FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Pritzker and Bailey clash early in their only debate before November election.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-governor-debate-tonight-jb-pritzker-darren-bailey-clash-early-before-november-2026-election-day/19936744/
FOX32
— Harris leads Democrats; Vance tops GOP in 2028 primary front-runner poll. The FocalData poll also found that President Donald Trump’s approval rating stands at 33%.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/harris-leads-democrats-vance-tops-gop-2028-primary-front-runner-poll
WGN9
— Candidates for Illinois Governor face off in forum.
https://wgntv.com/news/politics/candidates-for-illinois-governor-face-off-in-forum/
— ‘American dream’ now costs $5.3M. DD: My wife and I have more money now because we gave up trying to have children, we did not adopt, we did not become foster parents, because of my wife’s income, because we always tried to live on just one of our paychecks and saved as much as we could for our retirement, because the federal government has paid 72% of my healthcare insurance premiums since 1966 and my wife’s since 1978, because we have never owned pets, because we have not gone on vacations for decades, and because of recent inheritances. We have less money now because my Democrat superiors in the federal government wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997 and because I spent lots of money on tuition and books earning three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://wgntv.com/business/american-dream-now-costs-5-3m-report-says/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The cost, which is reportedly up by 4% from last year, includes owning a home, buying new cars, raising two children and sending them to college, retiring comfortably, paying for health care, having a wedding, owning pets and taking a yearly vacation. A new Gallup poll found that 69% of Americans still believe they will achieve the American dream, but a single paycheck reportedly won’t come close to covering it. The Investopedia report says the cost of owning a home, buying new cars and paying for retirement expenses make up nearly 70% of the total. The report shows that owning a home now costs $1,275,782, which is up from $1,184,493 last year. . .According to the report, raising two children and sending them to college now costs $953,763, compared to $876,092 in 2025.)
WTTW
— Pritzker, Bailey Square Off in Contentious Discussion Over Taxes, Trump and Bears.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/10/13/pritzker-bailey-square-contentious-discussion-over-taxes-trump-and-bears
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— In lone debate for Illinois governor, Bailey gets testy as Pritzker links challenger to Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/13/in-lone-debate-for-illinois-governor-bailey-gets-testy-as-pritzker-links-challenger-to-trump/
— Years later, migrants bused into Oak Park area still living in limbo. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly glorify and paise their illegals and fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/13/oak-park-migrant-ministry-update/
— Illinois House endorsements.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/
— Democrat Daniel Biss aims to keep party’s hold on Illinois’ 9th District vs. GOP’s John Elleson, who raises $0.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/14/illinois-9th-district-race/
— David Dewar vies for Democratic Rep. Mary Gill’s seat in 35th District.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/14/david-dewar-vies-for-democratic-rep-mary-gills-seat-in-35th-district/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— 6 takeaways from the only gubernatorial debate between Gov. Pritzker and Darren Bailey. Pritzker and Bailey sparred over President Donald Trump, the Chicago Bears, data centers and more.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/13/watch-illinois-gov-debate-jb-pritzker-darren-bailey-takeaways
— DD: To get more votes from those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, non-rich, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, and/or in America illegally, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at the aforesaid that Republicans cause all their problems.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/10/13/johan-sebastian-duran-guerrero-ice-immigration-white-supremacy-religious-intolerance-klan-ben-jealous
— Democrat Juliana Stratton faces Don Tracy, former GOP chair, in Senate battle for Dick Durbin’s seat. Although the numbers are in Stratton’s favor in blue Illinois, she says she’s not taking anything for granted. Tracy says he’s running to “bring a voice and bring hope” to Republicans in the state.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/14/democrat-juliana-stratton-republican-don-tracy-us-senate-race-dick-durbin-seat
DAILY HERALD
— Illinois Senate and House endorsements.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261014/endorsements/our-choices-for-legislative-races-in-senate-districts-21-42-house-districts-5354/
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261014/endorsements/endorsement-cochran-for-house-district-55-mussman-for-house-district-56/
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261014/endorsements/endorsements-ellman-for-senate-dist-21-gupta-for-house-dist-41-delarosa-for-house-dist-42/
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261013/endorsements/daily-herald-endorsements-morrison-for-senate-dist-29-katz-muhl-for-house-dist-47/
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261013/endorsements/endorsement-syed-for-illinois-senate-dist-26-levin-for-illinois-house-dist-51-mclaughlin-for-il/
WBEZ & NPR ILLINOIS
— 6 takeaways from the only gubernatorial debate between Gov. Pritzker and Darren Bailey. Pritzker and Bailey sparred over President Donald Trump, the Chicago Bears, data centers and more.
https://www.wbez.org/government-politics/elections/2026/10/13/watch-illinois-gov-debate-jb-pritzker-darren-bailey-takeaways
https://www.nprillinois.org/government-politics/2026-10-14/6-takeaways-from-the-only-gubernatorial-debate-between-gov-pritzker-and-darren-bailey
FOX ILLINOIS
— Judge extends order blocking Trump from banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House. DD: I should write about those Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders in DuPage County who have invited the Democrat news media to their events but who have blocked me. They were obvious attempts to shout that they were not conservative and to curry favor with the Democrat news media.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-from-banning-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-reporters-from-white/article_bac1ff2a-e519-5578-9d56-9f51339da800.html
CHICAGO CRUSADER
— 70% of consumers struggle with multiple affordability issues. DD: What are you doing to deal with inflation? My wife and I are spending more of our retirement savings.
https://chicagocrusader.com/70-of-consumers-struggle-with-multiple-affordability-issues-2/
FOX ILLINOIS
— New White House press secretary’s debut: Brief, limited questions and some harsh reviews. The new press secretary for Donald Trump’s White House stepped to the podium.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/new-white-house-press-secretarys-debut-brief-limited-questions-and-some-harsh-reviews/article_abf6b2b6-5988-5f7e-8055-2fb8f1727228.html
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Pritzker and Bailey pour it on
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/10/14/pritzker-and-bailey-pour-it-on-01117286
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/10/13/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-613/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/
WIREPOINTS
https://wirepoints.org/
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Cook County to vote on non-binding ‘millionaires tax’ question.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/cook-county-millionaires-tax/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee accused two activist organizations of suborning jury nullification, saying they conduct training sessions to help city residents get onto trial juries and vote to acquit the people being prosecuted. DD: In Diersen v. GAO, I was denied my 7th Amendment right to a jury trial because no one believed that a jury would rule in my favor because of my bad demographics: former federal employee, conservative, Republican, White, male, older, draft avoider, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and my ancestors have been in America since 1844.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/oct/13/house-probing-dc-groups-training-residents-carry-jury-nullification/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Vance knows what socialism is. He just won’t admit he likes it. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4764257/vance-knows-what-socialism-is-he-wont-admit-he-likes-it/
BLAZE
— Shocking number of undergrads say the US deserved 9/11.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/shocking-number-of-undergrads-say-the-us-deserved-911-poll
DAILY CALLER
— Democrat Senator Ed Markey Goes Fishing For DEI Interns. DD: To get rid of me, all my subordinates who my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors assigned me to supervise were Democrats who were minority, female, veteran, disabled, and/or had performance problems. They did everything that they could to turn them against me.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/13/ed-markey-dei-interns-bipoc-lgbtq/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey searched Tuesday for interns who are non-white, gay or part of another “underrepresented” group. Markey encouraged those who were “BIPOC, LGBTQ+, working class [or] veterans” to apply for an internship at his office in Boston, Massachusetts, which raised concerns about whether he violated discrimination laws. “I’m hiring motivated and eager interns for the Spring 2027 semester in my Boston office,” Markey said. “BIPOC, LGBTQ+, working class, veterans, and other underrepresented candidates with Massachusetts ties are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Monday, November 9th.”)
DAILY SIGNAL
— Democratic Party Is Undergoing Socialist Rebranding. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/10/13/democrat-party-socialist-rebranding/
— Trump Hate Fuels Left’s Shift to Socialism and Jihad. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/10/13/hate-for-trump-socialism-jihad/
— New Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Surprises Reporters in Debut at Podium.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/10/13/new-press-secretary-makes-debut/
FEDERALIST
— Democrats Push Medicare For Illegals After Claiming Medicare For Illegals Was A GOP Hoax. DD: I collected delinquent Medicare tax for IRS 1971-1980. I paid into Medicare while I was a GAO employee 1983-1997.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/10/13/dems-push-medicare-for-illegals-after-claiming-medicare-for-illegals-was-a-gop-hoax/
— It Took Too Long To Investigate Credible Allegations Against Ilhan Omar.
https://thefederalist.com/videos/hemingway-it-took-too-long-to-investigate-credible-allegations-against-ilhan-omar/
FOX BUSINESS
— Far-left socialism has become a core principle of the Democratic Party. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBLFlZsF6lQ
— Moderate Democrats have become ‘CAPTIVE’ to socialist behavior. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HnIRyvb9Wg
FOX NEWS
— Socialism is the path to ruin. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6406754669112
— Socialism looks appealing when schools refuse to teach its horrific, real-world cost. DD: DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism. I escaped Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance. That enabled me to earn six professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a professional license (CPA).
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/socialism-looks-appealing-when-schools-refuse-teach-horrific-real-world-cost
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— African American-Only Scholarships at College of DuPage Challenged By Equal Protection Project.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/10/african-american-only-scholarships-at-college-of-dupage-challenged-by-equal-protection-project/
NATIONAL REVIEW
— Who Is Ilhan Omar?
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/10/who-is-ilhan-omar/
REAL CLEAR INVESTIGATIONS
— Waste of the Day: $100K Pensions On The Rise. DD: My critics/opponents who are not getting a pension or are not in line to get a pension are furious that I get a $68,640/year Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension. They ignore/dismiss/belittle that I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years to get that pension and that I paid 7% of my salary into the CSRS.
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/10/12/waste_of_the_day_100k_pensions_on_the_rise_1211020.html
TOWNHALL
— Democrats Introduce Bill to Abolish ICE and Border Patrol Ahead of Midterm Elections. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly glorify and praise their illegals and fight their deportation.
https://townhall.com/news/josephchalfant/2026/10/13/democrats-introduce-bill-to-abolish-ice-and-border-patrol-ahead-of-midterm-elections-n2684612
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
MS NOW
— Katie Zacharia’s first press conference proved there’s no meritocracy in Trump’s White House. An embarrassing debut by Trump’s new press secretary showed how MAGA die-hards get promoted despite being unqualified for their jobs. DD: My critics/opponents want to control the flow of information. They destroy those like me a) who they cannot manipulate or dominate, b) who refuse to glorify or praise them, c) who refuse to pander to them, d) who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, e) who refuse to cover up their wrong doing, and/or f) who refuse to give them money. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on the big adverse actions that they had their operatives and their dupes take against me.
https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-debut
(FROM THE ARTICLE: At her inaugural briefing as President Donald Trump’s new press secretary Tuesday morning, Katie Zacharia answered a handful of questions. But she raised many more. Among them: Why all the unnatural pauses while reading out loud from a binder? What’s with the weird hand gesture where she taps her fingertips together? Is she the first press secretary in history to publicly mix up the president with their own spouse? Why did she flee the briefing room after just 14 minutes, only eight of them spent taking questions? Zacharia appears to have extensive experience at being unqualified for her job. According to the investigative journalism newsletter Popular Information, she has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer despite there being no evidence she ever passed the bar exam. (Later today, when asked which state she passed the bar in, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” I have no idea what that means.) Yet those of us with low expectations were shocked by how poorly she performed. Conservative media was less harsh, but only slightly. “She’s emphasizing the wrong words when she’s communicating what she has to say,” said a body-language expert quoted in the New York Post. “And she needs some basic training.” In a way, I can empathize. I started working in the Obama White House when I was 24. I needed some basic training, too. But I was hired for a junior role, while press secretary is one of the White House’s most senior positions. We can argue about whether promoting Trump’s agenda is helpful or harmful to the American people, or whether appointing someone who spread Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories to speak on the administration’s behalf is a good idea. One thing I suspect nearly all Americans agree on, however, is this: If you’re going to serve as the press secretary for the White House, you shouldn’t be bad at the most basic parts of your job. Trump used to make exactly that point. In 2015, he promised that if he were elected president, he would “surround myself only with the best and most serious people.” It would be easy to conclude that — like two-dollar-a-gallon gas or no new wars in the Middle East — Trump’s pledge to hire the best people is just another broken promise. But the truth might be more complicated — and in a way, more dangerous for the country. Perhaps the problem isn’t that Trump and MAGA don’t really care about meritocracy. It’s that they have a different definition of merit than the rest of us do. Just look at the president’s statement announcing Zacharia’s hiring as press secretary. He pointed to her “unblemished record of support” and the fact that she has “been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.” He ended his statement on Truth Social, whose parent company Zacharia once advised, by saying, “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA!” These are not what most of us would consider to be professional qualifications. I assume the New York Giants appreciate their biggest fans. So, I’m sure, does Marvel Studios or the members of the K-pop group BTS. But that doesn’t mean they’re invited to play quarterback, star as Peter Parker in the next Spider-Man or perform “Swim” on the next world tour. Even Trump’s strongest supporters don’t make hiring decisions this way. Elon Musk clearly gets an ego boost from his legion of social media groupies. But when he hires for his companies or political operations, he tends to choose people he thinks will be effective, not just supportive. Trumpworld functions differently. It’s a mistake to ask whether Trump thinks his new press secretary is qualified or merely sycophantic. For Trump, sycophancy is a form of qualification. At times, the anti-meritocracy in the White House has worked out well for the president‘s opponents. Trump’s own team concluded that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s public appearances helped sink the president’s approval ratings on immigration. The weaponization of federal law enforcement against the president’s enemies is terrifying — which makes it a form of relief that FBI Director Kash Patel spends at least some of his time chugging beers with hockey players when he could beleading politicized investigations instead. But competence matters. And incompetence at the highest levels of government hurts all Americans, regardless of who they vote for. When the president makes it clear that his staff members’ most important job is soothing his fragile ego, it’s no surprise that they drop the ball in other areas, such as figuring out how to bring down prices or avoid a deadly and expensive quagmire in the Middle East. Rallying in Ohio, Trump admitted that his public relations could use some work. But his real problem runs far deeper than that. Ironically, it’s one that MAGA has spent an enormous amount of time warning us about: the possibility that the government will hire people based on their identity, without regard to their ability to do the job. “DEI is dead at DoD,” said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in one of his earliest speeches. “We’re building a merit-based culture that promotes and rewards individual initiative, excellence and hard work.” But as Zacharia’s embarrassing first briefing demonstrates yet again, DEI, as the Trump administration itself defines it, isn’t dead. It’s flourishing beyond anything any Democratic administration has ever attempted. All that’s changed is the identity being promoted. In the Trump White House, you don’t get hired because you’re the most qualified. You get hired because you’re the most MAGA. The results of this approach are in — and they’re exactly what Trump and his allies spent years promising they would avoid.)
CBS NEWS
— Millions of Americans have already voted early. Voters nationwide have cast 3.6 million early ballots with 21 days to go until the November elections.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/millions-americans-have-already-voted-early-midterms/
DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
NEWSWEEK
— Ready To Join the American Socialist Revolution? Take Our Quiz and Find Out. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism. I escaped Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance. That enabled me to earn six professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a professional license (CPA).
https://www.newsweek.com/ready-to-join-the-american-socialist-revolution-take-our-quiz-and-find-out-12557895
— How much wealth do you need to thrive? Here’s the breakdown, according to new research. DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/essential-wealth-needed-thrive-by-age/
NEW YORK TIMES
— How to Help a Relative Who Has Alzheimer’s. DD: From 2009 until she died when she was 91 in 2022, I had total responsibility for my aunt Eunice S. Diersen who had Alzheimer’s. She helped my parents raise me in Crete.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/opinion/alzheimers-elderly-parent.html
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— The Crew of Virtually Unknown Donors Powering the Rise of the New Left. Millions of dollars are flowing to help Democratic socialists and other progressives. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/the-crew-of-virtually-unknown-donors-powering-the-rise-of-the-new-left-191fcc85
MONEYWISE
— Just over 1 in 4 US households meet this new wealth benchmark.
https://www.aol.com/articles/just-over-1-4-us-143000000.html
SCRIPPS NEWS
— Retirement spending dilemma: Why millions fear running out of money. DD: What are you doing to deal with inflation? My wife and I are spending more of our retirement savings.
https://www.scrippsnews.com/life/money/retirement-spending-dilemma-why-millions-fear-running-out-of-money
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— DD: To get rid of me, all my subordinates who my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors assigned me to supervise were Democrats who were minority, female, veteran, disabled, and/or had performance problems. They did everything that they could to turn them against me.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2026/10/for-disabled-veterans-getting-hired-is-hard-getting-accommodated-is-harder/
FED WEEK
— Federal Human Resources (HR) professionals are under exceptional strain. They are central to the Federal merit system. As agencies implement rapid reforms, retaining experienced HR specialists is both a workforce challenge and a merit system priority. HR Specialists are Essential to Merit. DD: I passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination in 1970. My 1970 bachelor’s degree from NIU was in HR. My area of concentration for my 1976 MBA from Loyola was HR. Democrats ran HR for the federal government back then. Their top priority was hiring, retaining, and promoting Democrats who were minority, female, and/or veteran. They had no use for me a) because I was a Republican, White, male, and non-veteran and b) because I was not a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran.
https://www.fedweek.com/issue-briefs/federal-hr-is-under-exceptional-strain-says-mspb/
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
NEWS24
— France’s riots trigger a chilling warning for America as socialist ideology comes under fire. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkmS5jZQmSM
— Trump fires ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after reports of misconduct. DD: Have you been accused of misconduct? I have. My Democrat Post Office superiors disallowed my sick leave requests in 1968 and 1969 and forced me to resign in 1969. My Firestone Store boss rudely fired me in 1971. My Democrat IRS superiors disallowed my travel vouchers in 1974, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and never promoted me beyond GS-12. My Democrat GAO superiors forced me to take a $23,699 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980, delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for them, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. My critics/opponents have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted that my misconduct was the real reason why my aforesaid superiors took the aforesaid adverse actions against me. In my defense, I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree in 1970, job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997, job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997, and a job-related professional license in 1981. In my defense, my aforesaid superiors were Democrats who were always under tremendous pressure to meet their Affirmative Action quotas and to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. In my defense, many, most, virtually all, and at limes, all of my aforesaid superiors disapproved of my being conservative, Republican, White, male, older, Vietnam War draft avoider, Protestant, German American, and/or my ancestors having been in America since 1844. In my defense, they disapproved of my having more education, more professional certifications, and/or a professional license that they did not have. In my defense, they disapproved of the success that I had buying new cars, buying real estate, and saving for my retirement. In my defense, they disapproved of my getting married in 1978 and my benefitting from my wife’s savings and income.
https://www.news24.com.au/politics/us-politics/donald-trump-fires-ambassador-to-greece-kimberly-guilfoyle-after-reports-of-misconduct-these-allegations-are-false/news-story/95bbd1b747ab682fcaab98413e7e6a8e
