call “criminal justice reform” to their campaign platforms, and President Donald Trump has recently joined the call, in part.

There is certainly no question that some people get stiffer sentences than most onlookers would expect them to receive.  Every state has different recommended or mandatory sentencing ranges, and different states have varying approaches for how much to take past convictions into account. 

So it is that we look at the press reports of individual cases – often only the press reports, in a vacuum – and conclude, as Monday morning quarterbacks, that the judge sent them away for too long.  We usually don’t know what they were really arrested for, only what they were convicted for. We don’t know their rap sheets, their plea bargains, the ingredients that really went into their situation.  And we don’t know – for sure - what they are really likely to do as soon as we set them free again.

Di Leo: A Seat at the Table, and CNN's Embarrassing Presumption

By John F. Di Leo - 

As tempers flare in Washington this November, with the dust settling on late-night midterm results and vote fraud occurs in broad daylight… we see an unusual dispute in the news.  This kerfuffle is between a major news source – CNN – and the White House. CNN’s reporter, Jim Acosta, refused to shut his mouth when his time was expired, and even shoved an intern out of the way for just doing her job.  The White House had it with him, and revoked his press credentials - not CNN’s, just his.

The reporter made more of the story than it was, which is perhaps unsurprising, but his employer also made more of it than it was, which should be shocking.  An employer should have a better handle on how to deal with an employee who goes over the line, embarrassing his employer and his profession on international television. CNN even filed a lawsuit against the administration, claiming that it was a violation of the First Amendment for the administration to kick a reporter out of a press conference.

The First Amendment?   Really, folks?

Di Leo: Of Drugs and Thugs and Pipe-Bomb Scares, Of Caravans and Kings

By John F. Di Leo - 

In the news this week – just two weeks out from a critically important midterm election – the news is full of stories about pipe bombs being mailed to prominent left-wingers.

It’s a fascinating story on several fronts.  The targets included an ex-president and an ex-secretary of state, an aging actor, the office of a liberal media outlet, and an activist financier so ancient that most people thought he must be dead already.  At this writing, none of these bombs went off, and most didn’t even reach their destinations because they were sent to people well known to be heavily guarded.

While it is too early – at this writing – to speculate, it certainly sounds possible, between the choices of targets and the utterly improbable type of pipe bomb, that these were never really intended to go off.  Which makes one wonder: what was really the purpose of such a project, two weeks before an election?

Study shows excessive lawsuits cost Illinois $12B annually

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois loses an estimated $4.5 billion every year in direct costs along with $7.7 billion in output due to excessive lawsuits - an industry that heavily contributes to keep Democrats in power at the state capitol. (As of October 1, 2018, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association PAC donated $299,000 to Democrat legislative candidates in the past three months.)

That's what the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) reports Monday, based on the 2018 Economic Benefits of Tort Reform, an assessment measuring the impact of excessive civil court costs on Illinois’ economy.

Rauner: "I will never let Illinois be a sanctuary state. Period."

Chicago Tribune photo

PALOS PARK - "The bill I signed did not make Illinois a sanctuary ... period, end of story," Governor Bruce Rauner told a group of Republicans gathered in Palos Park Saturday.

Whether the Trust Act made Illinois a sanctuary state is a topic that the governor has been facing since he signed it into law last year. His frustration with what he considers confusion over the issue was evident in his reply. 

"Then why are they saying that?" one of the members of the United Southland Republican Women asked.

"Because they are political attacks to undermine me," Rauner replied. "Fake news. Listen guys, this is really important, it's really important. I have fought sanctuary every year, I have vetoed bills and stopped it. That bill I did sign - that was a 40 page bill when it started. It ... made us a sanctuary.

"I said no, and we shrunk it down to a 2-page bill and all it does is do what judges said we need to do when we're interacting with illegal immigrants. It still says we should coordinate with ICE agents. In no way does it make us a sanctuary."

(Recording of Rauner's comments below)

UPDATE x3: Kavanaugh Confirmed by U.S. Senate, pulling Court to the Right

DC - The US Senate voted today to confirm what many consider to be pro-life Judge Brett Kavanaugh - filling the vacancy left by pro-abortion Justice Anthony Kennedy following his retirement.

Notable Republican responses followed President Trump, who tweeted: 

UPDATE: Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Travis Sterling said, "We applaud the U.S. Senate for confirming Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. He is a highly-qualified jurist with extensive experience in faithfully interpreting and defending the Constitution of the United States."

Congressman Darin LaHood, a Republican representing IL's 18th CD, said in a statement: “The U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court today is historic. His judicial temperament and measured approach will ensure that our Constitution is interpreted properly, as intended by our founding fathers. 

Harold campaign releases new ad attacking Democrat opponent

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois voters will be picking a new attorney general in November, and 20 percent of the electorate has yet to decide who will get their votes  - Democrat Senator Kwame Raoul or Republican attorney Erika Harold. Among those that have decided, Raoul is outpacing Harold by 12 points, a recent survey by the Illinois Broadcasters Association says. 

Harold, who has received substantial financial support from GOP Governor Bruce Rauner, has been the focus of her opponent's recent attack ads. In one ad, Harold is quoted during her college years saying she'd rather send children to be adopted by an abusive heterosexual couple than to a same sex couple. The ads have been effective in turning up the dial on Harold's unfavorables.

Di Leo: The Priest Scandal and the Statute of Limitations

By John F. Di Leo - 

A recent report by a Pennsylvania grand jury has put a scandal – the one about the Catholic priests guilty of sex abuse – back in the news again. Since this particular investigation and report deals with a period that goes back seventy years, there isn’t much actual “news” in it, but it includes shocking numbers and heartbreaking stories, so it has understandably gained national attention.

This Pennsylvania grand jury cast a wide net to capture the entire picture, or at least, as much of the picture of an international organization and an international problem as a state judiciary can reach. Their final report, released this month, alleged some 300 Pennsylvania priests and over a thousand victims, over the 60-some-year period that they studied.  

Before digging into it, there are certain facts that need to be addressed, just for context.  We’re talking about a range of allegations, many of which don’t belong in the same discussion – ranging from nothing more than a kiss (creepy) to actual rape (criminal) to cover-ups by superiors (corrupt).   We’re talking about a state with, consistently, over 3,000,000 Catholics in it, a state that has well over 2500 Catholic priests today, double or triple that a generation or two ago. 300 bad priests and 1000 victims at one moment in time would be a sizable percentage, but over a 60-some-year span, and as a share of many thousands, it is less so… but still sizable, still significant, still heartbreaking and unforgivable.  There is no way to spin it into a minor issue.

State rep Batinick responds to friendly fire on proposed pension solution

PLAINFIELD - State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) proposed a solution to Illinois' $130 billion pension earlier this week - something he says the state's Democrats have yet to offer - but Batinick was a bit stunned when groups he considers like-minded fiscal conservatives and friends sharply criticized his idea. 

Batinick, who serves on the Illinois House's pension reform committee, suggested the state enact a reverse ramp - by beginning with paying in larger amounts to the pension debt in order to save the 7% interest the state now owes on unpaid contributions. 

That, Batinick said, would stop the bleeding - not correct the problem. But for him, it's a place to start.

"Having a plan to stop the bleeding from the unfunded liability does not mean we shouldn't stop the pension abuses," Batinick told Illinois Review. "There should be a moratorium on benefit enhancement." 

Thorner/Nelson: Conservatives to gather in St. Louis September 14-16

General Michael Flynn will be featured at upcoming Eagle Council in St. Louis

By Nancy Thorner & Kelleigh Nelson -

Phyllis Schlafly’s 47^th Eagle Council will be held Friday, September 14 through September 16 in St. Louis, Missouri at the Airport Marriott Hotel, and among the featured speakers will be Lt. Colonel Michael Flynn.

Eagle Council is the place where conservative "doers" gather. This pro-family, pro-America event is three days of exciting speakers, meals, networking opportunities, and panel discussions. The men and women of this nation that are really in the fight for liberty come for the training, discussion, and fellowship that Eagle Council provides. Like those of the past, this is one conference you won’t want to miss.

Phyllis Schlafly's Eagles' President Ed Martin and his staff continue Phyllis’s vision to train conservatives to uphold our Constitution and to participate in the policy making process. These yearly council meetings reinvigorate attendees to truly Make America Great Again. 

After Janus, new models for labor relations

Chicago teachers on strike. Rachel Docherty / Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

The U.S. Supreme Court took a significant step toward restoring individual liberty in the government-sector labor market with its recent Janus decision. The details of the case were outlined for the Acton Institute by retired federal Judge, Janice Rogers Brown. In brief, the Court ruled that henceforth no government employee would have to pay any labor union any fee as a condition of continued government employment. While the Janus decision is cause for liberty lovers to celebrate, it leaves in place an equally burdensome affront to individual liberty in government employment -- exclusive representation. It should be replaced by members-only representation.

More HERE

Thorner: Be Grateful Trump Won the Presidency

By Nancy Thorner - 

There are many Americans who have not yet accepted President Trump as their president.  They continue to opine over Hillary's defeat to Donald Trump and what might had been had Hillary become the 45th president.  This article sets out three premises by which to celebrate the election of President Trump, as will historians in years to come.

Premise one: It can be rightly said that the election of Donald Trump by American voters saved America from its “free fall” of corruption in which the FBI and media covered up, minimized, and/or excused all of Obama’s mistakes, by electing the one non-politician who was able to withstand the nasty tactics of the Left.  Hopefully Trump's election will, in turn, lead to reforming the FBI and the prosecution of those who continue to be at work to undermine our nation.

Thorner: Battle Lines being drawn over replacing Kennedy

By Nancy Thorner - 

Washington is abuzz over the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Filling this US Supreme Court vacancy could very well be the most crucial presidential appointment in America's history.  The pressure on President Trump from the Liberal Democrats, the left-wing media and the "Never Trump" Republicans to put another moderate like Kennedy on the high court will be like nothing Donald Trump nor we have ever seen before.

We now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lock the Leftists out of power on the Supreme Court, to rein in the out-of-control judiciary and preserve the sanctity of human life.  It is certain that liberals and the "never-Trump" Republicans are preparing to spend millions and millions to defeat any pro-life conservative President Trump nominates.  Their goal is to first intimidate Donald Trump into appointing a wishy-washy "moderate" like Anthony Kennedy.  If that doesn't work, they plan to personally destroy any pro-life conservative the President nominates.

UPDATE: Janus ruling requires public sector union members to "opt in" (or will it?)

UPDATE x2: Illinois Review asked for an opinion from Liberty Justice Center on the debate. Pat Hughes, President of Liberty Justice Center, said in a statement Friday that indeed, unions will be forced to use "opt in":

We interpret the Janus ruling as a sweeping win for government workers. The opt in portion of Justice Alito’s opinion means exactly what it says - post Janus, governments should stop collecting union dues of any kind for any member or non-member. It doesn't matter whether or not someone previously opted in, the conditions upon which that happened - forced agency fees regardless of whether you opted in- made the decision making process for each state employee very different in a pre-Janus world. 

(On the side, we're told, additional litigation is expected and it is likely the courts will need to rule to clarify.)

UPDATE: There seems to be differing opinions on whether the Janus opinion will affect public sector union membership - especially in Illinois, not a "right to work" state. After our story was published with the above headline, we were contacted by CapitolFax's Rich Miller, who said our headline (Janus ruling requires public sector union members to "opt in") was wrong, that membership will not need to opt in. We rechecked several sources that say the opposite. 

Then Mr. Miller checked with an AFSCME Local 31 contact that expressed a differing opinion. We've inserted below: 

SPRINGFIELD - State employees will now need to "opt in" to public sector union membership after the seismic Janus vs AFSCME ruling the U.S. Supreme Court made earlier this week. As of Wednesday, union fees will no longer be automatically taken from state workers' paychecks in Illinois. Workers will need to affirmatively indicate if they want to be union members.

The case's plaintiff Mark Janus, an employee of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, sued AFSCME to gain his right to reject union membership and dues taken automatically from his paycheck each month. Janus argued he didn't agree with how AFSCME spent a portion of his dues on political campaigns. 

"I think this gives the individual worker in a public sector entity the right to make their own decision, and that was the basis for my case all along," Janus told Fox Business' Stuart Varney.

Illinois AG Lisa Madigan signs onto Democrat demand to rejoin immigrant families

CHICAGO - Illinois' Attorney General Lisa Madigan signed on along with 17 Democrat attorneys general that filed a multi-state lawsuit Tuesday challenging the federal administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border.

“The federal government’s separation of children from their parents at the southern border is an atrocity that has already had profound consequences for families in search of a better and safer life,” Madigan said. “The inhumane and illegal separation of families must end and all of the impacted children must be reunited with their parents.”

In response to the Democrats' lawsuit, federal Southern California Judge Dana Sabraw - appointed by George W. Bush - ruled for immediate changes in handling the minors entering the US with their parents through locations other than designated ports of entry.  

Teachers unions respond to Janus decision

WASHINGTON - The Illinois Federation of Teachers say the Janus decision "isn't going to break us." The Chicago Teachers Union blamed Governor Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: 

Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) President Dan Montgomery released the following statement:

SCOTUS gerrymandering decisions will encourage more map manipulation, CHANGE Illinois says

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois' constitution doesn't provide for voters to directly determine public policy as referenda do in states like California, but voters will be the only way to make drawing Illinois' maps fairer, but that's the only recourse available to Illinoisans after the decisions the US Supreme Court released Monday. 

According to Jeff Raines, Communications and Engagement Director of CHANGE Illinois, “The Supreme Court’s position on gerrymandering this term will only encourage entrenched politicians to manipulate the maps in 2021, cementing their mistaken belief that their personal and party gain outweighs the constitutional rights of the American people. It’s clear that we can’t rely on the courts to save us from this nefarious political practice. It’s going to take people power to end gerrymandering in Illinois and around the country.”

Raines confirmed there are two pathways to get a fair maps amendment on the ballot. First, the citizens' advisory petition and second, the General Assembly placing constitutional amendments on the ballot after a 3/5ths majority vote.

Petition to oust Maxine Waters emerges on WhiteHouse.gov site

A petition appeared on the WhiteHouse.gov website Monday calling for the US House to oust Congresswoman Maxine Waters for inciting harassment of Trump officials over the weekend. 

"It's time for Maxine Waters to go," the appeal begins. "Waters has crossed a dangerous line, calling for attacks and violence against all Trump officials." 

The petition is in reaction to what Congresswoman Waters said over the weekend in California, when she called on Americans to "push back" against Trump officials, and make it impossible for them to shop, eat out, or go to gas stations. Waters comments are "irresponsible" statements from anyone, let alone a so-called Democrat leader.

After revelations IRS was urged to ruin Tea Party groups, Illinois leader calls on Trump to oust instigator

WEST SUBURBS - IRS officials were challenged in a 2013 meeting to audit tax-exempt groups so much that it would become "financially ruinous,” documents obtained and released by legal group Judicial Watch show. The person making the suggestion was Republican US Senator John McCain's staff director at the time, Henry Kerner.

Notes taken by IRS staff of that April 30, 2013 meeting with IRS head Lois Lerner show the comments in context as follows:

Henry Kerner asked how to get to the abuse of organizations claiming section 501 (c)(4) but designed to be primarily political. Lois Lerner said the system works, but not in real time. Henry Kerner noted that these organizations don’t disclose donors. Lois Lerner said that if they don’t meet the requirements, we can come in and revoke, but it doesn’t happen timely. Nan Marks said if the concern is that organizations engaging in this activity don’t disclose donors, then the system doesn’t work. Henry Kerner said that maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous. Nikole noted that we have budget constraints. Elise Bean suggested using the list of organizations that made independent expenditures. Lois Lerner said that it is her job to oversee it all, not just political campaign activity.

One of the Illinois-based groups the IRS chose to audit was West Suburban Patriots, co-founded by Carol Davis. Davis told Illinois Review the notes Judicial Watch discovered confirm suspicions she's had for years.

Schlafly's son speculates on effects of possible Supreme Court justice retirement

Justice Kennedy was appointed by Reagan in 1988

ST LOUIS - In an email Monday, Andy Schlafly, son of the late conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, shed light on speculations that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy may announce his retirement soon. 

"If Kennedy retires, then that may explain why he declined to join the pro-abortion wing of the Court on the petition for cert by Planned Parenthood in the Arkansas abortion medication complications case," Schlafly wrote. "To the surprise of all, and the dismay of pro-aborts, the Supreme Court "denied cert" in that case, thereby allowing the pro-life decision by the 8th Circuit to stand.  (Planned Parenthood v. Jegley)  This is the first time in memory that the Supreme Court, which has enough votes to grant cert for Planned Parenthood, has rebuffed PP's request."

One the other hand, Schlafly said, if Justice Kennedy does not retire, his opposition to Planned Parenthood in the Jegley case could indicate the 81-year-old justice's opinion has shifted against abortion. 

Thorner/Ingold: IG Horowitz' Report reveals Comedy of Corruption

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

A recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal, "Mueller's Fruit of the Poisonous Tree", concluded that it makes no difference how honorable Mueller is, his investigation is tainted by the bias that attended its origin in 2016. 

As Roger Kimball wrote on June 19, 2018 about the 568-page IG report, A Comedy of Corruption? Or a Bureaucratic Horror Show?:

If the stakes were not so high, the 568-page report issued last week by the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General (“A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election”) might be seen as a species of comedy, something out of Plautus, perhaps (starring Peter Strzok as the Miles Gloriosus and Lisa Page as Philocomasium), or Dickens’s Little Dorrit with its Office of Circumlocution .  Note: The report “did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that improper considerations, including political bias, directly affected the specific investigative decisions we reviewed. 

Illinois Attorney General sues to end Trump Administration's "zero-tolerance policy" towards immigrants

CHICAGO — Attorney General Lisa Madigan, along with 10 other attorneys general, announced Thursday she is filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border.

"The new federal executive order does not bring back together the thousands of families that were torn apart by the federal government's policy, and it does not prevent families from being separated in the future," Madigan said. "I will join with my colleagues across the country to bring action against the federal government for this inhumane and unAmerican policy."

Chicago Tonight features discussion on immigrant family separations

Shannon Shepherd (l) and Jennifer Nevins (r)

President Trump's executive order to keep families together that chose to cross America's southern border at locations other than official ports of entry was the topic of conversation on WTTW's Chicago Tonight (PBS) this week.

The discussion - worth a listen in our opinion - was between immigration attorney Shannon Shepherd, a member of the Chicago Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association; and Jennifer Nevins, a Trump delegate from Illinois to the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Gutierrez on immigration bill says GOP wants to be both arsonists and firefighters

WASHINGTON DC - In a heated discussion on Congressman Bob Goodlatte's "Securing America's Future Act of 2018" Thursday, Illinois' retiring Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) stepped to the podium of the US House and ripped Republicans, the President and anyone else that supported H.R. 4760.

"The reelection strategy for every single Republican Member of the House is to stand strong with a President willing to take children from their parents in order to look mean and nasty when children are fleeing for their lives. You own that. That is your campaign strategy...." Gutierrez said.

Then he stepped up the rhetoric as only Congressman Gutierrez can do. 

"Republicans want to be both the arsonists and the firefighters, and you can't be both," he said, pointing his finger.

How did your Illinois Congressman vote on H.R. 4760? All but one Illinois Republican voted yes, all Democrats voted no.

Watch Gutierrez' comments HERE on C-SPAN.

U.S. Supreme Court upholds Christian baker's religious freedoms

WASHINGTON DC - The Washington Times reports the Supreme Court decided a Colorado baker's First Amendment right that says

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

was violated: 

The Supreme Court held Monday a Christian baker’s religious liberty was violated when Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission penalized him for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

The 7 to 2 ruling found the Colorado Civil Rights Commission did not view the baker’s case with “religious neutrality.”

More HERE

Sexual orientation in state's headline news

CHICAGO - How one prefers sexual intimacy is moving to a place of priority consideration in Illinois, according to current news headlines:

• "Does Lori Lightfoot have a path to victory in crowded race for mayor?" A black lesbian is expected to announce her bid for Chicago mayor on Thursday - promoting her sexual preference as one reason she'll get substantial support in a multi-candidate race.
• "Gay rights advocates want Illinois schools to be required to teach LGBT history" The Illinois General Assembly is considering making it mandatory for public school students to study figures notable in US and Illinois history, based on their sexual preferences.
• "Aurora approves city's first gay pride parade for June" And the state's second largest city - Aurora - will be celebrating non-heterosexual lifestyles in its first public parade on Father's Day, 2018. 

The Illinois Human Rights Act protects persons from discrimination based on an array of reasons - including, most recently, sexual orientation. It says:

"Sexual orientation" means actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at birth. "Sexual orientation" does not include a physical or sexual attraction to a minor by an adult. 

Di Leo: The Bill of Rights and the Failure of Education

By John F. Di Leo - 

What have we learned, in the weeks since the Valentine’s Day massacre in Parkland, Florida?

We have seen the same well-intentioned but utterly misguided efforts that we always see after such horrors:  a focus on banning one weapon out of many, as if that would make a difference, while closing our eyes to the real perpetrators and the actual causes of vulnerability. But we are used to that.    

What we are unused to, however, is the removal of the façade that for so long as hidden the Left’s efforts at the banning, and even outright confiscation, of firearms from law-abiding citizens. 

Thorner/Ingold: Emotions a Poor Substitute for Common Sense in Confronting Gun Violence

Parkland students grieve after last week's shooting | ABC photo

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

It is not difficult to appreciate the initial remarks from President Trump on gun violence about the need to stop just talking about gun violence but instead do things that will make a difference; however, we need ideas that are implementable and supportable by reasonable people, not knee-jerk responses that pander to a political position but are not adaptable to actual actions that will lead to a solution.

Fox News on Wednesday morning highlighted students from the Florida high school where 17 students and teachers were killed expressing their “solutions” to gun violence. Their remarks reflected a Pollyanna world view, such as, if only there were no guns (or a certain gun), all the problems would go away. The unfortunate truth is that only a good guy with a gun can effectively stop a bad guy with a gun. That principle applies to warfare, and, too often, life on the streets. Before there were guns, there were swords, arrows, sticks, rocks, hands and feet. There has always been someone undeserving who wants what you have, where you live, or resents who you are, and is willing to kill to get their way.

Di Leo: Lessons to be learned from Third World tragedies and horrors

By John F. Di Leo - 

On Wednesday, February 21, a bus tumbled over a cliff in Peru, killing at least 44 passengers. The bus was traveling on a narrow but important highway, the Pan-American Highway in the state of Arequipa, and the news horrified the nation, as it came less than two months after another almost-identical bus crash on January 2, also killing dozens of victims, on the same stretch of highway, an area so serpentine that sections are known by names like “Devil’s Curve.”

Such events occur on a daily basis in the third world, but rarely make the international news.  Much of the world is arrayed with crumbling infrastructure – from weak bridges to pothole-ridden roads – so traffic accidents, caused not by driver error but the inherent danger of the road, is commonplace.

In the case of the Pan-American Highway, however, we’re talking about a major thoroughfare, one which, despite being only one lane in each direction for much of its most dangerous route, is an important highway, generally running parallel to the Pacific coast for much of Peru.   It has the occasional sign – “Drive Carefully!” – but no guardrails, or width, to help people accomplish such a worthy goal.

Di Leo: Horror in Parkland, and a Lifetime of Warnings

By John F. Di Leo -

At this writing, we know that Nikolas Cruz was diagnosed and possibly medicated for mental illness, that he was adopted by parents who had both died by the time he was 19, and that he was a troublesome enough kid to have been expelled from school for it.

We also know that his disciplinary issues went back years, at least through middle school, and that he had repeatedly been suspected of being a killer in the making; he famously even said online that he intended to be a professional school shooter someday.

And in an era of the frequently cited official policy of the government, for what seems like decades now – “If you see something, say something!” – people had seen things, and had said things over the years.

And still, on February 14, 2018, he returned to his old school in Parkland, Florida and murdered at least 17 people, injuring many more. 

Chicago area tutoring school owners confess to fraud; ordered to payback $11M

CHICAGO - A father and son duo claiming their Chicago area tutoring companies would provide individually-designed programs for low-income students pled guilty to fraud charges and were ordered to pay back the Department of Education over $11 million.

As the FBI story reports: 

Measure to protect 20-week preborn babies passes U.S. House with full IL GOP delegation support

Photo of Micah Pickering at age 22 weeks. Today he's a healthy kindergartner.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House passed a measure Tuesday meant to protect babies 20 weeks along in development from being aborted. 

Imagine, if you can, that you are a pro-choice obstetrician/gynecologist like I was. Using a Sopher 13" clamp with rows of ridges or teeth, you grasp anything you can inside the womb. Once you've grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard-really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about six inches long. Reach in again and grasp anything you can...and out pops an arm. Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart and lungs.

Thus was the testimony former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino gave before a Congressional committee as they considered the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. 

Beckman: What would we do without Hollywood?

By Hank Beckman - 

What would we do without Hollywood?

Not only does the movie and television industry keep us entertained with both its product and the endless spectacle provided by the private lives of some of its stars, it also functions as an early warning system against the imminent arrival of a misogynist, homophobic government.

Sometimes they even win awards for the service.

Judicial reform group blames Democrat leadership for lack of lawsuit reform

MARION IL – Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW), a grassroots, non-partisan legal watchdog group kicked off “Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week” with a call for state lawmakers to follow the lead of other states by enacting meaningful lawsuit reform.

The group pointed at the state legislature's Democrat leaders to blame for the lack of judicial reform in Illinois.

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) and Senate President John Cullerton (D) both failed to allow votes to be taken on common sense lawsuit reforms that had been introduced early in the session, the group said.

ACLU Illinois blasts Trump policy; lauds Governor signing controversial immigration bills

CHICAGO - The Leftist ACLU blasted the Trump Administration's immigration policies as "reckless" in a statement applauding Governor Rauner's signing of the controversial immigration bill Monday. They also congratulated radical immigration groups for their "tireless work" in pushing the bill through. 

Transcript of Fox News' interview with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner

CHICAGO - Friday afternoon, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner was interviewed in Chicago's Fox News studios by Bret Baier on his daily nationally-televised show. 

The interview created a national discussion firestorm, frustrating the state's political Right and Left, who said Rauner's responses created more questions than answers for the people of Illinois. 

Here's a transcript of the exchange, supplied by Fox News Channel:

Thorner: The Dangerous Game of 'Gender Make-Believe' with Children

By Nancy Thorner - 

Culturally, this nation seems to be in the midst of a transgender craze, which is resulting in an increase of child abuse among parents who think that ideological agenda is a way of life for their small children.

Rauner commits to signing sanctuary bill

SPRINGFIELD - A group of pro-immigrant advocates met with Governor Rauner and say that he committed to signing SB 31, making every public school, hospital and more community sites places where employees are forbidden to ask citizenship status. 

That includes any Secretary of State office in Illinois - where drivers licenses are issued and voter registration takes place. (READ the four questions Illinois Review asked FAIR) 

From a press release issued today: 

Thorner & Ingold: What about those Trump tapes? Much ado about nothing

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold -

Did President Trump record his meetings with Director Comey, or did he not? That is the question burning in the minds of Democrats. More important, it had a profound effect on Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee. Comey’s testimony was honest, if not perfectly forthright. 

Di Leo: A City of Casualties – The Results of Rampant Crime

At the corner of West Madison and North Cicero Avenue

By John F. Di Leo - 

In just the first five months of 2017, there were over 233 murders, and well over 1300 more victims of shootings who survived… in the city of Chicago alone.  And almost every day, we see some alderman, mayor or police chief proudly saying that things are getting better – this statistic or that one is improving, so even though we need to get better, we should be happy that our “smart policing” is succeeding so well.

And yes, this is in a city of two and a half million people, in which the spokesmen know these statistics, so they know the city’s on track for over 3000 wounded or killed this year (and remember, not all the woundings get reported).

When there’s a terrorist attack overseas, we hear people like London Mayor Sadiq Khan saying that such dangers are now “part and parcel of living in a world class city,” and our politicians rightly ridicule such an apparently casual acceptance of such risks.  But here in the states, we have politicians implying the same about non-terrorist violence – about the gang shootings, domestic abuse, robbery violence and such that makes up the bulk of these 3000 annual victims in Chicago alone.

Thorner/O'Neil: Democrats and Leftist groups threaten nation's sovereignty, survival

By Nancy Thorner and Bonnie O'Neil - 

Having lost the House, Senate, presidency and most gubernatorial races, one would think Democrats would wake-up to the realization that the public rejected their Liberal message to consider what they might change to be more aligned with the American public.

That is not what Liberals have decided to do. What they have chosen to do instead may be a shocking revelation and possible wake-up call for many of our citizens. There is substantiated evidence proving specific Liberal leaders, a variety of special interest groups, and over one hundred Leftist, socialist organizations are all part of a conspiracy to create and fund a shadow government.

Manufacturers call for "Meaningful" Workers' Compensation Reform

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois' workers' compensation costs rank 8^th highest in the nation and remain a primary reason why manufacturing companies and good paying jobs are fleeing the state. Since the end of the 2009 recession, Illinois has lost 1,600 manufacturing jobs while our neighboring states have added tens of thousands of new jobs, the Illinois Manufacturing Association said in a statement issued over the weekend.

Gorsuch sworn in as Supreme Court justice

WASHINGTON - Neil Gorsuch on Monday became the 101st associate justice of the Supreme Court and President Trump’s first high court appointment.

Justice Anthony Kennedy administered the judicial oath to Gorsuch in White House Rose Garden, which was soaked in sun shortly after 11 a.m. Hours earlier, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath in a private ceremony in the justices' conference room at the court.

Kennedy said the oath Gorsuch took "reminds us that we as a people are bound together, that we as a people find our self definition, our respect, our heritage and our destiny in the Constitution."

More at The Hill 

Reeder: Time for more mercy in our justice system

By Scott Reeder -

SPRINGFIELD – “These are halls of justice – not mercy,” the prosecutor bellowed before the jury as I wiggled uncomfortably in the back of the courtroom, notebook in hand.

Senate confirms Gorsuch for Supreme Court - without Durbin or Duckworth

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, giving President Trump the biggest victory of his first 100 days in office. Neither of Illinois' U.S. Senators voted for Gorsuch, although three Dems did.

Father and Twin Sons enticed minors into sex trafficking at Chicago area malls

CHICAGO — A Chicago father and his twin boys have been sentenced to federal prison terms for recruiting vulnerable minors to engage in sex acts for money, the Northern Illinois FBI branch reports. 

Their scheme that landed the twins with 17-year sentences in federal prison started in Chicago area malls. 

Arlington Heights delays vote on Cook County's paid time off mandate

Arise Chicago protests outside Arlington Heights Village Hall | Brian O'Mahoney/Pioneer Press

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Despite an organized effort by Arise Chicago to stop Arlington Heights from opting out of a new countywide paid sick leave mandate and $13 minimum wage rate, Monday night village officials chose to postpone voting on the decision.

Thorner: Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch may not be what pro-lifers hope for

By Nancy Thorner - 

Democrats keep banging the same drum against President Trump, which harkens on his perceived Russian connections and his labeling as a racist maniac, as unhinged Democrats continue to grab at all the straws they have to wrest control of this nation from Trump and his millions of supporters.  

Thorner: Expert says weak First Amendment defense could endanger its future

By Nancy Thorner - 

One free speech expert believes that the primary threat to free speech isn't from terrorists, but from an unwillingness to defend free speech.

That's what Steve Simpson, editor of the book Defending Free Speech and director of legal studies at the Ayn Rand Institute, told an audience at the Heartland Institute on Wednesday, February 22 when discussing the constant assault on this fundamental freedom and its implications for the future of liberty.