January 23, 2026

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— 5 open congressional seats could help drive higher voter turnout for March primary in Illinois. Large-scale protests also illustrate public investment in politics, some say.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/5-open-congressional-seats-could-help-drive-higher-voter-turnout-march-primary-ahead-2026-midterm-election-illinois/18457666/

CBS2
— RNC clears the way for “midterm convention” later this year
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rnc-midterms-convention-2026/
— Federal government watchdogs deny Duckworth’s request for joint probe of immigration agents’ use of force
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/inspectors-general-reject-tammy-duckworth-request-probe-immigration-agents-use-of-force/
— Judge says Trump administration must keep funding child care subsidies in 5 states for now
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/child-care-subsidies-5-states-judge-trump-administration/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Immigrants often don’t open the door to ICE, but that may no longer stop officers.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/23/immigrants-ice-open-door/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight deportation of their illegals.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/23/chicago-faith-leaders-ice/
— Oak Park River Forest League of Women Voters makes a pitch for fair maps
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/23/fair-maps-illinois-oak-park/

DAILY HERALD
— ‘RINOs,’ meet the ‘Depublicans’
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260123/syndicated-columnists/rinos-meet-the-depublicans/

ALTON TELEGRAPH
— Vance touts the Trump administration’s record against abortion at a Washington rally
https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/vance-touts-the-trump-administration-s-record-21311747.php

CITIES 92.9
— Illinois lawmakers clash over ICE funding as DHS bill advances
https://www.cities929.com/2026/01/23/illinois-lawmakers-clash-over-ice-funding-as-dhs-bill-advances/

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— As Illinois House returns to Springfield, Democrats focus on Trump. First week of House session yields several symbolic resolutions condemning the administration.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/as-illinois-house-returns-to-springfield-democrats-focus-on-trump/

CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/01/23/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-454/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Proposed Illinois bill would let local voters approve rent control, drawing sharp criticism
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_4c9c735d-81fe-4bd8-833c-cbebe2652bfe.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— DHS says family abandoned 5-year-old migrant, ICE ‘cared for him’
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jan/23/dhs-says-family-abandoned-5-year-old-migrant-ice-cared/
— HUD orders citizenship checks for those in public housing
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jan/23/hud-orders-citizenship-checks-public-housing/

NEW YORK POST
— Lefty efforts to justify the St. Paul church invasion are worse than the attack itself
https://nypost.com/2026/01/22/opinion/lefty-efforts-to-justify-the-st-paul-church-invasion-are-worse-than-the-attack-itself/

BLAZE
— Trump’s primary endorsements are sabotaging his own agenda
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/trumps-primary-endorsements-are-sabotaging-his-own-agenda

CAMPUS REFORM
— Nurses to simulate abortions on dragon fruit at University of Illinois Chicago’s ‘Abortion Care Skills Day.’  The college’s ‘Abortion Care Skills Day’ will be an ‘immersive experience’ for nursing students on how to perform medicated and procedural abortions as well as a hands-on abortion training using dragon fruit to simulate a fetus. ‘The very people that are meant to save lives are taught how to intentionally end them by starving, vacuuming, dismembering, and poisoning the most vulnerable in our society,’ a student told Campus Reform.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/nurses-simulate-abortions-dragon-fruit-university-illinois-chicagos-abortion-care-skills-day/29294
— University of Illinois funds ‘The New Age of Sexism’ book club. A book club centered on AI and misogyny is being hosted by the Women’s Resources Center at the University of Illinois. It is promoted through UIUC’s Diversity Calendar as an official campus event.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/university-illinois-funds-the-new-age-sexism-book-club/29283
— Augustana College, a Lutheran liberal arts school in Rock Island, Illinois, has renamed its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office, saying the move reflects internal decision-making as colleges nationwide retreat from the DEI label.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/augustana-college-rebrands-dei-office-cites-mission-driven-shift/29291

DAILY CALLER
— Feds Fail To Convict Chicago Illegal Who Allegedly Put $10,000 Bounty On Border Chief’s Head
https://dailycaller.com/2026/01/23/gangbanger-not-guilty-of-bovino-bounty/

DAILY SIGNAL
— Left-Wing Late-Night Propaganda Isn’t ‘News’
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/01/23/left-wing-late-night-propaganda-isnt-news/amp/

EPOCH TIMES
— Rich Chinese are “Renting” American Women’s Wombs to get US Citizenship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7NXU2USSQo

FEDERALIST
— Virginia Democrats Want Schools To Push State-Enforced Homosexuality
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/23/virginia-democrats-want-schools-to-push-state-enforced-homosexuality/
— Protesters Who Disrupted Minnesota Church Service Were Practicing Their Own Godless Religion
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/23/protesters-who-disrupted-minnesota-church-service-were-practicing-their-own-godless-religion/

REASON
— The GOP Looks Increasingly Like a Home for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Many Republicans are now openly embracing ideas from the progressive playbook. Call them “Depublicans.”
https://reason.com/2026/01/22/the-gop-looks-increasingly-like-a-home-for-elizabeth-warren-and-bernie-sanders/

TOWNHALL
— This New Virginia Law Helps Illegals Vote for Democrats
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/josephchalfant/2026/01/23/this-new-virginia-law-helps-keep-illegals-voting-for-democrats-n2669983

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: How much success have Democrats had taking over your church? The Democrat Party platform is extremely anti-religious.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000010656349/good-for-the-church-but-bad-for-the-country.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Clergy Members Are Arrested in Minnesota Amid Anti-ICE Protests. Thousands take part in demonstrations across Twin Cities. Approximately 100 clergy members were arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during an immigration protest. DD: How strongly have Democrat leaders taken over your church?
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/clergy-members-are-arrested-in-minnesota-amid-anti-ice-protests-cce52a25

FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— Trump lauds ‘tremendous’ federal workforce cuts. Partnership for Public Service calls them ‘disturbing.’ DD: If I could tell Trump about my federal career, that is, if I could tell him about how my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, I wonder how he would react. I never sat around and did nothing, although, I was grossly underutilized. The longer that you are a federal employee, the more difficult, if not impossible, it is to get a job appropriate for your education, work experience, professional certifications, and/or professional license. Virtually everyone shares Trump’s extremely low opinion of federal employees. What does Trump know about political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination in the federal government? I know a lot.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/01/trump-lauds-tremendous-federal-workforce-cuts-good-government-group-calls-them-disturbing/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: As he marked one year since being sworn into office, President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the actions of his administration — including praising the major reductions to the federal workforce throughout 2025. “I don’t want to cut people, but when you cut them and they go out and get a better job, I like to cut them,” Trump said during a nearly two-hour press briefing, while also stating his administration “slashed tremendous numbers of people off the federal payroll.” The White House on Tuesday also released a list of “365 wins” over the last year, commending the administration’s efforts to ensure a “merit-based” federal workforce. The list includes federal workforce actions overhauling the probationary period; eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion across government; requiring employees to work on-site full-time; slashing federal jobs; and limiting agencies to one new hire for every four employees who exit the civil service. “I say, get rid of everybody that’s unnecessary, because that’s the way you make America great again,” Trump said. “When you have all these jobs where people are sitting around doing nothing and they get a lot of money from the government, it’s no good.”)

LAWFARE
— Is the GAO the Next Battlefield in the Fight for Separation of Powers? The expiration of the comptroller general’s term is an opportunity for Congress to reassert itself, or retreat further. DD: GAO is supposed to be nonpartisan, but it is ever-increasingly not. It has ever-increasingly been run by Democrats. In 1980, when I was 31 years old, I was one of the last Republicans GAO hired. Virtually all, if not all of GAO employees are Democrats. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would have been no need for DOGE. My Democrat GAO superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire in 1997, when I was 49 years old.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-the-gao-the-next-battlefield-in-the-fight-for-separation-of-powers

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.