January 2, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— 2026 elections: What to know about major political races in Illinois this year
https://abc7chicago.com/post/2026-elections-what-know-illinois-governor-election-chicago-mayoral-midterm/18339645/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push medical pot to push recreational pot. Pot is poison, In 2019. I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/schaumburg-illinois-family-fights-keep-access-daughter-ashley-surins-medical-marijuana-patches/18340448/

WBBM
— New laws: Illinois education measures focus on immigrant rights in the classroom. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly replace American students with foreign students.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-laws-illinois-education-measures-focus-on-immigrant-rights-ai-in-the-classroom/ar-AA1Tiv7W

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: DD: Chicago Democrat leaders take credit for fewer murders.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/01/01/chicago-crime-murder-homicide-shooting-president-trump-mayor-johnson

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) flood America with their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/02/opinion-illinois-health-worker-shortage-immigration-raids/

NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-01-02/how-the-trump-administrations-freeze-on-child-care-funding-will-affect-families

ADVANTAGE NEWS
— Madison County Democrats make endorsements for 2026. DD: Officially, the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC), and Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) do not endorse candidates in contested primaries, but unofficially, they do. I know that from being an IRP, DCRCC, and MTRO Precinct Committeeman (PC) since 1999. I know that the aforesaid organizations severely punish and do everything that they can to get rid of PCs who support Republican primary candidates who they did not endorse. I should write about that. I would focus on candidates on Republican primary ballots in my precinct since 2000 who I supported, but the aforesaid organizations did not endorse. I would focus on how they continue to severely punish me and do everything that they can to get rid of me because I supported Pat O’Malley instead of Jim Ryan in the 2002 Republican gubernation primary. Further, I would focus on what the aforesaid organizations have done to me because I supported candidates who they did not endorse in nonpartisan rases in Wheaton. I would focus on what they have done to me because I supported Alan Bolds for Wheaton Mayor instead of Mike Gresk in 2007.
https://www.advantagenews.com/news/local/madison-county-dems-make-endorsements-for-2026/article_485d59b7-3a9c-4c7e-afac-b918eca9a2f8.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Madison County Democrats met recently to choose candidates for endorsement in the 2026 primary elections. A total of 72 precinct committee members took part in the process. Following discussion and deliberation, they voted to issue endorsements in a wide range of federal, state, and county races, while choosing to remain neutral in several contested races.)

WREX
— New laws: Illinois education measures focus on immigrant rights in the classroom. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly replace American students with foreign students.
https://www.wrex.com/news/top-stories/new-laws-illinois-education-measures-focus-on-immigrant-rights-ai-in-the-classroom/article_97824d6c-b7e4-47f7-8668-78ec7b201c72.html

DAILY LINE
— Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Heidner raises more than $1.5M in large donations in fourth quarter
https://www.thedailyline.com/republican-gubernatorial-candidate-rick-heidner-raises-1-5m-large-donations-fourth-quarter

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Gubernatorial Forum Set by McHenry Township Republican Party. DD: If I was still the chairman of TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois and a member of the Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee, the organizations would still be hosting candidate forums.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/02/gubernatorial-forum-set-by-mchenry-township-republican-party/
— Young People Find Fraud Across the USA
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/15614/
— Illinois Labor Department Rolls Out Accomplishments
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/illinois-labor-department-rolls-out-accomplishments/
— Another New Year’s Day Cartoon
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/another-new-years-day-cartoon/
— How Are New Year’s Resolutions Like Campaign Promises?
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/how-are-new-years-resolutions-like-campaign-promises/
— Bruce Leon “Pauses” Campaign for 9th District Democratic Party Congressional Nomination
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/12/31/bruce-leon-pauses-campaign-for-9th-district-democratic-party-congressional-nomination/
— Tribune 2026 First Baby Story Doesn’t Mention the $1,000 Trump Account for Which He Is Eligible
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/tribune-2026-first-baby-story-doesnt-mention-the-1000-trump-account-for-which-he-is-eligible/
— Fox River Grove Creating A New Tax Increment Financing District
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/01/01/fox-river-grove-creating-a-new-tax-increment-financing-district/

ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Pensions make homeownership unaffordable in Illinois. DD: What is your attitude toward pensions and toward those who get them? My critics/opponents despise/hate my Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension and my and my wife’s 72% federal health insurance subsidy and therefore, they despise/hate me. In my defense, I would not have become a postal employee when I was 18 in 1966 if my high school friend had not asked me to join him in taking the postal employment examination. I would not have become an IRS employee when I was 22 if my Firestone Store boss had not rudely fired me because I had accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile that Oldsmobile withdrew because it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. I paid 7% of my Post Office, IRS, and GAO salaries into the CSRS.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pensions-make-homeownership-unaffordable-in-illinois/

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— $22 Billion Wasted: Pritzker’s Big Government Spree Bleeds Illinois Dry as Residents Flee and Taxes Soar
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2026/01/22-billion-wasted-pritzkers-big-government-spree-bleeds-illinois-dry-as-residents-flee-and-taxes-soar.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

NEW YORK POST
— Mamdani’s lies about the rich are only meant to demonize — they already foot NYC’s bills
https://nypost.com/2026/01/01/opinion/mamdanis-lies-about-the-rich-are-only-meant-to-demonize-they-already-foot-nycs-bills/

CHRISTIAN NEWS
— Mamdani takes oath of office on Quran, becomes first NYC mayor to do so
https://christiannews.net/2026/01/02/zohran-mamdani-takes-oath-of-office-on-quran-becomes-first-nyc-mayor-to-do-so/

COLLEGE FIX
— DePaul University trains students on how to run pot shops. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push pot. Pot is poison. In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/depaul-university-trains-students-on-how-to-run-pot-shops/

DAILY SIGNAL
— 4 Things to Expect From the Trump Administration in 2026
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/01/01/what-expect-trump-administration-2026/

FOX NEWS
— Mamdani’s WOKE policies will bankrupt the city
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay79V7Jmw8I
— Black Republican calls for total, permanent abolition of DEI: ‘I want to earn every opportunity on merit.’  ‘I never want to be chosen, promoted, or rewarded because of how I look,’ Rep. Wesley Hunt noted. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors promoted over me were Democrats who a) were minority, female, younger than me, and/or veteran and/or b) had less work experience than I had, had less education than I had, had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/black-republican-calls-total-permanent-abolition-dei-i-want-earn-every-opportunity-merit

LEGAL INSURRECTION
— Northwestern University Publishes Strategies to Anchor DEI in University Policies
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/01/northwestern-university-publishes-strategies-to-anchor-dei-in-university-policies/amp/

PJ MEDIA
— The Great Replacement Chronicles: White-Knighting For the Somalis. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly replace those who have demographics that vote for Republicans with those who have demographics that vote for Democrats.
https://pjmedia.com/benbartee/2026/01/01/the-great-replacement-chronicles-white-knighting-for-the-somalis-n4947770

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CBS NEWS
— Records reveal Minnesota’s long history with day care fraud warnings
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-day-care-fraud-warning-records/

MSN
— Mamdani takes oath on Quran as He is sworn in as New York mayor
https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/zohran-mamdani-takes-oath-on-quran-as-he-is-sworn-in-as-new-york-mayor/ar-AA1TnZ5H

NEW YORK TIMES
— Mamdani Vows to Govern ‘Audaciously’ and Protect New York’s Vulnerable. DD: According to Democrats and according to RINOs, those who are liberal/moderate, non-Republican, noncitizen, non-rich, minority, female, younger, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time NEED PROTECTION from those who are conservative, Republican, American, non-poor, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Democrats and RINOs ever-increasingly promise to provide that PROTECTION.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/nyregion/mamdani-inauguration-mayor.html
— Minnesota Families Are Rattled by Threat to Cut Federal Aid for Child Care. After the federal government threatened to withhold funds for Minnesota’s child-care program, citing fraud concerns, parents and providers warned that the effects could be dire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/us/minnesota-child-care-funding-impact-fraud.html

USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: DD: Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, there will be more and more and more homeless.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/12/28/number-of-homeless-students-jumps/87620804007/
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2025/12/30/us-students-forced-to-deal-with-reality-of-homelessness/87961285007/
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2025/12/30/americas-growing-number-of-homeless-students/87959473007/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/12/17/homelessness-crisis-caregiving/87381952007/
— Donald Trump’s whirlwind year changed America. Here are eight ways.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2025/12/30/donald-trump-changing-america/87605660007/

NEWS NATION NOW
— Trump says fraud in California, New York, Illinois worse than Minnesota
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/trump-fraud-california-new-york-illinois-worse-minnesota/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly a) flood America with their illegals, and b) fight their deportation. Democrat leaders because illegals vote for Democrats. RINO leaders because RINOs want cheap labor.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/why-trump-is-quickly-losing-hispanic-support-aa88d8d0
— The Hindu Attacks on India’s Christians. Modi stays silent as chauvinists in his party assault the religious minority.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-hindu-attacks-on-indias-christians-269f6d83

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
— In Unsteady Times, Job Seekers Need a Reality Check. Mentors Can Help. DD: What happened to those who helped your career? I should write the IRS manager who promoted me to GS-9 in 1972, GS-11 in 1973, and GS-12 in 1974. Because he did that, my Democrat IRS superiors forced him to transfer to Dallas. I should write about the GAO manager who arranged my transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980 and who was finally able to assign me to audits or IRS and to promote me to GS-13 in 1986. Because he did that, my Democrat GAO superiors forced him to retire in 1987. To get rid of me, my Democrat IRS superiors disallowed my travel vouchers in 1974, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and never promoted me to GS-13. To get rid of me, my Democrat GAO superiors a) forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars, a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-9 Step 10, to transfer, b) delayed my promotions back to GS-12 Step 5, c) kept me off audits of IRS except 1986-1988, d) never promoted me to GS-14, e) always ranked me in the bottom of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and f) forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. In today’s dollars, my Civil Service Retirement System pension is less that what my IRS salary was when I was 23 in 1972.
https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/job-seekers-need-a-reality-check-mentors-can-help

BANKING RATES
— Inflation Affects the Cost of Raising a Child. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors and supervisors always decried their cost of their raising their children. They all had spouses who had little or no income. They hinted/implied/argued/shouted that GAO employees who had children should be paid more than GAO employees who did not have children. They viciously used against me my and my wife’s giving up trying to have children, our not adopting, and our not becoming foster parents. They hinted/implied/argued/shouted that if my wife and I had children, I would not have been able to a) pass the CPA on my first attempt in 1979, b) earn a master’s degree in accounting in 1980, c) pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination in my first attempt in 1981, or d) become a licensed CPA in 1981. They stressed that without my wife’s income and savings, we would not have been able to a) buy a home in Wheaton in 1978, b) buy two new cars in 1978, c) have a new home built in Wheaton in 1984, d) etc.
https://www.aol.com/inflation-affects-cost-raising-child-120605680.html

AARP
— What to Do if You’re Forced Into Early Retirement. DD: Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, the more of the following that you are, the more that you should anticipate/expect that you will be forced to retire early: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America fora long time. I should write about that. Are you retired? I have been retired since I was 49 years old in 1997. If you are retired, were you forced to retire? I was. What would the rest of your employment had been like if you had not retired? If I had not retired when I did, I would not have eligible to retire for another 6 years. My Democrat GAO superiors had made it extremely clear that if I did not retire, they would make those 6 years a living hell. They would constructively if not literally demote me. They would give me adverse transfers. They would give me bad job assignments. They would give me unfair performance expectations. They would give me unfair performance appraisals. They would rank me at the bottom of my coworkers for pay-for-performance. They would treat me like they had treated me in 1989. They could do all of the aforesaid because GAO was not unionized. GAO did not unionize until 2007. I considered asking my Congressman Henry Hyde to come to my defense like I had done in 1989, but I decided not to. There were too many around Hyde who were against me. Further, my Democrat GAO superiors had taken so many big adverse actions against me, I could not see myself surviving another them for another 6 years. But nevertheless, I will always ask myself, what would have happened if I had again asked Hyde to come to my defense. His coming to my defense in 1989 enabled me to survive until 1997. It motived me to earn job-related professional certifications in 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997. It motived me to earn a job-related master’s degree in 1997.
https://www.aarp.org/money/retirement/forced-into-early-retirement/

FROM FOREIGN SOURCES

KHALEEJ TIMES
— Mam­dani takes oath on Holy Quran, becomes NYC’S first Muslim mayor
https://www.pressreader.com/uae/khaleej-times/20260102/281801405328872

FINANCIAL EXPRESS
— Three Qurans, One Historic Moment: Mamdani Sworn In as NYC Mayor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHhlYw7y8A4

FROM OTHER SOURCES

MED CITY NEWS
— The Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) Adoption Gap Is Worse Than You Think. DD: I have type 2 diabetes. I delayed using a CGM because my Medicare and BC/BS insurance does cover it. But recently, I bought a Stelo CGM using Amazon for $100/month. It has immediately shown that my glucose spikes to over 250 after I eat, that is, I have high hyperglycemia. I am anxiously awaiting my diabetes doctor’s instructions.
https://medcitynews.com/2025/12/cgm-diabetes-healthcare/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A new study found that continuous glucose monitors can cut healthcare costs by about 20% while also improving outcomes for insulin-dependent diabetes patients, largely by reducing hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Despite these benefits and broad insurance coverage, roughly 80% of eligible patients still are not using the technology — highlighting a significant adoption gap.)

Author: David Diersen

The opinions that I express in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are based on experience that I have gained doing many things since 1948. I base my opinions on what I learned a) working for the federal government for almost 30 years -- Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter 1983-1996, and being a union member while I worked for the Post Office and IRS; b) earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, a masters degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, and a masters degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997; c) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and passing the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981; c) serving as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000, the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois Chairman 2005-2012, a member of the 2008 Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Platform and Resolutions Committee, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member 2003-2011, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster 2008-2010 and 2000-2004, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007, and an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member 2001-2004; d) attending the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 IRP State Conventions as a delegate; e) being the subject of a nasty 4-page article in the February 1978 issue of Money Magazine; f) pursing litigation including Diersen v. GAO and Diersen v. Chicago Car Exchange; g) being married since 1978; h) living in Crete 1948-1972, in University Park 1972-1976, in Chicago 1976-1978, and in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 1978; and i) being baptized, raised, and confirmed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran.