Illinois Review

Di Leo: The First Amendment and the Challenge of Bias

By John F. Di Leo - 

A July 2 article began as follows: 

“A 25-year-old Arlington Heights man is accused of aggravated kidnapping and sexual abuse, among other charges, according to the Arlington Heights Police Department.” 

In journalism, the leading paragraph is known as the “lede” - with its own distinctive spelling, perhaps to signify how important it is to the process of newswriting. The rule is that it summarizes the most important elements of the article, because, as writers hate to admit but know all too well, not all readers will read the whole thing. 

Di Leo: Ten Percent and Counting – the Predictable Recidivism of COVID-19’s Ex-Cons

By John F. Di Leo -

When much of this nation started embarking on unprecedented shutdowns in March – closing our factories, our stores, our restaurants and schools… evacuating our hospitals to make room for the millions of patients that were sure to flood them in a matter of days, as soon as the CCP Virus caught on – one of the oddest choices that some state governments made was to set their prisoners free.

The peculiar, misguided fear that criminals in jail might catch this virus prompted certain hard leftist governors – New York’s Cuomo, Washington’s Inslee, California’s Newsom, Illinois' Pritzker, and others – to throw open the prison gates. They flooded their own communities with these known, proven criminals, people in jail for committing crimes - not just minor transgressions, but the kind that actually result in years behind bars, even in these permissive, forgiving states. (Remember, when studying their rap sheets, that criminals are usually cataloged under lesser crimes than the ones they actually committed, due to plea bargaining).

Plenty of voices opposed the idea, of course, but Republicans are a muzzled minority in such states, and the local press usually serves as house organs for the state Democratic party, so few listened to these warnings.

Project 21 Black Activists condemn nationwide rioting; applaud designating Antifa a terrorist group

Example of rioting destruction on Chicago's Magnificent Mile - photo by Mark Weyermuller 

WASHINGTON DC. – Saying people need to "stop rationalizing and excusing criminal activity," members of the Project 21 black leadership network condemned the politically motivated riots that have erupted across America, and applaud the possibility of Antifa being designated a domestic terrorist organization. 

Project 21 members condemned "the irrational, counterproductive and politically motivated nature of those rioting after the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis," according to a press release.

Pritzker to face another lawsuit - this one from Will County

MOKENA - Will County Board member Steve Balich says in a YouTube Wednesday that he just left his attorney's office - Bruggemann & Hurst in Mokena Illinois - after filing a federal lawsuit against Governor Pritzker and the state of Illinois for damages.  

Will County GOP Chairman George Pearson, Will County Board member Steve Balich, pet groomer Samantha L. Palya, a non-essential worker Amanda Hameran are all co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed with the US District Court Northern District of Illinois - Eastern Division.

"I've gotten all kinds of calls from businesses complaining about why they're not open," Balich said. "I don't have a good answer. People are suffering, people of my district are crying out to me to do something. So I filed this lawsuit." 

Pritzker faces lawsuits from two Republican lawmakers, as well as three Springfield business people: a hair salon owner and a restaurateur with two establishments. The cases argue the governor has neither constitutional nor statutory power to implement consecutive 30-day COVID-19 state of emergency orders. 

The Will County complaint focuses on the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment and the state of Illinois' Article 1, Section 15: 

Plainfield Law Firm says Pritzker's EOs impair fundamental rights; points to Obama-sponsored law

Updated Tuesday, May 12th - 

CHICAGO - In 2004, when state senator in Illinois, former President Barack Obama sponsored legislation that led to the "Illinois Emergency Management Act" - the same Illinois Department of Public Health policy guideline from which Governor JB Pritzker claims to have derived authority to issue his COVID-19 Executive Order 2020-10. 

Obama's 2004 legislation passed the Illinois Senate and House unanimously - but the key points of his bill placed epidemic guidance into the hands of the Illinois Department of Public Health, not the governor's office.

In a piece entitled "Barack Obama’s Sponsored Law Makes Governor Pritzker’s Stay-at-Home Orders Advisory," the Ivec Law Firm of Plainfield, Illinois suggests Pritzker's Executive Orders threaten Constitutional rights.

"To put into our context, Governor Pritzker has issued executive orders which impair a number of fundamental rights," Ivec's legal assessment says.

The Illinois Emergency Management Act - in Illinois statutes as 20 ILCS 3305/18 - states that emergency services and disaster agencies established under the act shall execute and enforce the orders, rules and regulations as may be made by the Governor. However, it does not say the citizens or businesses of our State are under the same obligation. [Ed.notation added]

"In short, the Governor cannot exercise more authority than that given to the Illinois Department of Public Health, who is the supreme authority in matters of quarantine and isolation," Ivec Law Firm says. "This power is limited by our Constitution and by both Statute and Regulations."

Di Leo: The Boy Scout Bankruptcy and American Tradition

By John F. Di Leo - 

The Boy Scouts of America have filed for bankruptcy protection. While they may survive in some revised form, smaller and weaker than before, the Boy Scouts of old, as a great institution in American life, may be no more.

Frankly, they have been on a downward trajectory for some time. In a world in which consumer-electronics, from cell phones to game consoles, have taken over the entertainment options for children, modernity itself contributed greatly to the Boy Scouts’ decline.

But there is a difference between a weakening and a destruction… a difference between the natural loss of popularity and a concerted effort to destroy.

Di Leo: St. Valentine's Day's Lesson for the Ages

By John F. Di Leo - 

Across the country, Saint Valentine’s Day is thought of as one of the great romantic date nights… unless you grow up as a Chicago Italian, in which case a very different kind of event comes to mind.

At 10:30 AM on February 14, 1929, at a usually quiet garage located at 2122 N Clark Street, one of the most memorable and defining dates in Chicago history occurred, when seven mobsters of the North Side Gang were killed by four other mobsters from a rival gang who were impersonating Chicago police officers.

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre is remembered as a cultural moment, one that defines 1920s Chicago.  It has long been cited by libertarians in their argument against prohibition, and has been a treasure trove for Hollywood screenwriters ever since.

Di Leo: Immigration, the Welfare State, and the Public Charge Rule

By John F. Di Leo -

Through a temporary stay of a lower court’s action, which is usually a signal about what they will decide in the end, the Supreme Court has hinted that it will soon settle one of those obvious questions that never should have needed to go to the Supreme Court in the first place:

In confirming the “public charge rule” in DHS v. NY, SCOTUS will confirm that a President of the United States has the right to refuse green cards to applicants for immigration who would be virtually certain to be dependent on welfare if we let them in.

In light of DMV voter registration "mistake," should Sec of State White resign?

CHICAGO - Should someone at the top of the Department of Motor Vehicles step down in light of the revelation that 574 non-citizens were "mistakenly" registered to vote last year? Illinois Review is running a survey on our Facebook page - asking their readers if Secretary of State Jesse White should resign.

Thus far overwhelmingly, participants are saying "Yes, White should resign." Voice your opinion.

DHS Strategy on Human Trafficking Aims to Put Issue Front and Center

Americans need to be talking more about the problem of human trafficking in order to successfully combat it, the nation’s acting homeland security secretary says. 

“We as Americans, again, are not talking enough about this issue,” Chad Wolf said during an event Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation, adding:

"Refugees" and "immigrants" - the same, or very different in Illinois?

Sign located on a Pilsen neighborhood church in Chicago

WEST CHICAGO - Immigration could be a key issue in Chicago's western suburbs next November as Republicans fight to retake control of the U.S. House. But a letter in response to President Trump's executive order concerning refugee placement has opened the discussion in Illinois' purple DuPage County.

Earlier this week, President Trump told a group of young conservatives at a conference in West Palm Beach, "We believe our country should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans, not for criminal aliens. The open borders agenda of the radical left causes profound harm to poor, working-class Americans."

The debate erupting in DuPage County Illinois has come down to determining the difference between the terms "refugees" and "immigrants." If they're one and the same, Republican DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin is giving conservatives the impression he is shrugging off President Trump's views on protecting law-abiding Americans.

Wheaton Students Suing City of Chicago for Restricting Free Speech

Four Wheaton College students are suing the City of Chicago for its violation of their Constitutional right to free speech. The plaintiffs, Matt Swart, Jeremy Chong, Gabriel Emerson, and Caedon Hood, argue that certain aspects of Millennium Park’s rules severely hinder First Amendment rights for all within a public forum.

According to new Millennium Park rules which were made public on April 2, 2019, visitors must secure permits to discuss religion or partake in any other speech or display, and even then can only do so in one corner of the Park, away from central activities. The rules also state without explanation that one visitor may not disrupt another’s enjoyment of amenities or performances in any way, which opens the opportunity for a situation in which essentially anyone can shut down speech or activities they deem offensive.

Pierce: When Vocabulary Aids Those Who Degrade Society

By Sam Pierce - 

Perhaps some of us on the right struggle with vocabulary more than others. Some can speak or write eloquently and impact policy or its perception. Still others string words together in an artful yet shallow manner. it really does seem that vocabulary and phraseology are often stumbling blocks or at least challenges to effective communication of arguments for life, liberty, and property.

The challenge presents itself on multiple fronts. The most egregious and dastardly of these are the intentional misleading abuse of language by the enemies of society on the left. The trickiest challenge, though, comes from the actual broad definitions of politically charged words such as abortion, immigrant, and gender.

Pot Promoters' ad paints Illinois entering "Age of Aquarius"

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois appears to be entering the "Age of Aquarius" where "harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust" abound - at least that's what pot promoters are giddy about.

Pot promoters "Protect 30" are running ads on Facebook that delight in both Democrats and Republicans supporting their effort to get rich quick by legalizing marijuana consumption in Illinois. 

It's going to be great in Illinois with marijuana everywhere - the black market will end, jobs will be created, tax revenue generated, and pot smokers will no longer go to jail. How much better can things get? their ads convey.

Employers' liability for IL employee toxic substance exposure now longer than 25 years

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Trial lawyers won another victory last week when Governor Pritzker signed into law a bill that expands the state's workers' compensation program - making an already-dreaded liability monster even bigger and more powerful. Pritzker signed SB 1596, lengthening the time for which Illinois employers will be responsible for employees' medical conditions connected with toxic substance exposure.  
 
The new law lifts the 25-year statute of limitation on claims for people diagnosed with latent diseases after exposure to toxic substances (such as asbestos, radiation, beryllium) in the workplace. And that's a good thing, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association says.

Thorner: The so-called "Equality Act" is really an "anti-Christian Act"

Almost half of states and hundreds of local governments have adopted laws enshrining "sexual orientation and gender identity" protections. But under the Equality Act bill, the policy would go national, and would be forced on churches, domestic-abuse shelters, Christian schools, and much more.

By Nancy Thorner - 

The Equality Act was jointly introduced in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate on March 13, 2019, with the support of both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, national civil rights organizations (including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League and the Human Rights Campaign), international human rights organizations (including Human Rights Watch), major professional associations (including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Bar Association), and major businesses (including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, eBay, IBM, Facebook, Twitter, Visa, Mastercard, Intel, and Netflix).

Rossi: Legal Pot - the Last Nail in Illinois’ Coffin

By Randy Rossi - 

Dear fellow Illinoisans, have we all gone insane?

We have allowed our crooked politicians to almost destroy the once magnificent “Land of Lincoln” by our ignorance and voter apathy. Because of that ignorance and apathy, Illinois has become the most bankrupt state in the Union with the lowest bond ratings in America.

On top of that, we have seen more governors that we elected sent to prison than any other state! Even a high level FBI executive said Illinois is the most politically crooked state in America. And because of all that insanity and corruption, people and jobs are fleeing Illinois. And to make all that worse, our new governor wants you to allow him to change the Illinois Constitution so that he can tax even more of your money.

You know, he is the governor that took the toilets out of his house to pay less real-estate taxes!

Di Leo: Closing the Book on Mueller Investigation, Writing Chapters to Come

By John F. Di Leo -

After over two years, the dust is finally settling on the Mueller investigation.  The report is out, and it clearly shows what all but the uninformed and the most partisan leftists knew all along: Not only was the allegation of Trump-Russia collusion poppycock from the beginning, but more importantly, the very investigation was unfounded, a hit job that its instigators planned as a sort of internal coup, designed to either take down the administration through a framed impeachment or to utterly hamstring the Trump-Pence administration and reduce its effectiveness.

There is much yet to be done, and it is clear that William Barr was the right man for the job of Attorney General at this point.  We need to investigate the investigators – to determine exactly who, and how many, were responsible for turning the federal bureaucracy into a political weapon.  Some have acted more like the secret police of the communist world, or like the dirty cops who sometimes plant evidence and convict the innocent in our own cities, shaming an otherwise honorable profession with their tyranny.

Thorner: Beware state lawmakers pushing legalized pot

By Nancy Thorner - 

Public town hall events are currently being held throughout Illinois with one purpose: to advance legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults.

The Highland Park Library, hosted by the City of Highland Park, sponsored a town hall discussion Saturday, April 13, from 10-11:30 a.m. In the announcement blurb, individuals of all viewpoints were encouraged to attend to ask questions and learn all about the proposed cannabis legislation. About 100 attended. 

The panel included Representative Bob Morgan (D - 58th District); Senator Julie Morrison (D - 29th District); and State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago), sponsor of Senate Bill 7.  It has been two years since the Steans/Cassidy bill legalizing recreational pot was first introduced in Illinois.

Following brief introductions by Representative Bob Morgan and Senator Julie Morrison, Senator Heather Steans gave a Power Point presentation on Cannabis Legalization, designed to convince those in attendance that Illinois knows what it is doing, and that its recreational marijuana program will be well designed for positive results.  As Steans suggested, in some states legalization of recreational marijuana was achieved by referendum.  Doing it legislatively in Illinois is the better way, she said, as it will reflect the feedback received over the past twenty-four months.

Could Trump be banned from Illinois' 2020 ballot?

CHICAGO - Could President Trump be banned from being included on Illinois' 2020 primary or general election ballot?  It's possible, if the Democrat majority in the Illinois General Assembly has their way. 

This week, the Illinois Senate passed along party lines a bill that would require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to be on the Illinois ballot. The requirement does not include other federal or state candidates.

Di Leo: Crime & Punishment: Lasting Effects of the Russian Collusion Hoax

By John F. Di Leo - 

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only a couple years ago that we learned that the U.S. Department of Justice had opened up an investigation to determine whether or not Donald Trump was actually a Russian agent... an investigation that has dominated our news cycle 24/7 ever since.

It was so ludicrous, it was difficult for some of us to take it seriously, but it was a real investigation, so it had to have some foundation. It just HAD to.

Two years later, the Mueller Commission presented its report to the Attorney General, acknowledging that there was nothing there. Not just that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to bring a case against the President, but more importantly, Americans have connected the dots and understood that it was a hoax all along, that it was never justified in the least, that the charges were based on a fabricated dossier created by crooked foreign players for a Democratic Party political campaign, that it represented a gross abuse of the Patriot Act's FISA court structure and a warping of the very mission of the DoJ.

Di Leo: A Tale of Two Hoaxes: Smollett's vs Mueller's

Should such a crime – the entire Mueller Commission, its advocates and its publicists – be simply swept under the rug and be forgotten?

By John F. Di Leo - 

When I was a youngster – shall we say, college through my teens – I occasionally exceeded posted speed limits. Not all the time, of course, and not so wildly to be a danger to the road, but often enough that I got to know Chicago’s “supervision” program rather well.

In Cook County, there is a time-honored tradition that minor traffic offenses – almost always speeding tickets – can be disposed of by going to court and saying “I’d like to stipulate guilt, your honor, and request court supervision in recognition of my otherwise excellent driving record.”

El Paso widow recalls husband's 2015 disappearance, pleads for Border Wall

EL PASO - "Moms for America" visited with a woman in El Paso that lost her husband to violent drug cartels that invaded their ranch on the Mexican border. 

On behalf of Moms for America, Will County's Debbie Kraulidis interviewed Liz Uribe-Sinclair, whose husband disappeared in 2015 after Mexican gang members threatened him for testifying against them in a crime case.

28 Illinois nursing homes fined during 2018's last quarter

One of 28 nursing homes fined in 2018's last quarter

SPRINGFIELD – Twenty-eight Illinois nursing homes violated the state's Nursing Home Care Act during the last three months of 2018, a report from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said this week. The fines were made public on the IDPH's website.

The facilities listed below were cited with type “A” violations of the Nursing Home Care Act and processed between October-December 2018.  An “A” violation pertains to a condition in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm will result, or has resulted.

A facility may contest an assessment of a penalty by sending a written request to the Department for hearing, IDPH spokesperson Melaney Arnold said in an email. Upon receipt of the request the Department shall hold a hearing.

Instead of a hearing a facility may, Illinois law says, within 10 business days after receipt of the notice of violation and fine assessment, transmit to the Department 65% of the amount assessed for each violation specified in the penalty assessment.

Di Leo: Facts, Politics and the Media

 

By John F. Di Leo - 

As schoolchildren, we were told “Thank Heaven for the First Amendment!” Our free press ensures that we know what’s going on, and guarantees that we can make informed choices on Election Day.

It’s a wonderful idea… but is it really possible?  Was it ever, really?

Let’s consider just a few stories now in the news, and how they are being reported by reputable sources in the mainstream media… issues like the border wall, the Supreme Court, and the government shutdown.

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.