March 8, 2026

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Illinois 2026 GOP primary for governor features four candidates and one familiar face but big donors sit out
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/08/illinois-2026-gop-primary-for-governor-features-four-candidates-and-one-familiar-face-but-big-donors-sit-out/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/08/column-kristi-noem-dhs-ice-congressional-hearing-firing-page/
— Supporters of Cook County’s guaranteed income program hold meeting to help shape distribution. DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. The money for that came from what I earned doing yard work 1962-1964, delivering newspapers 1962-1966, washing dishes 1964-1966, cleaning golf shoes and chipping slag in 1966, pumping gasoline in 1966, 1971, and 1972, delivering mail 1966-1969, working on an automotive assembly line in 1970, selling tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971, collecting delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980, and auditing federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/07/cook-county-guaranteed-income-program/
— DuPage undersheriff and sheriff hopeful placed on leave less than 2 weeks before March primary
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/dupage-sheriff-hopeful-eddie-moore-placed-on-leave/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Chicago short nearly 225,000 affordable rental units for its poorest residents. There are only 31 affordable homes for rent for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in Chicago, according to a new report released this Thursday.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate/2026/03/06/chicago-225-000-affordable-rental-units-poorest-residents-nlihc-report

DAILY HERALD
— Illinois, Cook County wipe out $2B in medical debt for pennies on dollar
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260307/health-care/i-didnt-believe-it-illinois-cook-county-wipe-out-2b-in-medical-debt-for-pennies-on-dollar/

WGLT
— Trump vows to ‘take care of Cuba,’ praises Venezuela cooperation at summit
https://www.wglt.org/2026-03-07/trump-vows-to-take-care-of-cuba-praises-venezuela-cooperation-at-summit

CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Minimum wage? Keep it up, says Pritzker. A new proposal would raise it to $27 by 2032. DD: I did not start earning $27/hour in today’s dollars until 10 months after I had earned a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU in 1970.
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-minimum-wage-keep-it-up-says-pritzker/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Auditor general nomination approved unanimously in Illinois. FROM HIS BIOGRAPHY: Prior to joining IFA, Meister was Director of Legislative Affairs and Associate General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (2003-2007). Before his public service with the State of Illinois, Meister worked in private law practice. Meister was a law clerk for Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and DePaul University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
https://www.aol.com/articles/auditor-general-nomination-now-illinois-200400396.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Wednesday, the Illinois Senate approved Chris Meister, who is currently leading the Illinois Finance Authority, to be the new auditor. State Sen. Chapin Rose, who serves on the Legislative Audit Commission, said Meister suggested bringing back a deputy director position for the office. “At the end of the day, you’re getting someone with that breadth of government knowledge, extreme financial management experience,” said Rose, R-Mahomet. “And then I believe ultimately we’re also going to pick up, as a bonus, one of our other candidates. And at the end of the day, this body, and the entire General Assembly and frankly, the taxpayers of Illinois will be enormously well served with Mr. Meister at the helm.” The auditor general is responsible for financial audits and compliance examinations of state agencies. The office also performs audits approved by the Legislative Audit Commission. Wednesday, state Sen. Laura Ellman praised Rose’s nomination for Chris Meister to be the new auditor. “This was a once in a 10 year activity,” Ellman, D-Naperville, said of selecting a new auditor general. “Nobody was really good at it. But through that leadership, Senator Rose guided us all through it and really is a bicameral, bipartisan, effort. So I’m excited to see the next Legislative Audit Commission under Auditor General Meister.” After being unanimously approved by the Senate, Senate Joint Resolution 55 was also unanimously approved by the Illinois House Wednesday. The Illinois Auditor General office’s budget is $43.3 million from state taxpayer funds. The auditor’s salary is more than $197,000.)

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— If you are not retired, sooner or later, you will be. I have been involuntarily retired since I was 49 in 1997. After you retire, sooner or later, you will assess what helped and harmed your life. Things that helped my life the most include a) my parents and my teachers who encouraged conservatism and personal responsibility; that put me on tack to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license and b) my outstanding wife. Things that harmed my life the most include a) my not becoming a Democrat, b) my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) my not majoring in accounting from the beginning, d) my father’s sudden death when he was 47 and I was 21 in 1969, e) my complaining about political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination and my becoming an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my superiors with the aforesaid and the resultant many big adverse actions that my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and superiors tool against me, f) my volunteering myself to become the subject of a February 1978 Money Magazine “One Person’s Finances” article ( https://gopillinois.com/documents/ ), g) me and my wife giving up trying to have children without trying IVF, our not adopting, and our not becoming foster parents, h) Gingrich’s gutting GAO instead of reforming GAO, i) my filing grievances, arbitration demands, and lawsuits, and j) my remaining conservative while the Illinois Republican Party, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Milton Township Republican Organization became more and more and more anti-conservative. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— My critics/opponents want Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI a) because they have never paid the price of AA or DEI, b) because they benefit from AA and DEI, and/or c) they use AA and DEI to get rid of those who are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. QUESTION: Who pays the price of AA and DEI? ANSWER: Those who have less money than others and are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. My critics/opponents have never paid the price of AA or DEI, they benefit from AA, and/or they use AA and DEI to get rid of others. Their parents were wealthy and/or they are libera/moderate, minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. They stress that I am conservative, White, male, older (born in 1948), non-veteran (Vietnam War draft avoider), Protestant (Missouri Synod Lutheran), German American (100%), and my ancestors who have been in America since 1844. They falsely/outrageously/disgustingly/unethically hint/imply/argue/shout that my parents were wealthy. They ignore/dismiss/belittle/badmouth that I had to work my way through college. They falsely/outrageously/disgustingly/unethically hint/imply/argue/shout that I owe all my successes in life to my benefitting from discrimination against those who are libera/moderate, minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. AA and DEI are patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. Democrats and RINOs have always used AA and DEI to get rid of Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Joe Biden’s message at mostly-black Jesse Jackson funeral: ‘I’m a helluva lot smarter than most of you’
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/03/07/joe-bidens-message-at-mostly-black-jesse-jackson-funeral-im-a-helluva-lot-smarter-than-most-of-you-1626054/

DAILY SIGNAL
— Victor Davis Hanson on Trump’s Dream Iran Outcome
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/03/03/victor-davis-hanson-another-iran-quagmire-might-mean-big-losses-for-republicans-in-the-midterms/

LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY
— House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan Moves to Shut Down Sanctuary City Policies
https://lawenforcementtoday.com/hedtbd-house-judiciary-committee-chairman-jordan-to-mark-up-legislation-banning-sanctuary-jurisdictions

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

MSN
— Trump proposes freezing work permits for asylum seekers indefinitely. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have.
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/nigeria/trump-proposes-freezing-work-permits-for-asylum-seekers-indefinitely/ar-AA1WNeOz

NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Colleges Respond to Upswing in Disability Diagnoses. DD: My father never attended college. His doctor discouraged him from attending because he had brittle type 1 diabetes. The belief was that the stress would kill him. He frequently decried his not having a college degree. That encouraged me to get one. He died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/us/colleges-students-disabilities-enrollment.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Housing is so expensive that people earning $200,000 qualify for help. Data shared with The Post shows that home-buying assistance programs across the U.S. have been raising their income threshold requirements. DD: Back in the good old days, that is, back when I was 24 in 1972, I was able to buy a new townhome ( https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/774-Sunset-Ct-5-University-Park-IL-60484/5451474_zpid/ ). The down payment came from the money I earned working for IRS for 15 months and for a Firestone Store part-time for 18 months and full-time for 7 months before that. That money I earned also enabled me to buy a new 1972 Corvette in 1971 and to pay for four graduate evening business courses at Loyola in 1972. In 1972, my IRS salary increased from $56,409/year to $68,999year in today’s dollars. According to Zillow, the townhome is currently worth $87,100.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/05/housing-costs-down-payment-assistance-eligibility/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Brendi Bluitt didn’t think she fit the typical profile of someone needing public assistance to pay for housing. She had a good job in public relations, earning $80,000 a year. But she qualified for D.C.’s home-purchase-assistance program, and she ended up getting an interest-free loan of more than $84,000. She had to contribute only $1,000 from her savings to buy her $376,000 condo.)

LOS ANGELES TIMES
— ‘Christ is king’ becomes a loaded phrase in U.S. political debates. DD: According to communists, socialists, and Democrats, government is king.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-03-05/christ-is-king-becomes-loaded-phrase-in-u-s-political-debates-especially-on-right

BOSTON GLOBE
— No bright side to the shift of minority students out of elite schools. DD: According to my critics/opponents, degrees from non-elite schools are worthless, that is, my 1980 NIU, 1976 Loyola, 1980 DePaul, and 1997 IIT degrees are worthless.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/08/opinion/letters-affirmative-action-minority-students/

SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE
— Trump law­suit could elim­in­ate affirm­at­ive action in work­places. DD: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/south-bend-tribune/20260308/281642491669693

POST BULLETIN
— No room for divided allegiance. DD: To come to America is to come under America’s elected leaders. How many are in America who owe their allegiance to foreign countries?
https://www.postbulletin.com/news/let-no-room-for-divided-allegiance

FORBES
— DD: Google, Facebook, and YouTube exist a) to promote the Democrat Party platform and b) to elect Democrats.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelicamarideoliveira/2026/02/12/what-excessive-social-media-means-for-older-adults/
— According to Democrats, standardized tests do not measure how much students learned or can learn, but instead measurer the family and community capital of students. The most important tests that I passed were the CPA examination in 1979 and Certified Internal Auditor examination in 1981, both of which I passed on my first attempt, something that only about 20% do. My Democrat and GAO superiors were furious because my coworkers who they wanted to promote over me and were Democrat, minority, female, younger than me, and/or veteran either had not taken the examinations, had failed them, or had passed, but not on their first attempt.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2024/02/10/research-shows-what-state-standardized-tests-actually-measure/

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
— When Feedback Crosses the Line. DD: Constructively, my Democrat superiors and supervisors in the federal government advised me to become a Democrat and to help them get rid of their Republican employees who were White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. They never advised me to get job-related college degrees, professional certifications, or licenses.
https://hbr.org/2026/03/when-feedback-crosses-the-line

HARVARD LAW REVIEW
— A Plea for Affirmative Action. DD: My critics/opponents want Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI a) because they have never paid the price of AA or DEI, b) because they benefit from AA and DEI, and/or c) they use AA and DEI to get rid of those who are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. QUESTION: Who pays the price of AA and DEI? ANSWER: Those who have less money than others and are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. My critics/opponents have never paid the price of AA or DEI, they benefit from AA, and/or they use AA and DEI to get rid of others. Their parents were wealthy and/or they are libera/moderate, minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. They stress that I am conservative, White, male, older (born in 1948), non-veteran (Vietnam War draft avoider), Protestant (Missouri Synod Lutheran), German American (100%), and my ancestors who have been in America since 1844. They falsely/outrageously/disgustingly/unethically hint/imply/argue/shout that my parents were wealthy. They ignore/dismiss/belittle/badmouth that I had to work my way through college. They falsely/outrageously/disgustingly/unethically hint/imply/argue/shout that I owe all my successes in life to my benefitting from discrimination against those who are libera/moderate, minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. AA and DEI are patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. Democrats and RINOs have always used AA and DEI to get rid of Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/136-Harv.-L.-Rev.-F.-205.pdf

FROM FOREIGN SOURCES

TIMES OF INDIA
— Raising kids in this economy: To DINK or not? Why more Indian couples are rethinking parenthood. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors were DINK-haters. Because my wife and I gave up trying to have children without trying IVF, because we did not adopt, and because we did not become foster parents, my Democrat GAO superiors viciously demonized me, denigrated me, and condemned me as being a filthy rich disgusting DINK. They hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I lied about our efforts to have children. According to them, if we had children, I would not have been able to a) pass the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, b) earn a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, c) pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32, or d) become a licensed CPA when I was 32. None of them had as many job-related master’s degrees or professional certifications as I had. None of them was a licensed CPA like I was. According to them, if we had children, we would not have been able to have a home built in Wheaton when I was 35. My Democrat GAO superiors complained about the time and cost needed to raise children. They decried their spouses having little or no income.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/raising-kids-in-this-economy-to-dink-or-not-why-more-indian-couples-are-rethinking-parenthood/articleshow/128913569.cms

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.