FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Sanctuary cities pose an unacceptable risk to public safety
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/13/opinion-sanctuary-cities-public-safety/
— Democrats try to move on after ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction as GOP calls for greater state ethics reforms
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/12/democrats-try-to-move-on-after-ex-speaker-michael-madigans-conviction-as-gop-calls-for-greater-state-ethics-reforms/
DAILY HERALD
— Hayes endorses Tinaglia to succeed him as Arlington Heights mayor (COMMENT: Since 2004, my critics/opponents have stressed that Jim Rasins did not endorse me for Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) Treasurer when he did not run again in 2004. They stressed that I had known Rasins since the 1980s and that I had worked hard to help elect him DuPage County Auditor in 2000 and to help reelect him in 2004. They knew that I had recruited Rasins to speak at an Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Chicago Chapter event in the 1990s. They ignored, dismissed, belittled, and badmouthed my qualifications. I had served as the AGA Chicago Chapter Treasurer 1983-1986. I had served as the Illinois Center Right Coalition Treasurer since 2003. I had worked for GAO 1980-1997, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117-807-$153,151/year: I had worked for IRS 1971-1980, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year. I had passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979. I had earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul. I had passed the Certified Internal Auditor Examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA in 1981. I had become a Certified Fraud Examiner in 1990, Government Financial Manager in 1994, Financial Services Auditor in 1996, and Forensic Accountant in 1997. Since 2004, my MTRO critics/opponents have stressed that I got only 13 votes in that MTRO Treasurer election while my opponent got 69 votes. They I should write about my MTRO critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have taken the most/biggest adverse actions against me.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250212/news/hayes-endorses-tinaglia-to-succeed-him-as-arlington-heights-mayor/
ABC7
— Some new-arrival Venezuelan migrants in Chicago face threat of deportation. President Trump moves up timeline to April to revoke temporary protected status.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-immigration-news-new-arrival-venezuelan-migrants-face-threat-deportation-no-temporary-protected-status/15899205/
NBC5
— Trump administration considering using defense funding to ramp up deportations. The administration has been unhappy with the current pace of immigrant arrests and deportations, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget has been a factor.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/trump-administration-considering-using-defense-funding-to-ramp-up-deportations/3672999/?os=io..ref%3Dapp&ref=app
WGN9
— Durkin talks Madigan verdict
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsCv9KLiF4
WTTW
— Trump Says He Wants the Department of Education Closed ‘Immediately.’ What That Could Mean for Illinois
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/12/trump-says-he-wants-department-education-closed-immediately-what-could-mean-illinois
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— What to know about the federal workforce under Trump. Since President Donald Trump began his second term last month, he has focused on dramatically reducing the federal workforce at a breakneck pace.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/business/ap-what-to-know-about-the-federal-workforce-under-trump/
— Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to discriminate against Christians, and especially against Christians who are Protestant.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-given-christianitys-dominance-in-us-trump-raises-eyebrows-with-anti-christian-bias-initiative/
WAND TV
— Migrants with work permits could become firefighters under new plan in Illinois
https://www.wandtv.com/community/migrants-with-work-permits-could-become-firefighters-under-new-plan-in-illinois/article_bd88074c-e97c-11ef-b76b-d77fe5a5d046.html
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/13/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-455/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— At the University of Michigan, DEI Now Hides in Office of ‘Community Culture’
https://freebeacon.com/campus/exclusive-at-the-university-of-michigan-dei-now-hides-in-office-of-community-culture/
AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— Trump Should Cancel the Diversity Visa Program. Ending the green card lottery needs to be a top immigration priority for the president.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trump-should-cancel-the-diversity-visa-program/
BLAZE
— Trump tears down the woke iron curtain.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/trump-tears-down-the-woke-iron-curtain
BREITBART
— Former GAO Head David Walker: DOGE Should Look at COVID Payments, Wouldn’t Surprise Me if There Was a Trillion in Fraud, Abuse
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/02/12/fmr-gao-head-doge-should-look-at-covid-payments-wouldnt-surprise-me-if-there-was-a-trillion-in-fraud-abuse/
— New York isn’t alone when it comes to granting driver’s licenses to immigrants without legal status (COMMENT: The list includes Illinois.)
https://www.breitbart.com/news/new-york-isnt-alone-when-it-comes-to-granting-drivers-licenses-to-immigrants-without-legal-status/
EPOCH TIMES
— Trump Says Putin Agreed to Start Negotiations to End Ukraine War. Trump also discussed the plans with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy is due to meet with Vice President Vance on Feb. 14.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/trump-announces-productive-call-with-putin-on-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-5808724
MEGYN KELLY
— Massachusetts City Flouts Trump Executive Orders, Votes to Become a ‘Sanctuary City’ for Trans People
https://www.megynkelly.com/2025/02/12/worcester-massachusetts-votes-to-become-sanctuary-city-for-trans-people/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Democrats and RINOs use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5141877-trump-musk-advocacy-campaign/
REUTERS
— US judge clears the way for tens of thousands of federal workers to take Trump buyout
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-allows-trump-proceed-with-government-employee-buyout-2025-02-12/
MSNBC
— Trump and Musk were wrong about government employees – they actually want to work (COMMENT: I transferred from IRS to GAO when I was 31 years old in 1980 because GAO’s mission is to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. The importance of that mission a) enabled me to withstand for almost 18 years tremendous efforts by my Democrat GAO superiors to waste my career and to get rid of me and b) motivated me to complete the requirements for master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination in my first attempt in 1981, become a licensed CPA in 1981, become a Certified Fraud Examiner in 1990, Government Financial Manager in 1994, Financial Services Auditor in 1996, and Forensic Accountant in 1997 and to earn a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-and-musk-were-wrong-about-government-employees-they-actually-want-to-work/vi-AA1yWCyV
NEW YORK TIMES
— The federal employees Trump has purged, so far (COMMENT: The Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997 gave purge lists to all of their new managers of their Chicago office. Of course, I was at the top of all of those lists because I am conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my ancestors had been in America since 1844.)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/11/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-federal-workers.html
— Democrat teachers promote DEI
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/trump-dei-executive-orders-schools.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Trump closes down federal worker buyout offer after judge lifts hold (COMMENT: What is your position on buyouts and early retirement offers? In 1993, the Democrats who ran GAO “offered” $25,000 buyouts and early retirement to get rid of their employees who were Republican, older, White, male, non-veteran, GS-13, and/or had 25 years or more of federal service. I was “eligible,” that is, I was “targeted” because I was all of the aforesaid. They succeeded in forcing me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old just before their “offer” expired. If I had not succumbed, I would not have been eligible for regular retirement until 2003. Their forcing me to retire wasted what I had learned a) working for GAO for 18 years and for IRS for 9 years, b) earning three job-related master’s degrees (finance-1997, accounting-1980, and business-1976), c) six job-related professional certifications (forensic accounting-1997, financial services auditing-1996, government financial management-1994, fraud examination-1990, internal auditing-1981, and accounting-1979) and d) earning a job-related professional license (CPA-1981).)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/12/trump-federal-worker-buyout-court-hearing/
— Trump wants to substantially cut the federal workforce. Here’s what it looks like. While federal hiring has increased in recent years, federal workers, as a share of all Americans workers, remains at a historic low.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/12/federal-workers-trump-doge-cuts/
FORBES
— Democrats and RINOs use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnarae/2025/02/13/the-state-of-dei-practitioners-navigate-a-shifting-landscape/
NPR
— Trump ignites political firestorm in South Africa over Afrikaner asylum status offer (COMMENT: Because Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to discriminate against Whites in America big time, it makes no sense for Whites to immigrate to America.)
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5294345/trump-ignites-political-firestorm-in-south-africa-over-afrikaner-asylum-status-offer
HUFFINGTON POST
— Trump Ordered A Federal Hiring Freeze. Previous Ones Backfired. GAO found that earlier hiring freezes actually made government services less efficient. (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years, the agency was almost always under Republican-imposed hiring freezes and/or promotion freezes.)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-federal-hiring-freeze_n_678fe14de4b02903dff7d61f
GAO
— U.S. Comptroller General (COMMENT: Who does Trump want the next U.S. Comptroller General to be and why?)
https://www.gao.gov/about/comptroller-general
(FROM THE POSTING: Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. He was nominated by President Obama in September of 2010 from a list of candidates selected by a bipartisan, bicameral congressional commission. He had been serving as Acting Comptroller General since March of 2008. . . The Comptroller General of the United States heads the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an agency within the legislative branch of the federal government. The Comptroller General is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy occurs in the office of the Comptroller General, the Congress establishes a bipartisan, bicameral commission to recommend individuals to the President. The Comptroller General’s term of office is set statutorily at 15 years and they are not eligible for reappointment.)
INDIA TODAY
— Indians seeking asylum in US grew 470% in 5 years
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/indians-seeking-asylum-in-us-grew-470-in-5-years-study/ar-AA1yU0hE
Tag: political
February 12, 2025 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Mike Madigan found guilty on 10 counts in partial verdict, not guilty on 7 counts. Republicans, Democrats denounce corruption that brought Madigan down.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/mike-madigan-news-jury-illinois-house-speaker-corruption-trial-reaches-consensus-17-charges-deadlocked-6-others/15897869/
— Senate confirms Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans fall in line
https://abc7chicago.com/post/tulsi-gabbard-senate-votes-nomination-trumps-director-national-intelligence/15897871/
FOX32
— Pat Brady reacts to Madigan’s guilty verdict
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1592230
WTTW
— Judge Clears Way for Donald Trump’s Plan to Downsize Federal Workforce With Deferred Resignation Program
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/12/judge-clears-way-donald-trump-s-plan-downsize-federal-workforce-deferred-resignation
WBEZ
— PBS shutters DEI office. The public broadcaster says it is closing its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office to comply with a recent executive order from President Donald Trump.
https://www.wbez.org/media/2025/02/12/pbs-shutters-dei-office
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Reader: Removing late Rep. Henry Hyde’s name from DuPage courthouse is ‘terrible and petty’
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2025/02/12/removing-henry-hyde-name-dupage-courthouse-wrong-blagojevich-donald-trump-suenos-ymca
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Michael Madigan guilty of bribery conspiracy, wire fraud
https://chicago.suntimes.com/madigan-trial-news/2025/02/12/mike-madigan-trial-jury-deliberation-write-through
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Madigan jury sends a message — to all of America
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/michael-madigan-jury-sends-message-ethics-greg-hinz
KWQC
— Illinois GOP leader McCombie said Madigan’s guilty verdict ‘sober day’ for state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx98bYXzi4A
NPR ILLINOIS
— Pritzker emerging as one of Trump’s most vocal Democratic critics
https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2025-02-12/pritzker-emerging-as-one-of-trumps-most-vocal-democratic-critics
FOX ILLINOIS
— White House ‘not satisfied’ with number of ICE arrests
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/white-house-not-satisfied-with-number-of-ice-arrests-illegal-immigration-customs-enforcement-migrants-president-donald-trump-sanctuary-cities-white-house-border-czar-tom-homan-sex-trafficking-ring-gang-tren-de-aragua-gangs
CAPITOL FAX
— Roundup: Madigan, McClain trial verdict
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/12/roundup-madigan-mcclain-trial-verdict/
— Madigan/McClain verdict react (Updated)
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/12/madigan-verdict-react/
— Madigan/McClain trial verdict cheat sheet
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/12/madiganmcclain-trial-verdict-cheat-sheet/
— Madigan jury has come to a unanimous decision on 17 counts, deadlocked on 12 counts
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/12/madigan-jury-has-come-to-a-unanimous-decision-on-17-counts-impasse-on-12-counts/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WHEATON RECORD
— Alumni Sign Letter of Complaint After Vought Controversy. Social media posts congratulating Russell Vought on his new position with the Trump administration sparked controversy.
https://thewheatonrecord.com/2025/02/12/alumni-vought-controversy/
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Illinois House GOP demands ethics reforms after Madigan guilty verdicts
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_201ead3e-e97d-11ef-a7f8-3b73f27018ea.html
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— My Wife Bought Champagne When Investigation of Madigan Began Pledging Not to Open It Until He Was Convicted, Now’s the Time
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/my-wife-bought-champagne-when-investigation-of-madigan-began-pledging-not-to-open-it-until-he-was-convicted/
— Press Release from U.S. Attorney on Mike Madigan Conviction
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/press-release-from-u-s-attorney-on-mike-madigan-conviction/
— House Republicans Point to Suzanne Ness’ Huge Contributions from Mike Madigan
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/house-republicans-point-to-suzanne-ness-huge-contributions-from-mike-madigan/
— Schakowsky Outlines District Impact of Social Security Expansion Law Giving Higher Retirement Benefits to Government Employees
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/schakowsky-outlines-impact-of-social-security-expansion-law-giving-higher-retirement-benefits-to-government-employees/
— Election Cartoon
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/election-cartoon/
— February 21st Is Day Lara Trump Speaking at McHenry County GOPAC Event
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/february-21st-is-day-lara-trump-speaking-at-mchenry-county-gopac-event/
— About the Proposed Commuter Service to Rockford through Huntley
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/12/about-the-proposed-commuter-service-to-rockford-through-huntley/
— LaHood Criticizes Blagojevich Pardon
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/11/lahood-criticizes-blagojevich-pardon/
— Wilcox Files Domestic Abuse Bill
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/11/wilcox-files-domestic-abuse-bill/
— Trump Pardon of Blagojevich Minimizes Problem with Illinois Corruption
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/11/trump-pardon-of-blagojevich-minimizes-problem-with-illinois-corruption/
— Challenges to FOID Card Requirement’s Constitutionality Continue
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/11/challenges-to-foid-card-requirements-constitutionality-continue/
— Schakowsky Demonstrates at Treasury Department
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/11/schakowsky-demonstrates-at-treasury-department/
— Former State Rep. DeLoris Doederlein Honored by Kane County Republicans
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/10/former-state-rep-deloris-doederlein-honored-by-kane-county-republicans/
— DeWitte Outlines Latest on Illegal Aliens
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/10/dewitte-outlines-latest-on-illegal-aliens/
— Schakowsky Defends Federal Employees
www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/10/schakowsky-defends-federal-employees/
— Illinois Compared to Indiana
https://https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/09/illinois-compared-to-indiana/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— The Associated Press exposes its hate for Trump … again
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/12/associated-press-exposes-hate-trump/
— U.S. government employees overwhelmingly back Democrats. In politics, nothing indicates loyalty more than where people put their money. (COMMENT: While I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, virtually all my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were Democrats.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/11/u-government-employees-overwhelmingly-back-democra/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The federal workforce has become an integral part of the Democratic Party power structure, rivaling the liberal mainstream media, billionaire donors and the activist nonprofits they fund as its most important political ally. This is why Democrats are proclaiming a guerrilla street revolution. They want to stop President Trump and point man Elon Musk from downsizing their army and from surgically removing liberal agenda offices, agencies and leaders — a force it took Democrats years to put into place. Mr. Musk immediately targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development and its exporting of woke ideologies. Federal election records show that USAID personnel contributed $240,000 to the Kamala Harris campaign in the 2024 election cycle and just $999 to Mr. Trump. Of USAID’s top 20 funded candidates, just one was a Republican. President Biden used executive orders to open the southern border to drug cartel-smuggled migrants, to rewrite Title IX for men in women’s sports and to repay students’ delinquent loans without congressional approval. Democrats cheered. They warn Mr. Trump not to downsize the U.S. government, as our national debt reaches $36 trillion, or we’ll impeach him again. OpenSecrets.org, which tracks campaign donations, shows that government workers bankroll Democrats in large ratios. In politics, nothing indicates loyalty more than where people put their money. Employees in the government’s 15 Cabinet-level departments, such as Defense, State and Justice, contributed over $9 million to candidate Harris compared with $1.6 million to Mr. Trump. Looking at federal employees collectively would put them in the top 12 of Harris donors. “One of the reasons the left gravitates to the bureaucracies is because they know it allows them to exercise unaccountable power,” Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told me. His group has uncovered government misconduct by aggressively pursuing Freedom of Information Act lawsuits. Mr. Fitton added, “History shows effective conservative government reformers will be targeted, isolated, harassed, smeared and destroyed. And public employee unions necessarily have an interest in bigger government, which means they are allied with and support leftist and Democratic Party politicians.” For example, when IRS whistleblowers came forward to testify about Mr. Biden’s family corruption, agency higher-ups smashed them. Special Agents Joe Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in 2023 that the Justice Department blocked their probe of Hunter Biden into income tax fraud. In December, the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that protects against whistleblower reprisals, concluded that the two were the victims of illegal gag orders and workplace retaliations by top IRS officials. IRS employees donated $644,000 to Democrats and $135,000 to Republicans in the 2024 election cycle.)
— ‘Reverse flow’: Illegal immigrants streaming back home after being blocked by Trump’s border
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/12/reverse-flow-illegal-immigrants-streaming-back-hom/
NEW YORK POST
— Trump says he wants ‘con job’ Education Department closed ‘immediately’
https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/trump-says-he-would-like-education-department-closed-immediately-but-needs-buy-in-from-congress-unions/
— DOJ announces lawsuit against New York, Hochul and state AG James over ‘sanctuary’ status
https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-doj-lawsuit-against-new-york-hochul-and-state-ag-james-over-sanctuary-status/
— Federal judge allows Trump to push forward with buyouts for government workers after 65K accept offers
https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/federal-judge-allows-trump-to-push-forward-with-buyouts-for-government-workers/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— Attorney General Pam Bondi announces lawsuit against New York over immigration enforcement
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-immigration-enforcement/
— Judge allows Trump’s deferred resignations plan for federal workers to proceed
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-allows-trumps-deferred-resignations-plan-federal-workers-to-proceed/
CNN
— Government watchdogs fired by Trump sue to get their jobs back
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/inspector-general-lawsuit-fired-trump
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Eight inspectors general whom Donald Trump fired from their federal agency watchdog posts are suing for their jobs back, adding to the legal scrutiny over Trump’s first weeks of decisions in the White House and raising questions about his political intentions. They say that Trump shouldn’t have been able to fire them in late January without first notifying Congress and that the White House ignored regulations around their removal that existed to protect them from political interference and retribution. The administration’s “actions have inflicted substantial damage on the critical oversight ethos of transparency, truth-telling without fear or favor, and respect for the rule of law,” the lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC’s federal court on Wednesday, states. The lawsuit is the latest among more than four dozen filed in federal courts to challenge swift, early executive actions by the Trump administration. Many of the lawsuits, like Wednesday’s, allege that Trump’s White House is depriving Congress of some of its power. The IG’s case adds to a pile of challenges from government workers the Trump administration has removed from various posts — especially those in independent or non-political roles. The dismissals also raise questions over Trump and temporary government adviser Elon Musk’s adversarial approach to existing, long-established federal corruption watchdogs, at a time Trump and Musk are dismantling parts of the government, citing in part a desire to root out corruption. Trump’s dismissal of 18 IGs happened in the first week of his second term, when the watchdogs each received two-sentence emails titled “White House Notification” from the Office of Presidential Personnel. The reason they were given was “changing priorities,” which is not a sufficient reason under the law, their lawsuit claims. Soon after, the IG’s government email access was shut off, and they couldn’t return to their office buildings. “Their purported removals were legal nullities, and so they remain the duly appointed IGs of their respective agencies, unless and until the President lawfully removes them in compliance,” attorneys for the eight IGs wrote. “Plaintiffs’ integrity has been baselessly maligned publicly, with the abrupt and unlawful nature of their purported removals incorrectly implying that plaintiffs have done something wrong when in fact they have each done nothing but uphold the values of their positions and the IG community,” the suit adds. The IGs allege Trump has told Congress – as is required by law – nothing. The lawsuit instead points out the president commented to the press some IGs “were not doing their job.” Trump fired a 19th inspector general, the USAID’s watchdog, this week. The inspectors general, in positions across many government agencies, work to find and prevent waste, fraud and abuse within federal departments. The IGs say their work is non-partisan and ultimately saves taxpayers billions of dollars, protects vulnerable Americans’ rights and safeguards national security, according to the complaint. Those whom Trump fired include IGs at crucial departments including Defense, Health and Human Services, State and Veterans Affairs who say their work has saved the agencies millions of dollars. One of the IGs who is suing, Phyllis Fong, had been in her position at the Department of Agriculture for more than 20 years. After Fong was told she was fired, she continued to go to work, “recognizing that her termination was not effective because it failed to comply with the IG Act’s requirements,” her attorneys wrote, until her federal badge was deactivated and her computer and phone were taken back by the Department of Agriculture. Several of those who are suing had worked under Trump during his first term in the presidency, and one, Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration, had been Trump’s nominee for the post in 2018. The other IGs who are suing are: Robert Storch of the Defense Department; Michael Missal of Veterans Affairs; Christi Grimm of Health and Human Services; Cardell Richardson of the State Department; Sandra Bruce of the Education Department; and Larry Turner of the Department of Labor.)
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Are Trump’s Attempts to Overhaul the Federal Workforce Legal? Personnel moves will face a range of tests in court.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/are-trumps-attempts-to-overhaul-the-federal-workforce-legal-f36cb5c0
RASMUSSEN REPORTS
— Birthright Citizenship: Majority Want Limits
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/birthright_citizenship_majority_want_limits
February 11, 1025 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NEWSWEEK
— Henry Hyde’s Name Stripped From Courthouse Over Anti-Abortion Law
https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-name-removed-courthouse-over-anti-abortion-law-2029685
— Trump Admin to ‘Double’ Manpower in Sanctuary Cities After Court Rulings
https://www.newsweek.com/border-czar-immigration-sanctuary-cities-legal-challenges-2029469
ABC7
— DuPage County lawmakers vote to remove Henry Hyde’s name from courthouse (COMMENT: Those who spoke eloquently in favor keeping the building named after Hyde include Hyde’s son Anthony Hyde, Chris Kachiroubas, Dennis Reboletti, and Gary Vician. Those who wanted to speak but were not allowed to because of Democrat time limits included Ron Almiron, Kevin Coyne, Jeanne Ives, and Randy Ramey. Of course, the five Republican County Board members who were present spoke eloquently in favor keeping the building named after Hyde: Cindy Cronin Cahill, Grant Eckhoff, Brian Krajewski, Sam Tornatore, and James Zay.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dupage-county-lawmakers-vote-remove-late-congressman-henry-hydes-name-courthouse/15892352/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: During public comment at Tuesday’s meeting, Congressman Hyde’s son Anthony spoke on his father’s legacy. “My father didn’t do anything to deserve being canceled and that’s what this resolution aims to do,” he said. “It’s an attempt to erase and rewrite history. As elected officials, you have to be better than that.” . . . The resolution to remove Hyde’s name passed by a 10-5 vote.)
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot
https://abc7chicago.com/post/cannabis-news-2024-marks-another-record-breaking-year-legal-marijuana-sales-illinois-industry-grows/15894693/
WGN9
— DuPage County Board votes to strip former congressman’s name from courthouse
https://wgntv.com/news/dupage-county/dupage-county-board-votes-to-strip-former-congressmans-name-from-courthouse/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElsnPTH5xAQ
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DuPage County Board votes to strip US Rep. Henry Hyde’s name from courthouse
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/11/dupage-county-board-to-strip-u-s-rep-henry-hydes-name-from-courthouse/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: While Democrats and Republicans voted along party lines on the issue, Democrats Lynn LaPlante and Lucy Chang Evans abstained from the vote and expressed disappointment that the matter was raised. . .The board’s vote followed several personal pleas from friends, family and supporters of Hyde’s asking members to refrain from moving forward with the name change. Anthony Hyde, Hyde’s son who lives in North Aurora, said his father was his hero. “No matter how you vote today, nothing will ever change that,” he said. “The chair and others in this room have stated the reason you want to remove his name from the judicial center is because of his position on abortion and, in particular, the Hyde Amendment. … Believe me when I say I can empathize with your position. “But also understand that my father was more than just a one-note politician. My father was a statesman for this country. He advocated for those in need locally, nationally and globally.” Public comment totaled 30 minutes. The board voted 10-8 against extending the public comment period by another half hour.)
— Crete hardware store workers rescue man who drove onto iced-over pond
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/11/crete-hardware-store-workers-rescue-driver-frozen-pond/
DAILY HERALD
— Henry Hyde’s name will be removed from courthouse in DuPage County
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250211/news/henry-hydes-name-will-be-removed-from-courthouse-in-dupage-county/
— ‘Hell has open borders’: Palatine church causes stir with sign invoking illegal immigration
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250210/news/palatine-church-causes-stir-with-sign-invoking-illegal-immigration/
NAPERVILLE COMMUNITY TV
— DuPage County Board votes to remove Henry Hyde’s name from courthouse
https://www.nctv17.org/news/dupage-county-board-votes-to-remove-henry-hydes-name-from-courthouse/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ‘Hell has open borders’: Palatine church causes stir with sign invoking illegal immigration
https://chicago.suntimes.com/suburban-chicago/2025/02/11/palatine-sign-illegal-immigration-new-hope-community-church
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot
https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2025/02/11/cannabis-sales-2024-marijuana
WBEZ
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot
https://www.wbez.org/business/2025/02/11/cannabis-sales-2024-marijuana
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot
https://www.wandtv.com/news/city-of-spirngfield-opens-another-round-of-cannabis-grant-applications/article_e5d7ee7a-e8c7-11ef-ac2d-6312328d5ca4.html
STATELINE
— Democrats protest outside LaHood’s Rockford office
https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/activists-protest-trump-actions-outside-office-of-rockford-congressman-darin-lahood/
ALTON TELEGRAPH
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly succeed in getting religious leaders to do their bidding.
https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/politics/article/alert-more-than-two-dozen-us-religious-groups-20160387.php
FOX ILLINOIS
— IRS enforcement funding on chopping block as GOP weighs spending priorities
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/irs-enforcement-funding-on-chopping-block-as-gop-weighs-spending-priorities-internal-revenue-service-trump-administration-politics
WCIA
— Republicans once railed against armed IRS agents. Now they want them for immigration enforcement
https://www.wcia.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-republicans-once-railed-against-armed-irs-agents-now-they-want-them-for-immigration-enforcement/
WGME
— Democrat leaders crow about their success in manipulating and dominating Wheaton College
https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/illinois-college-deletes-post-congratulating-trump-appointee-cites-significant-concern-wheaton-college-russell-vought-office-of-management-and-budget-white-house
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— Lawsuits with Trump administration stretching Illinois attorney general’s resources. Raoul involved in multiple suits with other states challenging Trump actions
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/lawsuits-with-trump-administration-stretching-illinois-attorney-generals-resources/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-247/
— Magic phrase returns: ‘Forensic audit’ (COMMENT: I became a Forensic Accountant in 1997.)
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/11/magic-phrase-returns-forensic-audit/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
DUPAGE POLICY JOURNAL
— Safe Suburbs USA on DuPage County vote to strip courthouse of Henry Hyde’s name: ‘Stop trying to replace our history with woke crazy!’
https://dupagepolicyjournal.com/stories/669667623-safe-suburbs-usa-on-dupage-county-vote-to-strip-courthouse-of-henry-hyde-s-name-stop-trying-to-replace-our-history-with-woke-crazy
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— University of Illinois Chicago sued after fired professor criticized hiring programs
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_1e6f41a8-e8b3-11ef-b51c-cb60d52aa87c.html
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Vallas: Illinois’ woes say more about Pritzker, Johnson than Trump
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/vallas-illinois-woes-say-more-about-pritzker-johnson-than-trump/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump’s dream of making Canada a U.S. state would be a political nightmare for Republicans
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/11/donald-trump-dream-making-canada-u-state-would-pol/
— FEMA employees did avoid pro-Trump homes last year
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/11/fema-employees-avoid-pro-donald-trump-homes-last-y/
— Trump administration officials tell senators they need $175B for border, immigration enforcement
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/11/trump-administration-officials-tell-senators-need-/
NEW YORK POST
— Homan accuses FBI of leaking information about ICE raids: ‘Lives at risk’
https://nypost.com/2025/02/11/us-news/tom-homan-accuses-fbi-of-leaking-information-about-ice-raids/
CHRISTIAN POST
— Palatine church branded hateful for ‘Heaven has strict immigration laws’
https://www.christianpost.com/news/church-branded-hateful-for-heaven-has-strict-immigration-laws.html
DAILY SIGNAL
— Not Enough People Were ‘Marginalized,’ So Obama Created DEI (COMMENT: According to Democrat and RINO leaders, those who are the following are marginalized:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/11/enough-people-were-marginalized-obama-created-dei/
DAILY WIRE
— Government To Fund Study On ‘Fear Of Deportation’ Leading To ‘Systemic Inflammation.’ The study hypothesizes that engaging in political activism could reduce ‘systemic inflammation’ in illegal immigrants.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/government-to-fund-study-on-fear-of-deportation-leading-to-systemic-inflammation
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— Texas Tech Course Teaches Critical Race Theory Despite State Ban on DEI. “examine how privilege in the workplace impacts the socioeconomic and cultural status of individuals and groups.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/texas-tech-course-teaches-critical-race-theory-despite-state-ban-on-dei/
LIFE NEWS
— Democrats Remove Henry Hyde’s Name From Courthouse Because He Was Pro-Life
https://www.lifenews.com/2025/02/11/democrats-remove-henry-hydes-name-from-courthouse-because-he-was-pro-life/
WESTERN JOURNAL
— ‘They Forced Us’: Tom Homan Warns Sanctuary Cities Are About to ‘Get Exactly What They Don’t Want’
https://www.westernjournal.com/forced-us-tom-homan-warns-sanctuary-cities-get-exactly-dont-want/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CNN
— Democrat leaders promote reverse discrimination in America as well as South Africa
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/11/africa/south-africa-land-aid-freeze-trump-intl/index.html
REUTERS
— Democrat leaders promote reverse discrimination in America as well as South Africa
https://www.reuters.com/world/trumps-accusations-against-south-africa-spark-white-privilege-self-mockery-2025-02-11/
NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/nyregion/trump-nyc.html
LOS ANGELES TIMES
— Democrat leaders crow about their success manipulating and dominating religious leaders
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-02-11/trump-wont-block-immigration-arrests-in-houses-of-worship-now-these-27-religious-groups-are-suing
FORBES
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly succeed in getting religious leaders to do their bidding.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/02/11/everything-to-know-about-trumps-mass-deportation-plans-pope-francis-slams-trumps-treatment-of-migrants/
February 11, 2025
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— DuPage County lawmakers to vote whether to remove Henry Hyde’s name from courthouse
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dupage-county-lawmakers-vote-remove-late-congressman-henry-hydes-name-courthouse/15892352/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The DuPage County GOP Chair Kevin Coyne disagrees with removing Hyde’s name. “Henry Hyde was a titanic political figure in DuPage County for many, many years, He did a lot of wonderful things for our country and for our state over 30 plus years in Congress. He was a bipartisan gentleman, had a lot of support, a lot of friends on the other side of the aisle. He strikes me as the kind of official that we should be looking to model ourselves after.” The DuPage County Board will meet Tuesday at 10 a.m. If the resolution passes, the Hyde family will be given a plaque.)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Orland Park resolution states police will work with ICE on immigration matters, opposes state law on issue (COMMENT: What positions do the leaders of your county, township, and municipality have on enforcement of immigration laws?)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/10/orland-park-police-immigration/
— US judge keeps Trump plan to push out federal employees on hold (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. When federal agencies have to push out their employees, they first push out those who are Republican and then those who are White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. But I nevertheless survived for almost 18 years 1980-1997 as a GAO employee while Republicans ever-increasingly used budget cuts to push out the agency’s employees. The following helped me survive. I earned job-related professional certifications in 1997 (forensic accounting), 1996 (financial services auditing), 1994 (government financial management), 1990 (fraud examination), 1981 (internal auditing), and 1979 (accounting). I earned a job-related professional license in 1981 (CPA). I earned job-related master’s degrees in 1997 (financial markets and trading), 1980 (accounting), and 1976 (business).)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/10/trump-plan-push-out-federal-workers/
— Illinois and 21 other states file lawsuit challenging ‘devastating’ cuts to federal health research funding
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/10/illinois-challengs-research-funding-cuts/
— Judge finds Trump administration hasn’t fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending (COMMENT: How dependent on federal spending are those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct? The more financial, health, and other problems that you have, the more dependent that you are on federal spending. Pritzker ever-increasingly a) attracts voters to Illinois who have problems and b) drives voters out of Illinois who do not have problems.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/10/trump-federal-spending/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell became the first judge to find that the administration had not obeyed a court order. Federal money for things like early childhood education, pollution reduction and HIV prevention research has remained tied up even after his Jan. 31 order to blocking a planned halt on federal spending, he found.)
— Chicago has not been immune from air traffic controller shortages in recent years (COMMENT: I worked for GAO on an audit of FAA that involved air traffic controller staffing in the early 1980s.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/11/chicago-air-traffic-controller-shortages/
— Chicago says it hopes to open city-owned market instead of city-owned grocery store
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-says-hopes-open-city-110000368.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Trump’s pardon of Blagojevich insults Illinoisans who are fed up with corruption. And can President Trump find no one with a clean record to represent Americans as ambassadors? Crime pays, it seems, in Trump’s orbit — including the Jan. 6 rioters he pardoned. (COMMENT: What is in your record that your critics/opponents use against you? My critics/opponents stress the adverse actions that they had their operatives and their dupes take against me.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/editorials/2025/02/10/rod-blagojevich-donald-tump-presidential-pardon-corruption-joe-biden-hunter-chicago-illinois
— Trump says Palestinians won’t have right to return to Gaza under his US ‘ownership’ plan
https://chicago.suntimes.com/war-in-gaza/2025/02/10/trump-gaza-develop-plan-palestinians-no-right-to-return-united-states-us-ownership
DAILY HERALD
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250210/news/illinois-had-record-2-billion-in-legal-marijuana-sales-in-2024/
— FRONT PAGE: Illinois politicians react to Blagojevich pardon
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250210/nation-and-world-politics/it-sets-a-real-bad-example-illinois-politicians-react-to-blagojevich-pardon/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Illinois Republican Party state central committee member Aaron Del Mar of Palatine didn’t object to Trump ending Blagojevich’s prison sentence early with a commutation five years ago but drew the line at wiping the disgraced politician’s slate clean with a pardon. “I think it sets a real bad example, especially since the jury is still out on the former speaker of the House,” Del Mar said, referring to Michael Madigan’s federal corruption trial. “It says that only certain people are going to be held accountable.” . . . “The former governor has served his time, and it’s time to move on,” said Zay, a former chair of the DuPage County Republican Party. While Zay thinks Blagojevich has worn out his welcome with Illinois voters, he said an ambassadorship “would be interesting.”)
WGN9
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more abortion. Why are there so many unwanted pregnancies?
https://wgnradio.com/health/ap-what-to-know-about-proposals-to-ban-abortion-pills-and-punish-women-who-seek-abortion/
FOX32
— Illinois leaders slam Trump’s decision to pardon Blagojevich
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/blago-reaction-illinois-leaders
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran: “I strongly disagree with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Illinois taxpayers have and continue to be burdened with the cost of public corruption, and this pardon sends the wrong message.”)
WTTW
— How Trump’s Plan to Shrink the Federal Workforce Could Impact Illinois (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, Republicans shrank GAO’s work force in Illinois dramatically. My Democrat GAO superiors punished me severely for that.)
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/10/how-trump-s-plan-shrink-federal-workforce-could-impact-illinois
WGN RADIO
— Democrats say that “With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails.”
https://wgnradio.com/news/political-news/ap-with-firings-and-lax-enforcement-trump-moving-to-dismantle-governments-public-integrity-guardrails/
— Judge orders fired head of whistleblower agency reinstated while fight continues over Trump removal (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, I ever-increasingly blew the whistle on their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination. They ever-increasingly punished me for that. My critics/opponents side with the Democrats. They promote political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.)
https://wgnradio.com/news/political-news/ap-head-of-agency-that-protects-whistleblowers-sues-trump-over-firing/
— Democrats say “News influencers favored Trump over Harris during campaign.” Since 2000, my critics/opponents have demonized me, denigrated me, and condemned as being a failed and far too-conservative would-be news influencer. Since 2000, they have blamed me and blamed my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for all the general election losses that Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have suffered. According to my critics/opponents, those candidates lost general elections because voters want Democrat-Lite candidates and I paint candidates as being far more conservative than they want to be painted.)
https://wgnradio.com/news/technology-news/ap-news-influencers-favored-trump-over-harris-during-campaign-study-finds/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration.
https://wgnradio.com/news/national/ap-migrants-stranded-in-mexico-try-to-restart-life-after-trump-eliminates-legal-pathway-to-us/
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more abortion. Why are there so many unwanted pregnancies?
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/health-news/ap-what-to-know-about-proposals-to-ban-abortion-pills-and-punish-women-who-seek-abortion/
WIFR
— Trump’s Blagojevich pardon earns bipartisan disappointment from Illinois lawmakers
https://www.wifr.com/2025/02/11/trumps-blagojevich-pardon-earns-bipartisan-disappointment-illinois-lawmakers/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “This is a decision I would not have come to, so it is something I would disagree with President Trump on,” argues Syverson. The Republican hopes Trump sees an improved Blagojevich; he worries the official forgiveness sends the wrong message. “Maybe he’s learned his ways, but he was guilty of what he did and there should be consequences for that,” comments Syverson. . .Syverson says he trusts Trump’s judgment with any further decision. “Hopefully, he [Blagojevich] will use this, and his history has been a learning lesson and that he’ll be able to make good,” exclaims the state senator. Before signing the official forgiveness, Trump characterized Blagojevich’s treatment as a “terrible injustice.” The President declared it time the former governor had a “normal life.”)
NPR ILLINOIS
— Democrat leaders use against Trump those who Trump pardoned
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-10/presidents-pardons-of-insurrectionists-stoke-worries-in-springfields-jewish-community
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-454/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WIREPOINTS
— One big example of why Illinois badly needs a DOGE of its own
https://wirepoints.org/one-big-example-of-why-illinois-badly-needs-a-doge-of-its-own-wirepoints/
JEFF BERKOWITZ
— IL GOP House Leader Tony McCombie joins Trump’s fight w/criminal aliens
https://jeffberkowitz208.substack.com/p/il-gop-house-leader-tony-mccombie
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Illinois lawmakers plan to short pensions by $5.1B in July
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-lawmakers-plan-to-short-pensions-by-5-1b-in-july/
— Unfunded mandates keep property taxes high
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/unfunded-mandates-keep-property-taxes-high/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Google axes DEI, progressive-backed markers from its calendar
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/10/google-calendar-axes-dei-labels-black-history-mont/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Trump adopts Biden’s legal playbook to challenge sanctuary cities
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/3315568/trump-adopts-biden-legal-playbook-challenge-sanctuary-cities/
NEW YORK POST
— Trump’s all-out assault on woke is tearing down the left’s cultural sway
https://nypost.com/2025/02/10/opinion/trumps-war-on-woke-is-tearing-down-the-lefts-cultural-sway/
— Anti-woke activist targets Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan for DEI battle
https://nypost.com/2025/02/10/us-news/anti-woke-activist-targets-jamie-dimons-jpmorgan-for-dei-battle/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Trump is just the tip of the iceberg
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/trump_is_just_the_tip_of_the_iceberg.html
BREITBART
— Democrats Help Illegal Migrants Avoid Legal Repatriation
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/02/10/democrats-help-illegal-migrants-avoid-legal-repatriation/
— On Monday, White County Resident Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb ruled against a requirement that Illinois residents must obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card in order to possess a gun in the home for self-defense.
https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2025/02/10/circuit-court-judge-strikes-down-illinois-foid-card-requirement-guns-home/
COLLEGE FIX
— Trump fires ‘woke’ advisory board leaders at military academies
https://www.thecollegefix.com/trump-fires-woke-advisory-board-leaders-at-military-academies/
DAILY WIRE
— Trump Wasn’t Joking: Some IRS Workers To Help With Deportation. Trump said last month that he might send IRS workers “to the border.” (COMMENT: While I worked for IRS in 1971, I was assigned for 2 weeks to Nixon project to fight inflation.)
https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-wasnt-joking-some-irs-workers-to-help-with-deportation-report-says
FEDERALIST
— Naval Academy Launches Review Of School Clubs To Ensure Compliance With Trump’s DEI Prohibition
https://thefederalist.com/2025/02/10/naval-academy-launches-review-of-school-clubs-to-ensure-compliance-with-trumps-dei-prohibition/
FOX NEWS
— Pritzker has a long history of not following the law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8cksnIscE0
— Trump’s Department of Homeland Security looking to deputize IRS agents for immigration enforcement. DHS Secretary Noem requests IRS agents be provided to help ICE. (COMMENT: Fox 3 years, I worked for GAO on audits of IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division at the GS-13 Step 1-3 Levels, currently $117,807-$125,661/year.)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/trumps-dhs-deputize-irs-agents-immigration-enforcement
— Trump pardons former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich: ‘He was set up’
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368623514112
LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY
— NYC teachers’ union defies Trump, coaches teachers to advise illegals how to handle ICE
https://lawenforcementtoday.com/nyc-teachers-union-defies-trump-administration-coaches-teachers-to-advise-illegals-how-to-handle-ice
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— CBS News Poll Shows Overwhelming Positive Approval of Trump
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/cbs-news-poll-shows-overwhelming-positive-approval-of-trump/
POINTS & FIGURES
— Secession Is a Good Idea
https://jeffreycarter.substack.com/p/secession-is-a-good-idea
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC NEWS
— FEMA halts migrant housing funds in NY after Musk’s criticism
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fema-halting-payments-migrant-housing-new-york-after-118670265
CBS NEWS
— Blagojevich expresses gratitude for pardon by President Trump
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/former-gov-rod-blagojevich-expresses-gratitude-for-pardon-by-president-trump/
MSNBC
— The closer one looks at Trump’s Blagojevich pardon, the worse it appears. The message to politicians convicted or accused of corruption couldn’t be clearer: You have a friend in the Oval Office.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/closer-one-looks-trumps-blagojevich-pardon-worse-appears-rcna191638
NEW YORK TIMES
— Trump’s Blueprint for Bending the Media Has Nixon Written All Over It (COMMENT: My critics/opponents destroy those like me a) who they cannot manipulate or dominate, b) who refuse to glorify and praise them, c) who refuse to pander to them, d) who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, d) who refuse to coverup their wrongdoing, and/or e) who refuse to give them money. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois and who have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/business/media/trump-nixon-media-press.html
— Democrat and RINO employers use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/business/trump-dei-employers.html
— White House Undermines Watchdog for Consumers (COMMENT: My critics/opponents are a) pro-seller and b) anti-buyer.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/business/vought-cfpb-musk-trump.html
— DOGE Is Corrosive to Our Democracy (COMMENT: If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/opinion/treasure-secretaries-doge-musk.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Trump pardons Rod Blagojevich, who tried to sell Obama’s vacated Senate seat. The former Illinois governor was convicted on multiple charges of corruption in 2011. He served eight years in prison before Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/10/trump-pardon-rod-blagojevich-illinois-governor/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Democrats and RINOs stand up for Democrats and for RINOs.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democrats-stand-up-for-the-bureaucrats-protest-dodge-government-policy-d9b18071
MARKETPLACE
— Trump’s purge of federal workers and its historical parallels (COMMENT: The Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997 gave purge lists to all of their new managers of their Chicago office. Of course, I was at the top of all of those lists because I am conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my ancestors had been in America since 1844.)
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart/trumps-purge-of-federal-workers-and-its-historical-parallels/
POLITICO
— Trump is slashing agencies long hated by the GOP. The next cuts might be harder. “You gotta light things on fire that burn the brightest and have the most distinctive smell of waste fraud and abuse,” said one White House ally. (COMMENT: One reason why I took a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO was to escape hatred against IRS employees.)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/11/trump-musk-vought-future-cut-targets-00203444
— ‘JD gets the game’: Vance embraces role as social media provocateur. Vance’s approach to social media isn’t new. But his perch in the presidential line of succession is.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/10/jd-vance-donald-trump-online-trolling-00203429
February 10, 2025 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Why Henry Hyde’s name should stay on the DuPage County courthouse. The GOP powerhouse stood for far more than his famous eponymous abortion amendment.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/10/editorial-henry-hyde-dupage-county-courthouse/
(FROM THE EDITORIAL: History often is complex and resistant to simple narratives. So are people. So it is a needlessly divisive mistake for DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy to push for her fellow board members to remove the name of the late Henry J. Hyde, longtime Republican congressman, from the county courthouse. The board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the issue. Hyde represented DuPage, which until recent years was a Republican power center, in Washington for more than three decades, retiring in 2007. During that time, Hyde wasn’t some low-profile lifer in Congress. He was one of the House’s most prominent members, even when he was serving in the minority, which is to say most of his career there. Conroy’s rationale for removing Hyde’s name from the court building is that the staunchly anti-abortion politician was responsible for the Hyde Amendment, the provision in federal law that for decades barred spending federal taxpayer money on abortions with exceptions for rape, incest or endangerment to the life of the mother. “It’s strictly because of the Hyde Amendment, and it’s very difficult for so many women to walk into the courthouse and see (his name),” she told the Tribune. Abortion rights is an issue that only has grown more intense since Hyde died 10 months after his retirement. We understand the symbolic argument. But to strip his name from the building would be akin to removing Richard J. Daley’s name from the courthouse in the heart of the Loop over a single issue — say, the police beating of protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention on his orders, the culture of corruption that the Daley machine fostered or his brutal segregationist policies. Even many ardent Daley critics wouldn’t suggest doing so. Why is that? Because Daley is a singularly important figure in the history of Chicago and to rename the Daley Center or Daley Plaza would be to try to negate that history. Like Daley, Hyde was a complicated figure and far more than the name adorning a famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) piece of legislation. Memories are short, of course, but for most of his career Hyde was an intellectual heavyweight on the Republican side of the aisle. Agree or disagree, but when Hyde took the floor to speak, people listened. And for good reason. He was a thoughtful conservative. Consider this: Hyde stepped down in 1981 from the advisory board of the National Pro-Life Political Action Committee after Executive Director Peter Gemma Jr. identified incumbent lawmakers the group planned to work to defeat. Hyde objected to targeting officeholders over a single issue. Much the way the DuPage board is considering doing Tuesday. Would the Democratic majority on the DuPage board consider themselves in favor of reasonable gun regulation? If so, against the consensus of his party, Hyde in 1994 voted for President Bill Clinton’s ban on assault weapons, demonstrating that he could be persuaded to change his mind on a monumental issue of the day. Just three years earlier, he had voted against the same ban. Hyde reversed himself after reading detailed accounts of gun victims in Chicago, provided by Democratic Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois. “At the end of reading this list of bloody crimes, I had to conclude these guns have no purpose but to kill a lot of people very rapidly,” Hyde said. “It wasn’t like falling off a horse on the road to Damascus. But like many things complicated and emotional, you don’t dwell on them unless forced to.” Hyde’s change of heart induced Illinois Rep. Bob Michel, then GOP minority leader, and dozens more Republicans to vote for the ban. Such political courage is almost impossible to imagine on today’s Capitol Hill. Of course, four years later Hyde led Clinton’s impeachment proceedings on behalf of the House before the Senate, leading critics to disclose Hyde’s yearslong extramarital affair decades earlier and accusing him of hypocrisy. Hyde admitted to cheating on his wife but claimed Clinton’s alleged wrongdoing was about Clinton’s cover-up attempts rather than his actual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The public didn’t buy it, and Hyde paid a reputational price in the process. All of this is to say that Henry Hyde was complicated. Just like most people. But what is indisputable is that he was one of the most important political figures to emerge from DuPage County. Ever. His name should stay on that courthouse.)
ABC7
— DuPage County Democrats push to rename courthouse over late Congressman’s abortion views
https://abc7chicago.com/post/local-democrats-push-rename-dupage-county-courthouse-late-congressman-henry-hydes-abortion-views/15890259/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “He had a lot of support, a lot of friends on the other side of the aisle. He strikes me as a kind of official that we should be looking to model ourselves after, not disrespect,” said DuPage County GOP Chair Kevin Coyne. While he was bipartisan on certain issues such as gun control and the Family and Medical Leave Act, Hyde was one of Congress’ biggest opponents of abortion. He authored the Hyde Amendment, which denied abortion access to poor women on Medicaid. . .The board will vote on the resolution to remove Hyde’s name on Tuesday. With a Democratic majority, Conroy says, the proposal will pass. “To cherry-pick this one issue and hold it against a man that was such a big part of our history, to me, is just wrong. It’s short sighted,” Coyne said. Coyne says the decision to remove Hyde’s name may ruin the bipartisanship Conroy says she has proudly created while serving as chair.)
— President Trump pardons ex-Illinois Gov. Blagojevich 5 years after commuting his sentence
https://abc7chicago.com/post/president-donald-trump-expected-pardon-ex-illinois-gov-rod-blagojevich-5-years-commuting-sentence-reports/15889540/
FOX32
— ICE operations intensify across U.S. sanctuary cities
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1591008
DAILY HERALD
— Residents protest proposed cuts to Medicaid at DuPage County rally
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250210/news/residents-protest-proposed-cuts-to-medicaid-at-dupage-county-rally/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Blagojevich pardoned on corruption conviction by Trump
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/trump-pardons-rod-blagojevich-corruption-conviction
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Del Mar teases run for ‘higher office,’ sparking 2026 Illinois governor speculation
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_69d594d6-e7c2-11ef-b535-b39343671dce.html
CITIES 92.9
— Illinois circuit judge finds FOID for firearms in home unconstitutional (COMMENT: I have had a FOID card since I was 20 years old in 1968.)
https://www.cities929.com/2025/02/10/illinois-circuit-judge-finds-foid-for-firearms-in-home-unconstitutional/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/10/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-246/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION
— FOID Card Found to be Unconstitutional Yet Again
https://isra.org/foid-card-found-to-be-unconstitutional-yet-again/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
NEW YORK POST
— Migrants turning around and heading back home in ‘new trend’ under Trump border crackdown
https://nypost.com/2025/02/10/us-news/new-trend-of-migrants-turning-around-and-heading-back-toward-home-under-trump-border-crackdown/
DAILY SIGNAL
— ‘BETRAYAL’: Lawmaker Responds to FEMA Diverting $59M to House Illegal Aliens
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/10/fema-using-59-million-house-illegal-aliens-is-betrayal-highest-order-congressman-says/
DAILY WIRE
— Musk Says FEMA Spent $60M Housing Illegal Immigrants In ‘Luxury Hotels’ Last Week. The payments were suspended by acting FEMA Director Cameron Hamilton after Musk’s announcement.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/musks-says-fema-spent-60m-housing-illegal-immigrants-in-luxury-hotels-last-week
— 27% Of National Science Foundation Grants Went To DEI Projects, Study Finds. ‘Congress must end the politicization of NSF funding and restore integrity to scientific research,’ Sen. Ted Cruz says.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/27-of-national-science-foundation-grants-went-to-dei-projects-study-finds
EPOCH TIMES
— Musk Says FEMA Spent $59 Million on Housing Illegal Immigrants in NYC Hotels. ‘This stops now,’ said acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton, announcing that all such payments from FEMA were suspended on Feb. 9.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/musk-says-fema-spent-59-million-on-housing-illegal-immigrants-in-nyc-hotels-5807322
FOX NEWS
— Trump expected to pardon former Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich. Trump previously commuted Blagojevich’s sentence in 2020.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-expected-pardon-former-illinois-gov-rod-blagojevich
MRC TV
— Illegal Alien Crossings Have Plummeted 90% Under Trump
https://www.mrctv.org/blog/brittany-m-hughes/border-agent-illegal-alien-crossings-have-plummeted-90-under-trump
TOWNHALL
— Trump Ramps Up Purge of ‘Woke’ Ideology in the Military
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/02/10/trump-liquidates-woke-board-of-visitors-for-military-branches-n2651967
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Trump says ‘too early’ to name Vance as successor
https://www.aol.com/trump-says-too-early-name-215711428.html
CNN
— Trump imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/tariffs-steel-aluminum-trump/index.html
CBS NEWS
— Increasing numbers of Democrats want their party to oppose Trump
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-want-party-oppose-trump-poll-analysis/
— Trump ousts director of Office of Government Ethics
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-office-of-government-ethics-director/
WEEK
— DeSantis signs agreement with ICE to have Florida state troopers detain illegal immigrants
https://www.25newsnow.com/2025/02/10/desantis-signs-agreement-with-ice-have-florida-state-troopers-detain-illegal-immigrants/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— DHS Seeks to Deputize IRS Officers to Help With Deportation Effort. Tax-collecting agency has thousands of special agents in its criminal-investigation division. (COMMENT: I worked for GAO on audits of IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division at the GS-13 Step 1-3 Levels, currently $117,807-$125,661/year, for 3 years.)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-irs-officers-ice-deportations-ed87c4b5
AUTO GUIDE
— Why Is General Motors Getting Rid Of Key Corvette Personnel?
https://www.autoguide.com/auto/manufacturers/chevrolet/why-is-general-motors-getting-rid-of-key-corvette-personnel-44616109
February 8, 2025 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Aurora mayoral candidates share their views on city issues at forum (COMMENT: What are the issues in your township, municipality, and school district?)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/08/aurora-mayoral-candidates-share-their-views-on-city-issues-at-forum/
— Donald Trump orders freeze of aid to South Africa citing country’s land expropriation law
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/07/trump-freeze-aid-south-africa/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/08/community-leaders-speak-out-under-little-village-arch-hundreds-rally-for-day-of-love-and-resistance/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/08/nonprofit-warns-of-vigilantism-against-migrants-after-skokie-family-receives-deportation-threats/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/02/07/trump-immigration-executive-order-refugees-resettlement-united-nations-stop-work-order
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn Republicans.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2025/02/07/illinois-jb-pritzker-revenue-squeeze-trump-congressional-gop-cut-medicaid-expansion-rich-miller
DAILY HEARLD
— Democrats far outspent GOP rivals in suburban U.S. House races — none more than Raja Krishnamoorthi (COMMENT: What discourages you from giving money to Republican candidates? For me, it includes my having less money. In today’s dollars, my federal pension a) is only 44% of what my GAO salary was in 1997 and b) less than what my IRS salary was in 1972. Further, my Social Security is dramatically less because I get a federal pension. Further, far too many unsuccessful Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct since 2000 who I did much to help elect blame me and blame my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for their defeats.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250208/us-congress-politics/democrats-far-outspent-gop-rivals-in-suburban-u-s-house-races-none-more-than-raja-krishnamoorthi/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Republican candidates in northeast Illinois struggle to compete financially with their rivals across the aisle. Of the eight Republican congressional candidates who ran in the suburbs last year, the 10th District’s Jim Carris of Lake Forest spent the most — nearly $681,000. The campaign spending totals for four others — Rice in the 8th District plus James Marter in the 14th, Jerry Evans in the 11th and Niki Conforti in the 6th — were lower in the six-figure range. Ramirez’s GOP challenger in the 3rd District, John Booras, spent less than $40,000 on his campaign; the 9th District’s Seth Cohen spent less than $8,000 on his race. Postelection and year-end reports weren’t available for 5th District GOP candidate Tommy Hanson.)
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250208/editorials/daily-herald-opinion-in-defense-of-dei-the-phrase-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-may-sound-unga/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250207/nation-and-world-politics/latino-evangelical-churches-gear-up-to-face-possible-immigration-enforcement-in-churches/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Illinois revs up more EV incentives amid uncertain fate of federal rebates
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/illinois-revs-more-ev-incentives-amid-federal-uncertainties
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more gambling.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/economy/illinois-generates-17-billion-casino-tax-revenue
ABC7
— Trump announces plans to gut the Kennedy Center board, appoint himself chairman
https://abc7chicago.com/post/kennedy-center-president-donald-trump-says-hes-firing-board-trustees-members-naming-himself-chairman/15882171/
— Trump official’s directive tying transportation grants to birth rates could hinder blue states
https://abc7chicago.com/post/us-birth-rates-state-donald-trump-transportation-secretary-sean-duffy-circulates-memo-tying-grants-marriage/15881663/
— Chicago Auto Show 2025: Doors open for Day 1 at McCormick Place
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-auto-show-2025-doors-open-saturday-morning-mccormick-place/15881013/
WGN TV
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/little-village-protest-trump-deportations/
— Illinois faces funding cut-off for electric vehicle charging stations; Pritzker vows to fight back
https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/illinois-ev-funding-cuts/
FOX32
— Time magazine cover puts Elon Musk behind Trump’s desk
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/time-magazine-elon-musk-trump-desk
WTTW
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/06/illinois-farm-workers-consumers-alert-amid-mass-deportation-threats
WBEZ
— Lurie Children’s Hospital pauses gender care surgeries for those younger than 19. The move comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order that said the federal government would not support these procedures.
https://www.wbez.org/2025/02/07/lurie-childrens-hospital-pauses-gender-care-surgeries-for-those-younger-than-19
CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.news-gazette.com/news/nation-world/trump-policies-on-gender-affirming-care-and-passports-for-transgender-people-challenged-in-court/article_a7b7c426-ae4e-58d7-934b-d7c89861987a.html
SOUTHERN
— Here are all the agencies that Elon Musk and DOGE have been trying to dismantle so far
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/08/here-are-all-the-agencies-that-elon-musk-and-doge-have-been-trying-to-dismantle-so-far/
EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump
https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/donald-trump-protest-edwardsville-il-20154122.php
WIFR
— Democrat leaders get high school students to promote more illegal immigration
https://www.wifr.com/gallery/2025/02/08/jefferson-high-schoolers-protest-trumps-immigration-policies/
EFFINGHAM RADIO
— IL House Leader McCombie Demands Transparency And Accountability On Immigration
https://www.effinghamradio.com/2025/02/08/il-house-leader-mccombie-demands-transparency-and-accountability-on-immigration/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/07/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-245/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Anticipate/expect that ever-increasingly, Democrat leaders will use their mainstream news media a) to promote the Democrat Party platform, that is, to promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, booze, gambling, pot, and other vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination, b) to demonize, denigrate, and condemn the Republican Party platform, c) to elect Democrat candidates, and d) to defeat Republican candidates. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Crystal Laker Trevor Keegan in Super Bowl
mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/08/crystal-laker-trevor-keegan-in-super-bowl/
— Blago Being Talked about as Trump Pick for Ambassador to Serbia
https://wwwhttps://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/blago-being-talked-about-as-trump-pick-for-ambassador-to-serbia/
— Lakemoor Refuses Comment on $40 Million Illegal Search and Seizure Hemp Suit
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/lakemoor-refuses-comment-on-40-million-illegal-search-and-seizure-hemp-suit/
— Pritzker Flips on No New Taxes
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/pritzker-flips-on-no-new-taxes/
— Tariffs and How Value Added Taxes Are “Backdoor Tariffs”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/tariffs-and-how-value-added-taxes-are-backdoor-tariffs/
— Correcting County Administrator Pete Austin’s Salary Information — Seeking 5.3% Raise
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/correcting-county-administrator-pete-austins-salary-information/
— Major “Sin” Tax Brings in $1.5 Billion
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/07/major-sin-tax-brings-in-1-5-billion/
— Schakowsky on Trump’s Early Days as President
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/08/schakowsky-on-trumps-early-days-as-president/
— Pritzker Purports to Re-Name Lake Michigan “Lake Illinois”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/08/pritzker-purports-to-re-name-lake-michigan-lake-illinois/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump says DOGE will look into more federal agencies (COMMENTL Will DOGE look into GAO?
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/7/trump-says-doge-look-federal-agencies/
— Alaska lawmakers officially oppose Trump’s push to change Denali to Mount McKinley
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/8/alaska-lawmakers-officially-oppose-trump-push-chan/
— Russia is using Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to create a migration crisis. The axis of evil is sending masses of illegal immigrants to flood the southwest border.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/6/russia-using-cuba-nicaragua-venezuela-create-migra/
NEW YORK POST
— Trump ordered Secret Service to provide ‘every bit of information’ on would-be assassins
https://nypost.com/2025/02/08/us-news/trump-ordered-secret-service-to-provide-every-bit-of-information-on-would-be-assassins/
BAPTIST NEWS
— Remember that time Wheaton College congratulated Russell Vought?
https://baptistnews.com/article/remember-that-time-wheaton-college-congratulated-russell-vought/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Want to know how controversial it was for Russell Vought to be confirmed by the Senate as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget? Just ask Wheaton College, where Vought earned a bachelor’s degree. On Friday, Feb. 7, the Christian college posted a note on its Facebook page with Vought’s photo saying, “Wheaton College congratulates and prays for 1998 graduate Russell Vought regarding his senatorial confirmation to serve as the White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget!” Then the alumni base of the Illinois school began to vent their disdain for Vought and their disbelief that their alma mater would highlight someone responsible for creating Project 2025 and saying he wants to make federal employees so miserable they all quit — among other things. By Saturday morning, the post was removed from Facebook.)
DAILY WIRE
— Wheaton College Caves to Woke Mob, Apologizes For Congratulating Alum In Trump Admin. Wheaton College posted, and then retracted, a message congratulating Russ Vought on his confirmation to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/christian-college-caves-to-woke-mob-apologizes-for-congratulating-alum-in-trump-admin
FOX NEWS
— Hegseth to look into ‘what went wrong’ in Afghanistan and pledges accountability, slams diversity motto. ‘We will find strength in unity,’ not diversity, Hegseth says.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-look-what-went-wrong-afghanistan-pledges-accountability-slams-diversity-motto
— Teachers express fears as Trump strips federal funding for schools teaching CRT. ‘Every teacher I’ve talked to is completely freaked out by it,’ one retired teacher told The Boston Globe.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/teachers-express-fears-trump-strips-federal-funding-schools-teaching-crt
NEWSMAX
— Time for Homan to Decisively Act on Defiant Illegals
https://www.newsmax.com/reagan/homan-cbs-ice/2025/02/08/id/1198327/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-rights-lawsuits-challenge-trump-policies/
WASHINGTON POST
— Attacks on Catholics, Lutherans suggest new Trump approach on religion. Allies of the president are leveling attacks on religious groups, including Catholics and Lutherans, and questioning their efforts to help migrants.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/08/catholic-lutheran-vance-flynn-musk-trump/
— Trump says some white South Africans are oppressed, could be resettled in the US. They say no thanks. Groups representing some of South Africa’s white minority have responded to a plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/08/trump-south-africa-afrikaners/ac037124-e633-11ef-ab83-bb30e4340014_story.html
REASON
— America’s enemies want mass immigration.
https://reason.com/volokh/2025/02/08/trumps-cruel-assault-on-legal-immigration/
February 7, 2025
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Kankakee County sheriff Mike Downey says Illinois laws hinder enforcement, supports DOJ lawsuit on sanctuary status (COMMENT: Hopefully, your county sheriff agrees with Downey.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/kankakee-sheriff-says-illinois-trust-act-hinders-enforcement-supports-doj-lawsuit-sanctuary-status/15874853/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Kankakee sheriff said he hopes a lawsuit by the Department of Justice over Illinois’ sanctuary laws can resolve ongoing frustration in the law enforcement community. “Why are we so concerned about these individuals who are not here legally, who have some have committed violent, heinous crimes, and we’re worried about whether or not a local police department is calling ICE to say, hey, this guy’s in our community,” said Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey.)
FOX32
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in pushing pot.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-cannabis-market-new-sales-record-2024
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Federal employees are demonized, denigrated, and condemned, except those federal employees who Trump wants to get rid of. I was a federal employee for almost 30 years. I have been a federal retiree for more than 27 years.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/06/trump-musk-move-to-oust-epa-staff-in-the-great-lakes-region-including-dozens-responsible-for-protecting-drinking-water-for-30-million-in-u-s-and-canada/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use Trump-proposed tariffs to promote more hatred against Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/07/illinois-braces-for-impact-of-tariffs/
— Chicago Auto Show goes electric with 2 EV tracks, dozens of models and first appearance by Rivian (COMMENT: I am especially interested in how the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T EV will be displayed.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/06/chicago-auto-show-ev-rivian/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Lawsuit alleges UI Health stopped gender-affirming care for teen after Trump executive order. Part of the nationwide suit against the order alleges that a 17–year-old Illinois boy had been given a date for chest surgery at UI Health, only for it to be canceled one day after Trump’s order.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/lgbtq/2025/02/06/lawsuit-alleges-ui-health-stopped-gender-affirming-care-for-teen-after-trump-executive-order
DAILY HERALD
— Illinois, Trump administration in legal battle over immigration policy
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250206/illinois-state-politics/illinois-trump-administration-in-legal-battle-over-immigration-policy/
— Cannabis is never safe for developing brains (COMMENT: Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250207/health-and-fitness/cannabis-is-never-safe-for-developing-brains/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURE: EVs, hybrids give spark to Chicago Auto Show (COMMENT: I am especially interested in how the 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T EV will be displayed.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250206/transportation/evs-hybrids-give-spark-to-chicago-auto-show/
WBEZ
— Chicago alderpeople want to ban participants in the Jan. 6 attack from working for the city
https://www.wbez.org/politics/2025/02/06/chicago-alderpeople-want-to-ban-participants-in-the-january-6th-attack-from-working-for-the-city
WCIA
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in pushing pot.
https://www.wcia.com/news/illinois-news/cannabis-sales-higher-than-ever-in-illinois-exceeded-2b-in-2024/
WAND TV
— IL House Dems approve resolution condemning Trump for Jan. 6 pardons, GOP walk out
https://www.wandtv.com/news/il-house-dems-approve-resolution-condemning-trump-for-jan-6-pardons-gop-walk-out/article_c6f54a60-e4db-11ef-9fd5-1f36abe51611.html
— Thousands of cars sold in Illinois have fake odometer readings (COMMENT: I bought a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T collector car from the Chicago Car Exchange (CCE) in 1994. I had owned a 1969 Charger SE 1968-1971. I should not have assumed that CCE would not have engaged in odometer fraud. SEE: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-7th-circuit/1385001.html CCE did not set the car’s odometer back, but it knew that its previous owners had done that. CCE offered to buy the car back from me, but only for what I had paid them for it. I had spent thousands on the car making it “show ready.”)
https://www.wandtv.com/news/thousands-of-cars-sold-in-illinois-have-fake-odometer-readings/article_05d9763e-e3dd-11ef-a40b-6b906b5beb3d.html
TRI STATE PUBLIC RADIO
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.tspr.org/illinois-public-radio/2025-02-06/illinois-attorney-general-vows-to-protect-gender-affirming-care-after-trump-order-threatens-to-cut-funding
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Pritzker to DOJ: See you in court
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/07/pritzker-to-doj-see-you-in-court-00203066
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/07/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-452/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
SOUTHLAND JOURNAL
— Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison’s Statement on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Lawsuit against the State of Illinois, Cook County, and the City of Chicago
https://thechicagolandjournal.com/cook-county-commissioner-sean-morrisons-statement-on-the-u-s-department-of-justices-lawsuit-against-the-state-of-illinois-cook-county-and-the-city-of-chicago/
WIREPOINTS
— The next absurd bill from Illinois’ legislature: Removing student test scores from teacher evaluations
https://wirepoints.org/the-next-absurd-bill-from-illinois-legislature-getting-rid-of-test-scores-from-teacher-evaluations-wirepoints/
— The covid-era money spigot is turned off. We should get back to normal, but Gov. Pritzker wants to spend even more
https://wirepoints.org/the-covid-era-money-spigot-is-turned-off-we-should-get-back-to-normal-but-gov-pritzker-wants-to-spend-even-more-wirepoints-on-with-wjols-scott-slocum/
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Trump’s federal employee buyout deadline has been extended until February 10. Have you faced such deadlines? My Democrat GAO superiors’ deadline to take their early retirement “offer” was September 30, 1997. If I had not taken it, I would not have been eligible to retire for 6 years. In retrospect, with benefit of hindsight, I should not have taken it. I should not succumbed to their threats. Yes, if I had not taken it, they would have taken even bigger adverse actions against me than they had before. But I would have sought help from my U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde. I would have sued my GAO superiors. I would have stressed that I had earned job-relate professional certifications in 1997 (forensic accounting), 1996 (financial services auditing), 1994 (government financial management), 1990 (fraud examination), 1981 (internal auditing), and 1979 (accounting). I would have stressed that I earned a job-related professional license in 1981 (CPA). I would have stressed that I earned job-related master’s degrees in 1997 (financial markets and trading), 1980 (accounting), and 1976 (business). I would have stressed that GAO audits IRS, that I had worked for GAO on audits of IRS for 3 years (1986-1988), and that I had worked for IRS for almost 9 years (1971-1980), the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— If you are considering buying an Iron Gate Motor Condo in Naperville, consider this one at https://leeernst.exprealty.com/holp/listing/103/12283041 If my wife and I had not bought our unit in 2023, we would be making an offer on this one. Features that it has that our unit does not have include a balcony, windows, forever unobstructed view to the west, wider garage door, and more useable square feet on the second floor. The seller wants $100,000 for his unit than what my wife and I paid for our unit. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Feds spent millions to create ‘transgender’ lab testing animals
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/6/feds-spent-millions-create-transgender-lab-testing/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Musk Vows to Eliminate ‘Wasteful’ Politico Subscriptions for Federal Employees. Government payments to Politico quadrupled to $26 million during the Biden administration. (COMMENT: GOPUSA ILLINOIS subscriptions are worth at least $5,000/year. But I send out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters out to anyone who wants them free of charge, without any advertising, and with no donation requests.)
https://freebeacon.com/trump-administration/musk-vows-to-eliminate-wasteful-politico-subscriptions-for-federal-employees/
— ‘No Immigrant Should Be Detained,’ Says Left-Wing Nonprofit With $769 Million Federal Immigration Contract. The D.C.-based Acacia Center for Justice is squarely at odds with the Trump administration.
https://freebeacon.com/politics/no-immigrant-should-be-detained-says-left-wing-nonprofit-with-769-million-federal-immigration-contract/
AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Federal Judge Delays Trump’s Worker ‘Buyout’ Deadline
https://amgreatness.com/2025/02/07/morning-greatness-federal-judge-delays-trumps-worker-buyout-deadline/
COLLEGE FIX
— Trump hauls out the government waste (COMMENT: GAO fights government waste. I worked for GAO for almost 18 years.)
https://www.thecollegefix.com/trump-hauls-out-the-government-waste/
DAILY CALLER
— Pam Bondi Sends ‘Clear’ Message To Sanctuary Cities Choosing ‘Illegal Aliens’ Over Americans
https://dailycaller.com/2025/02/06/pam-bondi-sanctuary-cities-illegal-aliens-americans-legal-repercussions/
— GOP Lawmakers React to Trump Suing Their State Over Laws That ‘Obstruct’ ICE Arrests
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/06/gop-lawmakers-react-to-trump-suing-their-state-over-laws-that-obstruct-ice-arrests/
FOX NEWS
— Chicago resident pushes back against Dem leaders acting like Trump ‘isn’t welcome’ Chicago resident Vashon Tuncle joins ‘The Ingraham Angle’ with insight on the Trump administration’s embattled immigration policies. (COMMENT: How welcome is Trump in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct. I should write about how welcome Trump is in DuPage County, Milton Township, Wheaton, Wheaton Warrenville School District 200, and my precinct.)
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368403046112
— Trump’s ICE crackdown could get boost in Florida with DeSantis’ plan to deputize state patrol
https://www.foxnews.com/us/trump-ice-crackdown-could-see-boost-florida-desantis-plan-deputize-state-patrol
— Over a dozen Venezuelan criminal illegal migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay: ‘Highly dangerous’ people. The US plans to house ‘the worst of the worst’ at the detention facility until they can be flown back to their home countries.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/over-dozen-venezuelan-criminal-illegal-migrants-sent-guantanamo-bay-dangerous-people
PJ MEDIA
— Former USAID Official Liz Cheney Rips Elon Musk for Being a… Foreigner
https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2025/02/06/former-usaid-official-liz-cheney-rips-elon-musk-for-being-a-foreigner-n4936761
(FROM THE ARTICLE: And now you’re throwing shade at Elon Musk for not being born in the United States? . . . Cheney’s sneering at Musk for not being an American just didn’t make any sense, at least apart from the fact that the political establishment claims to be the embodiment of compassion, but actually has nothing but contempt for the American people. The recent revelations about USAID confirm that in spades by showing that taxpayer money that was supposed to go to the poor and needy of the world was actually lining the pockets of “journalists” at AP, Politico, the New York Times, and elsewhere, so as to ensure that the American people were thoroughly saturated with the establishment line. And that was, of course, by no means all that USAID has been up to.)
MRC TV
— Rep. Dan Goldman Advises Illegals How to Evade Authorities…in Three Languages
https://www.mrctv.org/blog/nick-kangadis/legal-rep-dan-goldman-advises-illegals-how-evade-authoritiesin-three-languages
NEWSMAX
— Trump WH Sues Chicago in Latest Crackdown on ‘Sanctuary’ Cities
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-immigration-chicago-arrests-sanctuary-immigrants-enforcement/2025/02/06/id/1198131/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— Black Hawk helicopter in D.C. plane crash had a safety system off
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/black-hawk-helicopter-dc-plane-crash-safety-system-off-senator-says/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Opposition lawmakers protest alleged mistreatment of Indian deportees by US
https://apnews.com/article/indian-illegal-immigration-protest-parliament-deportation-trump-90ae7999040196e3ce25dd3fa8e29137
NBC NEWS
— Trump signs executive order banning men from women’s sports
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/trump-executive-order-ban-trans-women-sports-rcna190767
CNN
— White House pressures ICE to pick up pace of migrant arrests
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/politics/ice-arrests-pressure/index.html
NEWSWEEK
— Unemployment in D.C. Nearly Doubles as Trump Aims to Shrink US Government (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, Republicans shrank the agency from more than 6,000 employees to less than 3,000. My Democrat GAO superiors punished me big time for that.)
https://www.newsweek.com/unemployment-washington-dc-doubles-trump-guts-federal-government-2027547
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
— What Would a Drastically Reduced Government Workforce Mean for Americans? (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, Republicans shrank the agency from more than 6,000 employees to less than 3,000. My Democrat GAO superiors punished me big time for that.)
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2025-02-06/what-trumps-federal-workforce-cuts-mean-for-everyday-americans
CBS NEWS
— Democrat leaders crow about their success in promoting vices. Because I do not spend money on vices, I have more money. My critics/opponents promote vices.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/video/more-than-80-of-u-s-adults-spend-money-on-common-vice-report-shows/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 4 in 5 Americans spend money on one of six common vices. That includes alcohol, lottery tickets, casino games, tobacco, marijuana and sports betting.
NEW YORK TIMES
— This Isn’t Reform. It’s Sabotage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/opinion/trump-musk-government.html?searchResultPosition=3
WASHINGTON POST
— Federal workers ‘defiant’ on Musk’s buyout (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. Virtually all federal employees are Democrats. If I was still working for the federal government, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates would have killed me by now, figuratively if not literally.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/can-he-do-that/federal-workers-defiant-on-musks-buyout/
— Democrat and RINO employers ever-increasingly use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/07/trump-dei-federal-government-discrimination/
— Tulsa mayor backs reparations plan for ‘Black Wall Street’ massacre victims (COMMENT: What about reparations for all the Republicans who Democrats killed during the Civil War?)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/tulsa-reparations-race-massacre/
— Elon Musk’s DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data into AI to target cuts (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. Virtually all federal employees are Democrats. If I was still working for the federal government, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates would have killed me by now, figuratively if not literally.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/elon-musk-doge-ai-department-education/
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
— Democrat leaders have always used Black History Months to promote more hatred against Republicans.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/trump-hegseth-black-history-cancelled-20149267.php
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump’s Use of Guantanamo Bay Signals Hard Line Against Migrants
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trumps-use-of-guantanamo-bay-signals-hard-line-against-migrants-32880dac
— Test Scores Fall, Unions Want More (COMMENT: The more illegals that there are in schools, the more that test scores will fall.)
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/california-teachers-association-schools-money-covid-david-goldberg-teachers-union-5b21847f
— FRONT PAGE: How Trump’s Sweeping Expulsions Have Thrown the FBI Into Chaos (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, they used Republican-led budget cuts to get rid of the agency’s Republican employees starting with those who were White, male, older. non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. Because I am all of the aforesaid. I am amazed that I survived for almost 18 years,
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-fbi-firings-immigration-crime-ad7d6b44
KIPLINGER
— Is Your Vice Putting Your Retirement at Risk? From alcohol to gambling, adults spend a lot of money pursuing their vices. Is the cost of a little fun jeopardizing their retirement nest eggs? (COMMENT: Democrat leaders crow about their success in promoting vices. Because I do not spend money on vices, I have more money. My critics/opponents promote vices.)
https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/is-your-vice-putting-your-retirement-at-risk
HAGERTY
— American Muscle Car Index (COMMENT: Please let me know if you share my interest in American muscle cars. I am especially interested in Chargers, Corvettes, Mustangs, and Thunderbirds. I have ordered a 2025 Charger Daytona R/T. I own a 2013 Charger R/T Max, 2005 and 1972 Corvette, 2023 Mustang GT Premium, and 1996 Thunderbird LX. I previously owned a 1968 Charger R/T, 1969 Charger SE, 1962 Impala SS, 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint, 1968 Oldsmobile 442, 1990 Thunderbird LX, 1994 Thunderbird, and 2003 Cavalier LS.)
https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-indexes-idle-into-2025/
UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
— Scholarships You Should Apply for in February 2025 (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always used my not getting any scholarships against me. They hint/imply/argue/shout that my not getting any scholarships proves that I am academically deficient and that my parents were filthy rich. I should write about my critics/opponents and the scholarships that they got.)
https://www.universitymagazine.ca/scholarships-you-should-apply-for-in-february/
GLUESENKAMP PEREZ
— Gluesenkamp Perez Introduces Bill to Bring Greater Transparency to College Tuition Costs (COMMENT: Back in the good old days when college costs were much lower, I was able to work my way through college and graduate debt-free and owning a 20-month-old car. But the many hours that I worked to do that instead of studying dragged my GPA down.)
https://gluesenkampperez.house.gov/posts/gluesenkamp-perez-introduces-bill-to-bring-greater-transparency-to-college-tuition-costs
HR DIGEST
— Federal Worker Buyout Deadline Extended Until February 10 (COMMENT: Have you faced such deadlines? My Democrat GAO superiors’ deadline to take their early retirement “offer” was September 30, 1997. If I had not taken it, I would not have been eligible to retire for 6 years. In retrospect, with benefit of hindsight, I should not have taken it. I should not succumbed to their threats. Yes, if I had not taken it, they would have taken even bigger adverse actions against me than they had before. But I would have sought help from U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde. I would have sued my GAO superiors. I would have stressed that I had earned job-relate professional certifications in 1997 (forensic accounting), 1996 (financial services auditing), 1994 (government financial management), 1990 (fraud examination), 1981 (internal auditing), and 1979 (accounting). I would have stressed that I earned a job-related professional license in 1981 (CPA). I would have stressed that I earned job-related master’s degrees in 1997 (financial markets and trading), 1980 (accounting), and 1976 (business). I would have stressed that GAO audits IRS, that I had worked for GAO on audits of IRS for 3 years (1986-1988), and that I had worked for IRS for almost 9 years (1971-1980), the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year.)
https://www.thehrdigest.com/federal-worker-buyout-deadline-extended-until-feb-10/
AMERICA MAGAZINE
— Democrat leaders crow about their success in getting Catholics to promote illegal immigration.
https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2025/02/06/catholic-church-vulnerable-migrants-trump-249835
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Black Federal Employees Targeted in Public Blacklist as Trump and Musk Continue Assault on Diversity (COMMENT: I should write about the tremendous preference that my Democrat Black superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates got while I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. I would focus on my Democrat Black GAO subordinate who my Democrat GAO superiors replaced me with. 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://www.washingtoninformer.com/trump-allies-identify-federal-employees/
TIMES OF INDIA
— Condoms for Taliban to drag shows in Ecuador: Craziest USAID spends revealed
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/condoms-for-taliban-to-drag-shows-in-ecuador-craziest-usaid-spends-revealed/articleshow/118003488.cms
February 6, 2025
Anticipate/expect that Democrat leaders will ever-increasingly organize, promote, and report on more demonstrations against Trump. How successful have Democrat leaders been organizing, promoting, and reporting on protests against Trump in your county, township, municipality, and school district?
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Chicago-area experts question US right to make Gaza Strip ‘Riviera of the Middle East’
https://abc7chicago.com/post/trump-gaza-news-heading-springfield-advocate-palestinians-pres-says-he-wants-turn-strip-riviera/15869210/
NBC5
— Rallies against Trump administration held in Chicago, numerous other cities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EE5dLjYfZA
— Google scraps diversity ‘aspirations,’ citing role as federal contractor (COMMENT: Google has always steered everyone to websites a) that promote the Democrat Party platform and b) that demonize, denigrate, and condemn the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/google-scraps-diversity-aspirations-citing-role-as-federal-contractor/3666768/
CBS2
— Palestinian Americans in Chicago area decry Trump’s plan for U.S. to “take over the Gaza Strip”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/palestinian-americans-in-chicago-area-decry-trump-s-plan-for-u-s-to-take-over-the-gaza-strip/ar-AA1yucJ8
— Palestinian Americans in Chicago not pleased with President Trump’s Gaza takeover plan
https://www.yahoo.com/news/palestinian-americans-chicago-not-pleased-013600282.html
WGN9
— Hundreds rally against Trump administration’s Middle East, immigration policies
https://www.aol.com/hundreds-rally-against-trump-administration-225347771.html
FOX32
— Trump tariffs could hit Illinois hard, state treasurer warns
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/trump-tariffs-illinois
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Hundreds of patients skip appointments at Chicago health clinic amid deportation fears. At CommunityHealth, which serves a large immigrant population, prescriptions for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions have been left on shelves since President Donald Trump took office.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2025/02/05/chicago-health-clinic-patient-deportation-fear
DAILY HERALD
— Salvi: JB Pritzker’s ego could cost Illinois
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250206/columns/jb-pritzkers-ego-could-cost-illinois/
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Photos of Illinois protestors against actions of President Trump, Elon Musk
https://www.sj-r.com/picture-gallery/news/2025/02/05/hundreds-of-protestors-rally-at-illinois-capitol-against-trump-musk-see-photos/78260501007/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Protestors demonstrate against Trump policies outside Illinois Capitol
https://pantagraph.com/news/local/protestors-demonstrate-against-trump-policies-outside-illinois-capitol/video_241eda7c-9746-51d7-be96-80a0d75c5146.html
— Fear, anger, hope shown at ICE protest by students on ISU campus
https://pantagraph.com/news/local/government-politics/protest-isu-immigration-ice-students-bloomington-normal/article_a5c3fb6a-e3fb-11ef-919b-6b706dd71e8a.html
STATELINE
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use their illegals to promote more hatred against Republicans. Democrat leaders have declared a Second Civil War against Republicans. Illegals are soldiers in the Democrat Army.
https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/illinois-schools-communities-on-edge-with-rumors-of-ice-raids/
WAND TV
— State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Berwyn) said President Donald Trump is enacting an ethnic cleansing after Trump called all Palestinians to leave Gaza. “Let’s call that what it is, ethnic cleansing,” Rashid said.
https://www.wandtv.com/community/donald-trump-is-calling-for-ethnic-cleansing-says-illinois-house-democrat/article_7629d996-e406-11ef-bf60-3f2a156d1588.html
WCIA
— Protesters converge on Illinois Capitol as tensions over Trump actions rise in the chamber
https://www.wcia.com/news/protesters-converge-on-illinois-capitol-as-tensions-over-trump-actions-rise-in-the-chamber/
WGLT
— Advocates ask Illinois lawmakers to increase funding for the unhoused in new budget (COMMENT: Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, homelessness will ever-increasingly increase.)
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-02-04/advocates-ask-illinois-lawmakers-to-increase-funding-for-the-unhoused-in-new-budget
NPR ILLINOIS
— New attorney general moves to align DOJ with Trump’s priorities. (COMMENT: In Diersen v. GAO, Bush’s DOJ was aligned with GAO’s priorities of using Affirmative Action, DEI, up-or-out, and budget cuts to waste the careers of and to get rid of its Republican employees like me who were White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-05/new-attorney-general-moves-to-align-justice-department-with-trumps-priorities
— While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, they always glorified and praised those inside and outside of the federal government who promoted the Democrat Party platform.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-05/nsa-museum-covered-plaques-honoring-women-and-people-of-color-provoking-an-uproar
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Rand Paul knocks Trump Gaza takeover plan
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/hill-politics/rand-paul-knocks-trump-gaza-takeover-plan-i-thought-we-voted-for-america-first/
CWB CHICAGO
— Bystanders slam gate on cops, cheerlead suspects during cross-town chase
https://cwbchicago.com/2025/02/bystanders-slam-gate-cops-cheerlead-suspects-during-cross-town-chase-video.html
CHALKBEAT CHICAGO
— Illinois lawmakers advance measure to untangle student test scores from teacher evaluations (COMMENT: My Democrat GAO superiors assigned me to supervise all their most problematic employees.)
https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025/02/05/illinois-lawmakers-propose-change-to-teacher-evaluation-requirements/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Battle lines in Springfield over Trump
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/06/battle-lines-in-springfield-over-trump-00202827
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/06/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-451/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Chicago violent crime numbers up, arrests down across city
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_a5a16d6c-e3d7-11ef-aa02-4b09cee8328e.html
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— If Trump had been elected earlier with his new priorities, how might that have impacted you? If Trump had been elected earlier with his new priorities, my critics/opponents in the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Illinois Republican Party (IRP) might not have been able to a) remove me from the IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee in 2024, b) end my service as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks in 2021, and c) take other adverse actions against me. If Trump had been elected earlier with his new priorities, my Democrat GAO superiors might not have been able to a) force me to take their early retirement “offer” when I was 49 years old in 1997, b) always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay for performance purposes, c) not promote me beyond GS-13 and delay my promotions, d) keep me off audits of IRS, and e) force me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980. If Trump had been elected earlier with his new priorities, my Democrat IRS superiors might not have been able to a) not promote me beyond GS-12, b) disallow my education deductions in 1978, and c) disallow my travel vouchers in 1974. If Trump had been elected earlier with his new priorities, my Democrat Post Office superiors might not have been able to a) force me to resign in 1969 and b) disallow my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Non-Parental Relatives Caring for Children to Receive Same State Benefits as Foster Parents
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/05/non-parental-relatives-caring-for-children-to-receive-same-state-benefits-as-foster-parents/
— County Offers Paperless Permit Application
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/05/county-offers-paperless-permit-application/
— McHenry County Republicans Announce Darin Bailey as Lincoln Day Speaker on April 5th
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/05/mchenry-county-republicans-announce-darin-bailey-as-lincoln-day-speaker-on-april-5th/
ILLINOIS POLCY INSTITUTE
— Illinois 10th worst state for getting ahead. (COMMENT: Back in the good old days, I was able earn a bachelor’s degree, three master’s degrees, six professional certifications, and a professional license even though neither of my parents attended college, my father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma, and my mother never attended high school.)
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/ranking-illinois-10th-worst-state-for-getting-ahead/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Tom Cotton credits bump in Army recruits to ‘Trump effect’
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3311440/tom-cotton-credits-bump-army-recruits-trump-effect/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Colombia’s President Petro calls cocaine no different from whiskey, claims only gringo prejudice gives it a bad rap
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/colombia_s_president_petro_calls_cocaine_no_different_from_whiskey_claims_only_gringo_prejudice_gives_it_a_bad_rap.html
FOX NEWS
— Detaining illegal immigrants at Guantanamo could result in legal challenges, slow deportations, experts say. The Trump administration this week began flying illegal immigrants to a military installation on the island.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/detaining-illegal-immigrants-guantanamo-result-legal-challenges-slow-deportations-experts-say
TOWNHALL
— Mexico Begins Sending Troops to Southern Border After Trump Threatens Tariffs
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/02/05/mexico-begins-sending-troops-to-southern-border-n2651711
— DEI Woke Uniparty Deep State Collusion
https://townhall.com/columnists/alanjosephbauer/2025/02/06/dei-woke-uniparty-deep-state-collusion-n2651705#google_vignette
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— ICE releases some migrant detainees as its detention facilities reach 109% capacity
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-releases-some-migrant-detainees-detention-facilities-reach-109-percent-capacity/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Opposition lawmakers protest alleged mistreatment of Indian deportees by US
https://apnews.com/article/indian-illegal-immigration-protest-parliament-deportation-trump-90ae7999040196e3ce25dd3fa8e29137
NEWSWEEK
— 50501 Movement Fuels Anti-Trump Rallies Across the US
https://www.newsweek.com/anti-donald-trump-protests-50501-project-2025-live-updates-2026503
CNBC
— Have taken a pay cut? GAO audits IRS. In 1980, when I was 31 years old, my GAO superiors forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO, that is, I had to take a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-9 Step 10. They used that to shout at everyone that GAO considered the following to be worthless my having: a) worked for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently$99,069-$112,280/year, b) passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul, and d) earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/14/one-third-of-job-switchers-took-a-pay-cut-for-better-work-life-balance.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/us/politics/trump-trans-athletes-executive-order.html
— Right-Wing Group Publishes ‘D.E.I. Watch List’ Targeting Federal Workers. The American Accountability Foundation list included names and photos of more than 50 people, many in programs aimed at improving the health of people of color. (COMMENT: Because of my bad demographics and because I complained about political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination, my Democrat superiors in the federal government always had me on their purge lists.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/us/politics/dei-watchlist-federal-health-workers-cdc-nih.html
— As Trump Attacks D.E.I., Some on the Left Approve
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/business/economy/trump-dei-democrats-left-unions.html
— The Trump Crisis Deepens
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/opinion/trump-power-constitution.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/02/05/transgender-students-trump-executive-order/
USA TODAY
— ‘People are feeling galvanized’: Anti-Trump protesters rally in cities across US
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/05/anti-trump-protests-50-states-updates/78239472007/
— Fear and uncertainty in federal workforce as Trump deadline arrives
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/06/trump-federal-workforce-fork-buyout-deadline-musk/78057990007/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: Disabled federal workers fear for their jobs after Trump remarks (COMMENT: Their employees who my Democrat GAO superiors assigned me to supervise were Democrats and were many, most, if not virtually all of the following: minority, female, veteran, disabled, and/or had performance problems.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/05/disabled-federal-employees-dei-trump/77976332007/
THE SUN
— What were you doing 50 years ago? I was working for IRS in the Loop, taking graduate evening business courses at Loyola, living in my studio condo in downtown Chicago weekdays, living in my town home in University Park weekends, and owning a 1972 Corvette and a 1962 Chevy Bel Air.
https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/50-years-ago-220/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— DEI and Disparate Impact. The next step in restoring meritocracy is to reject the theory that proportionate outcomes equal fairness.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/dei-and-disparate-impact-next-step-toward-meritocracy-is-rejecting-this-theory-b65485ed
— Trump Considers Labeling Migrants a Measles, Tuberculosis Risk. Advisers have searched for disease threats that would merit emergency health law invoked during Trump’s first term for Covid-19 risk.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-asylum-seekers-measles-tuberculosis-risk-0e71a539
KIPLINGER
— Social Security Fairness Act Checklist: Six Things to Know. This Social Security Fairness Act checklist explains what public sector retirees can expect from SSFA, including how much more money they might receive. (COMMENT: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) has dramatically reduced my Social Security since 2010.)
https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/social-security/social-security-fairness-act-checklist
PLAN ADVISER
— Potential Implementation Delays Face Social Security Fairness Act. Under the SSA’s current budget, the agency expects it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits. (COMMENT: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) has dramatically reduced my Social Security since 2010.)
https://www.planadviser.com/potential-implementation-delays-face-social-security-fairness-act/
NATIONAL LAW REVIEW
— Democrat and RINO employers use Affirmative Action and DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://natlawreview.com/article/employment-law-week-how-will-trumps-federal-changes-impact-employers-podcast-video
LEXOLOGY
— Requirements of the New Illinois Pay Transparency Amendment (COMMENT: Federal salaries have always been extremely transparent. GAO audits IRS. In 1980, when I was 31 years old, my IRS and GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates shouted at everyone that GAO had forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO, that is, that I had to take a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-9 Step 10. They used that to shout at everyone that GAO considered the following to be worthless: a) my having worked for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year, b) my having passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) my having almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul, and d) my having earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976.)
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2cd9088a-1c7c-45d4-adec-57a619e1b71b
NPR
— Democrat leaders charge ICE with arresting “scores of migrants in the U.S. who have no criminal records.”
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5282379/trumps-mass-deportation-arrests-of-non-criminal-immigrants-no-criminal-record
POLITICO
— Musk aims to hobble federal workers ahead of ‘buyout’ deadline. Countless staffers in the government are now grappling with what to do. (COMMENT: I was a federal worker for almost 30 years.)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/06/federal-workers-musk-buyout-fears-00202768
AXIOS
— Thousands across the U.S. protest Trump and Musk’s policies
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/05/photos-protest-trump-admin-50501
CANADIAN PRESS
— Protests against Trump and Project 2025 are planned in cities across the US
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/protesters-in-cities-across-the-us-rally-against-trump-s-policies-project-2025-and-elon-musk/ar-AA1yr7tC
DAILY MAIL
— Anti-Donald Trump and Elon Musk protests pop up across the country
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/anti-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-protests-pop-up-across-the-country/vi-AA1yu5Nv
GUARDIAN
— US military aircraft transports 104 deported people to India. Plane departed Texas and landed in Amritsar as Washington prepares to welcome Indian PM Narendra Modi.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/05/military-flight-india-immigration
— JANUARY 30, 2019 FLASKBACK: ‘How do they expect to run without us?’ Tesla accused of axing key staff to cut costs. Electric car firm slashed 7% of workforce this month and ex-employees say more experienced staff were targeted. (COMMEMT: When the Democrats who ran GAO in 1997 forced me to retire, they flushed down their toilets the experience that I had gained a) working for GAO since 1980, b) working for IRS 1971-1980, c) earning master’s degrees in 1997 (finance), 1980 (accounting), and 1976 (business), d) earning job-related professional certifications in 1997 (forensic accounting), 1996 (financial services auditing), 1994 (government financial management), 1990 (fraud examination), 1981 (internal auditing), and 1979 (accounting), and e) earning a job-related professional license in 1981 (CPA).)
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/30/tesla-factory-elon-musk-layoffs-company
ECONOMIC TIMES
— ‘Deport Elon, DOGE is not legit’: Protests erupt across US against Trump, Tesla CEO and Project 2025
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-protests-against-trump-elon-musk-deport-elon-doge-is-not-legit-protests-erupt-across-us-against-trump-tesla-ceo-and-project-2025-usaid/articleshow/117978132.cms
BUSINESS STANDARD
— ‘Stop attack on democracy’: Protesters rally against Trump, Musk across US
https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/us-protests-against-trump-immigration-rights-transgender-gaza-2025-125020600688_1.html
TIMES OF INDIA
— Why the rich risk being illegals in America
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/why-the-rich-risk-being-illegals-in-america/
February 5, 2025 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Protestors gather outside Illinois Capitol, call for Trump’s impeachment. ‘50501’ demonstration part of a nationwide event calling for protests at state capitols.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/protestors-gather-outside-illinois-capitol-call-trumps-impeachment-part-national-demonstrations/15870195/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Mayor Brandon Johnson accepts GOP congressman’s invitation to testify on sanctuary city protections
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/05/mayor-brandon-johnson-to-testify-congressional-committee/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/05/illinois-gender-affirming-care-trump-order/
— Will County clerk removes four from ballot for violations of campaign law
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/05/will-county-clerk-removes-four-from-ballot-for-violations-of-campaign-law/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Democrat and RINO leaders to get rid of Republicans
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2025/02/05/black-history-month-dei-racism-bigotry-trump-lashawn-ford-reversing-river-science
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn Trump’s cabinet picks
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2025/02/05/donald-trump-cabinet-clown-posse-tulsi-gabbard-robert-kennedy-kash-patel-senate-confirmation-se-cupp
— Virtually all federal employees are Democrats who want Trump to fail
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/02/05/trump-attacks-federal-workers-democracy-omar-noureldin-mikael-rojas-center-effective-government
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/02/05/chicago-sanctuary-for-dispossessed-revolution-violence-famine-dominic-pacyga
— What’s true and what’s ‘fake news’? Developing media literacy skills is critical. National News Literacy Week kicked off Monday. Especially for youth, critical thinking skills to analyze what’s read, seen and heard are vital. (COMMENT: I have put GOPUSA ILLINOS newsletters together and sent them out since 2000.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/02/05/news-literacy-skills-critical-thinking-fake-news-sharon-peshkin-yonty-friesem
DAILY HERALD
— Protesters gather outside Illinois Capitol, call for Trump’s impeachment
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250205/news/protestors-gather-outside-illinois-capitol-call-for-trumps-impeachment/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSWINESS
— Johnson to testify at Congressional probe of sanctuary cities
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/brandon-johnson-testify-congress-sanctuary-cities
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/illinois-will-protect-gender-affirming-care-despite-trump-raoul
WBEZ
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ
https://www.wbez.org/lgbtq/2025/02/05/illinois-attorney-general-kwame-raoul-gender-affirming-care-donald-trump-executive-order
— Trump’s immigration arrests in Chicago raise questions about 4th Amendment violations. President Donald Trump has said his administration is targeting dangerous criminals for immigration arrests, but attorneys working with those detained in Chicago say many do not have criminal records.
https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/02/05/chicago-immigration-lyons-elgin-trump-ice-raids-border-wall-immigration-know-your-rights
MUDDY RIVER NEWS
— Illinois Senate Republicans launch legislation; say they want more transparency in state spending for non-citizens
https://muddyrivernews.com/politics/illinois-senate-republicans-launch-legislation-say-they-want-more-transparency-in-state-spending-for-non-citizens/20250205160226/
RIVER BENDER
— Duckworth, Durbin Condemn DoD Decision to End Policy Allowing U.S. Servicemembers to Access Non-Covered Reproductive Health Care Services
https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/duckworth-durbin-condemn-dod-decision-to-end-policy-allowing-us-servicemembers-to-access-noncovered-reproductive-health-care-services-79436.cfm?
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Illinois protestors among those nationwide against actions of President Trump, Elon Musk
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/local/2025/02/05/hundreds-of-protestors-rally-at-illinois-capitol-against-trump-musk/78209028007/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Protestors demonstrate against Trump policies outside Illinois Capitol
https://pantagraph.com/news/local/protestors-demonstrate-against-trump-policies-outside-illinois-capitol/video_241eda7c-9746-51d7-be96-80a0d75c5146.html
SOUTHERN
— 1st migrant flight lands at Guantanamo Bay, carrying ‘worst of the worst’
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/05/1st-migrant-flight-lands-at-guantanamo-bay-carrying-worst-of-the-worst/
— West Point disbands student clubs related to gender and race
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/05/west-point-disbands-student-clubs-related-to-gender-and-race/
EFFINGHAM DAILY NEWS
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.effinghamdailynews.com/news/illinois-attorney-helps-immigrant-families-prepare-for-crackdown/article_255152ac-e400-11ef-92d8-c3c330c04c96.html
WAND TV
— Protesters in Springfield join national groups against Trump policies
https://www.wandtv.com/news/protesters-in-springfield-join-national-groups-against-trump-policies/article_71847afc-e408-11ef-8fb5-1b11f6dc7358.html
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Trump’s demand that US aid workers return home sparks outrage in Washington and anxiety overseas
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/world/ap-usaid-workers-scramble-for-answers-after-trump-pulls-almost-all-of-them-off-the-job-worldwide/
— IRS workers involved in 2025 tax season can’t take buyout until after the taxpayer filing deadline (COMMENT: I was involved in IRS’s 1974 tax season big time.)
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-irs-workers-involved-in-2025-tax-season-cant-take-buyout-offer-until-may/
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— Protestors gather outside Illinois Capitol, call for Trump’s impeachment. ‘50501’ demonstration part of a nationwide event calling for protests at state capitols.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/protestors-gather-outside-illinois-capitol-call-for-trumps-impeachment/
CAPITOL FAX
— House Republicans walk out of chamber as J6/Trump resolutions begin
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/05/house-republicans-walk-out-of-chamber-as-j6trump-resolutions-begin/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/05/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-243/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— ‘No threat to public safety’: Federal agents being wasted on arresting illegal immigrants, Dems say
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/democrats-say-federal-agents-wasted-arresting-ille/
— Biden pumped $100M into transgender projects like pricey bathrooms for trans federal workers
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/biden-pumped-100m-transgender-projects-like-pricey/
— Senate Banking Committee seeks ways to reduce politicized debanking of Americans
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/senate-banking-committee-seeks-ways-reduce-politic/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday took on the trend of major financial institutions “debanking” customers because of their politics. At a hearing exploring the trend, senators said new evidence suggested government regulators had leaned on financial institutions to cut off services to digital asset firms, political figures, conservative-aligned businesses and individuals. Committee Chairman Tim Scott called it “alarming and disheartening.”)
— Trump administration axes $8 million in Politico subscriptions paid by taxpayers (COMMENT: GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletter subscriptions are worth at least $5,000/year. But I send the newsletters out free of charge, without any advertising, and without any donation requests.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/trump-administration-axes-8-million-politico-subsc/
— House Democrat revives push to impeach Trump
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/rep-al-green-revives-push-impeach-donald-trump/
— Trump’s march through Senate an awesome display of raw political power. Aggressive tactics and institutional changes could reshape federal power for decades.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/5/trump-march-senate-awesome-display-raw-political-p/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Mexico’s 10,000 troops begin to arrive at US border
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3311216/mexico-10000-troops-border-trump-tariffs/
— Los Angeles is already tolerating crimes at anti-Trump protests
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3311717/los-angeles-is-already-tolerating-crimes-at-anti-trump-protests/
BREITBART
— AG Pam Bondi Orders DOJ to Pause Federal Funding to Sanctuary Cities
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/02/05/report-ag-pam-bondi-orders-doj-to-pause-federal-funding-to-sanctuary-cities/
DAILY WIRE
— Attorney General Pam Bondi Directs DOJ To Halt Federal Funding For Sanctuary Cities. The move is part of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s day-one directives, which also address cartels and the weaponization of the DOJ.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-directs-doj-to-halt-federal-funding-for-sanctuary-cities
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— Local law enforcement officials across U.S. say they lack resources needed to help detain illegals
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/local-law-enforcement-detain-migrants-trump-administration/
— Attorney General Pam Bondi orders review of Trump prosecutions, focuses on “sanctuary” cities
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-review-trump-prosecutions-sanctuary-cities/
WASHINGTON POST
— Google will end a core DEI program and evaluate others, company says. The change comes after President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive orders and a broader DEI pullback at other big companies.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/05/google-end-dei-program/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets. Search giant is eliminating goals to hire more minority employees and reviewing DEI programs, part of a pullback across Silicon Valley.
https://www.wsj.com/tech/google-kills-diversity-hiring-targets-04433d7c
— Trump’s Lightning-Speed Rollback of Transgender Rights Sparks Lawsuits. New stances on military service, medical care and school sports teams set up court battles.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/trumps-lightning-speed-rollback-of-transgender-rights-sparks-lawsuits-53f116a5
BLOOMBERG
— Pritzker Warns Federal Workers in Illinois Against Musk Buyout
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-05/pritzker-warns-federal-workers-in-illinois-against-musk-buyout
February 4, 2025
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Senate confirms Pam Bondi as US attorney general
https://abc7chicago.com/post/senate-confirms-pam-bondi-us-attorney-general-putting-trump-ally-justice-departments-helm/15866274/
— Musk is serving as a ‘special government employee,’ White House says. That designation means Musk is not a volunteer but also not a full-time federal employee.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/elon-musk-is-officially-serving-president-donald-trump-special-government-employee-white-house-says/15864075/
— Senate Republicans insist Elon Musk isn’t in charge after whirlwind actions
https://abc7chicago.com/post/senate-republicans-insist-elon-musk-isnt-charge-whirlwind-actions/15865279/
— Trump says US will take ‘take over’ Gaza: ‘We’ll own it’ He said the U.S. would “level the site” and create “an economic development.”
https://abc7chicago.com/post/donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu-hold-talks-us-president-warns-no-guarantees-fragile-peace-gaza-will/15863738/
— Chicago US Attorneys Office at critical juncture with caseload pile-up, new Trump directives
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-us-attorneys-office-critical-juncture-caseload-pile-trump-administration-chaos/15866230/
— First military flight to send migrants to Guantanamo Bay is set to depart
https://abc7chicago.com/post/guantanamo-bay-first-military-flight-send-migrants-is-set-depart-official-says/15865004/
WTTW
— El Salvador Offers to Accept Deportees From US of Any Nationality, Including American Citizens
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/04/el-salvador-offers-accept-deportees-us-any-nationality-including-american-citizens
WGN RADIO
— 18 House GOP lawmakers back Trump’s birthright citizenship order in court
https://wgnradio.com/news/18-house-gop-lawmakers-back-trumps-birthright-citizenship-order-in-court/
WBBM
— Illinois Republicans say illegal immigration remains a crisis, point the finger at Democrats
https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/illinois-republicans-say-illegal-immigration-remains-crisis
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Marco Rubio says El Salvador’s offer to jail violent American criminals faces ‘legalities’
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/04/marco-rubio-el-salvador/
— Alderman told to leave City Council meeting after he appeared to call colleague a white supremacist
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/04/alderman-told-to-leave-city-council-meeting-white-supremacist/
— Once-obscure Bolingbrook company WeatherTech has wild ride with its 13th Super Bowl ad
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/04/weathertech-super-bowl-ad/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ‘White supremacist’ remark sparks City Council member’s ouster from hearing on public art dubbed antisemitic. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez was ejected from the meeting of the Special Events Committee by the normally affable chair, Ald. Nick Sposato: “You can’t call anybody a white supremacist. You gotta go,” Sposato said. “We’re not gonna take that.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2025/02/04/city-council-public-artwork-committee-hearing-cultural-center-conway-sigcho-lopez
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly encourage citizens of foreign countries to seek refugee status in America.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/02/04/trump-targeting-legal-refugees-political-persecution-state-rep-hoan-huynh
DAILY HERALD
— Democrats confront limits of their power in bid to stop Trump and Musk
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250204/nation-and-world-politics/democrats-confront-limits-of-their-power-in-bid-to-stop-trump-and-musk/
SOUTHERN
— Why shutting down USAID could have major impacts on Gaza aid
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/04/why-shutting-down-usaid-could-have-major-impacts-on-gaza-aid/
RIVER BENDER & WSIU
— Pritzker and Illinois Department of Revenue Encourage Taxpayers to Take Advantage of Tax Credits (COMMENT: My father never earned more than $50,000/years in today’s dollars.)
https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/governor-pritzker-and-illinois-department-of-revenue-encourage-taxpayers-to-take-advantage-of-tax-credits-79395.cfm?
https://www.wsiu.org/community-updates/2025-02-04/governor-pritzker-and-illinois-department-of-revenue-encourage-taxpayers-to-take-advantage-of-tax-credits
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a benefit for working people with low to moderate income. To claim an Illinois EITC for tax year 2024 (tax returns due in 2025), taxpayers must file an Illinois income tax return, even if they do not owe any tax and are not required to file and: have worked and earned income under $66,819)
WAND TV
— Illinois House Republicans demand Pritzker cut migrant services
https://www.wandtv.com/community/illinois-house-republicans-demand-pritzker-cut-migrant-services/article_5b09c71a-e330-11ef-a749-8bd800e65ff7.html
NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— How much do Illinois school districts rely on federal funding?
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/2025-02-04/how-much-do-illinois-school-districts-rely-on-federal-funding
— Musk and Trump aim to shut down USAID, leaving humanitarian work in doubt
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2025-02-03/musk-and-trump-aim-to-shut-down-usaid-leaving-humanitarian-work-in-doubt
FOX ILLINOIS
— Border Patrol agents warned cartels might attack with weaponized drones
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/border-patrol-agents-warned-cartels-might-attack-with-weaponized-drones-reports-southern-border-security-cbp-arizona-mexican-drug-cartels-trump-illegal-immigration-crackdown
NPR ILLINOIS
— Trump administration adds fine print to ‘Fork’ resignation offer, deepening confusion
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-04/trump-administration-adds-fine-print-to-fork-resignation-offer-deepening-confusion
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Will Trump’s federal hiring freeze affect IRS tax returns? (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, the agency was almost always under Republican-imposed hiring freezes and/or promotion freezes. My Democrat superiors punished me big time for that.)
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/will-trumps-federal-hiring-freeze-affect-irs-tax-returns/
NAPERVILLE PATCH
— OUTRAGEOUS, DISGUSTING: Democrats push pot in Warrenville
https://patch.com/illinois/naperville/prairie-cannabis-host-grand-opening-naperville-warrenville-area
ELMHURST PATCH
— Elmhurst D205 Hopeful Opposes DEI; Others Back It. Critical race theory also becomes a topic during an Elmhurst election forum. (COMMENT: To promote DEI is to promote discrimination against those who are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. My critics/opponents promote DEI.)
https://patch.com/illinois/elmhurst/elmhurst-d205-hopeful-opposes-dei-others-back-it
IPM NEWS
— Dozens protest on the streets of Champaign for the rights of transgender people
https://ipmnewsroom.org/dozens-protest-on-the-streets-of-champaign-for-the-rights-of-transgender-people/
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— New bills would ban school fines, provide working moms paid time to breastfeed (COMMENT: During the 1990s, GAO’s Chicago office gutted its smoking room and turned it into a lactation room.)
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/new-bills-would-ban-school-fines-provide-working-moms-paid-time-to-breastfeed/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/04/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-242/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— House Republicans say immigration affecting Illinoisans’ finances, safety
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_2d613c70-e336-11ef-a1a2-cb40670ac798.html
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Sosnowski Takes on Teeny-Tiny Township Governments
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/04/sosnowski-takes-on-teeny-tiny-township-governments/
— Nunda Township Road Commissioner Mike Lesperance Issues Press Release on Charges from Opponent Ron Parish
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/04/nunda-township-road-commissioner-mike-lesperance-issues-press-release-on-charges-from-opponent-ron-parish/
— County Administrator Peter Austin Set for Contract Extension into 2029, Salary Up $39,000 to $250,000
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/04/county-administrator-peter-austin-set-for-contract-extension-into-2029-salary-up-39000-to-250000/
— Ness Proposes Legislation to Allowed Those Unrelated to Live Together, Overriding Local Zoning Ordinances
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/04/ness-proposes-legislation-to-allowed-those-unrelates-to-live-together-overriding-local-zoning-ordinances/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— More than 20,000 federal workers accept Trump’s buyout offer, with ‘largest spike’ yet to come
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/4/20-000-federal-workers-accept-trump-buyout-offer-l/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: More than 20,000 workers would amount to roughly 1% of the two million federal workers. That remains below the 5% to 10% of federal workers the White House initially estimated would resign. The White House says the buyout offer would save the government $100 billion.)
— Illegal immigrant used stolen ID to vote, buy guns while hiding in Florida
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/4/illegal-immigrant-voted-owned-guns-feds/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Harboring illegals could mean decades in jail; Homan responds to blue state dem’s ‘come and get her’ challenge (COMMENT: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly analogize illegals to fugitive slaves.)
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/02/04/harboring-illegals-could-mean-decades-in-jail-homan-responds-to-blue-state-dems-come-and-get-her-challenge-1520551/
BREITBART
— Trump: U.S. Will Take Over Gaza, ‘We Will Own It’
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/04/trump-u-s-will-take-over-gaza-we-will-own-it/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Democrats Love Illegal Aliens, No Matter How Vicious
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/04/democrats-love-illegal-aliens-no-matter-how-vicious/
EPOCH TIMES
— More Than 20,000 Federal Workers Have Taken Buyout Offer, Surge Expected Before Friday Deadline. Nobody knows now how many employees will ultimately accept Trump’s terms for leaving the government.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/more-than-20000-federal-workers-have-taken-buyout-offer-surge-expected-before-friday-deadline-says-official-5804094
FOX NEWS
— Dozens of illegals arrested in Trump’s home county in Florida. Officials arrested 32 criminal illegal aliens through ‘targeted immigration enforcement operations’ in Palm Beach County.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dozens-illegals-arrested-trumps-home-county-florida
HOT AIR
— Illegals Throwing Anti-ICE Temper Tantrums, Blocking Freeways
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/02/04/illegals-throwing-anti-ice-temper-tantrums-blocking-freeways-making-friends-n3799466
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CNN
— FBI turns over names of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/04/politics/fbi-employees-tuesday
NEW YORK TIMES
— Bondi Confirmed as Attorney General
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/us/politics/pam-bondi-attorney-general-confirmation.html
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Order Set to Ban Transgender Girls and Women From Female School Sports. The NCAA has indicated it will move rapidly to change its rules in the face of such an order. (COMMENT: Transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete against other transgender athletes.)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/transgender-athletes-women-sports-executive-order-6223e414
REAL NEWS
— ‘Don’t open the door’: how Chicago is frustrating ICE’s campaign of fear. Months of know-your-rights work has Trump’s border czar complaining.
https://therealnews.com/dont-open-the-door-how-chicago-is-frustrating-ices-campaign-of-fear
INC
— Companies Are Avoiding the ‘DEI’ Acronym–Even If They’re Not Pulling Back on Diversity Initiatives The White House is wiping diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from the federal government. It’s prompting a shift in the communication used by business leaders who still believe in the concept.
https://www.inc.com/sam-blum/rebranding-dei-companies-tread-carefully-in-the-era-of-woke-politics/91141932
NPR
— Rubio says El Salvador will house deportees from U.S., including Americans
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/g-s1-46352/rubio-el-salvador-deportees-americans
POLITICO
— Trump says US will ‘take over the Gaza Strip’ He provided no details on how this was possible.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/04/trump-says-us-will-take-over-the-gaza-strip-00202508
LGBTQ NATION
— Pete Buttigieg’s replacement bans diversity celebrations at Department of Transportation. New Secretary Sean Duffy calls them a “distraction”.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/02/pete-buttigiegs-replacement-bans-diversity-celebrations-at-department-of-transportation/