Tag: Illinois

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Aurora expands number of gambling machines allowed in local businesses. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more vice.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/28/aurora-expands-number-of-gambling-machines-allowed-in-local-businesses/

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURE: DD: Under the Democrats, more and more and more people are in need.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20251130/news/people-helping-people-west-suburban-community-pantry-nourishes-connections/

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Trump issues White House invitation to families of the two National Guard members who were shot
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/ap-west-virginia-high-school-remembers-slain-national-guard-member-as-caring-and-willing-to-help/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Council power play could reshape Chicago budget
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/12/01/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-638/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Who disapproves of Trump? Those who want more a) welfare, b) LGBTQ, c) abortion, d) mass/illegal immigration, e) booze, gambling, pot, and other vices, f) diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and/or g) Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, more race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. Most commonly, those who want the aforesaid are a) non-rich, b) LGBTQ, c) female and/or unmarried, d) noncitizen and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, e) liberal/moderate, f) pro-criminal, and/or g) minority, female, younger, non-Protestant, and/or non-German American. How does Marjorie Taylor Greene fit in with the aforesaid? – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Duckworth ever-increasingly calls those who do not share her demographics unqualified. That is, she ever-increasingly calls those who are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, non-disabled, Protestant, and/or German American unqualified. Because I am all of the aforesaid, she would certainly call me unqualified. She would stress that I avoided the Vietnam War draft. She would have fought the Post Office hiring me in 1966 instead of someone who shared her demographics. She would have fought IRS hiring me in 1971 and promoting me in 1972, 1973, and 1974 instead of those who shared her demographics. She would have fought GAO hiring me in 1980 and promoting me in 1986 instead of those who shared her demographics. She would stress that my wife and I gave up trying to have children without trying IVF. She would have applauded my Democrat Post Office, IRS and GAO superiors wasting my career. She would especially applaud my Democrat GAO superiors’ forcing me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997 and giving my job and my preferred corner office to my Black subordinate who had less work experience than I had, had less education than I had, had one professional certification while I had six, and had no professional license like the one (CPA) I had. In my defense, I would stress to Duckworth that 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. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— From which college did you earn your degree? What does that college think of you today? I earned a bachelor’s degree from NIU in 1970 and master’s degrees from Loyola in 1976, DePaul in 1980, and IIT in 1997. Since then, they all have moved dramatically to the left. Therefore, because I continue to be on the right, their opinions of me would be down. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Who do you know who is a news aggregator? I have been a news aggregator since 2000. Since 2005, my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters have contained links to almost 530,000 political and government news and commentary articles of interest to Illinois Republicans. My critics/opponents have always demonized, denigrated, and condemned a) the aforesaid articles and b) my comments on those articles. I should write about my critics/opponents. They destroy those like me who they cannot manipulate or dominate, who refuse to glorify and paise them, who refuse to pander to them, who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, who refuse to cover up their wrongdoing, and/or who refuse to give them money. They reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all conservative principles and planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who continue to have lots of clout and have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately.  – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Socialists, that is, Democrats, want government to hand out: free housing, free food, free clothing, free medical care, free education, free transportation, and free everything. According to socialists, that is, according to Democrats, governments can and should do the aforesaid because Republicans can easily afford to pay for the aforesaid because Republicans are filthy rich and because they are filthy rich because they exploit Democrats who are liberal, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, unmarried, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— My critics/opponents had wealthy parents who bought them cars, paid their college expenses, and got them good jobs. They use my not getting any scholarships against me. They use my having to work my way through college against me. They use my not having an Ivy League degree against me. They use my having been a federal employee against me. I should write about my critics/opponents. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— I have been the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000. I should write about my critics/opponents. They have always done everything that they could to stop me from sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters and to stop everyone from reading them. They blame me and blame my newsletters for all the defeats that Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have suffered since 2000. Previously, they blamed what I did as an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007 and as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman 2005-2012 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks 2005-2019. My critics/opponents do not blame leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC), or Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) for defeats that Republican candidates have suffered. I should write about those IRP, DCRCC, and MTRO leaders who have blamed me and blamed my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters the most for all the defeats that Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have suffered since 2000. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What entitlements do you get? Of course, my critics/opponents call my Civil Service Retirement System pension and my 72% federal health insurance subsidy outrageously excessive entitlements. In my defense, I would not have become postal employee when I was 18 years old in 1966 if my high school friend had not asked me to take the postal employment test with him. I would not have become an IRS employee when I was 22 years old in 1971 if Oldsmobile had not agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. Because of that agreement, Oldsmobile withdrew a job offer that I had accepted. Because I had accepted that offer, my Firestone Store boss rudely fired me. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Have you defied orders? I have not. All those who my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors assigned me to supervise were Democrat, minority, female, younger, veteran, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time, and/or had performance problems. I never defied orders to give them preference. I gave them lots of preference. But that was not enough for my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors. I did object to my Democrat superiors’ political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination. I did become an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Who will Trump pick to be the next Comptroller General, that is, who will Trump pick to be the next head of GAO?  SEE: https://www.aei.org/op-eds/senate-and-trump-on-a-collision-course-over-the-leadership-of-the-gao/  I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997. During that time, if Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE and I might still be working for GAO. If Gingrich had reformed GAO, my Democrat GAO superiors would not have been able to a) force me to take a $23,472 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980, b) keep me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, c) delay my promotions and not promote me beyond GS-13, d) always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and e) force me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What do you attribute your test taking success/failure to? Many if not most if not virtually all of those who failed the tests that I passed did not share my demographics. Because of that, according to my critics/opponents, the tests that I passed were biased against those who did not share my demographics. In my defense, neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. I passed all the tests needed to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree and three job-related master’s degrees. I passed the CPA and Certified Internal Auditor examinations on my first attempt. What should my test taking success be attributed too? – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

NEW YORK POST
— Hochul backtracks, admits to ‘having conversations’ with Mamdani’s team about free NYC buses. DD: Socialists, that is, Democrats, want government to hand out: free housing, free food, free clothing, free medical care, free education, free transportation, and free everything. According to socialists, that is, according to Democrats, governments can and should do the aforesaid because Republicans can easily afford to pay for the aforesaid because Republicans are filthy rich and because they are filthy rich because they exploit Democrats who are liberal, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, unmarried, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.aol.com/news/hochul-backtracks-admits-having-conversations-145842126.html
— Largest US teachers’ union to host training that attacks Republicans as ‘racist and transphobic’
https://www.aol.com/articles/largest-us-teachers-union-host-191800627.html

CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— Why Have Asylum Grant Rates Been Plummeting? DD: Democrats have declared a Second Civil War against Republicans. Asylum seekers should be advised that Democrat leaders will get rid of them if they do not happily become soldiers in the Democrat Army.
https://cis.org/Report/Why-Have-Asylum-Grant-Rates-Been-Plummeting

FOX NEWS
— Want wokeness out of schools? End woke teacher training.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/want-wokeness-out-schools-end-woke-teacher-training
— Democrats who encouraged military to defy ‘illegal orders’ are ‘DESPICABLE.’ DD: Have you defied orders? I have not. All those who my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors assigned me to supervise were Democrat, minority, female, younger, veteran, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time, and/or had performance problems. I never defied orders to give them preference. I gave them lots of preference. But that was not enough for my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors. I did object to my Democrat superiors’ political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination. I did become an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIQHWjtb4ak

LEGAL INSURRECTION
— Trump’s Approval Strong With Republicans Despite Dustup With Marjorie Taylor Greene
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/11/trumps-approval-strong-with-republicans-despite-dustup-with-marjorie-taylor-greene/

REAL CLEAR POLITICS
— The World According to JB Pritzker
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2025/12/01/the_world_according_to_jb_pritzker_153584.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for the high cost of healthcare. The more illegals, the higher the cost of healthcare.
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5624105-healthcare-affordability-concerns-rise/

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— A Lost Generation of News Consumers? Survey Shows How Teenagers Dislike the News Media. The profession hasn’t been popular among adults for many years, but a new survey shows the extent to which teens aged 13 to 18 feel the same way. DD: I have been the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000. I should write about my critics/opponents. They have always done everything that they could to stop me from sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters and to stop everyone from reading them. They blame me and blame my newsletters for all the defeats that Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have suffered since 2000. Previously, they blamed what I did as an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007 and as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman 2005-2012 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks 2005-2019. My critics/opponents do not blame leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC), or Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) for defeats that Republican candidates have suffered. I should write about those IRP, DCRCC, and MTRO leaders who have blamed me and blamed my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters the most for all the defeats that Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have suffered since 2000.
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2025/11/a-lost-generation-of-news-consumers-survey-shows-how-teenagers-dislike-the-news-media/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Asked by the News Literacy Project for one word to describe today’s news media, 84% of teens responded with something negative — “biased,” “crazy,” “boring,” “fake, ”bad,” “depressing,” “confusing,” “scary.” More than half of the teens surveyed believe journalists regularly engage in unethical behaviors like making up details or quotes in stories, paying sources, taking visual images out of context or doing favors for advertisers. Less than a third believe reporters correct their errors, confirm facts before reporting them, gather information from multiple sources or cover stories in the public interest — practices ingrained in the DNA of reputable journalists. To some degree, teens reflect the attitudes they’re exposed to, particularly when the most prominent politician of their age has made “fake news” a mantra. Experts say few teens follow news regularly or learn in school about the purpose of journalism. Journalists don’t help themselves with mistakes or ethical lapses that make headlines. Opinionated reporters or commentators in an era of political division make readers wonder what to believe. “Some of this (attitude) is earned, but much of it is based on misperception,” said Peter Adams, senior vice president of research and design for the Washington-based News Literacy Project. There are ways to turn things around, but it will take work. Many of Lily Ogburn’s classmates get their information from social media. Their parents didn’t watch or read news reports as they grew up, so they didn’t pick up the habit, said Ogburn, a senior at Northwestern University’s journalism school. Ogburn is the former editor-in-chief at the well-regarded Daily Northwestern student newspaper. The newspaper’s 2023 reports on alleged hazing and racism within the school’s football program led to the ouster of its coach. Still, she found some students don’t understand the newspaper’s role; they believe it exists to protect people in power rather than hold them accountable. She frequently had to explain what she did to classmates. “There’s a lot of mistrust toward journalists,” she said. But it has firmed her resolve to stick with the profession. “I want to be a journalist that people trust,” Ogburn said, “and I want to report news that makes people believe and trust in the media.” The news industry’s financial troubles over the past two decades have hollowed out newsrooms and left fewer journalists on duty. Along with not seeing much legitimate journalism, young people frequently don’t experience it through popular culture — unlike a previous generation, which learned in detail how Washington Post reporters Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate scandal in the Academy Award-winning movie “All the President’s Men.” When the News Literacy Project asked, two-thirds of teens couldn’t think of anything when asked what movies or TV shows come to mind when they think about journalism. Those who had answers most frequently cited the “Spider-Man” franchise or the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Neither portrayal was particularly flattering. Upon retiring as editor of Newsday, Howard Schneider helped develop the State University of New York system’s first School of Journalism. But instead of teaching future writers, editors or producers, he became drawn to teaching non-journalists about being news consumers. Now the executive director of SUNY Stony Brook’s Center for News Literacy, Schneider wasn’t surprised about any of the recent survey’s findings, either. “The negativity, the feeling that news is biased, is just a reflection of how their parents feel,” Schneider said. “The more exposed to news, legitimate news, the more their attitudes turn positive.” He has developed news literacy programs for school districts. “Students will say, ‘I get my news from YouTube,’” he said. “I say, ‘No, you don’t,’” and explains where the news originates and how to be discerning about what they see.)

NEWSWEEK
— 5 Polls That Spell Trouble for Donald Trump and the Republicans
https://www.newsweek.com/5-polls-trouble-donald-trump-republicans-11131436

CBS NEWS
— Bay Area Afghan community pushes back against immigration pause
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-afghan-community-immigration-pause-reaction/

USA TODAY
— NYC, Seattle just chose socialist mayors. Wake up, America. Mamdani and Katie Wilson have put a shiny bow on their socialist ideas, and voters bought it. It’s baffling that Americans are falling for such a dangerous ideology.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/12/01/nyc-seattle-mayor-socialism-communism-voters/87466673007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Cubicles DD: My Black Democrat CPA GAO subordinate was furious that he was in a cubicle and I had a preferred corner office. When I was 49 years old in 1997, my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to resign and gave him my office. He had less work experience than I had. He had less education than I had. He had one professional certification while I had six. He had no professional license like the CPA license I had.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/workplace/robert-propst-inventor-cubicle-work-6c170bed
— Americans’ Long Love/Hate Relationship With Work. DD: While I worked for GAO 1980-1997, because of GAO’s mission, my GAO job was ever-increasingly the focus of my life.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/america-relationship-work-6725be38
— The College Students Who Can’t Do Elementary Math. A top-rated public university says many of its students can’t round numbers or add fractions. DD: My biggest career mistake was not making accounting my bachelor degree major and my first graduate degree major. I wrongly believed that because I was not strong in math, I could never pass the CPA examination. But after I started taking graduate accounting courses and the Becker CPA review, I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30 in 1979. But by then, the accounting profession considered me to be far too old to have a successful career in accounting. The profession would not have done that if I had been a minority or  a female.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-college-students-who-cant-do-elementary-math-2db5e549

BLOOMBERG
— Trump Says He Has Picked His Replacement For Powell. DD: Who will Trump pick to be the next Comptroller General, that is, who will Trump pick to be the next head of GAO?  SEE: https://www.aei.org/op-eds/senate-and-trump-on-a-collision-course-over-the-leadership-of-the-gao/  I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997. During that time, if Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE and I might still be working for GAO. If Gingrich had reformed GAO, my Democrat GAO superiors would not have been able to a) force me to take a $23,472 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980, b) keep me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, c) delay my promotions and not promote me beyond GS-13, d) always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and e) force me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-30/fed-contender-hassett-says-market-is-ready-for-trump-chair-pick

BARRON’S
— Trump’s Approval Rating Drops to Lowest of Second Term
https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/sundayshows1130/card/trump-s-approval-rating-drops-to-lowest-of-second-term-QT5J54ukNny8cDXHi6kS

MIT SLOAN
— To Reform Meritocracy, Put Character at the Center. Organizations that aspire to hire and advance employees based on merit should consider character, not just skills or performance. DD: To advance Democrats and RINOs, Democrat and RINO leaders replace objective criteria with subjective criteria.
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/to-reform-meritocracy-put-character-at-the-center/

BROWN DAILY HERALD
— Skipping college for a white-collar job can’t end well. DD: My father had a white-collar job. My father often decried his not having a college degree. He was discouraged from getting a college degree because he had brittle type 1 diabetes. The argument was that the stress would kill him.
https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025/12/vishwakarma-29-skipping-college-for-a-white-collar-job-cant-end-well

NATION
— DD: Illinois Democrat leaders fight for criminals. Illinois Republican leaders fight for victims of criminals.
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/cash-bail-reform-illinois/#

FROM FOREIGN SOURCES

FINANCIAL TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for the high cost of healthcare. The more illegals, the higher the cost of healthcare.
https://www.ft.com/content/beec76df-8e6d-4238-bae2-e51683b62aa4

INDIA TODAY
— Got zero help from parents: Nikki Haley’s son fires back at nepo baby jibes. DD: My critics/opponents had wealthy parents who bought them cars, paid their college expenses, and got them good jobs. They use my not getting any scholarships against me. They use my having to work my way through college against me. They use my not having an Ivy League degree against me. They use my having been a federal employee against me. I should write about my critics/opponents.
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/got-zero-help-nikki-haley-son-nalin-fires-back-at-nepo-baby-jibes-spoiled-brat-gen-z-republican-julianna-us-politics-2828699-2025-12-01

PRESS GAZETTE
— Top 50 English-language news sites in the world in October 2025. DD: Who do you know who is a news aggregator? I have been a news aggregator since 2000. Since 2005, my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters have contained links to almost 530,000 political and government news and commentary articles of interest to Illinois Republicans. My critics/opponents have always demonized, denigrated, and condemned a) the aforesaid articles and b) my comments on those articles. I should write about my critics/opponents. They destroy those like me who they cannot manipulate or dominate, who refuse to glorify and paise them, who refuse to pander to them, who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, who refuse to cover up their wrongdoing, and/or who refuse to give them money. They reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all conservative principles and planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who continue to have lots of clout and have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/most-popular-websites-news-world-monthly-2/

HR NEWS
— 6 Ways to Reduce Bias in Skills Based Hiring DD: What do you attribute your test taking success/failure to? Many if not most if not virtually all of those who failed the tests that I passed did not share my demographics. Because of that, according to my critics/opponents, the tests that I passed were biased against those who did not share my demographics. In my defense, neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. I passed all the tests needed to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree and three job-related master’s degrees. I passed the CPA and Certified Internal Auditor examinations on my first attempt. What should my test taking success be attributed too?
https://hrnews.co.uk/6-ways-to-reduce-bias-in-skills-based-hiring-2025-guide/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Test systems regularly for disparate impact across demographics)