ABC7
— Lang announces resignation as House Deputy Majority Leader after harassment allegations – Craig Wall
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/lang-announces-resignation-as-house-deputy-majority-leader-after-harassment-allegations/3545128/
NBC5
— Trump Considering Pardon for Blagojevich, He Tells Reporters Trump said he was considering pardoning or commuting the sentence for Blagojevich, who was a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice”
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Trump-Considering-Pardon-for-Blagojevich-He-Tells-Reporters-484182181.html
— Illinois House Sends Governor Bill Raising Teacher Salaries
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/illinois-house-sends-governor-bill-raising-teacher-salaries-484155291.html
— House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang Resigning From Political Leadership Post After Accusation of Harassment, Abuse
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/denise-rotheimer-woman-to-accuse-lawmaker-of-abuse-484182271.html
CBS2
— Mitt Romney Says He Voted For His Wife In 2016
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/05/31/romney-voted-for-wife-2016/
WGN TV
— Lou Lang leaves Democratic leadership position amid harassment allegations
http://wgntv.com/2018/05/31/lou-lang-leaves-democratic-leadership-position-amid-harassment-allegations/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois House approves state budget; Rauner says he’ll approve – Kim Geiger, Monique Garcia
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-illinois-legislature-budget-final-day-20180531-story.html
— Fatalities linked to ‘drugged’ driving keep rising – Mary Wisniewski
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-biz-drugged-driving-20180530-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A growing percentage of drivers who die in road crashes test positive for drugs, and states need to do a better job of educating the general public and law enforcement on the risks of driving while on marijuana, opioids and other substances, according to a new report. The Governors Highway Safety Association, a national nonprofit safety group, said in a report released Thursday that almost 44 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs in 2016, the most recent year available, up from almost 28 percent in 2006. Meanwhile, the percentage of drivers killed in crashes who tested positive for alcohol dropped slightly to 38 percent in 2016 compared with 41 percent in 2006, the study found. Drunken driving has become socially unacceptable, and the same thing needs to happen with other substances, said Jim Hedlund, a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official who wrote the report. “The message has been out on drunk driving for 40 years now, and people have paid attention,” Hedlund said. “There’s a real social change that says it’s not acceptable to have two six-packs and go out and drive. The slogan years ago was: ‘Let’s have one for road.’ Now it’s: ‘Who’s the designated driver?’ I’d like to see the same thing for drugs.” A mix of substances were also found among drivers killed in fatal crashes. When test results for both alcohol and drugs were known, 49 percent of alcohol-positive drivers also had drugs in their systems. The report points to the challenges in tackling drug-impaired driving, including a lack of nationally accepted testing methods for drug impairment, the large number of drugs to test for and differences in effects between different drugs and drivers.)
— Chicago police lieutenant, married to top cop, files discrimination complaint against CPD – Jeremy Gorner
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-superintendent-wife-complaint-20180531-story.html
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Lang resigns leader post but blasts accuser as disgruntled medical pot profiteer – Tina Sfondeles
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/state-rep-lou-lang-accused-of-harassing-springfield-activist/
— ‘Realistic’ budget heads to Gov. Rauner’s desk after bipartisan ‘love fest’ – Tina Sfondeles
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/budget-bills-heading-to-gov-rauners-desk-after-bipartisan-passage/
— Trump says he might commute Blagojevich’s sentence – AP (DIERSEN: Should I request a pardon from Trump? My Democrat superiors in the federal government took many adverse actions against me. My Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, gave me unfair performance expectations and appraisals, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, did not promote me beyond GS-13, got rid of my mentor in 1987, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, and forced me to take an $19,203 pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980. My Democrat IRS superiors did not promote me beyond GS-12, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, got rid of my mentor in 1975, and disallowed my partial day per diem claims in 1974. My Democrat Post Office superiors forced me resign in 1969 and disallowed my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968. They would not have taken the aforesaid adverse actions against me if I had been a Democrat, a minority, a female, or a veteran.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/donald-trump-rod-blagojevich-commute-martha-stewart-pardon/
— Wife of Chicago’s top cop files complaint accusing CPD of discrimination – Fran Spielman and Frank Main
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/wife-chicago-police-superintendent-eddie-johnson-files-eeoc-complaint-chicago-police-department/
DAILY HERALD
— With cap lifted, Wheeling hearing from video gambling interests – Chacour Koop (DIERSEN: Gambling is a vice. If you promote gambling, you promote vice.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/business/20180531/with-cap-lifted-wheeling-hearing-from-video-gambling-interests
— Easy entry into Oregon’s legal pot market means huge surplus – AP
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20180531/news/305319984/
— AS THE DEMOCRAT PARTY’S STRANGLEHOLD ON ILLINOIS TIGHTENS: DIERSEN HEADLINE: More and more and more students are in need.
http://www.dailyherald.com/submitted/20180531/groups-raising-money-for-dupage-students-in-need–
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Budget passes General Assembly, heads to Rauner’s desk – Bloomberg
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180531/NEWS02/180539952/budget-passes-general-assembly-heads-to-rauners-desk
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180531/NEWS02/180539952/budget-passes-general-assembly-and-rauner-promises-to-sign-it
— Budget deal or no, Moody’s isn’t satisfied – GREG HINZ
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180531/BLOGS02/180539960/budget-deal-or-no-moodys-isnt-satisfied
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Illinois House approves state budget, sends it to Rauner – Doug Finke
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20180531/illinois-house-approves-state-budget-sends-it-to-rauner
WQAD
— Madigan right-hand man resigns after being accused of sexual harassment
http://wqad.com/2018/05/31/madigan-right-hand-man-resigns-after-being-accused-of-sexual-harassment/
— Ruling that Trump’s Twitter blocks are unconstitutional may affect elected officials in Illinois
http://wqad.com/2018/05/31/expert-ruling-that-trumps-twitter-blocks-are-unconstitutional-may-affect-elected-officials-in-illinois/
ILLINOIS HOUSE GOP
— Rep. Ives Calls Out Partisan Attack on President Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NEFUeBjVBc&feature=youtu.be
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally Declines to Prosecute Former Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Bob Miller
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2018/05/31/states-attorney-patrick-kenneally-declines-prosecute-former-algonquin-township-road-commissioner-bob-miller/
UPSTREAM IDEAS
— “It’s a certified terrible frat house,” is the way a sexual harassment victim coming forward today describes Springfield.
https://mailchi.mp/upstream-ideas/illinois-financial-grade-f-251685?e=6f5c563571
CAPITOL FAX
— Rep. Lang press conference to respond to allegations
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/live-video-rep-lang-press-conference-to-respond-to-allegations/
— Speaker Madigan responds to allegations against Lang
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/speaker-madigan-responds-to-allegations-against-lang/
— Rep. Lou Lang responds to allegations
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/rep-lou-lang-responds-to-allegations/
— Alleged abuse victim’s press conference
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/live-video-alleged-abuse-victims-press-conference/
— Alleged victim appears on Proft’s radio show
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/alleged-victim-appears-on-profts-radio-show/
— Legislators, governor avoid addressing bill backlog in budget agreement
https://capitolfax.com/2018/05/31/legislators-governor-avoid-addressing-bill-backlog-in-budget-agreement/
LIFE SITE NEWS
— Illinois on the brink of forcing schools to teach ‘LGBT history’ – Calvin Freiburger
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/illinois-bill-would-force-public-schools-to-teach-lgbt-history
— J.Crew markets LGBT ‘pride’ clothes to kids – Calvin Freiburger
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/j.crew-markets-lgbt-pride-clothes-to-kids
WESTERN JOURNALISM
— Trump Flushes Out Swamp with Civil Service Exec. Orders – Dick Morris (DIERSEN: Because my Democrat superiors in the federal government took many adverse actions against me, including forced me to retire, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes hint/imply/argue/shout that I am much worse than those who “have been caught stealing agency property or running personal businesses from work, and even after they have been arrested for using drugs during lunch breaks.”)
https://www.westernjournal.com/dick-morris-trump-flushes-out-swamp-with-civil-service-exec-orders/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: And most importantly, the standards for dismissing, removing or demoting public employees are going to be changed to make these procedures easier. It now takes between six months and a year to remove a tenured federal employee for poor performance and an additional eight months to handle appeals. That makes tenured federal employees forty-four times less likely to get laid off than workers in the private sector. Under this flawed system, federal employees have stayed on the job after they have been caught stealing agency property or running personal businesses from work, and even after they have been arrested for using drugs during lunch breaks. These people need to go. But there is one more step Trump must take: banning IRS labor unions. We do not permit employees of the FBI, CIA, NSA or other such agencies to form or join unions. IRS employees, however, belong to the all-powerful Treasury Employees Union, whose contract grants them a substantial role in the management of this all-powerful agency.)
THE HILL
— GAO says White House is blocking its investigations – JULIA MANCHESTER
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/390060-gao-says-white-house-is-ignoring-its-questions
POLITICO
— White House stonewalling GAO – MEL LEONOR (DIERSEN: I worked for GAO 1980-1997.)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/31/trump-white-house-government-accountability-office-615355
WASHINGTON POST
— Nearly 60% of drug-tested drivers killed in U.S. crashes had pot or opioids in their system, report says – Fredrick Kunkle
https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/news/tripping/wp/2018/05/31/nearly-60-percent-of-drivers-in-fatal-crashes-had-pot-or-opioids-in-their-system-new-report-says/
FEDERAL SOUP
–A House committee wants to know how a small agency improved morale – Sherkiya Wedgeworth (DIERSEN: My Democrat superiors in the federal government acted like their employees who were Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or non-veteran told them that their morale would improve dramatically if they did more to get rid of their employees who were Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who did not make GS-13 (currently $96,403) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $113,920) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $134,000) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $164,200) by age 40.)
https://federalsoup.com/articles/2018/05/30/house-committee-wants-to-know-how-small-agency-improved-morale.aspx
SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN
— Feinstein, Gillibrand, Murray, Warren Call on Government Accountability Office to Investigate Economic Effects of Sexual Harassment on U.S. Workforce (DIERSEN: What about the economic effects of patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation in the federal government? Because of the aforesaid, the federal government criminally wasted many millions of tax dollars to waste my career and to get rid of me.)
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=5B622A77-D6ED-46C0-9B86-E25F7C869258
PEOPLE’S WORLD
— Federal Reserve: Banks can speculate with your paychecks and your pension! – MARK GRUENBERG
http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/federal-reserve-banks-can-speculate-with-your-paychecks-and-your-pension/