February 17, 2026

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Lewis University moves some classes online after school says ICE to work out of same building. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/lewis-university-moves-classes-online-learning-school-says-ice-work-same-oak-brook-il-building/18608542/

CBS2
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jb-pritzker-ofelia-torres-death-cancer-father-deportation-fight/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Bailey rebukes national GOP for post mocking Pritzker’s weight
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/16/gop-pritzker-cartoon-bailey-illinois/
— Girl Scouts in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa moving cookie sales online in response to ICE actions. From now until March 29, Girl Scouts River Valleys’ cookie program will go digital. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/16/girl-scouts-moving-cookie-sales-online-in-response-to-ice-actions/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOL:D: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push more pot. What will Democrat leaders do next to push more pot?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/16/cannabis-sales-illinois/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly analogized Trump with Joseph McCarthy.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/opinion-donald-trump-joseph-mccarthy/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly reduce/end penalties for breaking the law.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/02/17/formerly-incarcerated-celebrate-passage-of-illinois-clean-slate-act

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use high school students to promote more hatred against Republicans. How soon, if not already, will Democrat leaders promise high school students free rides at Ivy League universities if they walkout? If I had been active in Republican politics when I was a Crete-Monee High School student 1962-1966, the Democrats who ran the Park Forest Post Office would not have hired me in 1966. If I had been active in Republican politics when I was a UIC student 1966-1968 and 1971 and/or a NIU student 1969-1970, the Democrats who ran IRS would not have hired me in 1971. If I had been active in Republican politics when I was a part-time Loyola student 1972-1976, the Democrats who ran IRS would not have promoted me in 1972, 1973, or 1974. If I had been active in Republican politics when I was a part-time DePaul student 1976-1980, the Democrats who ran GAO would not have hired me in 1980 or promoted me in 1986. If I had been active in Republican politics when I was a part-time IIT student 1992-1997, my Democrat GAO superiors would have forced me to retire 4 years earlier, in 1993 instead of 1997. If I had been active in Republican politics, I doubt that UIC would have admitted me in 1966, NIU in 1969, Loyola in 1972, DePaul in 1976, and IIT in 1992. Democrats
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260216/news/we-see-the-injustice-suburban-students-pledge-walkouts-will-continue-no-matter-the-consequences/
— 14th District GOP candidates say curbing government spending, overreach are top issues
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260216/us-congress-politics/14th-district-gop-candidates-say-curbing-government-spending-overreach-are-top-issues/
— 8th Congressional District GOP hopefuls debate U.S. immigration policies
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260216/us-congress-politics/8th-congressional-district-gop-hopefuls-debate-u-s-immigration-policies/

WAND TV
— Urbana city leaders rejected a federal grant Monday night. Urbana City Council members said it is because the FEMA money has strings attached under the Trump administration. They stated that taking the money would require Urbana to follow all Department of Homeland Security rules and comply with federal action, like recent ICE raids nationwide. Urbana’s legal counsel said the city likely would not be on the hook for paying the money back. However, council members added they don’t trust the current administration and are hoping to protect residents. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.wandtv.com/news/illinois/urbana-city-council-rejects-federal-grant-over-dhs-ties/article_c0f55a33-5c85-4785-bf35-6c4c1757b68a.html

CLARION LEDGER
— Federal judge orders DHS to allow Ash Wednesday service for ICE detainees. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use religious leaders a) to glorify and praise their illegals and b) to fight their deportation.  When my lawsuit against GAO was transferred from Washington DC to Chicago in 2000, it was initially assigned to Gettleman. SEE: https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2026/02/16/federal-judge-orders-trump-administration-dhs-must-allow-ash-wednesday-services-for-ice-detainees/88701099007/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to let detainees have access to church services for Ash Wednesday. “The court finds that the government has substantially burdened plaintiffs’ exercise of religion,” U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said in his order. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security must “allow plaintiffs to access the Broadview, Illinois, facility on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026, to offer ashes and Communion for those who desire it.”)

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— The Rev. Jesse Jackson has died
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinoisplaybook

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/02/17/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-680/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
—  Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative. RINOs reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all the planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. Far too many RINOs use the Republican Party’s “BIG TENT” policy a) to become Republican Precinct Committeemen, b) to become leaders in Republican organizations, c) to run for government offices as Republicans, and d) to get elected as Republicans. The Democrat Party does not have a “BIG TENT” policy. Its precinct committeemen, party leaders, candidates, and elected officials aggressively defend and advance all the planks in the Democrat Party platform, especially its dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, pro-vice, gun control, and Affirmative Action and DEI planks, that is, its race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination planks. If the Republican Party does not stop RINOs from destroying the Republican Party, the Republican Party will soon be defunct. Soon, all of America will be like Illinois. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What has your Republican Precinct Committeeman (RPC) done so far to increase the number of Republican ballots cast in your precinct in the March 17, 2026 primary? Notwithstanding ever-increasing Democrat-promoted hatred against RPCs, yesterday, I finished hand-delivering envelopes to 400 residences in my precinct using 800 mailing labels for those residences that have at least one Republican (R) or Independent (NA) voter. The envelopes had my return address label, a copy of the unmarked sample ballot, a Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) Voter Guide, and campaign literature from all the candidates on the Republican ballot in my precinct who had provided their literature to MTRO (Tracy, Mendrick, Dabrowski, Drew, and Moore). I had to explain to some voters why they were NA. I am happy to report that only one Democrat voter in my precinct, albeit an aggressive, nasty, wealthy, and prominent realtor with a common name, shouted threats at me. He shouted at me in a very threatening tone that he had thrown my envelope in the trash, that I should not deliver anything there anymore, that he knew who I was, that he knew where I lived, and that if I ever did deliver there again, he would come to my home and dump it on my driveway. While I did not realize who he was until after the incident, he had known who I was for many years. He had been a registered D in my precinct very near my home years ago. I now know that after he sold that home, he bought a very expensive and prominent home in the new part of my precinct. I delivered to his new home only because there was a registered NA in his home. To avoid future threats like his from Ds, I will identify those homes in my precinct that have NAs and not deliver to those homes that also have Ds but no Rs, something I did not take the time to do this time. There are limits on the time that I can spend. I spend 10+ hours a day 7 days a week putting GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters together and sending them out. I spent many hours putting 800 mailing labels and 400 return address label on 400 envelopes, putting them into walk order, stuffing them, dividing them into 5 batches, and hand-delivering them. I used 400 DuPage County Republican Central Committee envelopes and I used my photocopier, paper, and ink to copy the sample ballot 400 times 2-sided back-to-back. If I spent 6 minutes getting each envelope ready, that would be 40 hours. I spent about 15 hours hand-delivering the envelopes, or about 3 hours per batch. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopoillinois.com
— What were doing 25 years ago? In 2001, I successfully led a group that overcame Rev. Jesse Jackson’s opposition and got Comcast to start carrying Fox News Channel in Wheaton and in other western suburbs. – Dave Diersen

http://www.gopillinois.com
(FROM GOOGLE AI: Rev. Jesse Jackson and his organization, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, have had a long, complex, and often criticized relationship with major telecommunications companies, including Comcast and AT&T. Over the past two decades, Jackson has frequently endorsed mergers involving these companies and lobbied against net neutrality regulations, often coinciding with donations from these corporations to his non-profit organizations. Key aspects of this relationship include: Corporate Funding & Support: AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon have been major financial contributors to Jackson’s Citizenship Education Fund. For instance, in 1999, AT&T donated $425,000 to the fund shortly after Jackson withdrew his opposition to the AT&T/TCI Cable merger.)

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Three GOP Members of Congress (that is, All of Them) Support Don Tracy for U.S. Senate Nomination
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/02/17/three-gop-members-of-congress-that-is-all-of-them-support-don-tracy-for-u-s-senate-nomnation/
— 9th District GOP Candidate Got Hawaiian Record Wiped Clean
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/02/16/9th-district-gop-candidate-gets/

JOHN KASS
— To Be Optimistic or Not to Be. DD: I tried to be optimistic while I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, but as they ever-increasingly took more and bigger adverse actions against me, it became ever-increasingly difficult. I have tried to be optimistic while I have served as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, but as Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Illinois Republican Party leaders have ever-increasingly taken more and bigger adverse actions against me, it is becoming ever-increasingly difficult.
https://johnkassnews.com/to-be-optimistic-or-not-to-be/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democrats’ ICE opposition shutdown echoes ‘defund the police’ 2.0. Left’s unreasonable demands would make officers’ jobs impossible.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/16/democrats-ice-opposition-shutdown-echoes-defund-police-20/

NEW YORK POST
— Biden’s ‘quiet amnesty’ for nearly 1 million illegal immigrants
https://nypost.com/2026/02/16/opinion/bidens-quiet-amnesty-for-nearly-1-million-illegal-immigrants/
— Woke Portland pizza restaurant hits diners with anti-ICE propaganda and bizarrely declares ‘food is political’
https://nypost.com/2026/02/17/us-news/woke-pizza-restaurant-hits-diners-with-anti-ice-propaganda-and-bizarrely-declares-food-is-political/

CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— DOJ Reveals that Biden Granted ‘Quiet Amnesty’ to Nearly a Million Aliens. Cases that have been ‘temporarily paused’ for more than three decades.
https://cis.org/Arthur/DOJ-Reveals-Biden-Granted-Quiet-Amnesty-Nearly-Million-Aliens
— Fifth Circuit Greenlights Mandatory Detention for All Illegal Entrants. Ignore the thousands of habeas claims — this issue is bound for SCOTUS.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Fifth-Circuit-Greenlights-Mandatory-Detention-All-Illegal-Entrants

CREATORS SYNDICATE
— DD: Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative. RINOs reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all the planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. Far too many RINOs use the Republican Party’s “BIG TENT” policy a) to become Republican Precinct Committeemen, b) to become leaders in Republican organizations, c) to run for government offices as Republicans, and d) to get elected as Republicans. The Democrat Party does not have a “BIG TENT” policy. Its precinct committeemen, party leaders, candidates, and elected officials aggressively defend and advance all the planks in the Democrat Party platform, especially its dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, pro-vice, gun control, and Affirmative Action and DEI planks, that is, its race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination planks. If the Republican Party does not stop RINOs from destroying the Republican Party, the Republican Party will soon be defunct. Soon, all of America will be like Illinois.
https://www.creators.com/read/daily-editorials/02/26/rinos-meet-the-depublicans-5df4a

FOX NEWS
— West Chicago teacher breaks silence after losing job over 2-word Facebook post supporting ICE: ‘Devastating.’  The teacher’s supporters started a GoFundMe, calling him a “beloved” educator
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chicago-area-teacher-breaks-silence-after-losing-job-over-2-word-facebook-post-supporting-ice
— Illinois district where faculty celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death exposed over racial ‘segregation’ plan. Oswego District 308 divided middle school students by racial background without parental notification as part of equity training sessions.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illinois-district-where-faculty-celebrated-charlie-kirks-death-exposed-over-racial-segregation-plan

FOX NEWS RADIO
— Who Is Allowing Illegals To Get Trucking Licenses?
https://radio.foxnews.com/2026/02/16/who-is-allowing-illegals-to-get-trucking-licenses-ft-shannon-everett-rep-wesley-hunt/

PJ MEDIA
— DD: Democrat leaders have declared a Second Civil War against Republicans. Illegals are their soldiers in their Democrat Army.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/02/16/is-nancy-pelosi-steering-democrats-toward-a-civil-war-in-2028-n4949566
— The Trump Administration Officially Kills DEI at the FAA. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, they ever-increasingly used Affirmative Action to lower their hiring, retention, and promotion standards to hire, retain, and promote more Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. That ever-increasingly rendered worthless my job-related bachelor’s degree, my three job-related master’s degrees, my six job-related professional certifications, and my job-related professional license.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/02/16/the-trump-administration-officially-kills-dei-at-the-faa-n4949555

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— How Uncle Sam helps illegal aliens take jobs, homes, and benefits. DD: All of my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. If my employers had hired noncitizens instead of me, I would not have been able a) to buy a 6-year-old car when I was 16, b) to buy new cars when I was 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, etc., c) to pay for tuition and books to earn college degrees when I was 21, 27, 31, and 48, d) to buy real estate when I was 24, 25, 27, 29, 35, etc., or d) to get married when I was 29. My critics/opponents cannot say anything like that because they had wealth parents who bought the cars, who paid for their college expenses, who got them jobs, etc. My father died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21. Neither he nor my mother attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. He never earned more than $50,000/year in today’s dollars. He almost always worked second jobs to pay the family’s bills. My mother never attended high school.
https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/5737890-the-itin-how-uncle-sam-helps-illegal-aliens-take-jobs-homes-and-benefits/

REUTERS
— Goldman Sachs plans to drop DEI from board-candidate criteria. DD: I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years, for IRS for almost 9 years, and for the Post Office for almost 3 years. You had to promote Affirmative Action big time to get promoted to GS-14 at GAO, GS-13 at IRS, and GS-5 at the Post Office.
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/goldman-sachs-plans-drop-diversity-factors-board-candidate-criteria-wsj-reports-2026-02-17/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrats’ Debate: ‘Abolish ICE,’ or ‘Abolish Trump’s ICE’? An upcoming Senate primary contest in Illinois, which is likely to pick the state’s next senator, has centered on Democrats’ future approach to federal immigration policy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/us/politics/democrats-illinois-senate-ice-trump.html

WASHINGTON POST
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/02/16/affordability-politics-cost-living-prices/

USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly reject federal law. That caused the Civil War.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/02/14/states-different-approaches-immigration-enforcement/88597879007/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use the Olympics to promote LGBTQ.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/02/17/team-usa-lgbtq-athletes-2026-winter-olympics-representation/88690898007/
— FAA orders merit-based pilot hiring as Trump DEI crackdown continues. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, they ever-increasingly used Affirmative Action to lower their hiring, retention, and promotion standards to hire, retain, and promote more Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. That ever-increasingly rendered worthless my job-related bachelor’s degree, my three job-related master’s degrees, my six job-related professional certifications, and my job-related professional license.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2026/02/16/faa-merit-based-pilot-hiring-order/88700875007/

DUKE TODAY
— When Wages Are Not Enough for Retirement Savings. DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors in the federal government a) wasted my career, b) took many big adverse actions against me, and c) forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. They flushed down their toilets my job-related bachelor’s degree, my three job-related master’s degrees, my six job-related professional certifications, and my job-related professional license. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran.
https://today.duke.edu/2026/02/when-wages-are-not-enough-retirement-savings

POLITICO
— Democrats’ struggles could be partly because they’re just too old, says Obama. “There is an element of, at some point, you age out,” the former president said. DD: According to my Democrat IRS superiors, I aged out to be a GS-13 when I was 25 in 1974.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/15/obama-democrats-problems-too-old-00782719?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

FROM FOREIGN SOURCES

HINDUSTAN TIMES
— Indi­ans face racist back­lash in US amid suc­cess
https://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-lucknow/20260217/282218017248218
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A wave of hos­til­ity tar­get­ing people of Indian ori­gin in the United States is caus­ing con­cern as pub­lic meet­ings, polit­ical cam­paigns and online plat­forms see a surge in openly racist rhet­oric dir­ec­ted at Indi­ans. The back­lash was on dis­play at a recent City Coun­cil meet­ing in Frisco, a fast-grow­ing sub­urb north of Dal­las in Texas where about one-third of res­id­ents are of Asian her­it­age, The New York Times repor­ted. Dur­ing nearly two hours of pub­lic com­ments, sev­eral speak­ers described what they called an “Indian takeover” of their city.)

INDEPENDENT ONLINE
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly destroy traditional marriage and family.
https://iol.co.za/lifestyle/love-sex/relationships/2026-02-16-the-sheconomy-surge-why-45-of-women-will-be-single-and-thriving-by-2030/