Tag: pension

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Trump says Good, Pretti killings ‘should not have happened’
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/minneapolis-ice-shooting-live-updates-county-medical-examiner-lists-alex-prettis-death-homicide/18528885/
— Education Secretary Linda McMahon visits Chicago private school to promote US history
https://abc7chicago.com/post/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-visits-chicago-hope-academy-west-side-promote-history-us-approaches-250th-birthday/18549631/

NBC5
— 6 Illinois schools make list of ‘World’s Top Universities’ — and one ranked 5th. In total, 500 global institutions were ranked, with The University of Chicago landing high on the list at No. 5. DD: I attended 151st ranked University of Illinois Chicago 1966-1968 and 1971. I earned a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from 266th ranked Institute of Technology in 1997.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/worlds-top-unversities-full-list-illinois-chicago-schools-universities/3886976/
— Chicago residents wary as Trump promises ‘softer touch’ on immigration. DD: Any hint of a “softer touch” reopens the floodgates.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/video/news/local/chicago-residents-wary-as-trump-promises-softer-touch-on-immigration/3886854/

CBS2
— Early voting begins for some Illinois counties; DuPage County delayed to next week
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/early-voting-begins-some-illinois-counties/

WGN9
— Celebrating 100 years of Black History Month. DD: My Black Democrat GAO subordinate who my Democrat GAO superiors replaced me with led the office’s Black History Month events. 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 one I had.
https://wgntv.com/news/black-history-month/celebrating-100-years-of-black-history-month/#/questions/5294859

FOX32
— President Trump’s proposal to nationalize elections faces major constitutional hurdles. DD: All elections should have both Republican and Democrat oversight.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-mt88gazxykqugksv

WTTW
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/04/teen-brothers-why-they-became-ice-watchers-chicago-minneapolis

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Trial set for May in ‘Broadview Six’ conspiracy case against Operation Midway Blitz protesters
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/trial-set-broadview-six/
— Government lawyer yanked from immigration detail in Minnesota after telling judge ‘this job sucks’
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/justice-department-lawyer-removed/
— Marimar Martínez plans to attend Trump’s State of the Union speech
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/marimar-martinez-plans-to-attend-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech-lawyer-says/
— Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democrats’ ICE demands
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/homeland-security-shutdown/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Marimar Martinez, shot 5 times by Border Patrol in Chicago, plans to attend Trump’s State of the Union. Her attorney disclosed her plans in a fiery court filing, in which he also accused Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s office of being “active enablers of an out-of-control client.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/02/05/marimar-martinez-shot-5-times-by-border-patrol-in-chicago-plans-to-attend-trumps-state-of-the-union
— Federal prosecutors fear tainted jury pool if public sees evidence in Broadview Six conspiracy case. DD: By denying me my 7th Amendment right to a jury trial, the judges and justices made it clear that they believed that no jury would rule in my favor. My demographics were terrible: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, my ancestors had been in America since 1844, Crete resident 1948-1972, and Wheaton resident since 1978.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2026/02/05/federal-prosecutors-fear-tainted-jury-pool-if-public-sees-evidence-in-broadview-six-conspiracy-case
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg predicted last week it could take three days for prosecutors to lay out their case against the Broadview conspiracy defendants. Mecklenburg wrote in a recent court filing that the feds are “concerned that unrestricted dissemination [of evidence] could taint the jury pool. Given the current climate, it will be very difficult to pick an unbiased jury.” In court Thursday, the prosecutor also said that “flooding the public way with all of this material is going to have jurors who form an opinion before they even get here.” Similar concerns were raised by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow in the murder-for-hire trial of Espinoza Martinez. She predicted jury selection could be “pretty dicey” given how recently Bovino and his agents had been in Chicago. But attorneys managed to pick a dozen jurors and two alternates, out of a pool of 45 people, in less than a day.
— State Senate Republicans introduce bills addressing Illinois’ rise in domestic violence deaths. The lawmakers have proposed separate bills that would work to make it harder for individuals accused of domestic violence to be released pre-trial, and would increase penalties for domestic abusers.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/illinois-senate/2026/02/05/state-senate-republicans-legislative-package-domestic-violence

DAILY HERALD
— Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democrats’ ICE demands
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260205/nation-and-world-politics/homeland-security-shutdown-grows-more-likely-as-republicans-rebuff-democrats-ice-demands/
— Most GOP candidates for 9th Congressional seat oppose Trump’s suggestion to nationalize elections. DD: All elections should have both Republican and Democrat oversight.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260205/us-congress-politics/most-gop-candidates-for-9th-congressional-seat-oppose-trumps-suggestion-to-nationalize-elections/
— DD: Democrat leaders push pot in Libertyville
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260205/marijuana/recreational-cannabis-dispensary-proposed-for-former-bakers-square-in-libertyville/
— League of Women Voters of Palatine Area introduces VOTE411.org, sets candidate forums. DD: If I was still the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman and an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, the organizations would still be hosting candidate forums.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260204/us-congress-politics/league-of-women-voters-of-palatine-area-introduces-vote411-org-sets-candidate-forums/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Perennial candidate Jim Oberweis is running again — but not in Illinois
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/jim-oberweis-running-office-again-not-illinois

WCIA
— U of I Title VI Office investigating Illini Republicans’ controversial social media post
https://www.wcia.com/news/champaign-county/u-of-i-title-vi-office-investigating-illini-republicans-controversial-social-media-post/

CHICAGO REPORTER
— DD: Democrat leaders push minorities to be pot pushers.
https://www.chicagoreporter.com/what-illinois-got-wrong-about-legal-weed/

CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/02/05/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-463/
(FROM THE POSTING: Five days ago, Illini Republicans posted on Instagram that they “stand with ICE” while sharing a graphic image celebrating violence, prompting condemnation from elected officials, school leadership, and students across Illinois. Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez demanded that the Illinois Republican Party and every Republican candidate in our state denounce the post. ILGOP leadership has refused. Party Chair Kathy Salvi, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, Senate Republican Leader John Curran, gubernatorial front-runner Darren Bailey, and Senate GOP front-runner Don Tracy have all refused to condemn the post. By refusing to speak out, they’re sending a clear message that ILGOP leaders are willing to excuse rhetoric that celebrates violence against American citizens and puts students on college campuses at risk. With primary day just six weeks away, Illinois voters deserve answers. Will Republican leadership condemn this post and reject political violence, or will they continue to stay silent?)

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Chicago’s $41 billion financial hole exposes city’s pension crisis
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_e0a0c880-752f-40b3-9855-571716b4445f.html

ILLINOIS FAMILY INSTITUTE
— Illinois Family Institute Voter Guide. 2026 Illinois Primary.
https://illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IFI-VG-Primary-2026-16-pages-web-Jan-26.pdf

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— According to my critics/opponents, it is never too late to start a career in accounting. SEE: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22never+too+late%22+start+career+accounting  I disagree. You really need to major in accounting from the beginning, but I did not until I was 27 when I started taking graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul. I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30. I earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul when I was 31. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32. I became a licensed CPA when I was 32. But by then, the accounting profession had no interest in me a) because it viewed me as being too old and b) because my demographics were terrible. The profession was under tremendous pressure to advance minorities and females. Why didn’t I major in accounting from the beginning? I erroneously believed that because I was not strong in math, I could never pass the CPA examination. But I belatedly learned that accountants do not use the types of math that I was not strong in. — Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Justice Department is investigating Baltimore’s health department for segregating employees by race during taxpayer-funded training sessions. The city paid consultants $50,000 between 2022-2024 for “Undoing Racism Workshop” with separate “White caucus” and “people of color caucus” groups. Officials spent over $2,000 on food and paid $150 per White caucus meeting through at least June 2025. Assistant Attorney General calls the practice “discriminatory, illegal, and un-American.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/5/justice-department-probes-taxpayer-funded-racial-equity-training/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— The legal case for and against nationalizing elections. DD: All elections should have both Republican and Democrat oversight.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4446735/legal-case-for-against-nationalizing-elections/
— Trump renews push to nationalize elections and floats possibility of fraud in midterm elections.  DD: All elections should have both Republican and Democrat oversight.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4447075/trump-renews-push-nationalize-elections-fraud-midterm-elections/

CAMPUS REFORM
— Over 1,000 UCLA protesters participate in two anti-ICE walkouts in a week. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting students to walkout over ICE. The more walkouts, the more proof that for Democrats, education exists to crank out good little Democrats. How many students have Democrats gotten to walkout in your school district so far?
https://www.campusreform.org/article/1000-ucla-protesters-participate-two-anti-ice-walkouts-week/29367

DAILY CALLER
— Trump Says Immigration Enforcement Could Use ‘Softer Touch’ DD: Any hint of a “softer touch” reopens the floodgates.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/02/04/trump-immigration-enforcement-softer-touch/

DAILY SIGNAL
— Freedom Caucus Creates New PAC for 2026 Elections
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/02/04/freedom-caucus-fund-merges-conservative-pac-efforts-streamline-support-house-candidates-2026/amp/

FOX NEWS
— Sweeping bill to crush sanctuary cities, protect ICE agents unveiled in Senate. Sen Eric Schmitt’s Protect America Act would punish sanctuary cities, boost agent protections after anti-ICE protests.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sweeping-bill-crush-sanctuary-cities-protect-ice-agents-unveiled-senate
— Trump PIVOTS on ICE raids: ‘SOFTER TOUCH’ DD: Any hint of a “softer touch” reopens the floodgates.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388812491112
— Noem deploys to both borders, says ICE won’t be deterred by sanctuary officials who ‘want to create conflict’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/noem-deploys-both-borders-says-ice-wont-deterred-sanctuary-officials-want-create-conflict

HILLSDALE COLLEGIAN
— Can American journalism be saved?
https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2026/02/can-american-journalism-be-saved/

HOT AIR
— Illegals Driving Semis Kill Again
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2026/02/05/illegals-driving-semis-kill-again-n3811591

LEGAL NEWSLINE
— Palatine teacher fired over anti-BLM posts turns to SCOTUS.
https://www.legalnewsline.com/cook-county-record/palatine-teacher-fired-over-anti-blm-posts-turns-to-scotus/article_6bb7d3a5-95a9-4225-87f7-04a04aeb6895.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A former Palatine High School teacher who was fired for posting anti-Black Lives Matter content to her personal Facebook page has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to tell lower courts they were wrong to allow the suburban school district for which she worked to toss her lawsuit because the district’s interest in mollifying angry students and community members outweighed the teacher’s First Amendment right to speak. And the effort by plaintiff Jeanne Hedgepeth to revive her lawsuit against District 211 has gained some hefty legal support from an attorney widely regarded as one of the most influential and successful lawyers to argue before the Supreme Court in the past quarter century.)

NATIONAL REVIEW
— The latest Census Bureau population estimates are in. Halfway through the 2020s, they show a tectonic shift in America’s population, a decided preference among Americans to vote with their feet for red-state over blue-state governance, and the dramatic demographic effects of replacing Joe Biden’s border policies with those of Donald Trump.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/02/americans-vote-with-their-feet-for-red-states/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Trump tries ‘softer’ tact on immigration. DD: Any hint of a “softer touch” reopens the floodgates.
https://thehill.com/newsletters/morning-report/5723972-trump-immigration-strategy-shift/
— Trump moving toward Christopher Columbus statue installation on White House grounds. DD: How strongly anti-Italian are the Democrats in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct?
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5724408-trump-christopher-columbus-white-house/
— Trump finalizes rule making it easier to fire 50,000 federal workers. DD: If you read the filings in Diersen v. GAO, ( https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf ), you will see how easy it was for my Democrat GAO superiors to fire me, that is, to force me to retire. Their being able to force me to retire notwithstanding my three job-related master’s degrees, my six job-related professional certifications, and my job-related professional license speaks volumes.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5724661-trump-administration-rule-firing-federal-workers/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Trump administration on Thursday finalized a rule that gives it the power to more easily fire an estimated 50,000 federal workers who focus on policy, striking many civil service safeguards while also gutting their whistleblower protections. The rule, dubbed Schedule Policy/Career, converts a wide swath of federal workers into a status similar to that of political appointees who can be fired at will. Federal worker unions have staunchly opposed the switch, casting it as a way for President Trump to politicize a workforce tapped for its expertise to neutrally carry out their role across administrations. The administration has been clear that the goal of the rule is to more easily fire workers it argues are hindering Trump policies — a nod to the president’s claims of a “Deep State” within the federal government trying to undermine him. “This is not about people’s views or ideas. This is about whether they are refusing to actually affect their duties on behalf of the American people consistent with the objectives of this administration,” said Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which promulgated the rule. “The only impact Policy/Career has is if their disagreement leads them to then try to actively thwart or undermine the execution of those priorities, then that [is] behavior that we want to declare to people is not acceptable.” The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on Thursday said the rule would open the door to political patronage. “This rule is a direct assault on a professional, nonpartisan, merit-based civil service and the government services the American people rely on every day,” Everett Kelley, the group’s president, said in a release. “When people see turmoil and controversy in Washington, they don’t ask for more politics in government, they ask for competence and professionalism. OPM is doing the opposite. They’re rebranding career public servants as ‘policy’ employees, silencing whistleblowers, and replacing competent professionals with political flunkies without any neutral, independent protections against politicization and arbitrary abuse of power.” The new rule would also make significant changes to how these federal workers could report waste, fraud, or abuse, barring them from going to another independent agency — the Office of Special Counsel — with their whistleblower complaint. Instead, Schedule Policy/Career employees would be required to make their complaint of wrongdoing within their agency. Kupor said those complaints will now be reviewed by the general counsel at the agency — a role filled by a political appointee — who will then ask someone not involved to investigate the complaint. “We are filling the gap by requiring that agencies create processes at their agencies to investigate these, including by somebody who wasn’t immediately involved in the action, which is really the best we can do,” Kupor said. The AFGE and other organizations previously sued to block the policy as it was being developed, and while litigation was paused as rulemaking progressed, it is expected to resume shortly. “This is a deliberate attempt to do through regulation what the law does not allow—strip public servants of their rights and make it easier to fire them for political reasons and harm the American people through doing so,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, which is leading the suit. “We have successfully fought this kind of power grab before, and we will fight this again. We will return to court to stop this unlawful rule and will use  every legal tool available to hold this administration accountable to the people.” Trump tried a similar move at the end of his first term in office, then calling it Schedule F, and also faced trouble in court. Former President Biden then also promulgated a rule that would block federal workers from being moved into a new classification without their consent, something Trump is undoing with the latest rule. The U.S. has since the 1800s relied on a merit-based hiring system designed to end a spoils system where jobs were doled out based on political loyalty. While the president can hire or nominate political appointees for a number of high-ranking roles, those positions are just a fraction of the federal workforce, which is otherwise required to carry out their nonpartisan work regardless of who is in office. “For decades, our nonpartisan civil service has set us apart from other countries and enabled us to have stability and continuity no matter who is in the White House. The Trump Administration’s move to reclassify federal employees to make it easier to fire them for political reasons will hurt these workers and their families, threaten our national security, and make it harder for Americans to access the services they need,” Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, said in a statement. “If we want to continue to lead the world, then we must have a federal workforce based on merit, not politics. We will continue to do everything we can to protect these dedicated public servants, many of whom live in Virginia.” But an OPM official speaking with reporters slammed public servants, arguing that the earlier leaking of the rule demonstrates that federal employees are working against the administration. “We have a boatload of empirical data that supports the idea that there is misconduct and policy resistance among the career civil servants,” the official said. “We have numerous examples of that — career civil servants in policy-making roles. Just in the formulation of this rule, we had this rule — a confidential draft of it — was leaked to the media, so we know that that happens. We are inundated every day in the federal government, unfortunately, with misconduct and poor performance by civil servants. It’s a crisis.”)

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— DD: For Democrats, government exists a) to hire, retain, and promote Democrats and b) take opportunities, money, and everything else away from Republicans and to give it to Democrats.
https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981

NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: All elections should have both Republican and Democrat oversight.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/opinion/trump-elections-nationalizing-voting-citizens.html

CBS NEWS
— Frustrations from judge, prosecutor in Minnesota boil over amid Trump’s ICE surge: “Not above the law”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/frustrations-from-judge-prosecutor-minnesota-boil-over-amid-trump-ice-surge/
— Trump says his administration could use “softer touch” on immigration enforcement. DD: Any hint of a “softer touch” reopens the floodgates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaxZ9eQsfiE
— Students across North Texas walk out over ICE as state threatens consequences for districts. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting students to walkout over ICE. The more walkouts, the more proof that for Democrats, education exists to crank out good little Democrats. How many students have Democrats gotten to walkout in your school district so far?
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/north-texas-student-walkouts-ice-protests-tea-warnings/

NEW YORK SUN
— Texas Threatens To Investigate Teachers, School Districts That Allow Anti-ICE Walkout Protests. That state is warning that school districts could lose their funding if they encourage or ‘facilitate’ walkout protests. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting students to walkout over ICE. The more walkouts, the more proof that for Democrats, education exists to crank out good little Democrats. How many students have Democrats gotten to walkout in your school district so far?
https://www.nysun.com/article/texas-threatens-to-investigate-teachers-school-districts-that-allow-anti-ice-walkout-protests

MONTANA RIGHT NOW
— Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk and Governor Gianforte will announce a new statewide partnership to bring TPUSA Club America chapters to Montana high schools. DD: Who heads Turning Point USA in Illinois, your county, your township, your municipality, and your school district?
https://www.montanarightnow.com/montana/gov-gianforte-turning-point-usa-aim-for-conservative-groups-chapters-in-every-high-school/article_1ab1d938-4710-46c3-aa0d-c04fc236fda6.html

INDY STAR
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting students to walkout over ICE. The more walkouts, the more proof that for Democrats, education exists to crank out good little Democrats. How many students have Democrats gotten to walkout in your school district so far?
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2026/02/05/organizing-ice-walkouts-meet-indianapolis-students-risking-writeups/88365956007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— DD: Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote Bad Bunny.
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/bad-bunny-halftime-learning-spanish-tiktok-6b2f41ed?mod=djemwhatsnews

BROOKINGS
— DD: Ever-increasingly, Democrat and RINO leaders replace those who have demographics that vote for Republicans with those who have demographics that vote for Democrats.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/states-of-change-2019/