CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD IN NAPERVILLE SUN: Naperville aims for $1 tax cut to help homeowners hurt by GOP tax overhaul – Erin Hegarty (DIERSEN: Are you a homeowner? How much will the “GOP tax overhaul” harm you? The more that you have paid in real estate tax and/or state income tax over $10,000 a year, the more that you will be harmed. How much of your estimated real estate tax bill due next year can you afford to pre-pay by the end of this year?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-nvs-property-tax-naperville-2018-st-1222-20171220-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Naperville City Council trimmed another $2.1 million from the budget this week in the wake of federal tax code changes, a move that will reduce property tax bills by a dollar for the average homeowner. Council members Tuesday approved a nearly $49 million tax levy and directed staff to return with options that include both cost reductions and new revenue that would further reduce the levy. By trimming $2.1 million, the owner of a home valued at $395,000 will save about $1 next year. “If that is a direction from council, we will find it,” City Manager Doug Krieger said. The city has until March to finalize any property tax abatements. Councilwoman Patty Gustin was the lone “no” vote and Councilwoman Judy Brodhead was absent. Without the $2.1 million to be found in increased savings and additional revenue, the city’s portion of property tax bills would have gone up — a move Mayor Steve Chirico said wouldn’t pair well with the national tax code overhaul. The GOP tax plan would cap the amount from state and local taxes taxpayers can deduct from their federal tax bill at $10,000. “One of the only credible arguments that I have heard from people about why it’s OK to have a little bit higher property tax is because people could deduct it. And that’s a completely legitimate argument,” Chirico said. “For residents of Naperville, that argument has now been eliminated. If we’re cost shifting a little bit of these revenues from property taxes to another funding source — now that we are unable to have any (financial) benefit of having property tax in terms of writing it off — it does make good sense for our residents.”)
— T-Mobile, Amazon, and others companies accused of using Facebook ads to exclude older Americans from jobs – Elizabeth Dwoskin (DIERSEN: All my critics/opponents, all their operatives, and all their dupes have always promoted age discrimination.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-older-american-facebook-ads-2017121-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Under U.S. law, companies are prohibited from discriminating based on age in employment advertising, recruiting, and hiring, and it is also unlawful to publish a job ad that indicates a preference related to age. The lawsuit takes issue with a practice — the targeting of ads by age and demographics — that is ubiquitous in online advertising and is not limited to Facebook. Facebook, however, takes additional steps to explain to users why they are seeing an ad. These steps, which appear in a window after a user clicks on an ad, served as the documentation of the demographic categories used by different corporations. The lawsuit comes at a moment when Facebook and other technology giants are facing pressure to mitigate the negative social consequences of content posted on their platforms, particularly the impact of ad-targeting. Facebook, Google, and Twitter are under fire for creating tools that enabled Russian operatives to target specific groups of Americans ahead of the 2016 election. Facebook’s software also enabled advertisers to send ads based on other undesirable categories, such as Jew-hater, and to send targeted ads for housing to whites only (Facebook claimed that it had subsequently tweaked its systems so that this can longer happen, but a recent report in ProPublica suggested otherwise). In addition to employment, civil rights laws prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, lending, voting, and education. Ageism and bias against older job candidates is a longstanding issue, particularly in Silicon Valley. But as job searches have migrated online in recent years, the situation has worsened due to ad-targeting categories, the plaintiff argue. “Due to this lawsuit, older workers may finally understand why their job searches- that have migrated online in recent years-are more difficult than they ought to be,” they wrote.)
— Microsoft hands #MeToo major victory by allowing workers to sue over sexual harassment – Danielle Paquette (DIERSEN: Businesses that force arbitration know that they would lose if complaints against them were presented to a jury.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-microsoft-arbitration-sexual-harassment-20171221-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Microsoft’s announcement that it will allow employees to sue the company for sexual harassment has handed the #MeToo campaign an important victory after months of revelations about predatory behavior and assault by powerful men in media, entertainment and technology, advocates said. The software giant said this week it was scrapping employment agreements that require workers to settle harassment complaints in private and called itself the first Fortune 100 company to back a bill before Congress that would ban companies from forcing such disputes into closed-door arbitration.)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Why Ford is in hot water — again — over harassment in Chicago – Editorial
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/ford-plants-sexual-harassment-editorial/
— The big boys panic, fear doom – Roger Simon
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/simon-the-big-boys-panic-fear-doom/
DAILY HERALD
— Reform plan violates basic tenets of capitalist tax policy – Ralph Martire (DIERSEN: The more money that you pay for real estate taxes and/or for state income taxes, the less money that you have to pay federal income taxes.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20171222/reform-plan-violates-basic-tenets-of-capitalist-tax-policy
(FROM THE ARTICLE: First, it’s fundamental that tax policy should accurately determine the amount of income a taxpayer has to pay taxes with. After all, it’s not possible to allocate tax burden fairly among taxpayers unless the calculation of taxable income is realistic. This is why both the federal government and all 41 states with an income tax don’t impose it on an individual’s gross annual income, but rather some lesser amount, which is reduced by various deductions and credits. The idea behind this is simple: if someone is obligated to spend a portion of his or her gross income on various items, obviously that money is not actually available to pay taxes. Now, an interesting discussion can be had about whether all the various deductions and credits which have become part of the Internal Revenue Code over time are legitimate as currently crafted, or whether they should be modified or even eliminated. However, capping the deduction taxpayers receive for paying state and local taxes — as the current version of the Republican tax package does — makes no sense at all. The reason: folks have a legal obligation to pay state and local taxes. Which means whatever someone is compelled to spend on state and local taxes, is not available to pay federal income taxes. Period. After all, no one can spend the same dollar twice. Limiting the state and local tax deduction is particularly pernicious, given that in many instances, these taxes are higher than local authorities would otherwise assess, because they’re covering unfunded mandates flowing down from the feds. These unfunded mandates are both numerous and costly, involving everything from security at public transit agencies to the cost of complying with the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It violates even the most basic concept of fairness for the feds to drive up state and local taxes with unfunded mandates and then cap the deduction folks can take at the federal level for paying them.)
— Townships must do more to tout accomplishments – Jake Serafini, Dundee Township
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20171222/townships-must-do-more-to-tout-accomplishments
— Want to prepay property taxes? When Trump signs bill makes little difference – Elena Ferrarin
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20171221/want-to-prepay-property-taxes-when-trump-signs-bill-makes-little-difference
WTTW
— Details for Women’s March to the Polls – Kristen Thometz (DIERSEN: Anti-Trumps promote hatred. Anti-Trumps want women to hate individuals, hate organizations, hate companies, hate governments, and hate countries that are members of the following groups: Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German Americans, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/12/21/details-women-s-march-polls
— Retired Illinois Educators Taking Home Millions in Pensions – Paris Schutz
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/12/21/retired-illinois-educators-taking-home-millions-pensions
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Retirement can be lucrative for some former Illinois educators who are taking home pensions from the state’s Teachers Retirement System. The top pension earner this year is Lawrence A. Wyllie, an indicted former superintendent of Lincoln-Way High School District 210, who stands to make $321,443 this year. In September, Wyllie pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges. Prosecutors alleged that he steered taxpayer money to personal pet projects, misused millions in bond money and illegally cashed out $30,000 in unused sick days and a retirement bonus. If convicted, Wyllie lose all of his TRS pension. Second on the list is former New Trier Superintendent Henry S. Bangser, who will pocket $312,460 from his pension. He retired at age 57 and has already collected nearly $3 million in retirement. Number three is Gary Catalani, former Wheaton Warrenville District 200 superintendent who later held a superintendent job in Arizona. He’ll pocket $310,070 this year. Chicago Tonight submitted a records request for the top 200 pension earners in TRS. (Download the list.) Every annuitant is well into the six figures, with the last person on the list standing to make $190,675. Many of the top earners took advantage of loopholes used to boost their retirement, like calculating unused vacation and sick days, and big raises in their final years into the calculation of their pension. Some annuitants, like Reginald L. Weaver, who will earn $289,745 this year, was able to base his pension off of his salary as head of the National Education Association, which paid him a substantially higher salary than he made as a teacher. That loophole allowed public sector workers to be paid a pension based upon their salary as a union official and has been closed.)
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Rauner is not wrong about Speaker Madigan – Editorial
http://www.pantagraph.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-rauner-is-not-wrong-about-speaker-madigan/article_5937eab6-247d-5b97-8646-70a38a90527f.html
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— City to pay $333K in attorney’s fees in panhandling case – Crystal Thomas
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171221/city-to-pay-333k-in-attorneys-fees-in-panhandling-case
SPRINGFIELD DAILY
— Ives criticizes public corruption and Rauner at Jacksonville event
https://springfielddaily.com/politics/illinois-govt/ives-criticizes-public-corruption-rauner-jacksonville-event/
NPR ILLINOIS
— Now That The GOP Tax Bill Is Approved, The IRS Gets Busy – BRIAN NAYLOR (DIERSEN: Federal agencies do what Congress tells them to do. If you do not like what a federal agency does, you should complain to your U.S. Representative and to your U.S. Senators. If you would ask the Post Office, IRS, and GAO why they wasted my federal career and forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, they will tell you that they treated me just like my U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators wanted those agencies to treat me.)
http://nprillinois.org/post/now-gop-tax-bill-approved-irs-gets-busy#stream/0
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Republicans in Congress are promising that their tax bill will create jobs. One place where we know it’s going to create a lot of work is at the IRS. That agency will have to figure out how to interpret and implement the hundreds of pages of changes to the tax code that were just passed, at a time when it is already struggling with budget cuts and staff reductions. The Trump administration says it’s already working with the IRS to update tax forms and withholding tables, promising that most taxpayers will notice a difference in their pay stubs by February. It sounds relatively simple to change withholding tables — just plug some new numbers into the computer. But former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says even simple changes are complex, thanks to Kennedy-era computer programs the agency uses. “A lot of our forms are hard-coded, so you don’t just enter a little thing in your computer, you actually have to go into the code and change the date or change the forms,” he says. Making the job more difficult, the IRS’s budget has been slashed by $900 million since 2010, resulting in 21,000 fewer employees. Koskinen, an Obama appointee who stepped down from the agency in November, worries the IRS could find itself in a disastrous spiral. “My concern has been that if the budget continues to be cut, and that’s what the Senate and the House are proposing to do even with this massive tax overhaul … you’re actually at some point gonna make the IRS dysfunctional,” he says. In 1986, the last time a major tax overhaul was approved, Congress actually appropriated more money for the IRS to hire additional personnel. This time, the president and House and Senate leaders have all proposed deeper cuts in the agency’s budget. The House Appropriations Committee would cut the IRS budget by an additional $155 million, and the Senate Appropriations Committee would do so by $124 million, according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal employees including those at the IRS. Tony Reardon, president of the NTEU, says Congress is “adding massive, massive new responsibilities to the IRS and expecting them to handle it with less money and even fewer employees. That makes for a very difficult situation for the agency and for its employees.” One place where the lack of IRS personnel might be most apparent is the agency’s taxpayer help line. “It’s going to be a nightmare,” says Jennifer MacMillan, chair of the Government Relations Committee for the National Association of Enrolled Agents, which represents tax preparers. She says the IRS couldn’t keep up with all the calls from taxpayers seeking help with their returns last year; many were kept waiting on hold for over an hour. In 2018, MacMillan expects much confusion with the new law. “Lots and lots of people are going to be calling, not only to find out what the implications to them might be,” she says. “I think a lot of people are going to have a misunderstanding and think its going to affect their filing of 2017 tax returns.” And that’s important to note. Many taxpayers wont notice all the new changes until they go to file their 2018 taxes, due in April 2019. One place where the lack of IRS personnel might be most apparent is the agency’s taxpayer help line. “It’s going to be a nightmare,” says Jennifer MacMillan, chair of the Government Relations Committee for the National Association of Enrolled Agents, which represents tax preparers. She says the IRS couldn’t keep up with all the calls from taxpayers seeking help with their returns last year; many were kept waiting on hold for over an hour. In 2018, MacMillan expects much confusion with the new law. “Lots and lots of people are going to be calling, not only to find out what the implications to them might be,” she says. “I think a lot of people are going to have a misunderstanding and think its going to affect their filing of 2017 tax returns.” And that’s important to note. Many taxpayers wont notice all the new changes until they go to file their 2018 taxes, due in April 2019.)
CHICAGO READER
— Why Chicago’s not buying Rahm’s new liberal hero persona Critics say Mayor 1 Percent’s rhetoric doesn’t line up with the policies he’s enacting. – Kari Lydersen
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/rahm-emanuel-worst/Content?oid=37056728
— Unless Illinois is very, very unlucky, Governor Bruce Rauner will be out on his ass in 2018 Bruce blames everyone but himself for beggaring his state. – Noah Berlatsky
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/bruce-rauner-worst/Content?oid=37058989
EAST CENTRAL REPORTER
— Ives campaign makes stop in Mattoon
https://eastcentralreporter.com/stories/511301748-ives-campaign-makes-stop-in-mattoon
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— PROGRAMMING NOTE: Illinois Playbook will be off next week — we’ll be back Jan. 2. Happy holidays! (DIERSEN: America has been in 12-hour news cycle for many years. If you are a legitimate source for government and political news and commentary, you publish each and every day. A GOPUSA ILLINOIS email has gone out each and every morning since 2004 and each and every evening since 2015.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2017/12/22/cook-county-assessor-joe-berrios-deemed-worst-of-chicago-rauner-goals-for-new-term-womens-march-anniversary-233384
ILLINOIS HOMEPAGE
— Shady campaign cash flows to GOP candidate Gary Grasso: Caymans, Capos and Convicts – Mark Maxwell
http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/shady-campaign-cash-flows-to-gop-candidate/886067891
ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— Darin LaHood: U.S. tax reform ‘shot across the bow’ for high Illinois taxes – Benjamin Yount
https://www.ilnews.org/news/statewide/congressman-u-s-tax-reform-shot-across-the-bow-for/article_3d11ba7c-e5b0-11e7-9f80-9b955e173b65.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: One of the pieces of the new federal tax reform plan is going to put pressure on state and local leaders to deal with high taxes in Illinois. The new federal tax reform package caps the amount of state and local taxes that people can deduct from their IRS bill at $10,000. That’s not really a problem for most people downstate, said central Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood, R-Peoria. But the change could mean a much heavier tax burden for many in and around Chicago because they won’t be able to deduct the full weight of their tax bills, including sky-high property taxes. “It’s going to effect a lot of people,” LaHood said. “Particularly if you live in or around Chicago, where Rahm Emanuel continues to raise taxes at the city level. And in [Cook] County where taxes continue to go up and up and up.” LaHood said leaders in Chicago and the collar counties have for years used the federal deduction as a crutch to lessen the impact of their tax increases. Downstate, LaHood said the impact of the deduction change won’t be as large. “Most middle class folks who live in central and west central Illinois don’t pay more than $10,000, so they’ll still get the deduction,” LaHood said. “But it should be a shot across the bow and a warning to state legislators and leaders at the county and local level that you can’t keep raising taxes. There are going to be consequences.” LaHood said he expects state lawmakers and local leaders to feel the pressure to hold the line on taxes because taxpayers will feel more of the weight of what they’re paying.)
ILLINOIS REVIEW
— WHERE DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GET ALL THAT MONEY? (DIERSEN: I worked for IRS’s Collection Division for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 levels, currently $79,563-$90,173. I worked for GAO on audits of IRS for 3 years while I was at the GS-13 Step 1-3 levels, currently $94,610-$100,917.)
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2017/12/where-does-the-federal-government-get-all-that-money.html
CAPITOL FAX
— Silverstein accuser drops out of House race
https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/22/silverstein-accuser-drops-out-of-house-race/
— Ford County GOP upset with Sen. Barickman for backing legal marijuana
https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/22/ford-county-gop-upset-with-sen-barickman-for-backing-legal-marijuana/
— Kennedy, Kass blast Pritzker on property taxes, Berrios
https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/22/kennedy-kass-blast-pritzker-on-property-taxes-berrios/
— Gary Grasso “C’mon, man. That was just an accusation”
https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/22/cmon-man-that-was-just-an-accusation/
GOPUSA
— Jodie Foster: ‘Pretty much every man over 30’ culpable for sexual misconduct cases (DIERSEN: I should write a book about my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who are especially anti-older people and/or are especially anti-men. What do you say to a) older people who demonize, denigrate, and condemn older people to pander to those who are anti-older people and b) men who demonize, denigrate, and condemn men to pander to those who are anti-men?)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=35816
BREITBART
— Facebook Scraps ‘Disputed’ Fake News Tag, Claims ‘Opposite Effect to What We Intended’ – LUCAS NOLAN (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always disputed virtually everything in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails. They dispute virtually everything that is in the public realm except for what they themselves publish.)
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/12/21/facebook-scraps-disputed-fake-news-tag-as-it-has-opposite-effect-to-what-we-intended/
— Christmas Sidelined at German School After Muslim Complains Over Carols – VIRGINIA HALE (DIERSEN: How soon will Germany become Islamic and ban Christianity?)
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/12/21/christmas-sidelined-german-school-muslim-complaint-carols/
BLAZE
— ‘Punch them in the face’: Student tells cheering crowd how to shut up College Republicans – Dave Urbanski (DIERSEN: If I had been active in Republican politics when I was in high school, the Post Office would not have offered me a job in 1966. If I had been active in Republican politics while I was earning my undergraduate degree, IRS would not have offered me a job in 1971. If I had been active in Republican politics while I was earning my graduate degrees, GAO would not have offered me a job in 1980.)
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/12/21/punch-them-in-the-face-student-tells-cheering-crowd-how-to-shut-up-college-republicans
NEW YORK TIMES
— Thousands of Federal Inmates Are in the U.S. Illegally, Administration Says – Vivian Yee
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/us/undocumented-immigrants-crimes.html
— Tax-Cut Santa Is Coming to Town He likes it when you’re naughty, as long as you’re already rich. – PAUL KRUGMAN
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/opinion/tax-cut-santa.html
WASHINGTON POST
— In private meeting, Schumer angrily confronted by Hispanic Caucus members as prospects for DACA deal slip again – Ed O’Keefe (DIERSEN: Individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that promote illegals are anti-Trump, anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/12/21/in-private-meeting-schumer-angrily-confronted-by-hispanic-caucus-members-as-prospects-for-daca-deal-slip-again/
LOS ANGELES TIMES
— Congress to the Dreamers: You don’t matter to us – Scott Martelle (DIERSEN: Democrats are counting on Dreamers to get rid of Republicans once and for all.)
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ed-congress-dreamers-trump-20171221-story.html
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
— What Makes America Great Trump’s slogan suggests our country was once great but is no longer. Is that true? – Katie Packer Beeson (DIERSEN: How long have you been alive? I have been alive since 1948. What troubling trends do you see? I see America getting more and more and more anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors. Voters elected Trump to stop the aforesaid troubling trends.)
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-12-22/the-hollowness-of-trumps-promise-to-make-america-great-again
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Signs Sweeping Tax Overhaul Into Law President also approves bill keeping government funded until mid-January – Louise Radnofsky
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-signs-sweeping-tax-overhaul-into-law-1513959753?mod=djemalertNEWS
— The Slow Death of the American Mall – Esther Fung and Yaryna Serkez
http://www.wsj.com/graphics/death-of-the-american-mall/
— Saipan: The Island Where Chinese Mothers Deliver American Babies Women looking to give birth to U.S. citizens have found a loophole in the Pacific on the island of Saipan – Jon Emont (DIERSEN: Democrats run the federal government. They shout at citizens of foreign countries that the federal government gives preference to those who are minority and/or female, that is, that the federal government discriminates against those who are White and/or male.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-island-where-chinese-mothers-deliver-american-babies-1513852203
USA TODAY
— Lawrence O’Donnell’s new book shows how Roger Ailes helped get Nixon elected in 1968 – Ray Locker (DIERSEN: What did you do in 1968? I worked as a part-time mailman for the Democrats who ran the Park Forest Post Office. I was a full-time student at UIC. I lived with my parents and brother in Crete. I sold my 1968 Oldsmobile 442 and bought a 1969 Dodge Charger SE. I saved money for college expenses.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/11/20/new-book-lawrenchow-1968-presidential-election-gave-us-richard-nixon-and-changed-u-s-politics-foreve/867251001/