January 21 Morning Edition

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Illinois’ new governor touts legal marijuana, but will he remove roadblocks to expand medical pot? – Robert McCoppin (DIERSEN: By using/wanting pot, you shout that you have very serious mental and/or physical health problems.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-illinois-medical-marijuana-lawsuits-pritzker-20190120-story.html

 

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE: Could new referendum change road merger plan in Naperville, Lisle townships? – Marie Wilson
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190121/could-new-referendum-change-road-merger-plan-in-naperville-lisle-townships

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— You’re not imagining it: That property tax pain is real Residential property tax collections have grown three times faster than incomes in Illinois since 2000. – MARK GLENNON
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/youre-not-imagining-it-property-tax-pain-real

 

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Durbin ‘ready to sit down and talk’ about deal to end shutdown – Steven Spearie
https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190120/durbin-ready-to-sit-down-and-talk-about-deal-to-end-shutdown
— Martin Luther King’s influence resonates in Illinois – Maudlyne Ihejirika (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted a) that instead of me, the Post Office should have hired a Black in 1966, b) that the Post Office should gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that a Black could have my job, c) that instead of me, IRS should have hired a Black in 1971, d) that instead of me, IRS should have promoted Blacks in 1972, 1973, and 1974, e) that instead of me, GAO should have hired a Black in 1980, f) that instead of me, GAO should have promoted a Black in 1986, and g) that GAO should have gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that a Black could have my job and my preferred corner office.)
https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190120/martin-luther-kings-influence-resonates-in-illinois

 

FOX ILLINOIS
— Shutdown goes on as Trump offer doesn’t budge Democrats – AP
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/shutdown-goes-on-as-trump-offer-doesnt-budge-democrats-01-21-2019

 

NPR ILLINOIS
— Medical Students Push For More LGBT Health Training To Address Disparities – RACHEL COHEN (DIERSEN: To engage in LGBTQ activity is to tremendously increase your risk of having health problems.)
http://www.nprillinois.org/post/medical-students-push-more-lgbt-health-training-address-disparities#stream/0
— Pension Buyout Participation Rate Higher Than Expected, Early Numbers Show – SAM DUNKLAU (DIERSEN: My Democrat GAO superiors’ success in forcing me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old forced my Civil Service Retirement System pension to be reduced by 12%. Instead of $60,586/year, it is only $53,316/year, or $7,270/year less. SEE: http://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/csrs-information/computation/)
http://www.nprillinois.org/post/pension-buyout-participation-rate-higher-expected-early-numbers-show#stream/0
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Public employees hired before 2011–and who have worked for at least eight years–get an annual three percent boost when they collect their pensions. That adds to what the retirees bring in, but also the cost of Illinois’ pension debt. So, state lawmakers introduced the option as part of last year’s budget. State retirees can now choose to swap the three percent annual adjustment on their pensions for a lump sum payment–70 percent of what they would have gotten. They also get to keep their base pension and 1.5 percent adjustment each year. Tim Blair is the Executive Secretary for Illinois’ State Employees Retirement System. He says the deal isn’t a panacea.)

 

WIRE POINTS
— Illinois’ lethal combination: Rising property taxes and stagnant incomes – Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
https://www.wirepoints.com/illinois-lethal-combination-rising-property-taxes-and-stagnant-incomes/

 

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— WHAT IS A MAN? A RESPONSE TO GILLETTE
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2019/01/what-is-a-man-a-response-to-gillette.html

 

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump yields on 3 immigration policies in effort to reach compromise on wall – Stephen Dinan
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/20/donald-trump-yields-on-3-immigration-policies/

 

AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— Hawkish Democrats, Anti-War Republicans? Thank Trump I used to worry that a president Hillary Clinton would make Dems more militaristic. It turns out Donald did the trick. – JACK HUNTER
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/hawkish-democrats-anti-war-republicans-thank-trump/

 

DAILY CALLER
— GILLIBRAND DOESN’T THINK TRUMP’S ‘RACIST’ BORDER POLICIES WERE RACIST WHEN SHE SUPPORTED THEM – Molly Prince
https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/20/gillibrand-border-racist-trump/

 

CAMPUS REFORM
— Colleges honor MLK with former communist leader, #MeToo activist, and Women’s March leader – Jon Street
https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11773

 

WGLT
— IWU Welcomes Black Liberation Activist For MLK Day Teach-In – MARY CULLEN
http://www.wglt.org/post/iwu-welcomes-black-liberation-activist-mlk-day-teach#stream/0

 

WORLD NET DAILY
— WOMEN VICIOUSLY ATTACK BLACK TRUMP SUPPORTER AT WOMEN’S MARCH Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson – ‘Repeatedly calling me a n-gger!’
https://www.wnd.com/2019/01/women-viciously-attack-black-trump-supporter-at-womens-march/

 

TOWNHALL
— Sorry, Trump’s Wall Speech Was Brilliant – Larry Provost Larry Provost
https://townhall.com/columnists/larryprovost/2019/01/21/sorry-trumps-wall-speech-was-brilliant-n2539341
— Why Do GOP Politicians Obligingly Eat Their Own? – Sheriff David Clarke (Ret.)
https://townhall.com/columnists/sheriffdavidclarke(ret)/2019/01/21/why-do-gop-politicians-obligingly-eat-their-own-n2539339

 

CNS NEWS
— Gillibrand Explains Her Flip on Amnesty for Illegal Aliens: Empathy – Susan Jones
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/gillibrand-explains-her-flip-amnesty-illegal-aliens-empathy

 

LIFE SITE NEWS
— Anti-Trump media touts fake news to whip up mob against pro-life kids. They should be ashamed
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/anti-trump-media-touts-fake-news-to-whip-up-mob-against-pro-life-kids.-they

 

POLITICO
— Trump tweets three dozen times on Day 30 of shutdown The president’s feed overflowed with messages of support from lawmakers, James Woods and Jacob Wohl’s dad. – QUINT FORGEY
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/20/trump-tweet-shutdown-1116078

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— Republicans Push Trump Immigration Plan, Seeking to Corner Democrats on Shutdown – Sheryl Gay Stolberg
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/us/politics/trump-government-shutdown-democrats-pence.html
— Trump’s Deal Meets With Skepticism Among Immigrants in Texas – Miriam Jordan
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/us/border-wall-daca-tps-trump-reaction.html
— Want to Close the Pay Gap? Pay Transparency Will Help It may not be the cure-all to inequity, but we need a starting point. – Kristin Wong (DIERSEN: My Democrat GAO superiors used the extreme subjectivity and extreme transparency in their pay-for-performance system a) to reward their employees who were Democrat, minority, female, an/or younger and b) to punish their employees who were Republican, White, male, and/or older.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/smarter-living/pay-wage-gap-salary-secrecy-transparency.html

 

PRESTON BUSINESS REVIEW
— March for Life declares victory as media downplay it despite VP visit – Caroline Biscotti
https://prestonbusinessreview.com/march-for-life-declares-victory-as-media-downplay-it-despite-vp-visit/65864/

 

FINANCIAL TIMES
— U.S. may never escape the pit of identity politics – Jim Tanner, Brookline, MA
https://www.ft.com/content/84ab84c8-1b22-11e9-b93e-f4351a53f1c3

 

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
— Who Is a Women’s College For? As transgender students claim their space, traditionalists see an identity crisis – Nora Caplan-Bricker
https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/caplan-bricker

 

NEWSWEEK
— DONALD TRUMP SAYS FEDERAL WORKERS AWAITING PAYCHECKS ARE ‘GREAT PATRIOTS’: ‘WE WILL WIN BIG’ – DAVID BRENNAN
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-government-shutdown-border-wall-federal-employees-pay-salary-1298751

 

THINK PROGRESS
— LGBTQ leaders warned about a Trump presidency. Two years later, it’s clear they were right. The Trump administration has undermined LGBTQ rights at every turn. – ZACK FORD
https://thinkprogress.org/lgbtq-leaders-warned-about-a-trump-presidency-two-years-later-its-clear-they-were-right-74fc635bd655/

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.