Illinois Review

Di Leo: By Unanimous Vote, Delaware Set the Stage for Success

By John F. Di Leo -

Reflections on the anniversary of the first ratification convention’s conclusion…

On December 7, 1787, at Elizabeth Battel's Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover, Delaware, the state of Delaware became the first state to ratify the new Constitution of the United States, and did so by a unanimous vote of thirty to zero.

With such an auspicious beginning, we might think that national ratification would be a foregone conclusion, but ... no such luck.  As easy a decision as it was for some states, it was a very difficult one for others.

We think there are huge differences between the states today – and there are – but differences were just as great in the Founding era.  Until the War of Independence (in fact, for many, not until decades afterward), most Americans thought of themselves as Virginians, New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, etc., not as “Americans” at all.

Each colony had been an independent country, with its own direct relationship with England.  Most had little or no formal (or even commercial) relationship with their neighbors, until the 1760s, when the French and Indian War first forced them into a relationship of necessity, and then afterward, when British tyranny awakened the recognition that they had a shared cause, shared challenges, and a shared culture that had developed into something separate from what they shared with their Mother Country across the Pond.

Thorner: With socialism growing, what are our chances of making America great again?

By Nancy Thorner - 

It has become increasingly difficult to believe that the nation the Founders envisioned will even be remotely recognizable in a couple of decades down the road.

Even today, when you realize that so many of those elected to defend our constitution and our borders don’t care to defend either, and that even after eight years of Barack Obama’s spineless administration, the voters handed control of the House back to the Democrats, you begin to realize that the ignorance of the American voter and changing demographics both argue against a restoration of anything close to the ideal.

Will there be an Illinois GOP?

The Illinois Republican Party faces a dismal immediate future with no money, few volunteers and devastated morale.

As if the November 2018 loss of the governorship, all statewide offices, two key Congressional seats and a Democrat super majority in both Illinois legislative chambers weren't enough, the picture grows bleaker browsing further down the ballot. Once-Republican strongholds at the county board level were devastated in the Blue Tsunami. Democrats now either dominate or have gained substantial political power in the collar counties - even in longtime GOP safeplace DuPage County.

South suburban Bremen Township GOP held their annual Christmas Party Thursday night, and the mood was somber one month after the party's November disaster. The rank-and-file freely discussed their disgust with the party's leadership, the incumbent governor and the sad future of the state in which they've raised their children. Party member after member discussed exit plans from a state they had at one time intended to enjoy their golden years.

Democrat Policies Bring Destruction

Many Democrats are becoming more open about their socialist inclinations, although they still lie about socialism’s ability to make the world a better place.

Socialism kills. From the former Soviet Union to Cuba, from North Korea to Venezuela, everywhere socialism was implemented, it robbed people of their freedom and property, produced economic stagnation and misallocation of resources and resulted in millions of deaths, caused either directly or indirectly.

Despite this fact, in an interview in New York Magazine, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio pined for government control over everyone’s property –their homes, their businesses, everything, saying, “I think there’s a socialistic impulse … if I had my druthers, the city government would determine every single plot of land, how development would proceed.” Because that’s brought such happiness, prosperity, and better living conditions to the people of Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela.

More HERE

Prison Reform: A place for the Left and Right to meet?

ELGIN - Chicago area native Mark Vargas is working with national powerhouses - including President Donald Trump - to reform the nation's federal prison system. In addition to a recent piece for Illinois Review, Vargas wrote the following in a Washington Examiner piece:

Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, the discussion about prison and sentencing reform is back on the table.  . . . The First Step Act, which passed the House of Representatives back in May with overwhelming bipartisan support, is a big step in bringing about reform. It’s now time for the Senate to act and pass this historic piece of legislation so that the president can sign it.

Soros’ Fake News Smokescreen

The Left knows they can’t convince a free people to give up their freedom and prosperity for the failed doctrines of socialism. That is why they so desperately try to prevent conservatives from even speaking on the nation’s campuses.

Badly confused billionaire George Soros has tried to work with President Obama to extend the same brown shirt tactics from America’s colleges and universities to the Internet. The Internet originally grew out of the U.S. Defense Department and National Science Foundation. It functions today as a collaborative institution operated primarily by private companies and investors, under a generally agreed U.S. led rubric of liberalism and free speech, enabling commercial innovation and initiative.

More HERE

Teaching Americans to Despise America

Recent indications are that younger citizens don't think — or know — much of their own country.

“Congratulations to the leftists who’ve taken over the nation’s public education system. They’re now producing generations of Americans who know little about their own country, other than that they hate it.” —editorial, Investor’s Business Daily

Investor’s Business Daily is referring to the latest YouGov poll conducted by the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLAG). It questioned 1,078 Americans aged 14 and up about their knowledge of America’s history, institutions and patriotism, and one suspects most Patriot Post readers know where this is going. Like this writer, regular readers at this site are beginning to realize that younger generations of Americans increasingly see us all as anachronistic pariahs with wholly illegitimate values that must be “fundamentally transformed” — out of existence. The idea expressed by John Adams that our Constitution “was made only for a moral and religious people” and is “wholly inadequate to the government of any other” no longer resonates.

Today, morality is “relative,” religion is for “bitter clingers,” and it’s likely a majority of young Americans have never heard of John Adams. Older generations of Americans have been reduced to being proverbial keepers of the flame, hoping this nation can outlast the tsunami of orchestrated ignorance so all-encompassing that even “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is cannon-fodder for the terminally offended.

Thus, the survey’s key findings are completely unsurprising:

• Half of those surveyed believe the United States is sexist (50%) and racist (49%)
• 46% of younger Americans do not agree that “America is the greatest country in the world”
• 38% of younger Americans do not agree that “America has a history that we should be proud of”
• One in eight (14%) of Millennials agree that “America was never a great country and it never will be”
• 46% of younger Americans agree that “America is more racist than other countries”
• 84% of Americans do not know the specific rights enumerated in the First Amendment
• 19% of Millennials believe that the American flag is “a sign of intolerance and hatred”
• 44% of younger Americans believe Barack Obama had a “bigger impact” on America than George Washington

More HERE

A Simple Page-Per-Year Formula Could Increase Students’ Ability to Read, Write, and Think

The never-ending quest for a magic formula to educate all children brings to mind this lyrical lament from a 1980 Johnny Lee country tune: “I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.

Rarely does anything loveable, or even merely useful, come from wandering the maze of government agencies, huge foundations, textbook publishers, and assorted ed-tech or pedagogical soothsayers. A review of a century’s worth of grandiose schemes, designs, and boondoggles—Common Core being the latest—would be hard-pressed to identify more than a few that have succeeded.

By contrast, a spark of inspiration for helping children can emanate from an individual who has no institutional axe to grind and is willing to sacrifice for the cause.

More HERE

Here’s What Opponents of Criminal Justice Reform Get Wrong

The real story on whether prison reform can work. Critics of the prison and sentencing reforms in the First Step Act are echoing a claim, attributed to sociologist Robert Martinson, that when it comes to reducing recidivism among prison inmates, nothing works. As John-Michael Seibler writes, the critics are missing the full story of Martinson’s research:

Martinson’s survey hoped to shed light on what actually worked, but it was so full of “methodological complications”—as Martinson himself wrote in a 1974 essay titled “What Works? Questions and Answers about Prison Reform“—that “one cannot be certain how stable and reliable the various findings are.”

The farm bill: On SNAP, Congress chooses welfare over work once again

Missing a chance to help millions out of poverty. Robert Doar writes:

The last time unemployment was as low as it is now, in 2000, about 6 percent of the American population was on SNAP. And even though SNAP enrollment has declined since its peak in 2013, the enrollment rate (11.9 percent) is still nearly twice what it was 18 years ago. The traditional relationship between unemployment and SNAP enrollment, which tracked very closely between the advent of food stamps and the Great Recession, has not been restored. And labor force participation among working-age adults is still two percentage points lower than it was in 2000.

There are still between 7 and 9 million SNAP recipients who are capable of work and are telling SNAP administrators that they have no earnings. Passing the farm bill without any movement toward encouraging work among this group means that we may be missing the best chance we will have in years to get millions of Americans into earnings and out of poverty.

[Robert Doar, “The Farm Bill: On SNAP, Congress Chooses Welfare over Work Once Again,” American Enterprise Institute, November 30]

New Study Proves Myth of Gender 'Wage' Gap

Mainstream media headlines exploded with predictable outrage Thursday, reporting on the findings from another study on the popular gender “wage gap” trope. NBC News declared “Gender pay gap is worse than thought: Study shows women actually earn half the income of men.” Reuters headlined, “U.S. women earn half the income of men, new study finds.” But that far-Left rag known as Jezebel took the cake for the most emotionally unhinged headline: “The Gender Pay Gap Is Way More F—ed Than You Thought.”

The study was released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and entitled “Still a Man’s Labor Market.” Such language is clearly contrived to continue promoting the myth that women are suffering sexist wage discrimination due to a misogynistic economic and western cultural system better known as the “patriarchy.” The study highlights seemingly damning statics such as this: “Women today earn just 49 cents to the typical men’s dollar, much less than the 80 cents usually reported.”

Illinois conservatives demand new IL GOP leadership

Illinois Conservative Union calls for IL GOP State Chairman Tim Schneider to resign

CAROL STREAM – Despite the Illinois Republican Party meeting for the first time since a "blue tsunami" hit Illinois in the mid-term elections, no dramatic changes in leadership or strategy for 2020 emerged last Saturday - stripping all the state's non-Democrats of any hope for substantial political recovery in the near future.

The Illinois Conservative Union (ICU) isn't giving up on the IL GOP without a fight, however. This week, the ICU's leadership called for the IL GOP state chairman Tim Schneider to step down. To the base of the Party – Conservatives who stand firmly on the adopted Republican Party platform – the causes of the November 6th election losses are abundantly clear, the group said in a statement.

"Party leadership made no attempt to unify the Party, failed to support good candidates and failed to effectively communicate to voters the principles of the Republican Party," the group said. "Due to this failure of leadership and lack of accepting any responsibility for the losses, Illinois Conservative Union (ICU) calls for Tim Schneider to step down from his position as Chairman."

Party leadership is simply out of touch with mainstream Republicans - and obviously have no intention of developing all-important connections to the base, the group says.

“It’s obvious that some of those in Party leadership are out-of-touch with mainstream grassroots Republicans. The grassroots want leadership to support the Party platform; support candidates approved by the Party base—not those hand-picked by leadership; support and defend the Constitution of the United States and support the policies of the President”, said Babette Holder-Youngberg, Communications Director for ICU.

State Rep. Jeanne Ives, who came within three points of ousting incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner in the 2018 IL GOP primary, agreed with the ICU statement. She said the activists in the conservative wing of the IL GOP has been ignored and dismissed for far too long.

“They [IL GOP leadership] need to know we will work with them and be a force multiplier or we will work around them, but we are the workers in the Party, from every corner of the state,” said Jeanne Ives, Senior Fellow, ICU.

Coming Friday - Illinois Review reports on the future of the Illinois Republican Party after speaking with members of the State Central Committee.

St. Clair and Madison Counties rank #8 among nation's worst 10 lawsuit centers

Litigation about whether products were indeed "all natural" or falsely advertised as such kicked two Illinois metro-east counties up into the nation's 10 worst lawsuit centers for 2018.  This week, the American Tort Reform Foundation released its annual Judicial Hellholes report and named Illinois' Madison and St. Clair Counties together as the Number 8 "Judicial Hellhole" in the U.S.

Madison and St. Clair Counties earned their way to the No. 8 spot due to frivolous “no-injury” consumer class actions, asbestos litigation and judges allowing forum shopping, the group says. "The two Illinois counties house a powerful trial bar and are notorious for their disproportionate volume of litigation and large verdicts," a press statement from ATRF announced. "Excessive tort costs in Illinois result in $4.5 billion in annual direct costs and 81,685 jobs lost annually, according to a recent study."

The large volume of litigation in these counties’ courts includes no-injury consumer class action lawsuits challenging how food is labeled and advertised, such as whether a product qualifies as “all natural.” St. Clair County has been a magnet for these lawsuits – the Nelson & Nelson law firm has filed 21 such cases asserting that products ranging from cake mix to barbeque sauce are not sufficiently natural.

Thorner/Ingold: GM, a victim of success

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

The GM announced closing affects one of the last industrial anchors in what was once Ohio’s manufacturing core, the city of Youngstown.  Youngstown is now on life support as Youngstown is one of the five plants GM wants to close just a little over a year after President Donald Trump told people not to leave and promised jobs would return to the area.  The assembly plant near Youngstown is for small car production. In a sense, GM is a victim of success, only not their own.

Racial Discrimination in College Admissions

Danielle D'Souza Gill explains an incredible racial discrimination scandal at Harvard University that the mainstream media is largely ignoring.

The Religion of Leftism

Over the last decade, America has moved drastically to the left. Not only are more people on the left than ever before, the left is further left than it’s ever been. This radical brand of progressivism has come to be known as “leftism”—an extreme yet increasingly dominant segment of the political spectrum.

At the same time, America has grown more secular. According to Pew, “religious nones” are rapidly growing in number. These “nones” are most concentrated among millennials: 36% of millennials are religiously unaffiliated. Millennials happen to also be America’s most politically progressive generation.

This probably isn’t a coincidence, especially since the same trends have occurred in a similar way in other parts of the world, such as Europe. While correlation doesn’t prove causation, politics and religion are so closely related that it’s hard to believe the simultaneous popularization of extreme leftism and secularism is insignificant.

More HERE

Why Does America Spend So Much on Israel?

With so much that must be done at home in the United States, why does America send so much of its resources to Israel? It’s a fair question, but according to U.S. Gen Chuck Wald, America doesn’t spend enough on Israel. Watch to understand why.

Obama-Era Holdovers and the Climate Report

Obama-era deep-state bureaucrats have issued a dubious climate report that warns of imminent devastation from global warming. The report presents discredited assertions from environmental activist groups as “evidence” to support its findings, as well as predictions of temperature change and extreme weather events that have already been contradicted by real-world data.

More HERE

How to Solve Illegal Immigration: Build the Wall

The migrant caravan has reached the U.S. border. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem. Can America solve its illegal immigration problem both justly and humanely? Yes, but it requires first building a border wall. Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Krauthammer explains why - may he rest in peace.

Trump Administration Gives States New Ways to Rewrite Obamacare

The Trump administration released new guidance for states on Thursday that would undermine major tenets of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or so-called Obamacare, President Obama's signature health reform law, according to Governing.com.

Illinois Supreme Court rules in favor of state workers' union officials

SPRINGFIELD - Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court in favor of a perk that benefits only government employees that work for their unions. It will cost Illinois taxpayers millions.

The Illinois Policy Institute explains:

Pension benefits are typically calculated as a percentage of a retiree’s government salary near the end of employment, with a higher percentage of salary granted based on years of service. But for certain retired Chicago union leaders, their pensions will instead be based on their union salaries, which were higher than what they earned in their positions with their government employers. As a result, their pensions will be nearly three times higher than the typical retired city worker, according to a 2011 report from the Chicago Tribune.

The Tribune estimated the cost of 23 such pensions at $56 million.

Since the city of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Education are not responsible for setting union salaries, the resulting higher pension costs were ultimately unpredictable for public officials and taxpayers alike. The General Assembly effectively outsourced responsibility for setting public pension benefits to a nongovernmental third party: unions.

More HERE.

Study Provides Further Evidence that Marijuana Is a Gateway Drug

A new study looking at alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among adolescents gives some interesting and helpful conclusions. Well, helpful conclusions if people will be willing to remove their cultural blinders concerning marijuana. Since the politically and culturally popular thing to do is to extol the virtues of the recreational use of marijuana, the study's sharp gateway-drug implications will most likely be a warning that is derided and unheeded.

Frankly, I don't really care if people smoke weed or not. To be clear, if asked, I'll warn against it. What bugs me, though, is that many who do choose to smoke weed deceive themselves (and others) about marijuana's potential for harm.

More HERE

U.S. Dept of Education Offers Positive View on Homeschooling

During the final year of the Obama administration, U.S Secretary of Education John King took a nasty swipe at homeschoolers in what more than a few analysts viewed as the potential start of an attempted crackdown on educational liberty. By contrast, this month, the U.S. Department of Education used its official blog to highlight a successful Christian homeschooling family that thinks everyone should know their options.

Hopefully it is a sign of more positive changes to come at the far-left bureaucracy that has helped lead the way in destroying American education, culture, and morality for generations. But there is always a risk that the feds could be seeking to warm up to homeschoolers — even offering tax money and other perks as part of a “School Choice” model — as a means to achieving the longtime establishment goal of controlling them.

More HERE

White House Asks Supreme Court To Fast-Track Ruling On Transgender Military Ban

The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Friday to bypass lower courts and rule quickly on its ban of most transgender military members.

It's not the first time that the administration has asked the Supreme Court to intercede in the appeals process. In January, it petitioned the Supreme Court to fast-track cases challenging the Trump administration's plans to end DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The federal program protects young immigrants from deportation. That request was denied — but just weeks ago, the Justice Department asked again.

For a case to bypass lower courts, it must be of "imperative public importance" — important enough to warrant a change in the process it's reviewed by appellate courts, and important enough "to require immediate determination in this court," according to Supreme Court rules.

More HERE

The WTO and the China Challenge

Can the WTO be used to address the areas where Chinese compliance continues to lag? Might the U.S. make better use of the WTO in the current U.S.–China trade impasse? Are there areas where the WTO can be reformed to better address challenges raised by China’s state-led economic model? A former chief judge at the WTO and two representatives of the American business community addressed an audience at The Heritage Foundation on September 26, 2018, to explain some of the complexities of the issues, and suggest how to navigate the road ahead. (Click here to read more)

New petition drive calls for Kifowit resignation

CHICAGO - After an outburst on the Illinois House floor this week that ended with Democrat House member Stephanie Kifowit suggesting she would create a disease-ridden concoction that would cause State Rep. Peter Breen's "loved one" to suffer and die, Illinois Review asked Facebook readers if Kifowit should resign. 94% said she should resign. 

Illinois Citizens for Ethics is not willing to overlook Kifowit's actions. This week, they're calling on House Speaker Michael Madigan and the Democratic Party of Illinois to demand Kifowit's resignation. They created a website "Kifowit-is-unfit.com" reviewing the floor debate video and asking for signatures of those that join their call for her resignation.

Di Leo: Perfect Timing for Corrections in International Trade

By John F. Di Leo - 

Reflections on the latest summit in the southern hemisphere…

The heads of state of the USA, Mexico and Canada signed the new NAFTA 2.0 – the USMCA – early Friday morning in Buenos Aires, as they prepared to meet with more world leaders for the latest G-20 summit.   But despite that happy signing ceremony, it’s the rougher aspects of the trade wars of 2018 that weigh heavily on everyone’s mind.

Some would assume that these trade wars are all of Donald Trump’s making, but they would be mistaken. 

• Great Britain’s challenges in extricating itself from the European Union are of Brussels’ making.
• The American loss of much of our manufacturing, especially of steel but not remotely entirely of steel, is of the making of 50 years of union-and-statist American burdens.
• The flaws in existing free trade agreements are of their original negotiators’ making.
• And our special challenges with Mainland China today, as we lead the effort to try to reclaim the world’s manufacturing from a single country bound and determined to dominate the world economy, have too many causes to list (though that list must begin with American capitulations in the 1970s).

Two quiet issues – barely addressed in the news media on this side of the Pond – are the questions of whether the USA and Great Britain will manage to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement, and whether the USA and the European Union will do so as well.

Brinkman: The Rise and Decline of Illinois' once-dependable DuPage Republican Party

Pate Philip behind Everett Dirksen during DuPage County GOP's 1960's rise (Illinois.gov)

By Daniel Brinkman - 

It was the mid 1970s and a young Nancy Louise serving as regional patronage chief for the Illinois Republican Party heard from one of her co-workers that there was a county chairman way up in DuPage who had events that drew crowds of over 3,000 paid attendees. She naturally didn’t believe it and needed to see for herself. As she rode up Route 59 about a quarter of a mile from the venue, she saw a line of people patiently waiting to get into the event. One of the finest political organizations in the country was getting its start. Little did she then know, she would eventually become Mrs. James “Pate” Philip and be at the center of this massive enterprise he was well on his way to putting together.

DuPage would eventually rise to be the second largest Republican County in the United States. On the day he retired as the last Republican in this State to lead one of its legislative chambers, Pate received a call from then President George W Bush asking him to stay on a little longer as DuPage GOP Chair. Such was the stature and regard this bastion of Republicanism was held in.

Time for new conservative leadership as abortion numbers climb higher in Illinois

CHICAGO – New abortion stats emerged this week, showing Illinois' numbers rising to nearly 40,000 annually.

Not only are more expectant mothers coming into Illinois to abort their babies because their states are passing more and more restrictions on abortions,  Illinois taxpayers began picking up the tab for Medicaid abortions last year. The numbers are certain to be higher in 2018.

Abortion advocates celebrated by calling Illinois a "reproductive rights haven." 

What Are Association Health Plans?

Health care is one of the biggest concerns for most Americans, yet many are unaware of the benefits of one of the most useful health options available: Association Health Plans. The Department of Labor may soon allow small business to participate in these health plans. What will this mean for you? Watch the video from Job Creators Network to find out!

The intellectual maverick behind Brazil’s conservative wave

The recent victory of the conservative populist Jair Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential elections brought the name of the philosopher Olavo de Carvalho to the center of Brazilian political debate. Many have since stated that Carvalho is an intellectual precursor to the populist candidate – as someone who was able to reshape the Brazilian political discussion in ways that cleared an intellectual path for Bolsonaro’s electoral victory. It is not a coincidence that when Bolsonaro gave his victory speech, Carvalho’s best-selling book The Minimum You Need to Know not to be an Idiot (2013), was in plain sight.

Carvalho’s influence over the Brazilian new right is indubitable. Many of his disciples supported Bolsonaro since the beginning. Some of them were elected to the Congress in the conservative wave that shifted Brazilian politics. So how was Carvalho able to provide public debate in ways that helped bring Bolsonaro to power?

First and foremost, Carvalho provided a political philosophy capable of structuring conservative ideas in ways that undermined the intellectual hegemony of the left.

More HERE

Thorner: Lying protects doomed-to-fail system of Globalists

By Nancy Thorner - 

A New York Times commentary published on November 21, 2018 by Turkish professional moderate Mustafa Akyol proclaimed that True Islam Does Not Kill Blasphemers. It's unlikely that anyone laughed upon reading the headline, because people who know the truth and care about the truth are unlikely to be subscribers to the New York Times

In response to Mustafa Akyol's apologetic New York Times Islam article, The Washington Standard on November 27 had this suggestion for Akyol:

Here is a quick test of whether what Mustafa Akyol says is true or not: let him go to Pakistan, or Iran, or Afghanistan, or Saudi Arabia, or Somalia, or Sudan, or any other country that implements Islamic law, and tell the Islamic authorities there that true Islam does not kill blasphemers.

EU Risks Dangerous Blowback by Undermining Iran Sanctions

Europe wants to help an enemy. Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China are working on creating a “Special Purpose Vehicle” that would facilitate trade between Iran and other states and avoid U.S. sanctions. It will work only to feed Iran’s ambitions, writes James Phillips:

By colluding with Russia and China to evade U.S. sanctions, the EU seeks to appease Iran, keep it in the flawed 2015 nuclear deal , and deliver a symbolic diplomatic slap to the Trump administration.

But the SVP [Special Purpose Vehicle] and other measures such as EU’s updated Blocking Statute are not likely to meet Iran’s demands for remaining in the nuclear agreement. These measures may marginally reduce the impact of U.S. sanctions on trade, but they will not satisfy Tehran’s need for substantial foreign investment and technology transfer.

Why Poor People in the Freest Nations Have Incomes 8x Higher Than Poor People in the Least Free

More economic freedom, more democracy. Evangelos Andreou:

The Democracy Index is an annual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit that ranks 167 countries according to their commitment to democratic values such as electoral process, pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture.

Out of those 167 countries, only 19 countries are classified as “full democracies,” most of which are found among the top 30 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World Report (with the exception of Sweden and Iceland, which rank 43th and 59th respectively and are both still market-oriented economies with strong rule of law). This correlation works both ways: Most authoritarian countries (with the exception of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) are also economically unfree, belonging either in the third or fourth economic freedom quartile. So, sorry friends of the left: greater economic freedom is empirically associated with more political rights and civil liberties, and vice versa.

State Rep. Breen responds to Democrat colleague's "sincere apology" for death wish

SPRINGFIELD - Wednesday, Democrat State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit personally and publicly issued an explanation of her comments on the State House floor Tuesday, in which she wished death upon State Rep. Peter Breen's family.

Despite calls for her resignation, censuring and/or dissent, Kifowit responded with a "sincere apology" after saying Tuesday evening that her words had been misconstrued.

Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady paints blue skies over State Capitol in upcoming session

SPRINGFIELD - Despite Republican lawmakers losing an historical number of seats to Democrat majorities in the Illinois Senate and House during nasty campaigns, Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady said he anticipates being able to work on several efforts in the upcoming legislative session. 

In an interview with WGN radio's Steve Cochran, Brady said "Our work is to work with the Democrats, to work with Governor Pritzker to make whatever policies we can work on together for the people of Illinois."

Brady said he was not surprised so many of Governor Rauner's bill vetoes are being overridden this week - and in many cases, Republicans are voting with the Democrats to overrule the governor's stance on legislation.

Why would that happen? Cochran asked. 

Bill was careful with his wording.

Nativity scene returns to IL State Capitol

SPRINGFIELD - Since 2007, every year a group of Springfield residents has organized and funded a nativity scene to be displayed in the Illinois State Capitol's rotunda. The Springfield Nativity Scene Committee, founded by the late Daniel Zanoza, celebrated the season's start at the Capitol Wednesday.

Local pastors, activists and state lawmakers participated in the annual ceremony. Thomas Brejcha, an attorney with the Thomas More Society that has represented the committee over the years and fought for their right to display the nativity scene, expressed his thoughts about the legalities of the display.

Chicago's Thomas More Society appeals to US Supreme Court in defense of prolife journalist's 1st Amendment rights

CHICAGO - Chicago's Thomas More Society responded Wednesday to the Ninth Circuit Federal Court refusing to dismiss Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against videographer David Dalieden. According to a press release, the non-profit legal group is appealing to the US Supreme Court on behalf of Dalieden's First Amendment rights. 

Attorneys from the Thomas More Society asked the United States Supreme Court to review a decision of the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals that denied their motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood against pro-life videographer David Daleiden. Daleiden is the 29-year-old undercover journalist who exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of aborted babies’ body parts, who now finds himself under attack by Planned Parenthood and much of the abortion industry.

The Thomas More Society is asking the high court to apply California’s Anti-SLAPP statute to dismiss Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit and vindicate Dalieden. The statute gives defendants the ability to quickly end Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, known as “SLAPP” lawsuits.

Thorner: Deep State cancer thrives unchecked at federal levels

By Nancy Thorner -

The idea that a "Deep State" exists inside the federal government rose to prominence during the first 100 days of President Trump's administration. An ABC News/Washington Post poll of 2017 showed that nearly half the people in America believe a Deep State — defined as “military, intelligence and government officials who try to secretly manipulate government policy” — is working behind the facade of the constitutional U.S. government.

Although to many a reference to the Deep State is of recent origin, this is far from new. Upon realizing the special status of people who are mainly anonymous and for whom it is nearly impossible to fire, it becomes inevitable that a cancer would metastasize in the shadows, free from the sunshine’s power as a disinfectant.

UPDATE x1: Democrat lawmaker wishes death upon GOP colleague's family in House floor debate

UPDATE x1: Rep. Kifowit apologizes ... (See below)

SPRINGFIELD - During a heated discussion on the Illinois House floor Tuesday, Democrat State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit said she'd like to make a "broth of Legionella" to serve Republican House floor leader Peter Breen's "loved one."

Kifowit's comment sparked heated reaction from Breen's colleagues, in addition to IL GOP State Chairman Tim Schneider calling for Kifowit's resignation Tuesday night. 

"Today, Illinois Democrats sunk to a new low, when Democratic State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit wished death upon family members/loved ones of her Republican colleague, State Rep. Peter Breen. Kifowit should be ashamed of her remarks," Schneider said. "Since Rep. Kifowit has refused to apologize to Rep. Breen, she should resign from office, as these remarks are unfit for someone serving  public office."

Gender Pay Gap at Uber? Nope

Since when did gender equality mean that women should fall to the level of men in working long hours, and pursue money at the risks of speeding and picking drivers up in questionable locations?

In a recent article, Cody Cook, et al. examine a detailed dataset covering more than a million Uber drivers. While the difference in earnings by gender among Uber drivers is large, “we are able to completely explain the pay gap with three main factors related to driver preferences and learning: returns to experience, a pay premium for faster driving, and preferences for where to drive.” p. 39

More HERE

California’s Forest Fire Tragedy

How environmental laws turned forests into tinderboxes. Richard Epstein writes:

 [The National Environmental Policy Act] was originally conceived as a device to encourage collaboration among government officials and various public and private groups to achieve its ends. But in 1971, Judge J. Skelly Wright of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals added a new dimension to the equation in Calvert Cliffs’ Coordinating Committee v. United States Atomic Energy Commission, which held that, in light of NEPA’s strong environmental mission, any private party could bring an action in federal court to review any administrative approval of a proposed project. He then celebrated this development in no uncertain terms: “These cases are only the beginning of what promises to become a flood of new litigation—litigation seeking judicial assistance in protecting our natural environment.”

Declines in Adolescent Smoking Accelerated As Vaping Rose, Suggesting the FDA's Campaign Is Fatally Misguided

Anti-vaping policy may undermine anti-smoking efforts. Jacob Sullum writes:

In the midst of a federal campaign against underage vaping, a new study finds that downward trends in smoking among teenagers and young adults accelerated as e-cigarette use rose. The findings, based on data from five national surveys, suggest that the official panic about the “epidemic” of e-cigarette use by minors, which has led to restrictions that affect adult access to vaping products and government-sponsored propaganda that exaggerates their hazards, is fatally misguided.

Midterms Killed Obamacare Repeal

In the wake of the 2018 midterm elections, the future direction of health care policy in the United States remains at the forefront of the political landscape, with Obamacare sure to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Exit polls consistently showed health care was the number-one issue on voters’ minds, indicating the topic will be debated widely for the next two years. Citizens and lawmakers will be focusing on issues such as Medicaid expansion and work requirements, the Trump administration’s reforms providing alternatives to Obamacare, proposed changes to Medicare drug pricing processes, and the Democrats’ push for socialized health care.

More HERE

From $15 per hour minimum wage to DACA support, women's group announces legislative priorities for 2019 session

SPRINGFIELD - With Democrats in total control of Illinois' three branches of state government, the leftist group "Women Employed" published their top priorities for Governor-Elect JB Pritzker to sign into law. In many cases, they seek the same legislation Republican Governor Bruce Rauner resisted over the past four years. 

The group's list of demands - from a $15 per hour minimum wage statewide to support for DACA recipients - will weigh heavily on Illinois business owners already paying some of the nation's highest property taxes. 

Women Employed expect to participate in enacting with a Democrat super majority in the Illinois House and Senate, and a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion the following:

Opinion: Why criminal justice reform is uniting our country

By Mark Vargas - 

Criminal justice reform is not a conservative issue or a liberal issue – it’s an American issue. In fact, a majority of Americans – Republicans and Democrats alike – overwhelming support prison and sentencing reforms. Here’s why.

Did you know that the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world? Think about that. The U.S. incarcerates more people than North Korea, Russia, Venezuela and Iran combined.

Did you know that hard-working taxpayers pay $40 billion annually to keep inmates in prison?

Thorner: Global warming or global cooling? Which crisis is upon us?

By Nancy Thorner - 

In something that sounds out of science fiction, an article dated November 23, 2018, spoke about how Harvard and Yale scientists are proposing dimming the sun as a way to tackle climate change.  The method would involve spraying sun-dimming chemicals into the Earth's atmosphere.   

But what is the real story about "climate change"?  Professor Valentina Zharkova broke her silence on November 6, 2018, with remarks at the Global Warming Policy Foundation in October 2018:

“Zharkova was one of the few that correctly predicted solar cycle 24 would be weaker than cycle 23 — only 2 out of 150 models predicted this.  Her models have run at a 93% accuracy and her findings suggest a Super Grand Solar Minimum is on the cards beginning 2020 and running for 350-400 years. The last time we had a little ice age only two magnetic fields of the sun went out of phase. This time, all four magnetic fields are going out of phase.”

We should be preparing for the worst weather in centuries -- not global warming, but global cooling.

Chicago's DePaul Univ. course examines social media and 'attacks on women and queer people'

DePaul University will offer a course, titled, "Sex, Gender, and Social Media" during the winter quarter.

The course will examine how social media serves as a new outlet through which people can launch “public attacks on women and queer people.”

More HERE

Election Slaughter for Climate Activism

This month, voters throughout the country inflicted a bloodbath on climate activism and climate-activist political candidates.  Voters rejected the two highest-profile climate-activist ballot initiatives, severely punished Republicans who joined the congressional Climate Solutions Caucus, and sent home the Democratic climate activist most heavily supported by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.

More HERE

Don’t Blame Climate Change For California’s Fires

Irrational environmentalism caused California’s environmental disaster.Chuck DeVore writes:

Much of California’s southern coast is covered by brush known as chaparral. As the Wikipedia entry on chaparral correctly notes: “In its natural state, chaparral is characterized by infrequent fires, with intervals ranging between 10–15 years and over a hundred years … These plants are highly flammable during the late summer and autumn months when conditions are characteristically hot and dry.” [...]