FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— What to know about the U.S. Senate race to replace Sen. Dick Durbin. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has served alongside Gov. JB Pritzker since 2018, faces Don Tracy, the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party. DD: Don Tracy’s outstanding campaign literature piece was one of the 14 candidate literature pieces that I hand-delivered last week to the 370 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican voter or one registered Independent voter.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/what-to-know-us-senate-race-juliana-stratton-don-tracy-dick-durbin
— What to know about Illinois legislative races ahead of the Nov. 3 election. After the March primaries, many candidates are running unopposed. Some suburban battles are heating up.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/illinois-statehouse-elections-november-3-senate-house-general-assembly-what-to-know
— What to know about the race for Illinois governor. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Republican Darren Bailey and independent candidate Collin Corbett are on the ballot in the race for governor in the Nov. 3 general election.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/what-to-know-llinois-governor-race-jb-pritzker-darren-bailey-collin-corbett
— What to know about the Illinois comptroller race between Bryan Drew and state Rep. Margaret Croke. The last Republican comptroller ceded office a decade ago, when outgoing Democratic incumbent Susana Mendoza was first elected. DD: Bryan Drew’s outstanding campaign literature piece was one of the 14 candidate literature pieces that I hand-delivered last week to the 370 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican voter or one registered Independent voter.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/what-to-know-illinois-comptroller-race-bryan-drew-state-rep-margaret-croke
— What to know about the race for Illinois attorney general. The Trump administration’s moves against Illinois has elevated incumbent Kwame Raoul’s role to defender of the state’s federal funds, meaning former two-term 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti has a challenge on his hands. DD: Bob Floretti’s outstanding campaign literature piece was one of the 14 candidate literature pieces that I hand-delivered last week to the 370 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican voter or one registered Independent voter.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/what-to-know-candidates-race-illinois-attorney-general-kwame-raoul-bob-fioretti
— What to know about the Illinois secretary of state race between Alexi Giannoulias and Diane Harris. The incumbent Giannoulias is also a frontrunner for the 2027 Chicago mayor’s race, while Republican challenger Diane M. Harris faces long odds in a statewide office.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/10/01/what-to-know-illinois-secretary-of-state-race-alexi-giannoulias-diane-harris
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote their illegals and fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/01/chicago-election-immigration-presence/
— Chicago considers charging suburbanites more to park. How neighborly. The last dumb idea from City Council. DD: While I lived in the Outer Drive East building 1974-1978, to save money, I parked my 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air for free underneath the building.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/01/editorial-chicago-considers-charging-suburbanites-more-to-park-how-neighborly/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly destroy traditional marriage and family.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/01/opinion-tradwife-influencers/
DAILY HERALD
— DD: The mainstream news media operates as an arm of the Democrat Party. Anticipate/expect that all its endorsements will be for Democrat candidates.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20261001/columns/endorsements-aim-to-help-you-vote-even-if-you-disagree/
SHAW LOCAL
— Election monitoring begins in Illinois to ensure secure voting ahead of Nov. 3.
https://www.shawlocal.com/news/election/2026/09/29/election-monitoring-begins-in-illinois-to-ensure-secure-voting-ahead-of-nov-3/
— Oak Brook police chief credits license plate readers for quick response to fatal shooting outside mall.
https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2026/10/01/oak-brook-police-chief-credits-license-plate-readers-for-quick-response-to-fatal-shooting-outside-mall/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Financial regulator investigates Adam Kinzinger over Kalshi trading: A federal financial watchdog has opened an inquiry into former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, over prediction-market transactions related to a pardon he received from former President Joe Biden, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO’s Aiden Reiter.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/10/01/dreams-of-a-papal-mass-01102202
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/10/01/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-819/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Hegseth touts the end of woke in address.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4749479/hegseth-end-of-woke-weak-department-address/
— DD: Anticipate/expect that Democrat leaders will ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that Jesus is a liberal Democrat who wants dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, gambling, pot, and other vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. How strongly have Democrats taken over your church?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/4747061/megachurch-pastor-adam-hamilton-jesus-dei-too-woke-kansas/
AMERICAN THINKER
— How to win the youth back from socialism. We won’t do it just by criticizing the government.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/09/how-to-win-the-youth-back-from-socialism/
BLAZE
— Supreme Court kick-starts Trump’s mass deportation machine.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/supreme-court-trump-mass-deportation
BREITBART
— Rick Scott: ‘If Socialism Worked, Then Everybody Would Be Wanting to Move to Havana Right Now.’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/09/30/rick-scott-if-socialism-worked-then-everybody-would-be-wanting-to-move-to-havana-right-now/
FOX NEWS
— DD: As socialists ever-increasingly take control of the Democrat Party, Rahm Emanuel says Democratic socialists are not Democrats. To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6405992619112
— JONATHAN TURLEY: Socialism is back in style and Democrats are buying the pitch.
https://noticias.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-socialism-back-style-democrats-buying-pitch
— Blagojevich: Democratic Party is all about ‘rhetoric and politics’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7G_MafJwWE
NEWSMAX
— Hegseth Unveils Sweeping Military Overhaul, Targets Top Brass, ‘Wokeness.’
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hegseth-unveils-sweeping-military-overhaul-targets-top-brass-wokeness/2026/09/30/id/1271287/
PJ MEDIA & HOT AIR
— Socialism is Really About Control.
https://pjmedia.com/watch/2026/09/30/socialism-offers-liberation-but-its-really-about-control-n4957834
https://hotair.com/videos/2026/09/30/socialism-offers-liberation-but-its-really-about-control-n3819491
— Socialism Is Real. It’s Dangerous. And They’re Organizing.
https://pjmedia.com/watch/2026/09/30/socialism-is-real-its-dangerous-and-theyre-organizing-n4957807
TOWNHALL
— Spain Is About to Become a Case Study in Socialist Failure.
https://townhall.com/news/dmitri-bolt/2026/09/30/spain-just-offered-a-look-into-a-future-run-by-socialists-n2683831
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
REUTERS
— DD: Socialists ever-increasingly take control of the Democrat Party. To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/we-are-capitalists-us-democrats-push-back-against-communist-label-ahead-midterms-2026-09-30/
— EEOC’s chair accuses Harvard of systemic bias against white, Asian, male or straight applicants. DD: Ever-increasingly, under the Democrats and under RINOs, the more of the following that you are, the bleaker that your future is: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/harvard-sued-by-us-agency-seeking-records-anti-white-hiring-probe-2026-09-30/
USA TODAY
— Hegseth lashed out about transgender troops, disparaged diversity initiatives and criticized the news media in a speech to U.S. service members gathered at the Marine Corps Base Quantico.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/30/pete-hegseth-state-of-force-transgender-troops-dei/92024167007/
SPOKESMAN REVIEW
— DD: Since 2000, my critics/opponents have failed to defeat me as a DuPage County Milton Township Republican Precinct Committeeman (RPC). If I had sought to become a LIP (Live in Precinct) RPC or a LOOP (Live out of Precinct) RPC, I never would have been appointed because I am “too conservative,” that is, because I promote too many planks in the Republican Party platform.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/may/20/kootenai-county-gop-chairman-brent-regan-loses-pre/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— The Democratic ‘Affordability’ Ruse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnGn2EZWkcA
FORTUNE
— DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats a) who were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time and/or b) who had less education than I had, had less work experience than I had, had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had.
https://fortune.com/2026/09/30/board-diversity-is-decreasing-women-russell-3000-q2-reversal/
FORBES
— DD: My critics/opponents blame those who are conservative, White, male, older, heterosexual, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time for the problems that those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-rich, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who had not been in America for a long time have.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2022/08/25/avoiding-terms-like-white-privilege-is-a-horrible-anti-racism-strategyheres-why/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2022/08/16/dear-white-people-lets-clarify-white-privilege-once-and-for-all/
— Demographic Trends Swelling Appetite For Studio Apartments. DD: I bought a studio condo in 1974 and then a one bedroom condo in 1976 in the Outer Drive East building in downtown Chicago so that I could walk to/from a) my IRS job in the Loop and b) graduate evening business courses at Loyola and then graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffsteele/2026/09/28/demographic-trends-swelling-appetite-for-studio-apartments/
— What Seniority Means Now: How Leaders View Employee Tenure Today. DD: Seniority in the federal government brings with it many benefits including sick leave and annual leave. My Democrat IRS superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were furious that when I started as an IRS employee when I was 22 in 1971, I brought with me almost 3 years of full-time federal seniority that I had earned working part-time for the Post Office 1966-1969. My Democrat GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were even more furious that when I started as a GAO employee when I was 31 in 1980, I brought with me the aforesaid postal federal seniority plus almost 9 years of federal seniority that I had earned working for IRS. They were even further beyond furious when my federal seniority gave me the option to take early retirement wan I was 45 in 1993. But my having almost 30 years of federal seniority did not stop my Democrat GAO superiors from forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2026/05/12/what-seniority-means-now-how-leaders-view-employee-tenure-today/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In the not-too-distant past, most people imagined entire careers happening in one place, with employees putting in decades of work at a company, then leaving with a pension, a party and a plaque. Seniority, or the number of years spent with a single employer, was currency in the workplace, carrying real weight in decisions about pay, promotion and respect. Of course, that version of the working world has been, for better or worse, largely obsolete for some time. Professionals today often move frequently across different roles and organizations. While the concept of long-term loyalty to a single employer has become a more complicated proposition for everyone involved, the underlying need for recognition hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, it’s more important than ever for leaders to honor valued employees who choose to stay.)
INDEPENDENT VOTER NEWS
— Independent Voters Decide Elections. What Do They Get in Return? Independent voters have become a decisive force at the ballot box. The next question is whether that influence can translate into lasting political power. DD: Last week, to get out the vote for Republican candidates on the November 3, 2026 ballot in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton ( https://electionresults.dupagecounty.gov/election/PrecinctMaps/map50059.pdf ), I walked to the front doors of 370 residences in my precinct that have at least one registered Republican or Independent voter and delivered 370 DuPage County GOP-provided envelopes using 660 DuPage County Election Division-provided mailing labels that contained a) the outstanding Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO)-provided Voter Guide, b) the sample ballot ( https://electionresults.dupageco.org/election/ballots/2026/General/Milton%20059-0316-NP.PDF ), and c) campaign pieces from the 14 of the 18 Republican candidates on that ballot who provided MTRO with their campaign pieces. Those 370 envelopes contained 5,920 pieces: 5,180 campaign pieces (14X370), 370 Voter Guides, and 370 sample ballots. About 200 of those households were Republican and about 170 of those households were Independent. The 18 candidates on the ballot in my precinct are: Tracy, Bailey/Del Mar, Fioretti, Harris, Drew, Soloman, Oakley, Lewis, Vrankovich, Grasso, Noonan, Schiappa, Henry, Eckhoff, Michaud, Schultz, Quirk, and Helland.
https://ivn.us/independent-voters-decide-elections-what-do-they-get-in-return/
19TH NEWS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly destroy traditional marriage and family.
https://19thnews.org/2026/10/poll-gen-z-gender-gap/
CHALKBEAT
— Trump wants a new tax credit to turbocharge school choice. DD: My parents sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools. That put me on track to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/09/30/how-school-choice-federal-tax-credits-could-help-students-in-public-schools/
FED SMITH
— Decades of Seniority No Longer Guarantee RIF Survival Under OPM’s New Rules. OPM’s new RIF rules took effect September 2, ending “bump and retreat” and ranking federal employees by performance score. Here is what changed. DD: Ever since my Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, my critics/opponents have stressed the adverse actions that they had previously taken against me including a) forcing me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS in 1980, b) delaying my promotions to GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13 and making it clear that they would never promote me to GS-14, c) keeping me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, d) getting rid of the GAO manager in 1987 who had arranged my transfer from IRS in 1980 and was finally able to assign me to audits of IRS and to promote me to GS-13 in 1986, and e) always ranking me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance. They stressed that they had taken the aforesaid adverse actions against me notwithstanding my earning job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997, job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997, and a job-related professional license in 1981.
https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/09/10/decades-of-seniority-no-longer-guarantee-rif-survival-under-opms-new-rules/
PEW RESEARCH
— DD: Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, ever-increasingly, a) fewer and fewer and fewer in America will be American, conservative, Republican, White, male, older, heterosexual, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time and b) more and more and more in America will be noncitizen, liberal/moderate, Democrat, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, poor, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/23/most-americans-say-the-declining-share-of-white-people-in-the-u-s-is-neither-good-nor-bad-for-society/
NPR
— How Trump keeps undercutting his anti-communist message.
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5913363/how-trump-keeps-undercutting-his-anti-communist-message
FROM OTHER SOURCES
CHICAGO BOOTH
— Licensed CPAs. DD: I became a licensed CPA when I was 32 in 1981. I had worked for IRS for almost 9 years and then for GAO for more than a year. I had earned an MBA in 1976. I had passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979. I had earned a master’s degree in accounting in 1980. I had passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981. My Democrat GAO superiors were furious. My becoming a licensed CPA made it harder for them to waste my career and to get rid of me. None of my Democrat GAO coworkers who they wanted to promote over me had come close to doing what I had done.
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/have-we-been-overtraining-accountants
