NBC5
— Too Many Candidates, Poor Youth Turnout Blamed for Low Vote Totals in Chicago The city of Chicago saw just over one-third of its eligible voters cast ballots, a near record low – Charlie Wojciechowski and Benjamin Conboy
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/too-many-candidates-poor-youth-turnout-blamed-for-low-vote-numbers-in-chicago-506464131.html
— Preckwinkle, Lightfoot Reveal Differing Strategies Ahead of Election The candidates will battle in an April run-off election to become Chicago’s next mayor – Mary Ann Ahern
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/toni-preckwinkle-lori-lightfoot-reveal-differing-strategies-ahead-of-election-506512571.html
— DuPage Sheriff Takes Steps to Enforce Gun Laws After Aurora
https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/dupage-gun-laws-506517751.html
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Rep. Amy Grant Opposes Pritzker’s Unfair Tax Hike on Illinois Working Families
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/community/chi-ugc-article-rep-amy-grant-opposes-pritzkers-unfair-ta-2019-02-28-story.html
— Skillicorn Says Progressive Tax is Covert Middle Class Tax Hike
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/community/chi-ugc-article-skillicorn-says-progressive-tax-is-covert-mid-2019-02-28-story.html
— Photo studio near Wheaton school offers sexual services to customers, say officials trying to shut it down – Clifford Ward
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-met-wheaton-photo-studio-adult-business-20190228-story.html
— Naperville ranks 33rd in list of 101 safest cities in America, home security reviewer says – Suzanne Baker
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-nvs-naperville-safe-cities-ranking-st-0301-story.html
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Pritzker to remain neutral in mayoral race: ‘My intention is to stay out’ – Rachel Hinton
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/pritzker-neutral-mayoral-race-stay-out-preckwinkle-lightfoot/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: If you are registered voter in Chicago and you do not vote for Lightfoot or Preckwinkle in the April 2 election, Democrats will viciously demonize you, viciously denigrate you, and viciously condemn you as being a White supremacist, Nazi, KKK member, hater, racist, sexist, bigot, and even worse things who should be gotten rid of once and for all.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/lightfoot-preckwinkle-lgbtq-bigotry-discrimination-gay-rights-chicago-mayor-election-2019/
— Preckwinkle says Lightfoot’s $200K donation to self undermines reform reputation – Fran Spielman
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/preckwinkle-lightfoot-campaign-contributions-chicago-mayor-election-2019/
— Cohen hearing stokes touchy topic of impeachment – AP
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/cohen-hearing-stokes-touchy-topic-of-impeachment/
— Rich and privileged scoundrels cruelly prey on the least powerful – Gene Lyons
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/robert-kraft-human-trafficking-billionaires-sexual-assault-gene-lyons/
DAILY HERALD
— DuPage moves to close ‘adult’ photography studio near Wheaton
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190228/dupage-moves-to-close-adult-photography-studio-near-wheaton
— Adult businesses impose upon DuPage suburbs, county panel hears – Robert Sanchez
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190228/adult-businesses-impose-upon-dupage-suburbs-county-panel-hears
— ‘Racist’ labeling of Trump fuels tense moments in Congress – AP
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20190228/news/302289987/
WBEZ
— Illinois Colleges Grapple With 10-year Enrollment Decline – Stephanie Kim
https://www.wbez.org/shows/morning-shift/illinois-colleges-grapple-with-10year-enrollment-decline/4cc8d8e8-a8d8-4e79-8aef-55ac5c1bfbc7
HERALD & REVIEW
— Funds threat won’t end Illinois Planned Parenthood abortion referrals – AP
https://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/funds-threat-won-t-end-illinois-planned-parenthood-abortion-referrals/article_fae995e6-44e9-5638-8ed8-e412a906affb.html
FOX NEWS ILLINOIS
— Ben Carson warns ‘morality of our society’ at stake in abortion debate – Liam Quinn
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ben-carson-warns-morality-of-our-society-at-take-amid-abortion-debate
NPR ILLINOIS
— AS THE DEMOCRAT PARTY’S STRANGLEHOLD ON ILLINOIS, ON COOK COUNTY, AND ON CHICAGO TIGHTENS: Neglect Of Local Roads Growing, Say County Engineers – MARY HANSEN
http://www.nprillinois.org/post/neglect-local-roads-growing-say-county-engineers#stream/0
SUBURBAN LIFE
— Suit alleges Wheaton photo studio offered sex services Hot Shots violated county ordinances prohibiting adult entertainment
https://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2019/02/28/suit-alleges-photo-studio-offered-sex-services/aetqzs8/
DUPAGE COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY
— County Moves to Close Alleged Adult Business in Wheaton
https://www.dupageco.org/States_Attorney/States_Attorney_News/2019/60188/
(FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin announced today that DuPage County has filed a lawsuit against Hot Shots Photography Studio, located at 0N758 Gary Avenue, Wheaton, alleging that the business has been operating as an adult business and not as a photography studio as advertised. This morning, the State’s Attorney’s Office filed a verified complaint for injunctive relief and zoning violations against Hot Shots, alleging violations of the DuPage County Zoning Ordinance and state statutes regarding the location of adult entertainment facilities and adult business uses. The lawsuit alleges that Hot Shots advertised on adult websites commonly used to advertise adult escort services by placing personal ads that included a telephone number to call for escort services. The suit alleges that respondents to the ad would be screened by an employee of Hot Shots and then directed to the Gary Avenue location. The lawsuit further alleges that once a respondent entered Hot Shots they were charged $100 as a cover fee and then directed to a room where the respondent would be met by an employee of Hot Shots who would discuss services and payment, with payment “ranging from $500 to $1,500.” The suit further alleges that after receiving payment, employees of Hot Shots would then engage in sexual activity with the respondent. In November, 2018, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office began an undercover investigation into potential illegal activity and/or prostitution occurring at Hot Shots. The alleged findings of the investigation, according to the suit, “cause Hot Shots to be defined as an adult business use as defined in the DuPage County Zoning Ordinance, and thus constitutes a basis by which that use violates the ordinance.” Additionally, the suit alleges that “the business operations of Hot Shots are such that a significant or substantial portion of such operations involve an activity distinguished or characterized by its emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities.”)
ILLINOIS LEAKS
— Watchdogs sue Naperville Township for public records- JOHN KRAFT
https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2019/02/watchdogs-sue-naperville-township-for-public-records/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Bernie Sanders hires illegal immigrant to be press secretary – Joseph Simonson
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/bernie-sanders-hires-illegal-immigrant-to-be-press-secretary
FOX NEWS
— RNC’s McDaniel at CPAC: GOPers mulling Trump primary challenge will ‘lose horribly’ – Alex Pappas
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rncs-mcdaniel-at-cpac-gopers-mulling-trump-primary-challenge-will-lose-horribly
— Cohen testimony against Trump unethical – Dems commit abuse of power – Tom Fitton
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/cohen-testimony-against-trump-unethical-dems-commit-abuse-of-power
— Larry Kudlow rouses CPAC with call to ‘put socialism on trial’ – Alex Pappas
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/larry-kudlow-rouses-cpac-by-imploring-conservatives-to-put-socialism-on-trial
BREITBART
— Charlie Kirk at CPAC: ‘What Happens on Campus Will Soon Come to Congress’ – Alana Mastrangelo
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/02/28/charlie-kirk-at-cpac-what-happens-on-campus-will-soon-come-to-congress/
— California Refused 5.6K Requests to Turn over Criminal Illegal Aliens to Federal Officials – John Binder
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/28/exclusive-california-refused-5-6k-requests-to-turn-over-criminal-illegal-aliens-to-federal-officials/
— Seven Reasons Michael Cohen Has Zero Credibility – Aaron Klein (DIERSEN: I should write a book about those who have worked the hardest to destroy my credibility.)
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/26/klein-seven-reasons-michael-cohen-has-zero-credibility/
IMMIGRATION REFORM
— If It Looks Like An Invasion, It Probably Is – MATT O’BRIEN
https://immigrationreform.com/2019/02/28/if-it-looks-like-an-invasion-it-probably-is-immigrationreform-com/
GOPUSA
— Bernie Sanders defines ‘democratic socialism,’ says living wage and free college are ‘human rights’
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=65760
–Detroit Autorama: No ‘General Lee’ car stunt at this year’s hot rod show
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=65719
THE HILL
— DHS extends immigration protection for four countries amid court battles – RAFAEL BERNAL
https://thehill.com/latino/432068-dhs-extends-immigration-protection-for-four-countries-amid-court-battles
REUTERS
— Actor James Woods keeps win in Twitter defamation action by Sanders supporter – Barbara Grzincic
https://www.reuters.com/article/woods-twitter-lawsuit/actor-james-woods-keeps-win-in-twitter-defamation-action-by-sanders-supporter-idUSL1N20N0IU
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— U.S. Stocks Close Lower, but Hold Onto Year-To-Date Gains The Dow ended February with its best two-month start to a year since 1987 – Jessica Menton and David Hodari (DIERSEN: Today, for my $10,000 2019 RMD, I sold all the shares in three equity mutual funds.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-slip-after-u-s-north-korea-summit-collapses-11551344796?mod=djemalertNEWS
BOSTON GLOBE
— BEYOND DISGUSTING, BEYOND TRAGIC: All 2020 presidential candidates now support marijuana legalization efforts — even the Republicans – Naomi Martin and James Pindell
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/marijuana/2019/02/26/all-presidential-candidates-support-legalizing-marijuana-even-republicans/bK4sQjPIgkzm54kl0dmZoI/story.html
NPR
— ‘No More Deaths’ Volunteers Face Possible Jail Time For Aiding Migrants – Joel Rose
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/28/699010462/no-more-deaths-volunteers-face-possible-prison-time-for-aiding-migrants
NEWSWEEK
— FOX NEWS PANEL THREATENS TO THROW CO-HOST OFF SET FOR CRITICIZING TRUMP, TOUTING MICHAEL COHEN ALLEGATIONS – BENJAMIN FEARNOW (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, the more that you defend/promote Trump, the more that Trump-haters come after you.)
https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-threaten-juan-williams-hosts-fight-criticize-trump-michael-cohen-1347977
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Fox News discussion of Michael Cohen’s testimony devolved into host Greg Gutfeld threatening to throw co-host Juan Williams off the set for criticizing the GOP’s poor defense of the president. The Five co-host Williams is frequently the lone dissenting voice against the show’s pro-President Donald Trump panels. Wednesday’s show became particularly tense after a red-faced Gutfeld demanded that Williams stop speaking negatively about the president and House Republicans or “I’m going to throw you off the set.” The breakdown occurred after Williams accused Gutfeld and co-host Jesse Watters of being “deep in the bunker,” which Gutfeld took as an Adolf Hitler reference.)
— FORMER MAINE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR SAYS WHITE PEOPLE BECOME IRRELEVANT WITHOUT ELECTORAL COLLEGE – BENJAMIN FEARNOW (DIERSEN: Under the Democrats, members of the following groups are either rapidly becoming irrelevant or are irrelevant already: Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older people, rich people, gun owners, German Americans, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.newsweek.com/paul-lepage-electoral-college-maine-governor-white-people-popular-vote-1348273
ABA JOURNAL
— Is a tweeted question defamatory? 6th Circuit rules for James Woods over Nazi salute tweet – DEBRA CASSENS WEISS
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/is-a-tweeted-question-defamatory-6th-circuit-rules-for-james-woods-over-nazi-salute-tweet
GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— The Government Accountability Office is requesting $647.6M in funds to continue its operations for fiscal year 2020, GAO said Wednesday. – Brenda Marie Rivers (DIERSEN: What if the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) sues GAO to recover all the money it has paid out to former GAO employees like me who GAO forced to take early retirement? So far, in today’s dollars, the CSRS has paid me $1,146,294.)
https://www.executivegov.com/2019/02/gao-requesting-647-in-funds-for-fy-2020/
WEALTHY RETIREMENT
— When Will You Start Spending It All? – Karim Rahemtulla (DIERSEN: According to the Social Security Administration, my life expectancy is 15 years.)
https://wealthyretirement.com/retirement-planning/seniors-afraid-spend-retirement/
MARKET WATCH
— Improved Social Security COLA would help seniors stay ahead of inflation A more generous policy would keep more older Americans out of poverty – MAX RICHTMAN
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/improved-social-security-cola-would-help-seniors-stay-ahead-of-inflation-2019-02-28
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Retirees across America consistently tell us that their annual COLAs simply are not adequate. And they have a reason to be concerned. Though the 2019 COLA is a decent 2.8%, these adjustments historically have not kept pace with seniors’ rising expenses. In fact, for three of the past 10 years there were no cost-of-living increases — zero. In 2017, the COLA was a scant 0.3% — or a meager $4 a month for the average beneficiary. Simply put, retirees need a COLA that accurately reflects the effects of inflation on their cost of living. The current index, the CPI-W, is pegged to urban wage earners’ living expenses, and tends to underestimate what seniors spend on big ticket items like housing and medical care. By the same token, retirees purchase less gasoline than working-age Americans, even though the cost of gas figures prominently into the current inflation index. As the Center for Retirement Security explains, “In 2016, retirees received no COLA specifically because the cost of oil plummeted. The low cost of gasoline offset [actual inflation] in other areas.” Fortunately, a better formula exists. It’s called the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly — or CPI-E — based on a ‘basket’ of goods and services that reflects older Americans’ spending patterns. The CPI-E just got a big boost from Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.), who included it in his bill to expand retirement benefits, The Social Security 2100 Act. “Seniors have been seeing rises in food…housing, and medical costs, without always receiving adequate increases in the COLA. We must do better and work toward a comprehensive solution,” Congressman Larson said.)
