February 24, 2026

WHITE HOUSE
— President Trump Honors Angel Families, Remembers American Lives Lost to Illegal Immigration
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/02/president-trump-honors-angel-families-remembers-american-lives-lost-to-illegal-immigration/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

FOX32
— Illinois GOP governor primary debate: How to watch on Fox Chicago
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-gop-govenor-primary-debate

WTTW
— Illinois Increasingly Becomes Destination for Abortion
https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/23/illinois-increasingly-becomes-destination-abortion-access-new-public-private-partnership

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Ex-strip club owner with ties to reputed mob figures a big campaign donor to Alexi Giannoulias. Perry Mandera, his family and companies have contributed more than $100,000 to Giannoulias’ campaign fund over the last few years as he contemplates a run for Chicago mayor. Mandera owned a strip club for years on the Near North Side that was involved in a long-running legal battle with City Hall — and that employed two men with alleged organized crime connections.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/02/24/perry-mandera-campaign-contributions-alexi-giannoulias-potential-candidate-chicago-mayor
— Woman calls police on congressional candidate Mike Simmons as he canvassed in apartment building. In a video, state Sen. Mike Simmons, a Democrat who is running for Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s seat, can be seen asking a woman if she’s calling the police and telling her he’s “disappointed” in how she handled the situation. The incident occurred Friday in Buena Park. No arrests were made. DD: 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 while I hand-delivered envelopes to residences in my precinct that have at least one Republican or one NA voter without knocking on any doors. He shouted at me in a very threatening tone that he had thrown my envelope in his 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 anything 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 this 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 labels on 400 envelopes, putting them into walk order, stuffing them with a sample ballot, a Milton Township Republican Organization flyer, and five candidate campaign literature pieces, 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.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/02/23/woman-calls-police-on-congressional-candidate-mike-simmons-as-he-canvassed-in-apartment-building
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Simmons says in the video, “I’m gonna let you know that it is against the law to call the police on an elected official who’s knocking doors, I know because I passed the law in 2021. So if you’d like me to leave the building, I would leave the building, but I am so disappointed in how you chose to handle the situation at a time when police have been known to get into deadly altercations with people of color.”)

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: Who’s going to the State of the Union and who’s boycotting it? Illinois lawmakers are split.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260223/nation-and-world-politics/whos-going-to-the-state-of-the-union-and-whos-boycotting-it-illinois-lawmakers-are-split/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Trump funding cuts and threats to Illinois reach $61.5B and counting
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/trump-funding-cuts-threats-illinois-615b-and-counting

SHAW LOCAL
— Which Illinois lawmakers are attending the State of the Union address, and who are their guests?
https://www.shawlocal.com/news/2026/02/24/which-illinois-lawmakers-are-attending-the-state-of-the-union-address-and-who-are-their-guests/

CHICAGO MAGAZINE
— Fighting the Losing Population Battle. Young people are heading out of state for college and career. To reverse the trend, we need to make Illinois schools more affordable and attract more employers.
https://www.chicagomag.com/news/fighting-the-losing-population-battle/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
—  In IL-08: Republican Jennifer Davis has been endorsed by Milton Township Republican Organization Chair Jeff Castle in her bid for Congress in the 8th District.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/02/24/budzinski-eyes-a-red-blue-reset-00794602

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/02/24/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-685/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

NEW YORK POST
— Melania Trump to host stand-out young women as guests for the State of the Union address
https://nypost.com/2026/02/24/us-news/melania-trumps-guests-for-state-of-the-union-address-include-stand-out-scholars/

BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Newsom tells Black crowd he’s like them, bad at reading and low SAT scores. DD: My critics/opponents have always stressed that my ACT score was only 24 and that I only just barely made it into the upper 20% of my high school class.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/02/23/newsom-tells-black-crowd-hes-like-them-bad-at-reading-and-low-sat-scores-1623797/

BREITBART
— Trump Declares ‘Angel Family Day’ for Victims of Migrant Crime
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/02/23/watch-president-trump-declares-national-angel-family-day-honoring-victims-of-illegal-alien-crime/amp/

CAMPUS REFORM
— North Dakota State pushes ‘Safe Zone’ trainees to sign LGBTQ ‘ally’ pledge
https://www.campusreform.org/article/north-dakota-state-pushes-safe-zone-trainees-sign-lgbtq-ally-pledge/29452

CENTER SQUARE
— New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a proposal named after the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that would restrict the teaching of “leftist indoctrination” in the state’s public schools. DD: My parents sending me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools enabled me to avoid leftist indoctrination. My majoring in business, accounting, and finance enabled me to avoid leftist indoctrination.
https://www.aol.com/articles/hampshire-bill-targets-leftist-teachings-183600131.html

COLLEGE FIX
— Arcadia University launches racism minor to train students in ‘antiracist advocacy.’ DD: To get more votes from minorities, females, and younger people, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at them that Republicans cause all their problems.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/arcadia-u-launches-racism-minor-to-train-students-in-antiracist-advocacy/

DAILY SIGNAL
— 7 Times Democrats Had a Meltdown Over Trump’s State of the Union Speeches
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/02/24/7-times-democrats-had-meltdown-over-trumps-state-union-speeches/
— The Media Lie About Trans Shooters
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/02/23/the-media-lies-about-trans-shooters/

FEDERALIST
— California Democrats Pile Out Of Clown Car At Their Convention
https://thefederalist.com/2026/02/23/california-democrats-pile-out-of-clown-car-at-their-convention/
— Basing College Admissions On Merit Instead Of Skin Is Good For Everyone. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, they used Affirmative Action to give tremendous preference to my Democrat coworkers who were minority and/or female. 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://thefederalist.com/2026/02/23/surprise-basing-college-admissions-on-merit-instead-of-skin-is-good-for-everyone/

FOX NEWS
— House Dem compares Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown to ‘terrorism,’ vows to abolish ICE. Rep. Maxine Dexter promises to ‘dismantle and abolish ICE altogether’ if Democrats regain power.
https://noticias.foxnews.com/politics/house-dem-compares-trumps-illegal-immigration-crackdown-terrorism-abolish-ice
— Trump has sealed the border. Now, Democrats are hell-bent on ending immigration enforcement. Nine consecutive months of zero illegal alien releases at border while blue cities resist immigration enforcement.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-has-sealed-border-now-democrats-hell-bent-ending-immigration-enforcement
— White House calls CNN a ‘total disgrace’ for skipping event honoring victims of illegal immigrant crime. ‘CNN doesn’t care about the victims of illegal alien crime,’ the White House press secretary wrote.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-calls-cnn-total-disgrace-skipping-event-honoring-victims-illegal-immigrant-crime

TOWNHALL
— About Those Detroit Officers Facing Termination for Contacting Border Patrol
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2026/02/23/detroit-police-chief-reverses-decision-to-fire-police-officers-for-contacting-ice-n2671720
— Newsom Continues to Lie About His Privileged Childhood. DD: Were you privileged? Ever since May of 1966 when I was 17 years old and bought a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint ( https://over-drive-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1965-12-CD-1966-Pontiac-Tempest-Sprint-Test-1-4.pdf ), my critics/opponents have demonized me, denigrated me, and condemned me as having filthy rich parents. But I bought that car with money I earned washing dishes for the minimum wage in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights, 28 hours a week during my junior and senior years at Crete-Monee High School, and 40 hours a week during the summer in between.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/print/2671745

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Democrats prepare to protest Trump State of the Union: What to know.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5751650-democrats-protest-trump-state-of-the-union/

NEW YORK TIMES
— State of the Union May Be a Trial for ‘Barely Invited’ Justices. If tradition holds, members of the Supreme Court will attend Trump’s annual speech, just days after ruling against the legality of his tariffs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/us/politics/supreme-court-state-of-the-union.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Democrats’ Latest Anti-Trump Tactic: Skipping the State of the Union. Some 50 Democratic members of the House and Senate plan to forgo annual speech in unusual rebuke of sitting president.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/democrats-latest-anti-trump-tactic-skipping-the-state-of-the-union-93aeebe4
— Federal Worker Sues Government. DD: In Diersen v. GAO, the courts ruled that the federal government can force its employees to retire, that is, it can fire its employees, for doing things that are specifically protected, that is, opposing political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/federal-worker-fired-after-hanging-trans-flag-at-yosemite-sues-government-0ef5aed2

DAILY CAMPUS
— The Death of the Republican Party. DD: I am for Trump when he promotes conservative principles and the Republican Party platform.
https://dailycampus.com/2026/02/24/the-death-of-the-republican-party/

NATIONAL TODAY
— Musk Warns of ‘Woke AI’ Threat as Trump Admin Struggles to Respond. Elon Musk highlights dangers of morally compromised AI models, but the Trump administration’s efforts to combat ‘woke’ tech face challenges.
https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/san-francisco/news/2026/02/23/musk-warns-of-woke-ai-threat-as-trump-admin-struggles-to-respond/

CONSTRUCTION COVERAGE
— Where Are U.S. Property Taxes Highest and Lowest? A State, County, and City Analysis. Midwest and Northeast states levy the highest rates, led by Illinois and New Jersey.
https://constructioncoverage.com/research/average-property-tax-by-state-county-city

FROM FOREIGN SOURCES

MEAWW
— Dozens of Democrats plan to boycott Trump’s State of Union to attend counterprogramming events
https://news.meaww.com/dozens-of-democrats-plan-to-boycott-trumps-state-of-union-to-attend-counterprogramming-events
— Newsom tells Black crowd ‘I’m like you, I can’t read.’
https://news.meaww.com/right-wing-influencers-troll-gavin-newsom-for-telling-black-crowd-im-like-you-i-cant-read

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.