April 5 Evening Edition

WGN TV
— OUTSTANDING: Iowa advances immigration bill banning ‘sanctuary cities’ – AP
http://wgntv.com/2018/04/04/iowa-advances-immigration-bill-banning-sanctuary-cities/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— How is Gov. Rauner in trouble? Let me count the days – Eric Zorn (DIERSEN: What if Rauner promised to take no action that would be against the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) platform? What if Rauner promised that he would defend and advance the IRP platform?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-rauner-ives-disunity-0406-20180405-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Democratic Governors Association sent another mass email Thursday morning, updating the length of the era of post-primary strife among Illinois Republicans. “Day 16,” began the subject header. That email marked 16 days in which there had been no unity breakfast or other meeting of the minds between the winner of the gubernatorial primary, incumbent Bruce Rauner, and his barely vanquished firebrand conservative opponent, state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton. Sixteen days in which the two have reportedly not spoken. Sixteen days in which Rauner has not given in to Ives’ demand that he take out an ad admitting that he lied about her during the campaign. Sixteen days in which Ives has declined to retract or soften her blistering attacks on Rauner from the campaign, attacks that included: “Nobody can trust Bruce Rauner, he’s lied to everybody about everything.” He “has failed the integrity test in many ways.” “He basically got nothing done.” And “What the hell is wrong with this governor?” The daily count-up emails from the Democrats are likely to end soon — they’re already starting to feel a little spammy — but DGA spokesman Sal Salustro directed me to a running tally of the days at Medium.com that will continue. “We’re going to keep a focus on it,” he said. “There is no path to victory for Rauner without Ives and her supporters.” Rauner seemed to acknowledge as much during his televised victory speech March 20 after the primary election. “For those of you around Illinois who wanted to send me a message, let me be clear,” he said. “I have heard you.” In fact, however, “I have heard you” was anything but clear under the circumstances. Literally, yes, obviously, Rauner had heard the outraged howls of social conservatives who’d voted for Ives in large part to express their displeasure at his signing a bill expanding abortion rights and his several other deviations from right-wing orthodoxy. “I’ve come to expect politicians to shade the truth, but what’s clear today is that Rauner’s promises were just flat-out lies,” said House GOP floor leader Peter Breen of Lombard after the governor signed the abortion bill. “In the face of overwhelming evidence of Rauner’s inability to competently administer the Illinois government, inability to stand up to Mike Madigan effectively and inability to keep his word and his commitments, I can no longer support him.” Those howls translated into votes — enough that the wealthy incumbent was able to squeak by a scrappy state legislator by fewer than 3 percentage points. But hearing is not heeding, as anyone who has ever deftly deployed the expression “I have heard you” in an argument knows well. What did Rauner mean? That he planned to adopt some of the views of those who had opposed him? Or that these views had registered with him, but he planned to ignore them? Both meanings are politically perilous. If Rauner lurches to the right to placate social conservatives, he risks alienating the moderate voters who provided his narrow margin of victory in 2014, when, as a first-time candidate, he proudly ran with “no social agenda.” And if he fails to apologize or correct course, a significant number of dispirited GOP base voters may well stay home on Election Day in November. So I put the question to Rauner spokesman Justin Giorgio: “What is the message that he heard? What is the message that he believes 48 percent of primary voters are trying to give him? And how will he act upon that message?” Giorgio’s reply: “The governor understands that we all have to work harder to find common ground on the issues we disagree on. He understands the need to engage all Illinoisans to continue making progress on the issues that unite us: cutting taxes, creating jobs and rooting out corruption.” Translation: Pound sand, wing nuts. When it comes down to a choice between me and Democratic nominee J.B. Pritzker, you’ll discover your inner Peter Breen. Rep. Breen, who had been all in for Ives, announced after the primary that “Gov. Rauner stated in the media that he’s heard the message, and I believe he has. (He) is our party’s nominee, and I support him 100 percent.” I wanted to know what message Breen believes Rauner heard, but he did not respond to requests for comment. Sure, primaries are bruising, the rhetoric is heated and pragmatism generally ends up superseding principle when it comes time to vote. Even Ives has said she’ll vote for Rauner (though she’s said her husband will not). Unity breakfasts, like the gathering the Democratic gubernatorial rivals had the Saturday morning after the March 20 primary, are polite agreements to ignore the preceding ugliness and pretend the ideological differences are minor. But that rhetorical salve is important. Parties with open, infected wounds have a hard time getting healthy by the time voters go to the polls. Every day that goes by with Rauner refusing to apologize and Ives refusing to offer a single nice word about him is a day for the Democrats to celebrate. Seventeen days on Friday. And counting.)
— Day after proposing to slash state university budgets, Gov. Rauner spent $625,000 on ‘Godfather’ memorabilia – Kim Janssen
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-met-rauner-godfather-chicago-inc-20180405-story.html
— Roskam schedule conflict keeping him from student town hall on gun violence – Erin Hegarty (DIERSEN: Democrats blame Republicans for gun violence and they especially blame Republicans who are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/ct-nvs-roskam-town-hall-6th-st-0406-20180405-story.html
— Lawsuit challenges Deerfield’s assault weapons ban: ‘It flies in the face of state law’ – Karen Berkowitz
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/deerfield/news/ct-dfr-assault-weapon-ban-lawsuit-tl-0412-story.html
— Trump wants 2,000-4,000 troops for Mexico border security – AP
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-trump-troops-mexico-border-20180405-story.html

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Two former Trump primary rivals (Bush & Walker) helping Gov. Rauner – Tina Sfondeles
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/two-former-trump-primary-rivals-helping-gov-rauner/
— Trump National Guard deployment: Duckworth ‘alarmed,’ only 4 governors called – Lynn Sweet
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/trump-national-guard-deployment-duckworth-alarmed-only-4-governors-called/
— Gov. Bruce Rauner gets carried away with the black marker of secrecy – Editorial
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/bruce-rauner-black-marker-secrecy-legoinnaires-veterans-home-quincy-illinois-department-public-health/
— Trump wants to send up to 4,000 troops to border – AP
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/trump-wants-to-send-up-to-4000-troops-to-border/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Pot promoters promote pot. If you promote pot, you promote destruction.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/medical-marijuana-patients-pain-appalling-delays-illinois-department-public-health/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Democrats treasonously want America to officially surrender to Mexico and to surrender to the rest of the foreign countries that are invading America.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/trumps-call-for-troops-on-the-border-makes-little-sense/

 

DAILY HERALD
— Longtime DuPage board member Paul Fichtner stepping down – Robert Sanchez
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180405/longtime-dupage-board-member-stepping-down
(FROM THE ARTICLE: County board Chairman Dan Cronin will have 60 days to nominate Fichtner’s replacement. The full county board must approve the appointment. Whoever is appointed will serve until Nov. 30. In the fall, voters will determine who will get the seat for the next four years. During last month’s primary, Republican voters picked incumbent Sam Tornatore of Roselle and Dino Gavanes of Itasca to be the GOP nominees for two District 1 seats. They will face Elmhurst Democrats Ashley J. Selmon and Zahra Suratwala. District 1 includes all or portions of Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Itasca, Lombard, Roselle, Villa Park and Wood Dale.)
— Deerfield bans assault weapons. The NRA says they’ll fight it. – Derek Hawkins
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180405/deerfield-bans-assault-weapons-the-nra-says-theyll-fight-it
— Trump: 2,000-4,000 troops needed for Mexico border security – AP
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20180405/news/304059882/
— Surgeon general urges Americans to carry opioid overdose antidote – AP (DIERSEN: Those who make money selling naloxone and opioid are overjoyed.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20180405/news/304059934/
— Pomp, circumstance in Naperville Walmart aisles for first Training Academy – Bev Horne and Bob Smith (DIERSEN: My first 6 months that I worked for IRS in 1971 was a combination of classroom and on-the-job training in downtown Chicago. IRS paid me $45,703/year in today’s dollars.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/business/20180405/pomp-circumstance-in-naperville-walmart-aisles-for-first-training-academy
— Montini celebrates Cultural Awareness Week – Barbara Dawson (DIERSEN: What is your national origin? During the 1840s and 1850s, all my ancestors immigrated to northeast Illinois from what is now Germany. Of course, needless-to-say, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always used that against me. In my defense, I stress that my grandfather on my father’s side fought the Germans during WWI, that my uncles on my mother’s side fought the Germans during WWII, and that my father would have fought the Germans during WWII if he had not been 4-F. Further, according to 
http://dna.ancestry.com , my ancestry is 33% Europe West, 28% Scandinavia, 24% Great Britain, 11% Ireland, 2% Europe East, 1% Finland/Northwest Russia, and 1% Italy/Greece.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/submitted/20180405/montini-celebrates-cultural-awareness-week

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Look who’s riding to Bruce Rauner’s rescue: Scott Walker – GREG HINZ
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180405/BLOGS02/180409938/look-whos-riding-to-bruce-rauners-rescue-scott-walker
— On a mission to make Chicago LGBTQ-friendly(er) – LAURA BIANCHI (DIERSEN: From what I see, if you live and/or work in Chicago and you do not promote LGBTQ activity, sooner or later, those who promote LGBTQ activity in Chicago will get rid of you, no matter what your demographics are.)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180405/ISSUE01/180409969/on-a-mission-to-make-chicago-lgbtq-friendly-er
— A new tack to fight gerrymandering – GREG HINZ
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180405/BLOGS02/180409935/a-new-tack-to-fight-gerrymandering

 

WTTW
— Is Roskam Worried About a ‘Blue Wave’ in Illinois’ 6th District? – Evan Garcia (DIERSEN: To get reelected, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes urge Roskam to dump those voters in the 6th Congressional District like me who are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time. Will Roskam listen to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes?)
https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/04/05/roskam-worried-about-blue-wave-illinois-6th-district

 

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Jo McGuire pushes back on recreational marijuana – Derek Beigh
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/government-and-politics/speaker-pushes-back-on-recreational-marijuana/article_72890ef2-70f9-5023-98b8-e2bbc3c8bd39.html

 

FOX ILLINOIS
— Sen. Duckworth weighs in on Trump’s “trade war” with China
http://foxillinois.com/news/local/sen-duckworth-weighs-in-on-trumps-trade-war-with-china

 

WJBC
— Barickman not optimistic lawmakers will pass budget on time – Eric Stock
http://www.wjbc.com/2018/04/05/barickman-not-optimistic-lawmakers-will-pass-budget-on-time/

 

US 92.7
— Rauner’s Office Defends Edits in Documents Pertaining to Illinois Veterans Home
http://www.us927.com/2018/04/05/rauners-office-defends-edits-in-documents-pertaining-to-illinois-veterans-home/

 

ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION
— ISRA Thursday Bulletin – April 5, 2018 – Richard Pearson
http://www.isra.org/News/TabId/1068/ArtMID/4612/ArticleID/28714/ISRA-Thursday-Bulletin-April-5-2018.aspx
(FROM THE BULLETIN: In a few days we will be back in Springfield and the battle to protect our gun rights will be white hot! The first thing we must do is not let the Illinois House and Senate override the Governor’s veto of HB1657. Please contact you legislators immediately. This is a gun ban movement, pure and simple. All of the following bills deserve a NO vote: HB1467 Bans bump stocks and rolls back municipal pre-emption on banning long guns HB1469 Bans all magazines over 10 rounds and makes it a felony for sale, purchase or possession of high capacity magazines and body armor HB1465 Increases age to 21 to possess or purchase a rifle HB1664 Establishes an anonymous snitch line to declare gun owners a “clear and present danger” without any real cause.)

 

ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— The ‘friendly’ tax hike taking shape in Springfield – Austin Berg (DIERSEN: Who wants you to pay more taxes? Those who want me to pay more taxes are anti-Trump, anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, anti-draft avoiders, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.ilnews.org/opinion/op-ed-the-friendly-tax-hike-taking-shape-in-springfield/article_4fe55db4-38e1-11e8-be73-974ee592b06c.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In election season, some Illinois politicians are looking for ways to promise more revenue without inciting the rage of voters, who just saw the largest permanent income tax hike in state history last summer. Enter the progressive income tax. Instead of addressing the things that make state and local governments cost so much, Illinois can solve all its problems by “making the rich pay their fair share,” supporters of a progressive tax argue. This idea has become a key pillar of J.B. Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign after swirling around the Statehouse air for the past decade or so.)

 

COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW
— A ‘formidable conservative force’ challenges politics coverage in Illinois – Jeremy Borden
https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/lgis-proft-news-illinois.php

 

CAPITOL FAX
— Circular firing squad battle moves to state central committee races
https://capitolfax.com/2018/04/05/circular-firing-squad-battle-moves-to-state-central-committee-races/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Every four years, Republican Party conventions of precinct committeemen are held in every Illinois county for the purpose of electing state central committee members in each of the state’s congressional districts. The filing deadline was March 26th. Dave Diersen posted a list of contested races. I’ve added incumbent (i) designations… . . . That’s a lot of challenges. I asked Dan Proft if he was behind any of these candidates in an attempt to take over the party. Chris Cleveland was a big Jeanne Ives supporter, for example, as was David Smith, Patrick Harlan and others on that list. Proft’s texted response… Think you’ve got it reversed. It reads to me as if Rauner and his big government apparatchiks are working to continue their purge of conservatives from the party per their backing candidates against McGlasson, Floreth and Winchester. Message to Ives and her supporters: leave the party. I checked in with the ILGOP, former statewide candidate Bob Grogan and the Ives campaign, but haven’t yet heard back. . .KOL: What is going on in the 6th? All three are Rauner allies, so I thought)
— Ballyhooed Democrat ekes out a win over “stealth” candidate
https://capitolfax.com/2018/04/05/ballyhooed-dem-ekes-out-a-win-over-stealth-candidate/
— Pritzker hit for tax comments (DIERSEN: High taxes are reasons to leave Illinois, but other reasons include tremendous efforts to drive out of Illinois individuals, organizations, and companies that are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://capitolfax.com/2018/04/05/pritzker-hit-for-tax-comments/
— Morning Consult poll: Trump disapproval is 60 percent here (DIERSEN: Who focuses on driving down Trump’s approval rating and driving up Trump’s disapproval rating in your precinct, in your municipality, in your township/ward, in your county, and in Illinois?)
https://capitolfax.com/2018/04/05/morning-consult-poll-trump-disapproval-is-60-percent-here/
— Proft and Timpone defend and deflect
https://capitolfax.com/2018/04/05/proft-and-timpone-defend-and-deflect/

 

GOPUSA
— OUTSTANDING: Iowa advances immigration bill banning ‘sanctuary cities’
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=43076
— BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS: More than a million illegal aliens have received California driver’s licenses
http://www.gopusa.com/more-than-a-million-illegal-aliens-have-received-california-drivers-licenses/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Sooner or later, if you do not call for the abolition of the Second Amendment, Office Depot, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Hulu, Nutrish pet food company, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Atlantis Paradise Island, Stitch Fix, Liberty Mutual, and Entertainment Studios will dump you.)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=42826
— Nasim Aghdam’s YouTube scrub and Donald Trump Jr.’s good question
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=43074

 

BREITBART
— Mexican Senate Threatens to Stop Helping U.S. Against Drug Cartels If Trump Deploys Troops to Border – Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby (DIERSEN: How soon will Mexico officially declare war on America? Constructively, Mexico has declared war on America a) by its illegally sending many millions of its citizens into America illegally, b) by its illegally keeping many millions of its citizens in America illegally, and c) by its illegally sending mountains of illegal drugs into America illegally.)
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2018/04/05/mexican-senate-threatens-stop-helping-u-s-drug-cartels-trump-deploys-troops-border/
— Zuckerberg: ‘Three-Year Project’ to ‘Fix’ Elections, Fake News, Misinformation – Just in Time for 2020 – ALLUM BOKHARI
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/04/05/zuckerberg-three-year-project-to-fix-elections-fake-news-misinformation-just-in-time-for-2020/

 

TOWNHALL
— Pelosi: If We Win, We’re Going to Turn Back the Clock By Repealing the New Law and Massively Increasing Taxes – Guy Benson
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2018/04/05/pelosi-you-bet-democrats-are-going-inflict-massive-middle-class-tax-increases-if-we-win-n2467855

 

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Nancy Pelosi slams Trump for ‘wasting resources on pointlessly sending troops’ to border – Mandy Mayfield (DIERSEN: Democrats treasonously want America to officially surrender to Mexico and to surrender to the rest of the foreign countries that are invading America.)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/nancy-pelosi-slams-trump-for-wasting-resources-on-pointlessly-sending-troops-to-border

 

WASHINGTON POST
— The tax cuts were supposed to help workers. Unions say they’re not. – Danielle Paquette
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/05/the-tax-cuts-were-supposed-to-help-workers-unions-say-theyre-not/
— The woman who got fired for flipping off President Trump just sued her former employer – Petula Dvorak
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-woman-who-got-fired-for-flipping-off-president-trump-just-sued-her-former-employer/2018/04/04/64c7376c-3840-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html

 

USA TODAY
— Donald Trump tweets policy, forcing aides to fill in details (or walk them back) – David Jackson
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/05/trump-tweets-policy-aides-have-fill-details-walk/485433002/

 

CNBC
— Growing debt among older Americans threatens their retirement – Annie Nova
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/04/growing-debt-among-older-americans-threatens-retirement.html

 

DAILY BEAST
— Sinclair’s Trump Toady Swears: ‘I’m Not Doing Anybody’s Bidding’ – LLOYD GROVE (DIERSEN: Who would my critics/opponents say that I am a toady for and why?)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sinclairs-trump-toady-swears-im-not-doing-anybodys-bidding

 

ZILLOW
— FOR SALE: 225 West Park Avenue, Wheaton – $430,000
https://www.zillow.com/wheaton-il/1_fs/X1-SS1apc9gppw622z_3o1g1_sse/4448245_zpid/

Author: David Diersen

The opinions that I express in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are based on experience that I have gained doing many things since 1948. I base my opinions on what I learned a) working for the federal government for almost 30 years -- Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter 1983-1996, and being a union member while I worked for the Post Office and IRS; b) earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, a masters degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, and a masters degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997; c) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and passing the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981; c) serving as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000, the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois Chairman 2005-2012, a member of the 2008 Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Platform and Resolutions Committee, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member 2003-2011, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster 2008-2010 and 2000-2004, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007, and an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member 2001-2004; d) attending the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 IRP State Conventions as a delegate; e) being the subject of a nasty 4-page article in the February 1978 issue of Money Magazine; f) pursing litigation including Diersen v. GAO and Diersen v. Chicago Car Exchange; g) being married since 1978; h) living in Crete 1948-1972, in University Park 1972-1976, in Chicago 1976-1978, and in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 1978; and i) being baptized, raised, and confirmed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran.