December 23 Evening Edition

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Blagojevich asks for presidential commutation – Jon Seidel
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/blagojevich-asks-for-presidential-commutation/amp/
— Ex-Ill. rep John Anthony fired from govt. job for groping women at Xmas party – Tina Sfondeles
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ex-ill-rep-fired-from-govt-job-for-groping-women-at-xmas-party/

DAILY HERALD
— Audit: No documentation Elk Grove Village trustees qualify for IMRF pension plan – Chacour Koop
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161223/news/161229471/
— Aurora police: Messages on cryptic cards pose ‘no threat’ – Marie Wilson
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161223/news/161229523/

ABC7
— ROCKETTES TO PERFORM AT TRUMP INAUGURATION, A-LIST CELEBS TURN IT DOWN
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/rockettes-to-perform-at-trump-inauguration-a-list-celebs-turn-it-down/1670339/

NBC5
— Donald Trump’s NY Co-Chair Wishes Death on Obama Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls Carl Paladino’s remarks “racist, ugly and reprehensible” -Chris Carola
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/Donald-Trump-Campaign-Co-Chair-Carl-Paladino-Racist-Remarks-Barack-Obama-First-Lady-408069325.html

WAND
— Nearly 30 homeless programs in Illinois to receive total of $6.5 million
http://www.wandtv.com/story/34123470/nearly-30-homeless-programs-in-illinois-to-receive-total-of-65-million

WSIL TV
— Putin praises Trump’s judgment, rejects hacking claims – AP (DIERSEN: I should write a book about those who demonize, denigrate, and condemn my judgment. I could stress their how their horrific judgment harms not only me, but harms many others.)
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/34120228/putin-praises-trumps-judgment-rejects-hacking-claims

QUAD CITIES ONLINE
— Five file as Moline mayor write-ins after Acri, Vogelbaugh kept off ballot – Anthony Watt
http://www.qconline.com/news/local/candidates-booted-from-ballot-in-moline/article_ba4db7b2-9050-56c8-8449-e45d28f6b7f0.html

FOX ILLINOIS
— Gov. Rauner Announces New Budget Chief, Insurance Director – AP
http://foxillinois.com/news/local/gov-rauner-announces-new-budget-chief-insurance-director

LOUIS POST DISPATCH
— Illinois nearly 6 months behind in education funding for transportation, special ed, other expenses – AP
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/illinois-nearly-months-behind-in-education-funding-for-transportation-special/article_f041cd41-7cc8-5454-86ae-70986ad8cc2b.html

BELLEVILLE NEWS DEMOCRAT
— 3 Illinois group home residents found, 3 remain missing – AP
http://www.bnd.com/news/article122667529.html

NADIG NEWSPAPERS
— Relics, retreads, rookies, top 2018 governor field – Russ Stewart
http://nadignewspapers.com/2016/12/23/relics-retreads-rookies-top-2018-governor-field/

CHICAGO READER
— Records dump reveals Rahm’s millionaires – only email club – Ben Joravsky
http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2016/12/23/records-dump-reveals-rahms-millionaires-only-e-mail-club

CHICAGOIST
— Rahm’s Email Dump Pulls Back The Curtain On Top Donor Interests
http://chicagoist.com/2016/12/22/emanuels_emails_reveal_interests_of.php

DUPAGE POLICY JOURNAL
— Ives slams safe spaces, crying sessions for college students after election
http://dupagepolicyjournal.com/stories/511061727-ives-slams-safe-spaces-crying-sessions-for-college-students-after-election
— Pro-growth reforms called for to stem exodus of millennials
http://dupagepolicyjournal.com/stories/511061645-pro-growth-reforms-called-for-to-stem-exodus-of-millennials

ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— African-American unemployment rate soars in Illinois (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted a) that instead of me, the Post Office should have hired an African-American in 1966, b) that the Post Office should gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that an African-American could have my job, c) that instead of me, IRS should have hired an African-American in 1971, d) that instead of me, IRS should have promoted African-Americans in 1972, 1973, and 1974, e) that instead of me, GAO should have hired an African-American in 1980, f) that instead of me, GAO should have promoted an African-American in 1986, and g) that GAO should gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that an African-American could have my job and my preferred corner office.)
http://ilnews.org/11470/african-american-unemployment-rate-soars-illinois/

ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— ILLINOIS DOES HAVE A BUDGET, AND IT’S NO LAUGHING MATTER Due to existing law, Illinois already pays 90 percent of what it would if there were an appropriations agreement, meaning Illinois already operates with a de facto budget – Kristina Rasmussen
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-does-have-a-budget-and-its-no-laughing-matter/

FOX NEWS
— Trump Received a ‘Very Nice’ Christmas Letter From Putin
http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/12/23/donald-trump-received-very-nice-christmas-letter-vladimir-putin
— Putin reaches out to Trump, while thumping Dems
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/23/putin-reaches-out-to-trump-while-thumping-dems.html

DAILY CALLER
— Obama Races To Destroy Anti-Terror Program So Trump Can’t Use It – Blake Neff
http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/23/obama-races-to-destroy-anti-terror-program-so-trump-cant-use-it/
— First They Came For The Homophobes – Robert Oscar Lopez
http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/23/first-they-came-for-the-homophobes/

BLAZE
— Let’s start calling them ‘biology deniers’ – Matt Walsh (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, Democrats encourage children to engage in LGBTQ activity. That is enough reason to not send any child to any school run by Democrats.)
http://www.theblaze.com/podcasts/matt-walsh-lets-start-calling-them-biology-deniers/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Earlier in the week National Geographic unveiled its January cover story. They are profiling a confused and abused young boy who thinks he’s a girl. Of course, he isn’t presented as someone who is confused and abused. Rather he’s presented as a boy who is actually a girl, which is like presenting a triangle that’s actually a circle. There was a time when National Geographic was considered a science magazine. But the publication, along with liberalism more generally, has abandoned science. Indeed, anyone who suggests that a boy can be a girl is not only guilty of perpetuating abuse, but also guilty of rejecting the entire field of science known as biology. That is why I propose a new name for those who believe in the “transgender” superstition. They are biology deniers. They are people who fundamentally deny the existence of biological sex. They may say that they accept biological sex and proceed to draw a false and fabricated distinction between that and “gender,” but the fact remains that if you will call a boy anything other than a boy, you have denied his biology. You are a biology denier. And that’s what you ought to be called.)

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN NEWS
— WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPEN WHEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS BREATHING ROOM TO FUNCTION – Kent Kellar (DIERSEN: What if Oldsmobile had breathing room in 1971? In 1971, Oldsmobile withdrew a job offer that I had accepted saying that Oldsmobile had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. That directly resulted in my becoming an IRS employee.)
http://conservativerepublicannews.com/2016/12/23/wonderful-things-happen-when-the-private-sector-has-breathing-room-to-function/

THE HILL
— Pressure grows on Mormon choir over Trump inauguration – JUDY KURTZ
http://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/311676-pressure-grows-on-mormon-choir-over-trump-inauguration

HUFFINGTON POST
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, Democrats stress that they are anti-American.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-nevel/in-25-cities-communities-_b_13812326.html

CBS NEWS
— Illinois governor donates $50 million to his 2018 campaign fund
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-governor-donates-50-million-to-his-2018-campaign-fund/

AOL NEWS
— Jimmy Carter is the only former president to RSVP to Trump’s inauguration – Jose Sepulveda/Veuer
http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12/23/jimmy-carter-is-the-only-former-president-to-rsvp-to-trumps-ina/21641137/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Rockettes Won’t Be Forced to Dance at Trump Inauguration – KATIE ROGERS
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/arts/rockettes-wont-be-forced-to-play-trump-inauguration-company-says.html

NEW YORK POST
— Rockettes allowed to skip Trump’s inauguration – AP
http://nypost.com/2016/12/23/rockettes-allowed-to-skip-trumps-inauguration/

USA TODAY
— Trump v. the ‘swamp:’ Odds favor swamp – Donovan Slack
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/23/trump-v-swamp-odds-favor-swamp/95768438/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— New Nonprofit Aims to Bolster Trump in Fights With Both Parties Great America Alliance ‘will aggressively promote Trump’s agenda and help make sure the promises made to the American people during the campaign are kept by Congress’ – REBECCA BALLHAUS
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-nonprofit-aims-to-bolster-trump-in-fights-with-both-parties-1482517079
— Racial Quotas at the Texas Bar Are Illegal and Unwise No white males need apply for an opening on the state bar’s board. Those seats are reserved for minorities. – MARK PULLIAM
http://www.wsj.com/articles/racial-quotas-at-the-texas-bar-are-illegal-and-unwise-1482526400

FORBES
— 10 Ways Donald Trump Can Cut Waste – Our Advice From OpenTheBooks.com – Adam Andrzejewski
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/12/23/10-ways-donald-trump-can-cut-waste-our-advice-from-openthebooks-com/#1479360a52b9

CHIEF LEADER
— Key Federal Worker Protections May Be in Jeopardy Under Trump Regime – BOB HENNELLY (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes a) promote patronage, b) reject the Pendleton Act, and c) reject merit hiring. They side with Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, and my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates.)
http://thechiefleader.com/news/open_articles/key-federal-worker-protections-may-be-in-jeopardy-under-trump/article_9d30c750-a5e1-11e6-aa10-cb626479a302.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Tradition at a Crossroads For more than 130 years, Federal civil-service employees have enjoyed legal protection from partisan politics, but in recent years the partisan standoff in Washington has led to the lapsing of the authorizations for the agencies that enforce these laws. In the case of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, which polices the entire civil service system, the failure to act on a nominee made by President Obama in 2015 will mean that just a few months into Mr. Trump’s term, it is likely that board will cease to have a quorum. As a consequence of the Senate’s failure to act, the incoming President will be able to appoint two of the three MSPB members. Currently the two million plus Federal workers who report to the 4,000 political appointees selected by the President enjoy civil service protections that were first put on the books in the 1880s in homage to President James A. Garfield, who was assassinated by a disgruntled office-seeker who felt slighted that his political work for Mr. Garfield’s Republican Party had gone unrewarded with a patronage position. Mr. Garfield had been a fierce opponent of the spoils system, cracked down on corruption in the U.S. Post Office and said in his inaugural address that “the civil service can never be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law.” Required Merit Hiring The Pendleton Act, passed in 1883, two years after Mr. Garfield’s death, required that Federal employees be hired on merit and selected based on the results of competitive exams they would be required to take. This was a radical departure from the patronage system that mushroomed in the first 100 years of the nation. “When Garfield was assassinated, it was sort of a galvanizing event and it made a lot of policymakers scrutinize the spoils system—and there had been dissatisfaction with it,” said James Read, the Director of Policy and Evaluation for the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. The MSPB is a bipartisan quasi – judicial agency that has 228 employees and an annual budget of close to $47 million. It hears, on average, several thousand cases a year brought by Federal employees who believe their treatment by superiors violated the statutes and regulations that govern the Federal workforce. With the recent budget battles that produced furloughs, a government shutdown, and budget cuts due to sequester, the number of cases swelled to 33,000 in 2013.)

ROLLING STONE
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Anti-Trumps say “Why Even Trump-Friendly Artists Won’t Perform at His Inauguration.”
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-even-trump-friendly-artists-wont-perform-at-his-inauguration-w457677

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. View all posts by David Diersen