CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Ives’ candidacy a thorn in Rauner’s side – Tom Kacich
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-12-24/tom-kacich-ives-candidacy-thorn-rauners-side.html
ABC7
— Judge partially lifts Trump administration ban on refugees – AP
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/judge-partially-lifts-trump-administration-ban-on-refugees/2817496/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Trump criticizes FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe as he plans retirement – AP (DIERSEN: While I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years, my Democrat superiors always wanted to replace me with a Democrat, and especially with a Democrat who was minority, female, and/or younger. Because I have always been a Republican, were it not for federal civil service protections, a) the Post Office would NOT have hired me in 1966 or let me work there for almost 3 years, b) IRS would NOT have hired me in 1971 or let me work there for almost 9 years, c) IRS would NOT have promoted me in 1972, 1973, or 1974, d) GAO would NOT have hired me in 1980 or let me work there for almost 18 years, and e) GAO would NOT have promoted me in 1986.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/trump-reacts-to-reports-of-fbi-deputy-directors-retirement/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: McCabe plans to retire in about 90 days, when he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation. Trump and his Republican allies have made it clear that they want McCabe out of the FBI. But McCabe is a civil service employee who cannot be fired without clear evidence of wrongdoing.)
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: In an all-of-the-front page editorial unethically made to look like a news article, anti-Trumps glorify and praise a) those who come to America illegally, b) those who stay in America illegally, and c) those who bring others to America illegally.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/maria-no-documents-no-health-insurance-cancer-fight-angels-rush/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Mexico’s leftist presidential front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador puts country first, resists Trump comparison – AP (DIERSEN: Constructively, Mexico has declared war on America. If elected, will Obrador a) stop Mexico from sending many millions of its citizens into America illegally; b) bring back to Mexico its many millions of citizens who are in America illegally, and c) stop Mexico from sending many mountains of illegal drugs into America illegally?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-mexico-leftist-presidential-front-runner-20171223-story.html
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Answers must be provided in Quincy Veterans Home outbreaks – Editorial
http://www.sj-r.com/opinion/20171223/our-view-answers-must-be-provided-in-quincy-veterans-home-outbreaks
DEKALB DAILY CHRONICLE
— Thumbs-down to obstacles to letting the public decide size of their government – Editorial
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2017/12/22/our-view-thumbs-down-to-obstacles-to-letting-the-public-decide-size-of-their-government/a51me3n/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Thumbs-down: To state Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock. Reick has filed a bill in Springfield that would make it harder for residents to decide the size and scope of their local government. Reick’s proposal, House Bill 4190, would require township trustees to pay an independent contractor for a cost study before they could ask voters about whether to eliminate township road districts. Reick apparently thinks that an independent contractor needs to give the OK before residents can have a voice in shaping their government. That’s nonsense. This proposal is a transparent attempt to make it more difficult to pare down township government, likely at the behest of officials who work in township government and their political allies. Here’s the truth: Those Illinoisans who haven’t already fled this state are tired of paying high property taxes to support the most units of local government of any state in the nation. We need officials to remove the roadblocks and allow us to decide how many people govern us, and what they are paid to do it. Voters will not approve a ballot initiative that they do not believe will benefit them.)
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Illinois drops to No. 6 among most populous states – Chris Coates
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/illinois-drops-to-no-among-most-populous-states/article_f3720c93-4e93-523e-af48-224cff74fa71.html
HERALD NEWS
— Minooka village levy to increase for funding pension plans – KRIS STADALSKY
http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/12/20/minooka-village-levy-to-increase-for-funding-pension-plans/a23efvv/
ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— Illinois Republican congressmen differ on national concealed carry reciprocity – Greg Bishop
https://www.ilnews.org/news/statewide/illinois-republican-congressmen-differ-on-national-concealed-carry-reciprocity/article_01f0e068-e686-11e7-b192-4bb6a92ab262.html
ILLINOIS FAMILY INSTITUTE
— Coalition Letter Urges Trump Administration to Resist Courts on “Transgenders” in Military – John Biver
https://illinoisfamily.org/religious/coalition-letter-urges-trump-administration-resist-courts-transgenders-military/
BREITBART
— Amnesty: GOP ‘Gang of 33’ Silent on Required Tax Increases, Budget Cuts – NEIL MUNRO
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/23/amnesty-gop-gang-34-silent-required-tax-increases-budget-cuts/
NBC NEWS
— Liberal or Conservative? Where you shop reveals how you vote – DANTE CHINNI
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/business-of-the-holidays/liberal-or-conservative-where-you-shop-reveals-how-you-vote-n831536
NEW YORK TIMES
— Life, Death and Taxes in Inequality City – Ginia Bellafante
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/nyregion/life-death-and-taxes-in-inequality-city.html
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
— Protesters head to Chuck Schumer’s house to blast failure on Dream Act – DALE W. EISINGER and RICH SCHAPIRO
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/protesters-blast-chuck-schumer-failure-safeguard-dream-act-article-1.3718108
WASHINGTON POST
— Democrats aim to turn tax plan into cudgel in 2018 midterms – AP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dems-aim-to-turn-tax-plan-into-cudgel-in-2018-midterms/2017/12/24/2d0a7b72-e8ae-11e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html
— Most federal employees in D.C.-Baltimore area to receive 2.3 percent raise in January – Eric Yoder
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/12/23/most-federal-employees-in-d-c-baltimore-area-to-receive-2-3-percent-raise-in-january/?utm_term=.e8ca8d7b0493
— Washington careerists work to undermine Trump’s agenda – Christopher Flavelle and Benjamin Bain (DIERSEN: Because I have always opposed political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination, a) my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, did not promote me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, and forced me to take an $18,847 pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980; b) my Democrat IRS superiors did not promote me beyond GS-12, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and disallowed my partial day per diem claims in 1974; and c) my Democrat Post Office superiors forced me resign in 1969 and disallowed my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968.)
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/washington-careerists-work-to-undermine-trump-s-agenda/article_4e69fbf6-1fc2-5770-afdc-693af7b2c9a6.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In the long run, career staff can face consequences for resisting presidential policy. While it’s hard to outright fire a civil servant, congressional Republicans in January gave themselves the ability to reduce the annual pay for any individual federal employee to $1. An administration can also punish bureaucrats through punitive reassignments, designed to make them quit. Joel Clement, a senior policy manager at the Department of Interior, was moved to the accounting office in June — retaliation, he alleged, for speaking out about the risks of climate change.)
MONEY MAGAZINE
— The Insane Amount of Money Millionaires Say They Need to be Happy – KRISTEN BAHLER (DIERSEN: What is the main reason why you have less money than you have now? For me, it was my Democrat superiors who wasted my career and forced me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old.)
http://time.com/money/5071182/money-happiness-million/
MOTLEY FOOL
— 3 Money Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Retirement If you make this mistake, you face almost a 60% chance of running out of cash during retirement. – Christy Bieber
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/12/24/3-money-mistakes-that-could-ruin-your-retirement.aspx
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 3. Retiring too early Because of historically low bond rates and Americans’ longer life spans, many longstanding ideas about retirement — like the assumption that you can withdraw 4% or more from your retirement accounts each year without running out of money — no longer apply. In fact, in 2013 researchers from The American College and Morningstar found that a senior following the 4% rule stood a 57% chance of running out of cash when returns were calculated based on current rates. Retiree spending falls into predictable patterns. Retirees spend more during early retirement, when they’re healthy enough to travel and indulge their hobbies. They spend less during the middle of retirement as their health declines and energy wane, and in the late stage of retirement they spend more as costly health issues arise. This means that if you exhaust your savings, you’re likely to be short on cash at a time when you’re too old to work. To avoid this predicament, it’s imperative you accurately calculate how much you’ll need for retirement and how much you can safely withdraw without putting your future at risk. If your projected withdrawals don’t provide enough money to cover your expected costs, think about working longer or lowering your costs of living.)
