March 24 Morning Edition

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Next thing you know, cemeteries will be voting in DuPage – Editorial (DIERSEN: Since 2015, there have been two cemeteries in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 9 in Wheaton – Wheaton Cemetery (http://wheatoncemetery.org/) and St. Michael’s Cemetery (https://www.parishesonline.com/find/st-michaels-cemetery). Of my precinct’s 504 registered voters, according to the DuPage County Election Commission (DCEC), 105 (21%) cast Republican Ballots, 98 (19%) cast Democrat ballots, and 301 (60%) did not vote. Beyond outrageously, beyond unacceptably, in 2015, the DCEC let my critics/opponents unethically gerrymander my precinct to punish me and Jeanne Ives. The DCEC let my critics/opponents a) take away about 100 residences on the west side of my precinct and b) give me about 100 residences out Ives’ precinct to the east. The DCEC let my critics/opponents draw Ives into my precinct. But then, my critics/opponents drew her out of my new precinct and into Precinct 65 because she asked them to.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/next-thing-you-know-cemeteries-will-be-voting-in-dupage/
(FROM THE EDITORIAL: Oh, DuPage County, have you forgotten who you are? Generations of Chicagoans fled to you, DuPage, to escape the political corruption of the big bad city. In Chicago, the rule of thumb was to “vote early and often.” In DuPage, a single honorable vote, almost always for a Republican, sufficed. In Chicago, the quiet residents of cemeteries voted. In DuPage, only the living, if sometimes barely. In Chicago, vote returns from the “river wards” could be held up for hours, allowing for a little late-night skullduggery to put a Machine favorite in a tight race over the top. In DuPage, goodness no. But on Tuesday in DuPage, the election process looked about as squared away as in Chicago circa 1947. Final voting results were not released until roughly eight hours after the polls closed, about 3 a.m. A skeptic might wonder if everything was on the up and up. We’re told it was a hardware problem. Elections judges were unable to get results from scanning machines, which are used to read paper ballots, and the judges had to lug 268 of the machines to the election commission office in Wheaton to tally the results. Now, on Tuesday, election officials will be on the hot seat. The DuPage County Board has asked them to attend a board meeting to explain what went wrong and how to fix it. “I promise you, there’s going to be changes,” County Board President Dan Cronin told the Daily Herald. “I am not done with this.” But there’s little mystery about what should be done — it was right on the ballot. An advisory referendum question asked voters whether the DuPage County Election Commission should be dissolved and its responsibilities taken over by the office of the county clerk. Fifty-six percent of the voters said that was a good idea. After Tuesday’s show of incompetence by the election commission, you can bet that even more voters now would say that’s a good idea. Cronin, who has been a leader in Illinois in trying to eliminate unnecessary units of government, is pushing the merger, which he says would make the election process more accountable and save DuPage taxpayers $300,000 a year. But the change requires a change in state law, and the Legislature has been slow to go along. Why? Because the Legislature is always slow to go along when it comes to eliminating unnecessary units of government. It’s about jobs and political turf. For the same reason, the Legislature has been insufficiently aggressive in eliminating township governments. Cronin is right. The DuPage Election Commission bungled it badly on Tuesday. And we were feeling the ghosts of those old Chicago ward heelers.)
— Man who claims civil rights were violated at Gay Pride Fest settles with city – STEFANO ESPOSITO (DIERSEN: The picture for this article shows Mark Kirk’s parade entry.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/man-who-claims-civil-rights-were-violated-at-gay-pride-fest-settles-with-city/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Mallett was passed out drunk in the rear seat of his car — and wearing only a Speedo — when, he claimed, police pepper-sprayed him and dragged him out of the car. Mallett alleged officers used excessive force and targeted him for being gay.)

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Stakes are high for Raoul, Harold in race to succeed Attorney General Lisa Madigan – Bill Lukitsch
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-kwame-raoul-erika-harold-attorney-general-20180322-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: On the other is Harold, a conservative who has never held elected office and calls herself a “political outsider.” She is opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage but has vowed to uphold all of the state’s laws. Harold has accused Madigan of failing to take an interest in public corruption during her tenure, noting that her father is Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. And she’s backed by his chief political nemesis, Gov. Bruce Rauner. . .Harold disputes the suggestion she would be beholden to Rauner, noting that she has split with him over his decision to sign legislation expanding access to abortion. Even so, she says she will uphold that law and others she may personally disagree with. “The job of the attorney general is to enforce the law,” Harold said. “It’s not to impose your own agenda. It is to make sure that the laws are enforced uniformly and fairly, and I’m committed to doing that.” Rauner’s campaign gave Harold $305,000, and the governor has said he “personally recruited” her in part to “prosecute corruption against the Madigan clan and their network.” Harold first became well-known as the 2003 winner of the Miss America pageant. She says her “priorities are not partisan in nature” and will resonate with voters regardless of political affiliation. Still, Harold mirrors Rauner in promising to fight corruption within state government. She said she wants the legislature to provide additional powers for the attorney general, including the ability to convene a grand jury and issue subpoenas. “I think the priority of public corruption will be an issue where we may differ, and I think it’s important to emphasize fighting public corruption because both parties should be held accountable,” Harold said of Raoul. Harold works for a Champaign-based firm where she specializes in business law. She first sought public office in 2014, losing a Republican primary for Congress to U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville. She ran on a conservative social platform and since has been accused by her unsuccessful primary opponent of softening her position on conservative ideas to comport with the governor’s socially centrist agenda. Harold’s stance against same-sex marriage has served as a flashpoint in her primary bid. According to the book “Being Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain” by former Miss America Kate Shindle, Harold’s “ultra-conservative views” had kept her from winning the Miss Illinois pageant for several years. Shindle writes that Harold was asked in a pageant interview about adoption by same-sex couples. “Harold reportedly stated that she would choose to place a child in an abusive heterosexual home rather than with a loving gay couple,” the book says. Harold said she did not remember that exchange, saying she supports same-sex adoption and foster parenting, and “if I said what they alleged, it’s absolutely wrong.”)
— 1,800 York students absent after shooting threat; 17-year-old gets felony charges in separate Snapchat threat – Chuck Fieldman
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elmhurst/news/ct-elh-york-threats-tl-0329-20180323-story.html
— An affair, a photo and a felony charge: Missouri’s governor is waging a campaign for political survival – Sean Sullivan (DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, if you have ever done anything that subjects you to blackmail or prosecution, you should not seek or hold any kind of government or political office.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-missouri-governor-eric-greitens-political-survival-20180323-story.html
— HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Musk deletes Facebook pages – Peter Holley
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-biz-elon-musk-facebook-20180323-story.html

 

DAILY HERALD
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Democrats promote Democrat marchers.
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180322/march-for-our-lives-protesting-gun-violence-happening-today-around-suburbs
— York student detained for social media threat – Justin Kmitch
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180323/york-student-detained-for-social-media-threat
— Get rid of both Cronin and election board – Julie Federico, Naperville
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20180324/get-rid-of-both-cronin-and-election-board
— Amendment needed to stop gerrymandering – Hashim Arain, Oak Brook
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20180324/amendment-needed-to-stop-gerrymandering
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Democrats crow over their success in demonizing, denigrating, and condemning guns and gun owners.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20180323/news/303239917/

 

WBEZ
— Ives Reluctantly Says She’ll Vote For Rauner – Dave McKinney (DIERSEN: Since 2002, those who supported Jim Ryan in the Republican gubernatorial primary have blamed those who supported Pat O’Malley in that primary for Jim Ryan’s defeat in the general election. I should write a book about Jim Ryan supporters in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois who continue to viciously punish me for Jim Ryan’s defeat.)
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-updates/ives-reluctantly-says-shell-vote-for-rauner/06dcec33-d169-47f6-80b5-f0523fdf4d5f
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Republican who narrowly lost to Gov. Bruce Rauner in this week’s gubernatorial primary is reluctantly saying she’ll vote for him. But state Rep. Jeanne Ives predicts Rauner will lose and that many of her 342,000 supporters feel betrayed by him. And when it comes to saying who’d be a better a governor, Rauner or Democrat JB Pritzker, Ives struggled to get Rauner’s name out of her mouth in an interview Thursday with WBEZ.)

 

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Illinois Supreme Court won’t take up Rauner’s appeal of step pay case – Doug Finke (DIERSEN: I got many step increases while I worked for the federal government 1966-1969 and 1971-1997. Step increases recognize the work experience that you gain. My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always viciously demonized, viciously denigrated, and viciously condemned the work experience that I gained working for the Post Office 1966-1969, for IRS 1971-1980, the last 5 ½ years of which at  the GS-12 Step 1-5 levels, currently $81,071-$91,880 and for GAO 1980-1997, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 levels, currently $96,403-$125,325. What opinion does Rauner and his supporters have of the work experience that you have? Based on their words and their actions, Rauner and his supporters have an extremely low opinion of the work experience that I have.)
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20180322/illinois-supreme-court-wont-take-up-rauners-appeal-of-step-pay-case

 

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Democrats, like Republican, also at odds – Editorial (DIERSEN: If the majority of Republican Precinct Committeemen/Captains in Illinois were conservative, the conservative Ives would have defeated the anti-social conservative Rauner. The Republican Party exists to help elect candidates who are conservative. The Democrat Party exists to help elect candidates who are liberal. The Libertarian Party exists to help elect candidates who are libertarian. The Green Party exists to help elect candidates who are green. You are not a conservative unless you are both a fiscal conservative and a social conservative like I am. Are you a Republican Precinct Committeeman/Captain? What percent of your fellow Republican Precinct Committeemen/Captains in your township/ward and in your county are social conservatives like I am? Beyond tragically, by their words and/or by their actions, the majority of Republican Precinct Committeemen/Captains in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois ARE NOT SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES. They supported Rauner/Sanguinetti in the primary and they focus on getting rid of social conservatives like me. With Rauner’s victory, will they succeed in getting rid of social conservatives and destroying the Milton Township Republican Central Committee, the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and the Illinois Republican Party?)
http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2018-03-24/editorial-dems-gop-also-odds.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Rauner has shown that you can’t be fiscally conservative and say you are not socially conservative.” This was at the core of Ives’ campaign — Rauner isn’t a Republican, we are. She said as much during a campaign stop in February during the Williamson County Republican Women’s Lincoln Day Luncheon. “He’s not part of the ‘we,’” she said in an interview after her speech, referring to the Republican party. During her address in February, Ives thrashed Rauner’s dealings with Democrats, particularly on a controversial piece of legislation last year that loosened regulations allowing state medical dollars to be used for abortions. She said reaching across the aisle on party issues this way was a sign of weakness — she said “capitulating” to the opposition showed vulnerability and this was not quality in a leader.)

 

SOUTHERN
— More questions than answers: Republicans split in Southern Illinois on who to support for governor in November – ISAAC SMITH
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/more-questions-than-answers-republicans-split-in-southern-illinois-on/article_0ba100d4-cff3-56eb-854c-b7d999611fc6.html

 

SUBURBAN LIFE
— York student charged with felony after allegedly making threat via Snapchat
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2018/03/23/york-student-charged-with-felony-after-allegedly-making-threat-via-snapchat/akze8w8/

 

TAYLORVILLE DAILY NEWS
— Rauner Will Call Ives (DIERSEN: Since 2002, those who supported Jim Ryan in the Republican gubernatorial primary have blamed those who supported Pat O’Malley in that primary for Jim Rayn’s defeat in the general election. I should write a book about Jim Ryan supporters in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois who continue to viciously punish me for Jim Ryan’s defeat.)
http://taylorvilledailynews.com/local-news/354053

 

SAUK VALLEY
— Every vote matters, particularly if it’s yours
http://www.saukvalley.com/2018/03/23/svm-editorial-every-vote-matters-particularly-if-its-yours/a5whb9n/

 

WOODFORD TIMES
— Rep. Darin LaHood applauds local spa for passing on tax bill savings to employees – Chris Kaergard (DIERSEN: Have the employers in your municipality, in your township/ward, and in your county passed on “tax bill savings” to their employees?)
http://www.woodfordtimes.com/news/20180323/rep-darin-lahood-applauds-local-spa-for-passing-on-tax-bill-savings-to-employees

 

ILLINOIS FAMILY ACTION
— Primary 2018 and the Ives Campaign Post-Mortem Only Begins – John Biver
https://illinoisfamilyaction.org/2018/03/primary-2018-and-the-ives-campaign-post-mortem-only-begins/

 

GOPUSA
— Dick’s CEO: Gun control ‘transcends our company’s bottom line’ (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, companies act as operatives or as dupes for the Democrat Party.)
http://www.gopusa.com/dicks-ceo-gun-control-transcends-our-companys-bottom-line/
— Google’s $300 million fight against fake — err, conservative — news (DIERSEN: According to my critics/opponents, all news is fake except for the news that they put out or bless.)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=42080
— Students Are Useful Pawns for Gun Control Zealots
http://www.gopusa.com/students-are-useful-pawns-for-gun-control-zealots/
— FBI’s McCabe – an operative for the Deep State (DIERSEN: Virtually all my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government were operatives for the Democrat Party. Of course, they treated me like I was an operative for the Republican Party.)
http://www.gopusa.com/fbis-mccabe-an-operative-for-the-deep-state/

 

DAILY CALLER
— Donald Trump Should Throw California Governor Jerry Brown IN JAIL – Alan Keyes
http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/23/donald-trump-should-jail-california-governor-jerry-brown/

 

THE HILL
— Maher calls for ‘affirmative action’ for conservatives in show business – JOSH DELK (DIERSEN: What about the federal government? While I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years, extremely few of my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were conservative, that is, extremely few were Republican.)
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/380066-maher-calls-for-affirmative-action-for-conservatives-in-show

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: The Spread of Dumb Ideas – Michael J. Socolow (DIERSEN: According to my critics/opponents, all ideas are dumb except for the ideas that they promote or bless.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/opinion/facebook-spreading-ideas.html
— Elon Musk Joins #DeleteFacebook With a Barrage of Tweets – Nellie Bowles
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/technology/elon-musk-deletefacebook.html
— With Morale Dropping, Zuckerberg Takes Steps to Calm Facebook Employees – Sheera Frenkel (DIERSEN: Will Facebook start acting like the federal government? To boost the morale of its employees who are Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran, the federal government wastes the careers of and gets rid of its employees who are Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who did 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.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/technology/zuckerberg-facebook-employees.html

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— FRONT PAGE: Facebook Tries to Calm Advertisers After Cambridge Analytica Crisis – Lara O’Reilly and Suzanne Vranica (DIERSEN: Facebook is a Democrat website.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-tries-to-calm-advertisers-after-cambridge-analytica-crisis-1521836823
— Facebook’s Public Reckoning The social-media giant faces decisions on privacy and publishing. – Editorial (DIERSEN: Facebook is a Democrat website.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebooks-public-reckoning-1521846210
— ‘Class Matters’ Review: The American Dream as Nightmare – Joseph Epstein (DIERSEN: How much money did your parents have when you were young? My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always demonized, denigrated, and condemned my parents as being undeservedly filthy rich because they sent my brother and I to Trinity Lutheran Grade School in Crete and then to Hope Lutheran Grade School in Park Forest to stay with the Missouri Synod. However, neither of my outstanding parents attended college. My father fought type 1 diabetes from age 14 and he was the first of his ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. My father worked in the office of a nasty chemical plant in Chicago Heights. He almost always worked second jobs to pay the family’s bills. He did not buy a new car until he was 45 and it was a bottom of the line 2-door Chevy. He died suddenly in 1969 when he was 47 and I was 21.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/class-matters-review-the-american-dream-as-nightmare-1521754095

 

USA TODAY
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Democrats promote Democrat marchers
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/24/march-our-lives-hundreds-thousands-expected-rally-across-u-s/430245002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/03/23/taylor-swift-donates-march-our-lives-show/454892002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/22/millions-moms-never-again-different-effect-march-our-lives/440961002/
— HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Workers scarce in some crucial, stressful fields – Ryan W. Miller (DIERSEN: Many millions have not and will not seek a job with the federal government a) because the pay and benefits are terrible, b) because the advancement opportunities are terrible, c) because they lack required education, work experience, professional certifications, and/or professional licenses, d) because they cannot pass an employment examination, e) because they cannot pass a background investigation, f) because they cannot pass a physical examination, g) because they cannot take the demonization, denigration, and condemnation that comes with being a federal employee or federal retiree, and/or h) because they are Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran and they know that the federal government discriminates against the aforesaid.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/03/22/teachers-police-local-government-jobs-recruiting-retainment-stress/425752002/

 

BLOOMBERG
— Facebook’s Grip on Political Ads Seen Defying Stain of Data Leak – Todd Shields and Bill Allison (DIERSEN: Facebook is a Democrat website.)
https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/2018/03/23/facebook-won-t-lack-for-political-ads-despite-erupting-scandals

 

VIRGINIA PILOT
— Facebook users have been giving away their data for a decade. Is it too late to get our privacy back? – Ally Marotti (DIERSEN: Facebook is a Democrat website.)
https://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/article_0b676e56-73ae-531b-ae45-9a13628525bd.html

 

LADDERS
— What are millennials doing wrong when it comes to their careers? – Dandan Zhu (DIERSEN: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I earned a) a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970 and job-related master’s degrees when I was 27, 31, and 48, b) 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. I had almost 9 years of IRS work experience, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 levels, currently $81,071-$91,880, when I was 31. I had almost 18 years of GAO work experience, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 levels, currently $96,403-$125,325, when I was 49.)
https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/millennials-wrong-comes-careers
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 1. Starting work too late. . .2. Accumulating useless credentials and degrees. . .3. Being idealistic versus realistic. . .4. Approaching work with the wrong attitude. . .5. Refusing to understand the power and importance of MONEY)

 

AXIOS
— GOP tax law has significant bugs, and Dems aren’t anxious to help fix them – Haley Britzky (DIERSEN: Government should encourage marriage and homeownership. Roskam should increase the $10,000 SALT cap to $20,000 for married filing jointly.)
https://www.axios.com/democrats-gop-tax-reform-d7e361d4-18c6-48d9-a942-91eb0efdcc1f.html
— Minority growth spawning “blue wave” in 2018 (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly Democrats focus on making minorities hate Republicans, and especially Republicans who are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.axios.com/blue-wave-to-be-driven-by-minority-growth-24b263a5-0d09-4271-ba6c-9d19f36158a4.html

 

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
— FOX News: Bruce Rauner is “Friendless” (DIERSEN: Of course, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes hint/imply/argue/shout that if anyone else had been the Republican Precinct Committeeman in DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 9 since 1999, a) far more than just 105 of its 504 registered voters would have cast Republican ballots in the March 20, 2018 primary election, b) far fewer than 98 would have cast Democrat ballots, and c) many, if not most, if not virtually all of the 301 who did not vote would have cast Republican ballots. In my defense, as I have reported to the DuPage County Election Commission, 20 of the 504, including Chris Hage and his wife, no longer live in the precinct. Further, since 1999, those who dominate the Milton Township Republican Central Committee, the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and the Illinois Republican Party have done everything that they can to discredit me with the voters in my precinct. Officially, they hint/imply/argue/shout that I am “too conservative” and because of that, candidates that I might promote in primaries are “too conservative” to win general elections. But from what see, having lived in my precinct since 1984, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes hint/imply/argue/shout under the table and below the belt at the voters in my precinct and at everyone else that I am a White supremacist, Nazi, KKK member, hater, racist, sexist, bigot, and even worse things. I should write a book about my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes. Maybe I should sue them.)
https://democraticgovernors.org/news/fox-news-bruce-rauner-is-friendless/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: After nearly losing the primary to an insurgent challenger Tuesday night, FOX News reported that Governor Bruce Rauner is “friendless” and a reporter called him a “governor without a party.” National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar broke down Rauner’s embarrassingly close call: “He only got 52% of the Republican in the primary vote last night. That’s a really, really big danger sign. It certainly places him as the most vulnerable governor heading into the general election.” “The Illinois Republican Party is completely divided, lied to, and let down by a failed governor who is not in charge,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Bruce Rauner can’t even bring his own party together, let alone the state he has entirely failed to lead.”)

 

INDEPENDENT
— Donald Trump routinely humiliates whomever he pleases. But the day is coming when the tables will turn (DIERSEN: I should write a book about activists, candidates, elected officials, party leaders, major donors, political consultants, etc. in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois who routinely humiliate others. They humiliate those who are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-humilate-tables-will-turn-mcmaster-mexico-border-wall-karen-mcdougal-stormy-daniels-a8271076.html

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.