June 8 Morning Edition

WGN TV
— Gov. Rauner talks budget cuts, Blagojevich commute and IL residents moving out
http://wgntv.com/2018/06/07/gov-rauner-talks-budget-blagojevich-and-il-residents-moving-out/

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Rauner in D.C. on Friday will tout $132M federal grant already announced – Lynn Sweet
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/rauner-in-d-c-on-friday-will-tout-132m-federal-grant-already-announced/
— The Donald and The Alderman break up; Burke no longer doing tax work for Trump – Tim Novak
https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/the-donald-and-the-alderman-break-up-burke-no-longer-doing-tax-work-for-trump/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Mercy for Blagojevich? His successor says no – John Byrne
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-morning-spin-friday-edition-20180607-story.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG COLOR PICTURE: In hopes of stopping bloodshed, a multimillion-dollar effort is providing jobs, therapy to city’s most violent – Annie Sweeney (DIERSEN: If offered to them, would/will violent people take the bad jobs that I had? I doubt it. I did yard work and delivered newspapers 1962-1964; washed dishes 1964-1966; cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966; delivered mail 1966-1969; worked on an automobile assembly line and as a security guard in 1970; sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971; pumped gasoline 1971-1972; collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980; and audited federal agencies 1980-1997.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-chicago-violence-heartland-alliance-20180522-story.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, anti-Americans urge citizens of foreign countries to come to America and to claim asylum.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-asylum-seekers-border-20180607-story.html
— Harvey cuts deal for $1.3M in withheld taxes, escapes financial crisis for now — but city still owes millions – Zak Koeske
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-20180607-story.html
— Donald Trump says he may pardon late boxing champion Muhammad Ali – John Wagner (DIERSEN: Should I ask Trump to pardon me for seeking and getting four student draft deferments 1966-1970 and a financial hardship draft deferment 1970-1971? Should I write a book about my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government and others who talked and acted like they were punishing me for seeking and getting those deferments?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-spt-muhammad-ali-donald-trump-pardon-20180608-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: President Donald Trump said Friday that he may pardon the late boxer Muhammad Ali. Ali was convicted in 1967 for refusing to report for induction into the United States military during the Vietnam War. His local draft board rejected his application for conscientious objector classification. “He was, look, he was not very popular then, certainly his memory is popular now,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to leave the White House on Friday en route to a Group of Seven economic summit in Canada. “I’m thinking about that very seriously, and some others, and some folks that have some sentences that aren’t fair.”)
— In Springfield, personal politics trump public needs – Roger W. Peck, Long Grove
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-letters-corruption-springfield-bruce-rauner-history-20180607-story.html

 

DAILY HERALD
— Three dogs euthanized after attacking Gurnee couple in Elgin – Lee Filas
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180608/three-dogs-euthanized-after-attacking-gurnee-couple-in-elgin

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— UIC, John Marshall Law School on track to merge – LYNNE MAREK
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180608/ISSUE01/180609880
— HUD plan would hike rents 21 percent for poor, study finds – ALBY GALLUN
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180607/CRED03/180609876

 

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Plenty of sleight of hand in this ‘balanced’ budget – Jim Dey
http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/2018-06-08/jim-dey-plenty-sleight-hand-balanced-budget.html

 

QUAD CITY TIMES
— Blago, another tool for Trump – Editorial
https://qctimes.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-blago-another-tool-for-trump/article_c61e66fd-07c8-5707-8f53-71306d9b0c78.html

 

JOURNAL COURIER
— Spending plan a start, but not a budget – Editorial
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/opinion/amp/Editorial-Spending-plan-a-start-but-not-a-budget-12971362.php

 

HOMEWOOD FLOSSMOOR CHRONICLE
— Village board approves ordinance banning sweepstakes machines in Flossmoor – Tom Houlihan
https://www.hfchronicle.com/article/2018/jun/07/village-board-approves-ordinance-banning-sweepstakes-machines-flossmoor

 

WSIL TV
— Illinois Governor’s race on pace to shatter spending record – Andrew Feather (DIERSEN: As November 6 approaches, I expect that voters will increasingly take their anger against negative ads out on their precinct committeeman/captain. Voters will tell their precinct committeeman/captain to take their candidates’ negative ads and go to HELL.)
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/38377512/illinois-governors-race-on-pace-to-shatter-spending-record
(FROM THE ARTICLE: And with the increased funds come increased ad buys. Though campaigns typically wait until about September to advertise heavily for the general election, both Rauner and Pritzker placed multimillion dollar ad campaigns across the state this week, spending Jackson says won’t let up through election day. “By September and October most people are going to be tired of the negative ads and be wishing that November 6 would come soon,” Jackson said.)

 

NPR ILLINOIS
— Can Congressional Republicans Find Common Ground On Immigration? (DIERSEN: QUESTION: Who wants the Republican Party to dump the immigration plank in its platform and dump all those who support it? ANSWER: Those who will never vote for Republicans and who want to destroy the Republican Party, that is, Democrats and Democrat plants, Libertarians and Libertarian plants, Greens and Green plants, and RINOs.)
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/07/618012688/can-congressional-republicans-find-common-ground-on-immigration
— Republicans Exploring Options To Block Trump Administration’s Tariffs
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/07/618012752/republicans-exploring-options-to-block-trump-administrations-tariffs
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Our next guest is Republican Congressman Peter Roskam, who represents an Illinois district near Chicago. Welcome to the program. PETER ROSKAM: Thank you for having me on. SHAPIRO: You’ve supported targeted measures on some steel imports like those from China. What makes these different? ROSKAM: What makes these different is these are going after our allies with whom we really have no conflict. And I think that this will have an adverse impact on small manufacturers in my constituency that I’ve heard directly from – and not just the manufacturers but obviously their employees and clearly American consumers. I think the smarter move is for us to focus our time and energy on China, which – there’s all kinds of trade infractions. And this is not well-placed resources in a fight that we really shouldn’t be having right now. SHAPIRO: President Trump doesn’t appear to be backing down. Do you think it’s now the role of Congress to stop him through legislation? ROSKAM: So the challenge with stopping the president through legislation obviously is the president would have to sign the bill. So said another way, these original trade structures were put in place to give presidents authorities to ease up on trade tariffs and to make it easier for commerce to pass between countries. It was not necessarily contemplated that you’d have a president that was tougher on a country than Congress was. So I think we’re very much in the persuasion mode. I had a meeting today along with some others with Secretary Ross. I’m heading into a meeting with Ambassador Lighthizer, giving voice to these concerns. And I think when push comes to shove, one of the voices that’s going to have a disproportionately significant impact is American agriculture because they’re ashen-faced at the idea of getting into a trade war.)

 

REAL CLEAR POLICY
— Illinois Is Better Off Bankrupt – John Merrifield & Barry Poulson
https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2018/06/07/illinois_is_better_off_bankrupt_110660.html

 

PRAIRIE STATE WIRE
— Despite GOP concerns, graduate research assistants one step closer to being able to unionize – Angela Underwood
https://prairiestatewire.com/stories/511446550-despite-gop-concerns-graduate-research-assistants-one-step-closer-to-being-able-to-unionize

 

ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— Illinois’ pension buyout plan savings depend on volunteers – Greg Bishop (DIERSEN: If Illinois is like GAO, sooner or later, it will force its employees who are Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who are eligible for a buyout to take the buyout.)
https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/illinois-pension-buyout-plan-savings-depend-on-volunteers/article_2031b556-6a8f-11e8-9d51-6f6bcbeba289.html

 

CAPITOL FAX
— “We believed Ken Dunkin would continue his commitment to public service” (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, if you are a man and if a woman accuses you of something, your career is over and you will be gotten rid of. Of course, my critics/opponents hint/imply/argue/shout that because GAO, IRS, Post Office, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, Milton Township Republican Central Committee, Illinois Center Right Coalition, American Association of Political Consultants, etc. took so many adverse actions against me, I must have been accused by minorities, by females, by younger people, by veterans, by etc. of doing terrible things.)
https://capitolfax.com/2018/06/08/we-believed-ken-dunkin-would-continue-his-commitment-to-public-service/
— Amid feeding frenzy, media repeats old news as fresh
https://capitolfax.com/2018/06/08/amid-feeding-frenzy-media-repeats-old-news-as-fresh/

 

GOPUSA
— U.S. Navy finds systemic deficiencies in seamanship skills of junior officers (DIERSEN: One could ask what percent of IRS and GAO employees at the GS-13 (currently $96,403), GS-14 (currently $113,920), GS-15 (currently $134,000), and Senior Executive Service (currently $164,200) levels have job-related master’s degrees, job related professional certifications, and job-related professional licenses. I earned a) three job-related master’s degrees when I was 27 in 1976, 31, and 48, b) six job-related professional certifications when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, and c) a job-related professional license when I was 32.)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=47592

 

DAILY SIGNAL
— Revamped Lawsuit Vows to Expose ‘Discrimination’ in Obama FAA’s Diversity Hiring – Michael Bastasch (DIERSEN: In Diersen v. GAO, constructively, GAO argued that it did what Congress wanted it to, that is, a) to hire, retain, and promote young Democrat minorities and young Democrat females and b) to make way for them by getting rid of its employees who were Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who did not make GS-13 (currently $96,403) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $113,920) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $134,000) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $164,200) by age 40.)
https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/06/07/revamped-lawsuit-vows-to-expose-discrimination-in-obama-faas-diversity-hiring/

 

FOX NEWS
— The red wave is growing – Newt Gingrich (DIERSEN: Because I was always one of an extremely few Republican employees in the office, my Democrat superiors, Democrat supervisors, Democrat coworkers, and Democrat subordinates in the federal government always took their hatred of Republicans out on me. That all came to a head during the mid-1990s when Republican Newt Gingrich dramatically cut GAO’s budget. By forcing me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old, they sent a very clear message to Newt Gingrich and to everyone else that if Republican politicians cut budgets, Republican employees will suffer.)
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/06/07/newt-gingrich-red-wave-is-growing.html

 

FOX BUSINESS
— There’s hope for Republicans, even in the bluest of states – Stuart Varney (DIERSEN: How blue is Illinois, your county, your township/ward, your municipality, and your precinct? The bluer that it is, the more dependency on government, dependency on charity, LGBTQ activity, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, booze, gambling, pot, and other vices, gun restrictions, and other bad things that you will find there.)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/theres-hope-for-republicans-even-in-the-bluest-of-states-varney

 

DAILY CALLER
— TOP CLINTON ALLY: MATT DRUDGE IS ‘EVIL INCARNATE’ – Peter Hasson (DIERSEN: Of course, according to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes, I am “evil incarnate.” They blame me and my GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails for all of their problems, for all of your problems, for all of my problems, and for all of everyone’s problems.)
http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/07/neera-tanden-matt-drudge/

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE: DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, Democrats and RINOs use children as cannon fodder.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/children-immigration-borders-family-separation.html

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— GOP’s Biggest Task in Midterms: Firing Up Party Loyalists – Aaron Zitner (DIERSEN: QUESTION: What cuts your energy to help elect Republican candidates? ANSWER: For me, it is their failure/refusal to defend/advance the traditional family, right to life, immigration, Second Amendment, and other planks in the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gops-biggest-task-in-midterms-firing-up-party-loyalists-1528450202
— Americans’ Wealth Surpasses $100 Trillion Household net worth rose by 1% in the first quarter – Harriet Torry (DIERSEN: How much is your “disposable personal income.” My $51,864 Civil Service Retirement System pension is only 41% of my $125,325 1997 GAO salary in today’s dollars.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-net-worth-surpasses-100-trillion-1528387386
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Households’ net worth was close to seven times their disposable personal income in the first quarter, at 683%. That was a slight cooling from the fourth quarter of 2017, when it hit 685%, but remains well above the earlier prerecession peak of about 650% in 2006.)

 

USA TODAY
— You’ll be shocked at how much health insurance costs for a family of four – Guy Boulton
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/06/06/health-care-costs-price-family-four/676046002/

 

BOSTON GLOBE
— Ryan promises compromise ‘dreamers’ immigration bill despite GOP’s split – Mike DeBonis (DIERSEN: QUESTION: Who wants the Republican Party to dump the immigration plank in its platform and dump all those who support it? ANSWER: Those who will never vote for Republicans and who want to destroy the Republican Party, that is, Democrats and Democrat plants, Libertarians and Libertarian plants, Greens and Green plants, and RINOs.)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/06/07/ryan-promises-compromise-dreamers-immigration-bill-despite-gop-split/XodO2WnbsF6uDLv6Z6S4LO/story.html

 

WTHR
— Iowa GOP zero in on wealth of Democratic governor candidate – AP (DIERSEN: I should write a book about my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates who worked the hardest to paint me as someone a) who was undeservedly filthy rich and b) who had so much money that he did not need a job, let alone promotions. They stressed the new cars, real estate, vacations, collector cars, etc. that I bought. They stressed the money that I spent on tuition and books to earn job-related master’s degrees and job-related professional certifications. They painted themselves as being hardworking employees who had financial problems and who needed promotions.)
https://www.wthr.com/article/iowa-gop-zero-in-on-wealth-of-democratic-governor-candidate

(FROM THE ARTICLE: For a Republican Party that celebrates capitalism and the American dream of building wealth, the GOP’s initial line of attack against the new Iowa Democratic nominee for governor appears a bit out of character. Fred Hubbell, a former life insurance executive whose family wealth dates back to the mid-1800s, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday and will face Gov. Kim Reynolds in November. Almost immediately, Reynolds and party leaders questioned how voters could trust a candidate who was born rich and later served in leadership roles at several companies. Hubbell’s family businesses in Des Moines include ties to real estate and insurance. “The issue isn’t that Fred Hubbell has been rich his entire life, it’s that he has no idea what it’s like not to be,” said Reynolds during her election night speech. “He has no idea what it’s like to balance a family checkbook or to make the tough decisions most of us make each and every day when we’re trying to make ends meet.” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann has chimed in by repeatedly referring to Hubbell, 67, as “Prince Frederick.” On election night, the party posted a photo-shopped image of Hubbell on its Facebook page as the Monopoly board game mascot, with a top hat, monocle and bags of money surrounding him. Never mind that Reynolds and Iowa GOP party leaders are big supporters of President Donald Trump, a rich businessman who surrounds himself with conspicuous wealth at his lavish properties such as Mar-a-Lago. In the Iowa governor’s race between a woman of modest means and a man who donated nearly $3 million of his own money toward his primary race, the GOP so far is zeroing in on personal wealth. It’s a strategy tried before as more rich candidates run for office from both parties, many of them also funneling millions of dollars to fund their own campaigns. In neighboring Illinois, for example, Democrat J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire member of the family that founded Hyatt hotels, has put more than $100 million of his own money into his bid to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a wealthy former private equity investor. When he won in 2014, Rauner was accused of trying to buy the election.)

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.