January 18, 2026

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Large crowds return to Broadview ICE facility, protesting against immigration enforcement operations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj7rt2x9oS0

NBC5
— Protesters brave bitter cold for mass demonstration at Broadview ICE facility
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTFAI6DJhkk

WGN9
— Demonstrators brave cold in Broadview to protest ICE actions
https://wgntv.com/news/operation-midway-blitz/no-kings-protest-broadview-ice-shooting-minneapolis/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8tqIYrzNiU

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn ICE.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/column-ice-immigrants-minnesota-native-americans-page/
— An expressway that went nowhere. Massive citizen revolt spelled doom for Richard J. Daley’s Crosstown Expressway dream. DD: During the early 1980s, I worked for GAO of a year on an audit of how the money from the withdrawal of the Crosstown Expressway was being spent. Rostenkowski killed the audit. No audit report was issued.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/vintage-tribune-crosstown-expressway-richard-j-daley/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE IN THE NAPERVILLE SUN: Soon, under the Democrats, everyone in Illinois will be a) handing out welfare and/or b) receiving welfare.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/naperville-student-shat-empower-food-english/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly unite those who are the following against those who are not the following: liberal/moderate, non-Republican, non-citizen, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, unmarried, have less money than others, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/01/18/martin-luther-king-mission-uniting-poor-across-racial-lines-remains-unfinished-ben-jealous

DAILY HERALD
— Paprocki: Illinois needs spending restraint to help businesses thrive in 2026
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260117/business/illinois-needs-spending-restraint-to-help-businesses-thrive-in-2026/

SOUTHERN
— DD: Democrat leaders want to impeach Trump.
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2026/01/17/democrats-grapple-with-rising-clamor-for-trump-impeachment-ahead-of-midterms/

NPR ILLINOIS
— Escalating tensions in Minnesota
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-01-17/escalating-tensions-in-minnesota

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— In Illinois, women earn about 91-93 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, while Black and Hispanic workers each earn 6-10% less than comparable white workers. DD: I am a White male Republican. While I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS 1971-1980 and GAO 1980-1997, virtually all my coworkers were Democrats. All those who my Democrat superiors promoted over me and who were minority and/or female a) had less work experience than I had, b) had less education than I had, c) had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had. I earned job-related master’s degrees in 1976 when I was 27, 1980, and 1997. I earned job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997. I earned a job-related professional license in 1981.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinois-wage-inequities-improve-slightly-persist-despite-transparency-efforts-report/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

JOHN KASS
— Vallas: The Radical Left’s Moral Inversion: From Class Politics to Identity Dogma Is a Trojan Horse with Dangerous Consequences
https://johnkassnews.com/the-radical-lefts-moral-inversion-from-class-politics-to-identity-dogma-is-a-trojan-horse-with-dangerous-consequences/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

AMERICAN THINKER
— Pritzker signs bill to allow criminals to hide their records. Pritzker puts criminals, not the public, first.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/01/in_illinois_gov_pritzger_signs_bill_to_make_it_easier_for_criminals_to_hide_their_records.html

BREITBART
— Chuck Schumer Says Democrats Will Restore Most of’ DOGE Cuts. DD: Republicans gutted GAO, but Democrats have never restored GAO.  GAO is just a shell of what it once was.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/01/17/chuck-schumer-says-democrats-will-reverse-most-of-doge-cuts/amp/

DAILY SIGNAL
— Here’s Why There Are More ICE Raids in Blue States. DD: How many illegals have Democrats brought into Illinois, your county, your township, your municipality, your school district, and your precinct?
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/01/17/heres-why-there-are-more-ice-raids-in-blue-states/

FOX NEWS
— Trump has authority to send troops to Minneapolis to stop attacks on ICE. Trump’s power to invoke the Insurrection Act is manifest, but the wisdom of doing so may not be.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/gregg-jarrett-trump-has-authority-send-troops-minneapolis-stop-attacks-ice.amp

NEW AMERICAN
— Immigrant Congressman With Trouble Speaking English Introduces Bill to Abolish ICE
https://thenewamerican.com/us/immigration/immigrant-congressman-with-trouble-speaking-english-introduces-bill-to-abolish-ice/

NEWS BUSTERS
— New York Times Hits Mamdani for Slighting Blacks in His New Mayoral Regime
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2026/01/17/new-york-times-hits-mamdani-slighting-blacks-his-new-mayoral-regime

PJ MEDIA
— Will Minnesota Lose a Congressional Seat After Illegal Alien Deportations? DD: How many illegals have Democrats brought into Illinois, your county, your township, your municipality, your school district, and your precinct?
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/01/17/will-minnesota-lose-a-congressional-seat-after-illegal-alien-deportations-n4948410

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Is there really an ‘affordability’ crisis? So why do people feel like so many things are unaffordable? It’s not because of the things they need to afford. It’s the things they want to afford. DD: When I was a Crete-Monee High School student 1962-1966, I  ‘wanted’ to buy before I graduated a new car that I would use to commute to/from my parents’ home in Crete to classes at UIC. I succeeded in doing that. In May of 1966 I 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 ). But to do that, and to pay for my UIC expenses, instead of studying, I worked 28 hours a week during my junior and senior years and 40 hours a week during the summer of 1965 washing dishes in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights. Obviously, that Pontiac was a ‘want’ and not a need. What if I had not had that ‘want?’ My spending all those hours washing dishes instead of studying harmed my ACT score and GPA, but UIC accepted me anyway. Then, I ‘wanted’ a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_442 ); I sold the Pontiac and bought one in December of 1967. Then, I ‘wanted’ a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE ( https://www.americansteelclassiccars.com/vehicles/186/1969-dodge-charger-se ); I sold the Oldsmobile and bought one in December of 1968. But to buy the aforesaid new cars and to pay for my UIC and NIU expenses, instead of studying, I worked as many part-time hours that I could during the 1966-1969 school years and full-time during the summers of 1967, 1968, and 1969 delivering mail for the Park Forest Post Office. Obviously, that Oldsmobile and that Dodge were ‘wants’ and not needs. Not studying harmed my GPA. Nevertheless, I graduated debt-free from NIU in August of 1970 owning that Dodge. What if I had not had the aforesaid new car ‘wants?’
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5691609-wages-inflation-debate/

CNN
— Walz mobilizes state National Guard amid ongoing protests
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/17/us/ice-shooting-minneapolis-protests-renee-good-hnk

ABC NEWS
— Israel to honor Charlie Kirk with award for fighting antisemitism
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-honor-charlie-kirk-award-fighting-antisemitism-129233134

CBS NEWS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation. But Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for everything that is bad.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-inflation-cbs-news-poll/
— CBS News poll finds more Americans say ICE being too tough; Republicans feel protesters have gone too far
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-trump-greenland-trump-poll/

NEWSWEEK
— ICE To Be Abolished Under New Proposed Bill, DHS Responds. DD: If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there be no need for DOGE. If Gingrich had reformed GAO, my Democrat GAO superiors would not have been able a) to force me to take a $23,699 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO, b) keep me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, c) delay my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, d) always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and e) force me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. They flushed down their toilets what I learned earning a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job related professional license. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female and/or veteran.
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-abolished-new-bill-dhs-responds-11376322
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The bill states that since “President Donald Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem have taken office, ICE has been weaponized to inflict terror and hysteria amongst American immigrant and non-immigrant communities. ICE has been deployed to major cities [to] aggressive enforcement policies that have brought fear to Americans. It is clear that ICE is not an organization bound by the rule of law, is past the point of reform, and must be abolished.”)

NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: Ever-increasingly, the Democrat Party’s top priority is regaining control of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000010647503/will-2026-be-the-year-voters-pull-the-emergency-brake.html
— DD: The more anti-American a state is, the more that Democrat leaders promote that state.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/magazine/minnesota-liberalism-trump-ice.html
— DD: Of course, according to my critics/opponents, all the adverse actions that they had their operatives and dupes take against me were justified. I should write about the aforesaid.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/opinion/editorials/trump-second-term-vengence.html
— DD: The mainstream news media exists to destroy Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/opinion/donald-trump-conservatism-nationalism.html
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in making those who do not share Trump’s demographics hate him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/opinion/republicans-ice-white-women.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/us/politics/white-women-conservatives.html

LOS ANGELES TIMES
— DD: The more anti-American a state is, the more that Democrat leaders promote that state.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-01-17/in-twin-cities-immigration-crackdown-has-made-chaos-new-normal

USA TODAY
— Media did Biden’s bidding. Now they freak out over Trump.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/01/29/trump-news-media-bias-biden/77968482007/

CARDINAL NEWS
— Spanberger rescinds Youngkin immigration enforcement order, issues orders on affordability.
https://cardinalnews.org/2026/01/17/spanberger-rescinds-youngkin-immigration-enforcement-order-issues-orders-on-affordability/

BANKRATE
— Homeownership: Dream vs. Reality. DD: Back in the good old days, I was able to buy a new townhome when I was 24 years old in 1972.
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/realities-of-homeownership/

GAO
— Reflections from Gene L. Dodaro, the 8th Comptroller General of the United States and Head of GAO. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors a) forced me to take a $23,699 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 years old in 1980, b) kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 (1986-1988) of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, c) delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, d) always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and e) forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. They flushed down their toilets what I had learned earning a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job related professional license (CPA). They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female and/or veteran.
https://www.gao.gov/blog/guest-spotlight-reflections-gene-l-dodaro-8th-comptroller-general-united-states-and-head-gao

USA JOBS
— Federal Internships. DD: Democrats do not want Republicans to audit Democrats. GAO audits IRS. My Democrat IRS and GAO superiors outrageously and disgustingly succeeded in forcing me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars (a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-9 Step 10) to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 year old in 1980. But they really wanted me to take a $72,701/year (64%) pay cut in today’s dollars (a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-4 Step 1) to transfer, that is, to transfer as an intern. By doing the aforesaid, my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors flushed down their toilets and rendered worthless what I had learned a) working for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $100,059-$113,402/year, b) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) almost completing the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting, and d) earning an MBA in 1976. The aforesaid monumentally damaged  my GAO career. Nevertheless, GAO finally let me work on audits of IRS in 1986-1988, promoted me to GS-13 in 1986, and let me work until I was 49 years old in 1997. But that was not until after I had a) earned a master’s degree in accounting in 1980 and a master’s degree in finance in 1997, b) passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA in 1981, c) earned a professional certification in fraud examination in 1990, government financial management in 1994, financial services auditing in 1996, and forensic accounting in 1997. They would not have taken the aforesaid adverse actions against me if I had been a Democrat, minority, female and/or veteran.
https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?k=internships

LGBTQ NATION
— Landmark commission unanimously approves church’s rainbow steps: “This is religious expression.” The church is responding after a nearby Pride crosswalk was forcibly removed. DD: How strongly have Democrats taken over your church?
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/landmark-commission-unanimously-approves-churchs-rainbow-steps-this-is-religious-expression/

FROM OTHER SOURSES

REMAX
— FOR SALE: 1219 Golf Lane, Wheaton – $625,000 DD: This home is in my precinct.
https://ronlewis.remax.com/holp/listing/103/12467706?key=apurp5tiZWKjrqqgXmRnnKmq

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.