July 25 Morning Edition

POLITICO
— Sandack’s bombshell resignation – Natasha Korecki
http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/illinois-playbook/2016/07/sandacks-bombshell-resignation-kirk-clinton-up-in-illinois-poll-gutierrez-among-tonights-dnc-speakers-215498
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The abrupt resignation of state Rep. Ron Sandack — an outspoken member of the legislature who was Gov. Bruce Rauner’s reliable attack dog on the House floor — was stirring all kinds of talk late Sunday. As Republican floor leader, Sandack was the governor’s point person in the House, arguing strenuously for the governor’s office (and generally against Democratic Speaker Mike Madigan) on individual bills. Sandack resigned on Sunday following what he described as a series of cyberattacks on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, which involved the creation of new accounts under the guise of his own persona.  “I have always recognized there is no greater privilege than being a father and husband. My duties in Springfield [have] meant missing a lot of events in the lives of my children. I am no longer willing to miss important family events.” Story and Sandack’s full statement here: http://www.politico.com/states/illinois/story/2016/07/top-house-republican-abruptly-resigns-citing-cybersecurity-104157  In a text to Politico Illinois last night, Sandack said his resignation was effective Monday and that the cybersecurity issues gave him pause over his legislative life: “my family welfare is paramount.” He did not respond when asked whether that meant he feared for his family’s safety. Sandack would not talk by phone. SO … why are so many people having trouble believing him? Here’s a few reasons we want to hear more (anything?) from Republican leaders today: 1. Something seems off with the equation. (High-profile statehouse Republican) + (close to most powerful Republicans in state) + (social media accounts hacked into) = immediately resigns? 2. Crickets. The governor, Illinois House Republicans, others in leadership, said a big nada on Sunday at the news of the loss of a top lieutenant. No statements released by leaders. No response from a governor’s spokeswoman when asked for reaction late Sunday. No answer from several Republican party and legislative leaders (with the exception of House Republican forwarding a copy of Sandack’s statement.) That won’t hold today though. 3. Timing. Sandack took down his own social media accounts last week, which prompted all kinds of speculation. He said on Sunday the cyber hacking/harassment started around July 4. He resigned days after taking down his accounts. Days earlier, the Illinois House Victory Fund had spent $10,300 in printing costs for his campaign. http://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ItemizedExpend.aspx?FiledDocID=615133&ExpenditureType=Expenditures&Archived=True&OrderBy=LastorOnlyName-AtoZ&ItemizedExpendFrom=D2Quarterly.aspx  4. Sandack has long been an outspoken, incredibly accessible guy — except on the day he resigned. Instead, his announcement was carefully crafted. It was first made available in a relatively safe venue — the Capitol Fax newsletter. The writeup (which is password protected or we’d include a link) describes Sandack working to take down two fake accounts on Twitter and 10 on Facebook, which purported to behave as Sandack accounts. In the midst of this, Sandack says he experiences a moment of clarity, realizing he doesn’t want to miss any more of his kids’ events. What was missing from the CapFax piece was any description as to what actually happened on these fake accounts. Had they actually posted content pretending to be Sandack? Were they threatening? Embarrassing? The piece said Sandack filed a police report. Beside Sandack, the other person quoted in the CapFax writeup was a recent Rauner appointee, John Bambenek, who talked about how unusual and dangerous it was to have such an open attack against a public official. He also talked about the difficulty of prosecuting computer crimes. (Incidentally, on Sunday, Bambanek on Twitter said this about a higher-profile cyber incident: https://twitter.com/bambenek/status/757321987618328576) Sandack appeared on the Daily Show on a segment about Illinois’ pitiful budget woes. Watch: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/7dahxe/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-jordan-klepper-s-happy-endings—illinois-s-budget-impasse Sandack leaves with nearly $130,000 in his campaign account, according to the most recent election filing. He was up for reelection in November. Last night, state Rep. Tom Demmer said of Sandack on Twitter: “An excellent legislator and a great guy. We’ll miss him in the House.” Gov. Rauner is in Chicago today, and will no doubt be asked to weigh in on this one.)
— Priebus on DNC leak: ‘The Russians didn’t write the emails’ – Nick Gass
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/dnc-leak-reince-priebus-russia-226115
— Bedlam erupts as Wasserman Schultz speaks to Florida delegates – Nick Gass and Daniel Strauss
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/chaos-erupts-as-wasserman-schultz-speaks-to-florida-delegates-226113
— Mook suggests Russians leaked DNC emails to help Trump – Jeremy Herb
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/robby-mook-russians-emails-trump-226084

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— GOP state lawmaker resigns abruptly, cites cyber security issues – Mike Riopell
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/gop-state-lawmaker-resigns-abruptly-cites-cyber-security-issues/
— Mayor, Council allies play games to get him his way – Andy Shaw
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/shaw-mayor-nixes-referendum-question/
— Madigan on Durbin bid for governor: ‘We talked about it’ – Tina Sfondeles
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/madigan-on-durbin-bid-for-governor-we-talked-about-it/

 

ABC7
— IL DEMOCRATS IN PHILADELPHIA FOR DNC – Charles Thomas
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/il-democrats-in-philadelphia-for-dnc/1441316/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Suburban lawmaker Ron Sandack abruptly resigns, citing hacked social media accounts – Monique Garcia
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-ron-sandack-resigns-illinois-house-20160724-story.html
— Twitter opens up verified accounts to everyone; here’s how to get yours – Hayley Tsukayama  (DIERSEN: Of course, needless-to-say, few if any of my critics/opponents, their operatives, or their dupes could/would get a verified Twitter account.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-twitter-verified-account-wp-bsi-20160720-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: According to Twitter’s help center, a verified account applicant must have: A verified phone number  A confirmed email address  A bio A profile photo A birthday (for accounts that are not company, brand, or organization accounts)  A website Tweets set as public in Tweet privacy settings  You may also be asked for a copy of a government-issued ID, to further confirm you are who you say you are. In other words, if you were planning on keeping anything about your identity hidden from Twitter, this is not a move you should make.)
— Wikileaks DNC emails show former U. of I. chairman tried to get back into Democrats’ good graces – Bill Ruthhart
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-niranjan-shah-wikileaks-obama-fundraiser-blagojevich-20160724-story.html
— FRONT PAGE WITH COLOR PICTURE: From behind bars, Hastert fights victim’s lawsuit – Christy Gutowski  (DIERSEN: Of course, needless-to-say, if you have ever done anything that subjects you to blackmail, you should not seek or hold any kind of government or political office.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-dennis-hastert-lawsuit-response-met-20160724-story.html
— Offbeat and overlooked ways to save money for college – Steve Rosen  (DIERSEN: What did you do to save money for college?  I did yard work, delivered newspapers, washed dishes, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, pumped gasoline, delivered mail, worked on an automobile assembly line, worked as a security guard, etc.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/sns-201607111430–tms–kidmoneyctnsr-a20160711-20160711-story.html
— Working past age 65 has many benefits – Jill Schlesinger  (DIERSEN: The older that I get, the more furious that I get at my Democrat superiors and supervisors in the federal government who wasted my career and forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/success/savingsgame/tca-working-past-age-65-has-many-benefits-20160714-story.html
— Can America afford to have a ceremonial president? – Jonah Goldberg
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/sns-201607211800–tms–jgoldbrgctnjg-a20160722-20160722-column.html
— Sex offenders sue, saying registry laws keep them from church, living with family – Robert McCoppin  (DIERSEN: What do you say to those who bring sex offenders to America, to Illinois, to your county, to your township/ward, to your municipality, and/or to your precinct?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-sex-offender-registry-suit-met-20160724-story.html

 

DAILY HERALD
— A closer look at people who volunteer – HandsOn Suburban Chicago  (DIERSEN: What volunteer work do you do?  I spend 10+ hours each and every day putting GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails together and sending them out.  How should I react to those in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois who viciously demonize, denigrate, and condemn me and what I do?)
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160725/news/160729641/

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— A CATHOLIC REFORMATION  As the Archdiocese of Chicago prepares to close or combine churches, even parishes like St. John of the Cross in affluent Western Springs will feel the pain. How so? Imagine multiple-couple weddings. – BRIGID SWEENEY (DIERSEN: Democrats want Catholics to address their problems by promoting Democrats, dependency on government, LGBTQ activity, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, pot, booze, gambling, abolition of the Second Amendment, demonization, denigration, and condemnation of Republicans, of non-Catholics, of etc.)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/catholic#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-morning10&utm_campaign=ccb-morning10-20160725

 

SAUK VALLEY
— Rauner working with police on easing marijuana penalties – AP  (DIERSEN: QUESTION: Who wants marijuana penalties to be eased?  ANSWER: Individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that are anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors. If asked if marijuana penalties should be higher for those involved in education, how would Rauner respond?  What about those involved in government and/or in politics?)
http://www.saukvalley.com/2016/07/24/rauner-working-with-police-on-easing-marijuana-penalties/a7l6vz8/

 

STATELINE
— Trump bounces into the lead  Trump’s favorability also rising – CNN
http://www.mystateline.com/news/trump-bounces-into-the-lead

 

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Clinton says there is an unfair ‘Hillary standard’ on trust and honesty  Clinton and Kaine have first joint interview – CNN  (DIERSEN: Democrats and RINOs are moral relativists who believe that their end (getting rid of all Republicans) justifies their means.  RINOs are much closer to Democrats than they are to Republicans.)
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/clinton-says-she-wont-engage-in-insult-fest-with-trump

 

ALTON DAILY NEWS
— Stolen Valor Now A Petty Offense In Illinois – Greg Bishop
http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=219597#.V5Xu2xF9XHk

 

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Politicians perfectly happy with status quo – Editorial
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-politicians-perfectly-happy-with-status-quo/article_08e3e7e3-06a3-52a8-9847-9dafceaa5620.html

 

SUBURBAN LIFE
— Sandack Stunner: Ill. Rep. from Downers Grove resigns from Statehouse
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2016/07/25/sandack-stunner-ill-rep-from-downers-grove-resigns-from-statehouse/anq3swc/

 

ILLINOIS LEAKS
— DuPage County: Letter On Compensation of Elected Officials (Part 3) – John Kraft
http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2016/07/dupage-county-letter-on-compensation-of-elected-officials-part-3/

 

ILLINOIS INTELLIGENCER
— Marijuana Has the IRS Seeing a Different Type of Green
http://www.illinoisintelligencer.com/index.php/sid/246121533

 

U.S. OF ARN
— Rep. Ron Sandack Resigns Suddenly
http://usofarn.com/2016/07/24/rep-ron-sandack-resigns-suddenly/

 

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— RAUNER POISED TO SIGN MARIJUANA BILL  (DIERSEN: If you want to destroy Illinois, you promote pot in Illinois.)
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2016/07/rayner-poised-to-sign-marijuana-bill.html
— THORNER & O’NEIL: DEMOCRATS DENY DANGERS OF ISLAMIC CALIPHATE
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2016/07/thorner-oneil-democrats-deny-dangers-of-islamic-caliphate.html

 

CAPITOL FAX
— The “communications platform” stirs controversy  (DIERSEN: As everyone knows, GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are put together by and paid for by Dave Diersen.)
http://capitolfax.com/2016/07/25/the-communications-platform-stirs-controversy/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Residents received the Illinois Valley Times in their mailboxes this week. Despite its local name, the new publication has no presence here. Its parent organization, which is largely funded by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, is based in Chicago. One of its writers lives in New York. The newspaper includes no mailing address or phone number and gives readers no information about who runs it, though it provides an email address and Twitter account. . .As the story goes on to report, this is one of Dan Proft’s newspapers published by Liberty Principles PAC. And then there’s this story… The Illinois Press Association isn’t sure it really is a newspaper — they think it might be a political advertisement and are interested in finding out who’s behind it. Don Craven, general counsel for the Illinois Press Association, said throughout the campaign season he was alerted to a series of publications crafted to look like newspapers. These would seem to have all come from the same source: The website for the Illinois Valley Times includes links to 13 sister publications such as “Rock Island Today” and the “Sangamon Sun.”)

 

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Reince Priebus: Wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton personally knew about DNC issues – David Sherfinski
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/25/reince-priebus-wouldnt-be-surprised-if-hillary-cli/

 

GOPUSA
— The NBA is the National Bullying Association  (DIERSEN: How soon, if not already, will the NBA get rid of you if you do not promote LGBTQ activity?)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=12961
— Kaine panders to Latino voters in intro speech  (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, Democrats and RINOs make it clear that they will get rid of you if you do not pander to Latinos.)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=12947

 

BREITBART
— Priebus Blames Cable News for Division: ‘It Is a Profit Center to Divide People, to Divide Politics, to Divide Parties’ – TRENT BAKER  (DIERSEN: What do you do with your time and with your money?  What do my critics/opponents say my evil motives are for putting GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails together and for sending them out?)
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/07/24/priebus-blames-cable-news-for-division-it-is-a-profit-center-to-divide-people-to-divide-politics-to-divide-parties/

 

NEWSMAX
— Trump: People Think Ailes Is Going to Run My Campaign
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Trump-Ailes-campaign/2016/07/23/id/740174/
— Trump: New Muslim Ban Plan an ‘Expansion’
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/trump-muslim-ban-expansion/2016/07/24/id/740192/

 

THE BLAZE
— Clinton Made VP Finalists Turn Over Every Social Media Password for Each Member of Family and More – Jason Howerton
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/24/report-clinton-made-vp-finalists-turn-over-every-social-media-password-for-each-member-of-family-and-more/
— Clinton on Security Failures in Benghazi: ‘It Was Not My Ball to Carry’ – Jason Howerton
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/24/clinton-on-security-failures-in-benghazi-it-was-not-my-ball-to-carry/

 

THE HILL
— Democrats pressure Wasserman Schultz to abandon convention role – Amie Parnes
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/289071-dems-pressure-wasserman-schultz-to-abandon-convention-role

 

CNN
— Donald Trump bounces into the lead – Jennifer Agiesta
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/25/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-poll/index.html

 

REUTERS
— Democrats in disarray on eve of convention to nominate Clinton – JOHN WHITESIDES
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN1040TO

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— More Damned Emails – Charles M. Blow  (DIERSEN: My Democrat superiors in the federal government were smart enough not to NOT put in their emails that Democrat politicians had ordered them to get rid of their employees who were Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran to make way for their newly hired young Democrat employees who were minority and/or female.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/opinion/more-damned-emails.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, Democrats hint/imply/argue/shout that they are soft on crime.  What percent of those who commit crimes are Democrats?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/opinion/delusions-of-chaos.html

 

WASHINGTON POST
— ARTICLE IN THE July 25, 2016 Daily Herald: A quarter of Americans worry about running out of money in retirement – Rodney Brooks
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2016/07/18/a-quarter-of-americans-worry-about-running-out-of-money-in-retirement/

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Liberal Democrats to Play Major Role at Convention’s Opening Night  Bernie Sanders to call for party unity and champion progressive issues –  PETER NICHOLAS and COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON
http://www.wsj.com/articles/liberal-democrats-to-play-major-role-at-conventions-opening-night-1469401868
— Wharton Grad Trump Fails Economics  Technology, not free trade, explains the loss of most middle-class jobs. – MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY  (DIERSEN: What about Political Affiliation Discrimination (PAD), Affirmative Action (AA), Diversity, Inclusion, and Veterans Preference (VP)?  Because of PAD, AA, Diversity, Inclusion, and VP, many millions of Republican White male non-veterans are unemployed or underemployed.  If I had been a Democrat, a minority, a female, or a veteran, I not only might very well still be working for the federal government, the federal government would have promoted me into its Senior Executive Service long before I was 40 years old in 1988.)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/wharton-grad-trump-fails-economics-1469395049
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Anti-Trumps compare Trump negatively to P.T. Barnum.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/when-a-ringmaster-leapt-into-the-political-circus-1469395381

 

BLOOMBERG
— Schultz Jeered as Convention Democrats Face Their Own Unity Problem  Supporters of Bernie Sanders have flooded into Philadelphia. – Michael C. Bender
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-25/after-gloating-democrats-face-unity-problem-of-their-own

 

USA TODAY
— Stocks could predict who wins White House – Adam Shell  (DIERSEN: Democrats run the federal government.  Of course, needless-to-say, the Democrats who run the federal government will drive the stock market up to elect Clinton.)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/07/25/stocks-predict-who-wins-white-house/87440314/
— GOP unity? Trump takes aim against Kasich, Cruz – David M Jackson
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/24/donald-trump-john-kasich-ted-cruz/87498902/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, Democrats shout that non-Democrats are racists, bigots, or even worse things.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/advice/2016/07/25/airbnb-vacation-rental-discrimination/86846642/
— Roger Ailes’ exit may help all sexual harassment victims – Charisse Jones  (DIERSEN: Government is nasty.  Politics is nasty.  Democrats are nasty.  Because I am a healthy non-veteran White male Republican who complained about political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination, my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I discriminated against, if not harassed, my subordinates who were disabled, Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. Virtually all of my IRS and GAO subordinates were disabled, Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. None of them ever filed any kind of complaint against me.  I always followed my Democrat superiors’ orders to give preference to my subordinates who were disabled, Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran.)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/07/22/roger-ailes-exit-fox-news-may-bring-other-victims-forward/87445490/
— Clinton’s history of hiring women includes mentoring, office crib – Heidi M. Przybyla  (DIERSEN: During my last 4 years at GAO, my immediate supervisor was a woman, and for the 4 years before that, she was my immediate supervisor’s boss. To her credit, she was a) uncomfortable having to help waste my career and b) uncomfortable having to help force me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old.  But never-the-less, she did help waste my career and help force me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old.  To turn her against me, my Democrat GAO superiors stressed to her a) that I was a 100% German Missouri Synod Lutheran and that she was Jewish, b) that my ancestors had been in America much longer than her ancestors, c) that I was older than she was, c) that I am a male and that she is a female, d) that I lived in Wheaton and that she lived in Chicago, e) that I am a conservative Republican and that she is a liberal Democrat, f) that I owned American nameplate cars and that she owned foreign nameplate cars, g) that she had been divorced and I had not, h) that she had children to raise and that I did not, i) etc.)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/07/25/hillary-clinton-white-house-women-hiring-senate/86944622/

 

TIME MAGAZINE
— Donald Trump Team Woos Bernie Sanders Supporters at Democratic Convention – Charlotte Alter
http://time.com/4421146/democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton/

 

NEW YORKER
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: The following want “Latinos to swing Arizona:” those who are anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/01/promise-arizona-and-the-power-of-the-latino-vote

 

RASMUSSEN REPORTS
— Voters Remain Wary of Political News They’re Getting  (DIERSEN: Unlike so many of my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes, Diersen fully discloses his background including his sources and amounts of income, education, work experience, professional certifications, professional license, phone number, email address, home address, biography, photo, age, etc.)
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/july_2016/voters_remain_wary_of_political_news_they_re_getting
— Users Strongly Reject Censorship on Facebook, Twitter  (DIERSEN: Who want to censor you?  The following want to censor me: individuals, organizations, companies, governments, countries, etc. that a) reject planks in the Republican Party platform and work against those like me who support those planks, b) reject planks in the Illinois Republican Party platform and work against those like me who support those planks, c) reject the Milton Township Republican Central Committee resolution against video gambling and work against those like me who support that resolution, d) focus on destroying those like me who they cannot manipulate/dominate, e) were defendants in lawsuits that I have filed, f) are operatives for the aforesaid, and/or g) are dupes for the aforesaid and/or that are anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors.)
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/july_2016/users_strongly_reject_censorship_on_facebook_twitter

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.