March 31 Evening Edition

ABC7
— BGA: Proposed shift of public school pension costs – Stacey Baca
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/weekend-watch-proposed-shift-of-public-school-pension-costs/3283394/
— Bail set at $1 million for man charged in Oak Brook carjacking
http://abc7chicago.com/bail-set-at-$1-million-for-man-charged-in-oak-brook-carjacking/3287056/

 

FOX CHICAGO
— University of South Florida offers workshop on adulting for stressed millennials
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/usf-offers-workshop-on-adulting-for-stressed-millennials

 

WGN TV
— Person dies in Illinois after using fake marijuana
http://wgntv.com/2018/03/31/person-dies-after-using-fake-marijuana-in-illinois/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Man carrying $10 million in U.S. currency arrested at Tijuana airport – Sandra Dibble
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-tijuana-airport-arrest-20180331-story.html
— Elburn talking tax increase vote for parks – Susan Sarkauskas
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180330/elburn-talking-tax-increase-vote-for-parks

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Officials warn of fatal case of synthetic marijuana use
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/officials-warn-of-fatal-case-of-synthetic-marijuana-use/

 

PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— Extra. Extra. Illinois roads not good – Doug Finke
http://www.pjstar.com/news/20180331/statehouse-insider-extra-extra-illinois-roads-not-good

 

DEKALB DAILY CHRONICLE
— Police: Suburban Apartments shooting gang-related – CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/lists/2018/03/31/0071241361834ed0911f2306a6648373/index.xml

 

HERALD & REVIEW
— Illinois Medicaid managed care switch kicks in Sunday – AP
https://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/illinois-medicaid-switch-affects-hundreds-of-thousands-today/article_c17d47df-42a4-551f-9862-4d78d26cbaf2.html

 

BELLINGHAM HERALD
— Questions dog Illinois Medicaid managed-care switch – AP
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/article207565669.html

 

BELLEVILLE NEWS DEMOCRAT
— Chicago receives $6.7M to help people living with HIV/AIDS – AP
http://www.bnd.com/news/article207563934.html

 

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
— Death Of An Individual Who Used Synthetic Cannabinoids
https://www2.illinois.gov/IISNews/15528-Death_Of_An_Individual_Who_Used_Synthetic_Cannabinoids.pdf

 

WILLIAM J KELLY
— Tiffany Thrasher was murdered one year ago on Easter Sunday
http://www.williamjkelly.org/news/kelly-tiffany-thrasher-was-murdered-one-year-ago-on-easter-sunday
(FROM THE ARTICLE: This is the one year anniversary of the Easter rape and murder of Tiffany Thrasher. I stepped aside for Jeanne Ives because I believed she would speak for Tiffany. Obviously, I was wrong. This week, I will be making an announcement regarding my independent campaign for Governor and, yes, there will be justice for Tiffany.)

 

ILLINOIS LEAKS
— Frank Vala unqualified for office of Springfield Airport Authority Commissioner – JOHN KRAFT (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. GAO hired me in 1980 because it could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job. IRS hired me in 1971 because it could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, or veteran who would take the job. The Post Office hired me in 1966 because it could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, or veteran who would take the job.)
http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2018/03/frank-vala-unqualified-for-office-of-springfield-airport-authority-commissioner/

 

ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
— Senator Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria, targets lawmaker pensions in effort to build political will on statewide pension reform – Greg Bishop
https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/senator-targets-lawmaker-pensions-in-effort-to-build-political-will/article_1122490e-338a-11e8-a987-bffde4da1f9f.html?utm_content=69407768&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
— Most Illinois metros gain jobs, see unemployment decline – Cole Lauterbach
https://www.ilnews.org/news/economy/most-illinois-metros-gain-jobs-see-unemployment-decline/article_e84e2f66-343d-11e8-8983-7362198cf657.html

 

GOPUSA
— Does the Pope Believe in Hell? – Patrick J. Buchanan
http://www.gopusa.com/does-the-pope-believe-in-hell/

 

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Bob Goodlatte talks ‘deep state’: ‘This is about a small number of people, we don’t know exactly how many’ – Steven Nelson (DIERSEN: My Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government painted me as being a member of the Republican deep state who frustrated their efforts to hire, to retain, and to promote Democrats, and especially Democrats who were minority, female, and/or younger.)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/bob-goodlatte-talks-deep-state-this-is-about-a-small-number-of-people-we-dont-know-exactly-how-many

 

CNN
— DOJ unit leader demoted, accused of sexism, favoritism – Veronica Stracqualursi
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/31/politics/doj-employee-demoted-accusations/index.html

 

CBS NEWS
— Trump blasts Amazon — but his campaign used it regularly for office supplies – KATHRYN WATSON
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-trump-campaign-spent-thousands-office-supplies-tweet-post-office-scam-today/

 

ABC NEWS
— Democrats see path to House majority that cuts through the suburbs – EMILY GOODIN
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-path-house-majority-cuts-suburbs/story?id=54134040
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Sean Casten, who won the Democratic primary in November to take on longtime GOP Rep. Peter Roskam in Illinois’ 6th Congressional District in suburban Chicago, acknowledged he is liberal on some issues and centrist on others. “There are issues like choice issues that I’m as far left as they come. There are issues like markets and national security where I’m pretty centrist. Whatever the letter is after my name is what it is,” Casten, a clean-energy executive, told ABC News. Like Houlahan in Pennsylvania and Casten in Illinois, other Democrats like Susie Lee running in suburban Las Vegas, Elissa Slotkin vying for a congressional seat outside Lansing, Michigan, and Dean Phillips in the Minneapolis suburbs are expected to need Republican voters to cross over and vote for them if they want victory in November. As Casten said of his primary campaign, “We were running a campaign to expand and reach out to the whole electorate.” He beat two Democratic women who were favored by party members. Illinois has an open primary system. “If there is ever a time to steal players and put them on your team, this is the time. This is the same strategy we’ll use in the general,” he said. And neither Casten nor Houlahan would commit to voting for Nancy Pelosi for speaker, but they also didn’t rule it out. Both said they would need to think about who got their vote and consider all the candidates for the position.)

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— At the Justice Dept.’s Death Penalty Unit, Accusations of Favoritism, Gender Bias and Unwanted Groping – Katie Benner
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/us/politics/justice-department-harassment-bias.html
— Laura Ingraham Takes a Week Off as Advertisers Drop Her Show – Jeffery C. Mays
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/business/media/laura-ingraham-david-hogg.html
— U.S. Says It Can Pay for 100 Miles of Wall on 2,000-Mile Border – Ron Nixon
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/us/politics/us-mexico-border-wall-funding.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.