Illinois Review

Minimum wage hike: How much are Illinoisans willing to pay for pizza?

SPRINGFIELD - Democrat lawmakers that hold all the power to pass or not pass a statewide minimum wage hike will determine whether or not struggling southern Illinois businesses suffer more and downstaters face deeper job layoffs.

"I'm scared," said Mike Monseur, who owns restaurants in Springfield including Godfathers Pizza and Dew Chilli Parlor. "I'm scared for my company, staff and the future of my community and state. How much will people be willing to pay for a pizza? I can only raise my prices so much before people stop buying my product. Many businesses like mine will be forced to turn out the lights."

During a press conference at the Capitol Monday, business owners and operators from across Illinois warned of layoffs, higher prices for consumers and the possibility of moving jobs out of state if legislation is enacted to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Judicial Watch: El Paso still a major terrorist, opioid and meth hub

EL PASO - The Texas town of El Paso will be in the spotlight Monday night when President Trump visits the southern border town to discuss the issues that emphasize the need for high levels of security. 

The legal group Judicial Watch released a statement Monday saying El Paso is not only a dangerous opiod and meth hub, it is at the center of terrorist traffic. JW's statement:

Beckman: Death culture's ultimate goal? Ridding the world of "undesirables"

Carrie & mother Emma Buck deemed "imbeciles," "sexually promiscuous" in Virginia

By Hank Beckman - 

Seymour Glass, eldest child in J.D. Salinger's fictional family of mid-twentieth century Manhattan intellectuals, once told a radio audience that if an honest man had to say anything on the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the thousands of casualties it produced, he "should simply have come forward and shaken his fist" and walked off the stage.

It’s pretty hard to completely accept Seymour’s argument on the defining battle of the Civil War, although any reasonable person can understand lamenting the loss of human life. But after all, the war did end slavery, an institution that also claimed its share of lives.

But thanks to rhetoric and actions taken by our progressive friends and their current views regarding the value of life, I’ve recently become familiar with the fist-shaking impulse.

Thorner/O'Neil: Blame the mainstream media for its own demise

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

The effectiveness and ultimate impact leaders have on a society are difficult to discern during the time of their service. For instance, serious mistakes were made during President Obama’s administration. The more obvious examples were the tragedy in Benghazi that resulted in the death of our Ambassador and several brave Americans who tried to rescue him; an American border agent murdered during the "Fast & Furious” program; the I.R.S. scandal that identified inconsistencies in the agency's timely responses to Republican applications verses those of Democrats; the AP wiretaps; the Secret Service scandal; and a dozen or more less serious Obama-related infractions that received little publicity. Surprisingly, however, the mainstream media rarely attributed the blame for any of the above mistakes on President Obama.

Rossi: China Loves the Dem’s “Green New Deal”

By Randy Rossi - 

Anybody living in the “Real World” knows that China has a formal plan to dominate the global economy by knocking the US off the top by 2030. In order to accomplish this, our own government reports that China steals $500 billion a year in US commercial and defense technology to defeat us. In addition, they have stolen millions of US jobs by putting US companies out of business by selling below cost using Chinese government subsidies.

Study: Cannabis causes lower grades among students

A new study reveals that cannabis legalisation leads to lower grades and lower academic interest for students.

The research found that grades at Washington Western University declined after Washington became the first US state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012.

In 2018 there were 528 marijuana retailers in Washington – one supplier for every 1.4 Starbucks in the state.

More HERE

Green New Deal Would Crush Liberal Values

Forget about diversity and localism. Chris Edwards writes:

A contradiction in left-wing politics for decades has been the professed support of community, diversity, localism, and democracy on the one hand with the advocacy of federal power to address society’s ills on the other. The Green New Deal (GND) issued by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and co-sponsors illustrates the contradiction in spades.

The proposed scope of new federal authority under the GND is remarkable. The plan demands a “national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II” and a “10-year national mobilization.’’ The use of the war-like “mobilization” is particularly aggressive when talking about peacetime domestic policymaking.

The 10 Most Insane Requirements Of The Green New Deal

What’s in the Green New Deal? David Harsanyi provides some details of the ambitious plan released this week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.):

Deputy Governor's report blames Rauner for state's poor fiscal condition

CHICAGO - A report on Deputy Governor Daniel Hynes' findings released Thursday about the state's budget blames former Governor Bruce Rauner for Illinois' poor financial condition. The report - distributed by Governor JB Pritzker's office - itself is named "Digging Out: The Rauner Wreckage Report" lines out specific ways Rauner's Ideology and politics worked against the state.

"Four years of failure and ideological warfare in Illinois state government created a mess that will take years to put behind us," Hynes' said in the opening paragraph of the report. "Many of the worst consequences are well-known: more than $1 billion in interest penalties, the decimation of human service providers, college enrollment that dropped by more than 70,000 students, and universities in jeopardy of losing their accreditation.

Blaming Charlottesville on Trump is "extreme nonsense"

Niger Innis (Wikipedia)

The topic of Freedom Journal Institute's "Racism in America" event on March 19th will be addressed by some of the nation's most powerful black conservatives, including Alveda King and Niger Innis. 

This week, Niger Innis addressed the Left constantly referring to Charlottesville to substantiate their accusations that President Trump is racist. 

Innis said the "pinning Charlottesville on Trump is "pure politics," and "extreme nonsense" in a piece featured in Lifezette. 

Where’s Weyermuller? At the 1st Televised Chicago Mayoral Forum

By Mark Weyermuller -

Thursday night I attended the 1st televised mayoral forum at the Union League in Chicago. It was hosted by the Lincoln Forum and shown live on Fox 32 TV. Mike Flannery was the moderator with the top five candidates participating based on several recent polls. The room had about 200 people as a live studio audience.

State rep calls for Chicago to be 51st State

SPRINGFIELD - Thursday, State Rep Brad Halbrook , with the support of his downstate colleagues Chris Miller and Darren Bailey introduced HR 101, suggesting that Illinois split into two states between the City of Chicago and the rest of the state - making Chicago the 51st state.

The resolution's wording is as follows:

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is often regarded as having two distinct regions, the City of Chicago and downstate Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Even communities north of Chicago are considered "downstate" because they have more in common with rural southern and central Illinois counties than they do with the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, The divide between the City of Chicago and downstate Illinois is frequently manifested in electoral results such as the 2010 gubernatorial election in which the Democrat candidate won the election despite only carrying four counties out of 102 counties, and, in fact, did not need to carry any other counties to win because of the margin of victory in Chicago and Cook County; and

Senate moves to hike state minimum wage to $15

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Senate quickly passed SB 1 Thursday - a measure that would hike Illinois' minimum wage to $15 from its current $8.25 an hour. The measure passed the Illinois Senate along party lines - Democrats "yes," Republicans "no." 

Within minutes of the passage, Democrat Governor JB Pritzker issued a statement confirming his support for the measure - with no adaptations to regional cost of living as some business groups asked the lawmakers consider adding to the bill.

"I’m pleased that the interests of communities across this state are represented in this bill. Workers in East St. Louis and Peoria, doing the same job, deserve to be paid the same wage as workers in Chicago," Pritzker said. "I also want to be very clear that my administration will propose a balanced budget for the state – taking into account the effect of the new minimum wage."

Rossi: Home Run for President Trump

White House photo

By Randy Rossi - 

It will be interesting to see how the media reports on it, but the vast majority of Americans who watched President Trump’s critical State of the Union speech liked it and agreed with him on most important issues.

Don’t take my word for it, CBS released a scientific poll on it and the results clearly showed that President Trump hit a home run in his speech. According to that CBS poll, 76% of Americans who watched his speech liked it, 72% liked his ideas on illegal immigration, 71% agreed with him that we have a crisis at the border, and 78% thought his second meeting with North Korea was a good idea.

Moody's warns Illinois ... again. Wirepoints holds little hope they'll heed

It's never fun to get a warning - from law enforcement, a doctor or a creditor. But it's never wise to ignored warnings from the experts, either. Illinois was warned this week by a key credit rating agency - Moody's. It remains to be seen how Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly responds. 

Will they heed the warning, or foolishly blow it off again?

Change It or Obey It? — Why the Constitution is the Solution

The Arguments For Abortion Are Recycled Arguments That Supported Slavery

Erik Erickson writes:

"...The old arguments for slavery made by white plantation owners in the South have been repackaged as the new arguments by white progressives for abortion. Slaves were property the slave owners could do with as they pleased. Now we talk about bodies and how no one else can tell a woman what to do with her body. If she wants to have an abortion, who cares about the kid. It is her property.

Likewise, slaves were not real people according to the plantation owners. Now, babies in the womb are not real people. Slaves were actually better off on plantations than as savages in Africa, defenders of the institution told us. Now we are told it is far better to kill the child than have her be born unwanted or unloved. Slaves, we were told, could not really feel the pain of the beatings. Now, babies in the womb cannot feel pain until they leave the womb. Never mind what science says. Science is a useful tool with which to bludgeon the religious in political fights, but the science says children in the womb can feel pain. We must ignore that to advance the abortion agenda."

More HERE

A Digital Iron Curtain Descends Over the Internet

Why free speech on the web - as we once knew it - will be over within a decade.

A generation of economic pressure failed to regulate the internet. Outraged movie studios and record companies managed to cripple some file sharing pioneers, but broke their teeth on Google’s YouTube. Dot coms like Amazon, Google, Cragislist, eBay and Netflix casually wiped out entire retail industries from the local paper to the video rental place, costing tens of thousands of jobs. And nothing.

No amount of pressure from business interests could close down the internet. Politicians were still too invested in a vision of progress fueled by the growth of something that they did not understand.

"An iron curtain has descended across the Continent," Winston Churchill once warned. A digital iron curtain is now descending over the internet. Free speech as we once knew it will be over in a decade. The internet will still be a noisy place, but it will be a managed noise of echo chambers, a moderated system in which dissenting views will be treated as trolling and purged as quickly as they are identified.

More HERE

Where’s Weyermuller? At Chicago Young Republican Watch Party with Willie Wilson

By Mark Weyermuller - 

The Chicago Young Republicans held a watch party for President Donald J. Trump’s second state of the union address Tuesday night. It was held at McGees Tavern near DePaul University with over 100 attending.

The CYRs are led by new president Chris Myers with Carly Campbell as their vice president. Many members of the Northwest Side GOP Club, led by their president Matt Podgorski and vice president Ammie Kessem, also attended the event.

Chris Myers, Matt Podgorski, Charles Love, & Ammie Kessem

Dr. Orient: The Children, the Caravan and Health

By Jane M. Orient, M.D. -

There are three aspects to the caravan: what is shown by the media; what is there to be seen; and what is unseen.

The focus is on the innocent children, as in the widely circulated photograph of an obese woman with two children lacking pants or shoes, purportedly fleeing tear gas sprayed by cruel law enforcement agents. They are far from home, in a very dangerous place, in violation of the laws of Mexico.

Would Child Protective Services accuse an American citizen of child abuse and neglect, and take the children into foster care?

Thousands of migrants are crammed together in Tijuana, many outdoors, and about a third of them are already sick. Without sanitation, outdoors in the rain, many more will become ill. Several cases of tuberculosis, chicken pox, and HIV have already been reported.

Thorner: Former US Attorney says Mueller investigations place America under seige

Sidney Powell

By Nancy Thorner - 

“We are in a war for the heart and soul of America.  Under siege from every single front with sixteen on-going investigations, President Trump is fighting for his life in an all-out assault on everything he is trying to do.” 

Chilling words from the perspective of Sidney Powell, an experienced federal appeals attorney that has served in three different U.S. attorneys' offices and as Appellate Section Chief in two Texas districts. 

Powell is the author of "Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice," a book everyone should read to understand current events and how our Department of Justice has perverted the rule of law.

She was featured at the annual Gathering of Eagles in St. Louis last month with Phyllis Schlafly Eagles leaders from throughout the nation.

Why You Can't Argue with a Leftist

When two people share the same goals, they can disagree – even strongly disagree – and still have a productive discussion about how to reach those shared objectives. As comedian and author Owen Benjamin explains, the problem with America today is we no longer share the same goals, and that’s tearing us apart.

Vermont to Christian school students: You're unwelcome

A new lawsuit has been filed against the chiefs of the Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont State Colleges System over a program that singles out students from religious schools and tells them they are unwelcome in a program that includes all other students.

 

Officials with the Alliance Defending Freedom have filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Vermont against Daniel French of the Vermont Agency of Education and George B. Spaulding of the Vermont State Colleges System.

The case is being brought on behalf of several students and parents Christopher and Jill Messineo and Russell and Selena Senesac, as well as the Catholic Diocese in Burlington.

More HER

China’s social control technology is helping Maduro in Venezuela

James Roberts writes: "Maduro clings to power, thanks in part to Russian arms, and to the high-tech design and implementation of this new “Fatherland” system of totalitarian control.

And from whom did Maduro (and his Cuban puppet masters) receive this cyber warfare help? From the communist regime of Chinese President Xi Jinping, of course. More precisely, from ZTE, a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and software systems that is heavily influenced (if not outright controlled) by the Chinese government. Venezuela’s state-owned telecommunications company is using ZTE equipment.

Kushiner: Ill-Fated Life Applause & Cheers for the Dying Lives of Others?

By James M. Kushiner, The Fellowship of St. James - 

When I was young,  I wondered how a virulent moral virus could so infect a nation that they would give power to a man willing to kill millions in death camps. What I puzzled over concerning Hitler, I realized had another expression in the USSR when I became aware of the crimes of Stalin and the fate of those caught in the gulag archipelago.

Soviet Jewish writer Vasily Grossman's dissident novel Life and Fate, published in English in 1985, and finally published in the Soviet Union in 1989, focuses on both the personal and the political in the context of the battle between Stalin and Hitler during World War II. Both men use state-run camps to impose their wills and ideologies.

Illinois considers joining California, New York with $15 minimum wage

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation nearly doubling the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 per hour. While anyone in Illinois would be delighted with a nearly 100 percent pay raise, there are negatives that experts warn could happen if such a dramatic hike were to take place – even spread out over ten years.

UPDATE x1: Nebraska senator calls for U.S. Senate to protect born-alive abortion survivors

WASHINGTON - Following Monday night's scheduled roll call votes, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse - Republican from Nebraska - will ask his Senate colleagues unanimous consent to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Illinoisans interested in how their representatives to the U.S. Senate Dick Durbin (202.224.2152) and Tammy Duckworth (202 224-2854) will vote may contact their offices before the vote this afternoon.

UPDATE: An Illinois state rep filed a bill late last week to protect babies born alive after abortion. See below. 

Chicago Republican groups side with Dr. Willie Wilson for Mayor

CHICAGO - As Chicago Republican Charles Love said on his Facebook page this weekend,  

There are 14 candidates for Chicago mayor; all Democrats. Here is how I group them.

If you are a Democrat, you have 14 choices.
If you are anti-machine, you have 10 choices.
If you want a black mayor, you have 6 choices.
If you want that black mayor to address issues facing black communities, you have 3 choices.
If you want someone high enough in the polls to win, with the money to finish, you have 5 choices.
If you're not a leftist, you have 4 choices.

Here's what separates them. There's only one candidate that fits each category. Can you guess who?

Last week, two of the most active Republican groups in Chicago announced their picks in the crowded mayoral race as Dr. Willie Wilson.

Democrat continues to refuse to resign as Virginia governor despite racist allegations

Over the weekend, a 35 year old photo on the new governor of Virginia's medical school yearbook launched a movement demanding he resign.

The governor, a Democrat, at first apologized for the photo, then said he didn't remember being in the photo dressed as either a Ku Klux Klan member or with black-face makeup.

He refuses as of Monday morning to resign, although all 2020 Democrat presidential candidates have called on him to step down. 

Freedom's Journal Institute is addressing "Racism in America and the Role of the Church" in March. Check it out: 

Thorner/O'Neil: Battle to protect America's Electoral College heats up

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

A nation's governing system will not be truly a democratic republic unless its citizens are able to choose their representatives through elections that are free and fair.

We have free elections in the U.S., but what about fair elections?  With the 2020 presidential race now under way and given Democrats' desire to take back the White House by any means possible -- for winning is the only things that matters to the Left -- the 2020 election could be the most corrupt and unscrupulous American election ever held.  Will Republicans be prepared to fight back?

Beckman: It all depends on if you're politically-correct or not

By Hank Beckman - 

The stench of political correctness is in the air.

Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King recently gave a doozy of an interview to the New York Times, in which he wondered, ever so innocently, how the terms white supremacy, white nationalism and Western Civilization ever fell into such disrepute.

While few outside the Democratic Party or an American university would seriously quibble with the idea of defending Western Civilization, one scratches one’s head at King’s apparent surprise that his comments about white supremacy or white nationalism were out of the ordinary.

Di Leo: George Washington and the First Electoral College Landslide

By John F. Di Leo - 

Reflections on the anniversary of the first meeting of the Electoral College

On February 4, 1789, 69 specially-chosen politicians from ten states met for the one and only purpose of their existence: acting as the first Electoral College, and voting for our nation’s first President under its new “Constitutional” government.

The event was full of “firsts.”  In the 18^th century, heads of state were almost always hereditary monarchs. The few true republics throughout history – such as ancient Rome and relatively small contemporary city-states – had generally tried to make do without any executive at all, for fear that they would make a quick move from republic to dictatorship, as soon as a strong leader had a taste of power.

Rossi: The Critical American Culture War

By Randy Rossi - 

Why are some countries like America incredibly successful and so many other countries like Venezuela total failures in which their people suffer horribly? Culture! Counter to the liberal position that all countries are equal, they aren’t and most of the time it is their people’s own choice of culture that decides if they succeed or fail. After all the people of Venezuela chose a socialist dictator as their president and now they are suffering because of their choice! Sadly, America is now in a culture war in which the very culture that made us so successful is under attack.

Illinois Town Hall: Marijuana from an Addictions Specialist Perspective

This presentation on the commercialization of marijuana was delivered by Dr. Raymond Bertino at a public town hall held by Illinois State Representative Marty Moylan on January 4, 2019. Video produced by Illinois Family Institute:

Despite Government Shutdown, Job Growth Soars in January

The Trump economy is working. Timothy Doescher reports:

In addition to this being the 100th straight month of job creation, the labor force participation rose for the fifth straight month, and workers continued to see their pay steadily increase.

While there were significant revisions to the November and December jobs numbers (down 70,000 total from what was initially reported), over the last three months we have averaged a strong 241,000 jobs per month.

The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.9 to 4 percent, potentially due to the government shutdown, while the labor force participation rate grew to the highest level in five years, reaching 62.3 percent.

Kamala Harris Admits “Medicare for All” Would Kill Private Health Insurance — but So Would a “Public Option”

Beware the public option “compromise.” Michael Cannon writes:

[T]he Left is now using Medicare for All as a new stalking horse for the old stalking horse. Savvy Democrats are hoping that if Sanders whips up the base over Medicare for All, congressional Democrats will be able to pass a public option (e.g., a Medicare/Medicaid “buy-in,” or “Medicare X”) again as some sort of moderate or compromise measure.

A public option is merely a slower and more politically feasible way to achieve the destruction of private health insurance than what Sen. Harris proposes. Supporters say they merely seek a level playing field where a public option may compete with private insurance. Of course, a level playing field between government and private insurers is impossible. It has never happened. It will never happen. It cannot happen.

Elizabeth Warren's Wealth Tax Is a Stunt Policy That Other Countries Have Tried and Discarded

Wealth taxes are an old idea that has failed. Peter Suderman writes:

Sweden’s wealth tax, for example, was frequently blamed for capital flight and a depressed rate of national entrepreneurship. Relative to other European nations, Swedes were less likely to own their own business, and those who did often took their money elsewhere rather than reinvest it at home. The founder of Ikea, for example, moved much of his wealth into offshore foundations that shielded the money from the tax.

I say it was blamed because a little more than a decade ago, Sweden eliminated its wealth tax. The move was easy to make, because the government lost essentially no revenue. As The Financial Times reported, the elimination of the tax had “virtually no effect of government finances.” So much for making the rich pay their share.

It’s Time for the Truth About Late-Term Abortions

Late-term abortions are rarely done for the health of the mother. David French writes:

Late-term abortion is, fortunately, relatively rare. According to the most recent CDC data, only 1.3 percent of abortions occur after 21 weeks. However, given the sheer number of abortions in this country (638,169 reported to the CDC), that means there were at least 8,000 late-term abortions in the United States. As Jonah Goldberg notes today, the pro-abortion-rights Guttmacher Institute puts the number even higher, at roughly 12,000 late-term abortions per year. That’s a lot of babies dying late in pregnancy. To gain a sense of perspective, that number is comparable to the number of murders committed by firearms in the same time period.

So, why do these babies die? The Guttmacher Institute has looked at the reasons for late-term abortion, and the reasons are chilling. First, the top-line finding is clear: “[D]ata suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.” Instead, there were “five general profiles of women who sought later abortions, describing 80% of the sample.” These women were “raising children alone, were depressed or using illicit substances, were in conflict with a male partner or experiencing domestic violence, had trouble deciding and then had access problems, or were young and nulliparous [had never given birth].”

Todd Ricketts to be Trump Victory Committee's finance chairman

CHICAGO - The home of one of the Midwest's most anti-Trump cities is also home to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign finance chairman, the Republican National Committee announced Friday.

He also happens to be a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs.

An interesting development in a state whose most vocal state GOP leadership despises the president.

Thorner & O'Neil: How and why did America come to embrace Socialism?

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil - 

California's U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, much fawned over by Democrats, has been described as an intelligent, attractive woman. Few would disagree with that assessment; however, those who have done even a basic research about her political viewpoints now consider her too Left of center, bordering on extreme.

Harris, not unlike Washington officials and her fellow comrades, doesn’t seem to believe there is anything dangerous in the escalation of Socialist programs throughout the country.  One only needs to listen to the Left’s new darling Alexandria Ocasio Cortez to realize how “dumbed down” Democrat leaders and their members have become.  This applies also to fellow citizens who have been persuaded by all the “free goodies” being promised them.   

Our nation has possibly not experienced such danger since the Civil War. Blame for the current crisis might be attributed to these two factors: Progressive Education System and Biased, Leftist Media.

Pritzker guides state funding towards fighting Illinois HIV epidemic

Statement from Governor JB Pritzker's office February 1, 2019:

ROCKFORD — Surrounded by health care providers and HIV prevention advocates at the Winnebago County Health Department, Governor JB Pritzker took executive action strengthening the state’s commitment to ending the HIV epidemic that has affected nearly 40,000 Illinois residents.
 
“While 1,375 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2017 alone and unacceptable health disparities in communities of color continue, over the past few years we’ve seen HIV prevention funding dry up, HIV testing rates go down, and HIV prevention and treatment agencies lay off staff,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Now is not the time to back down from this fight. Now is the time to double down. This executive order defines the state’s commitment to the HIV epidemic and serves as a first step in ensuring the state is good partner in this fight.”

Illinois next to embrace universal healthcare?

CHICAGO - Democrat State Rep. Greg Harris isn't just any House member, he's House Speaker Mike Madigan's new Majority Leader - a powerful position. If the Majority Leader supports a legislative effort, there's a good chance a bill will make it out of Rules, be assigned to a Democrat-controlled House committee, and onto the House floor. 

So when Rep. Greg Harris called last week for Illinoisans to "organize for healthcare as a right," it's a call that gets attention. With super majorities in both chambers and a supportive governor, Leftist lawmakers are emboldened for Illinois to head deeper into Leftist effort - such as universal healthcare.

Homeschooling Produces Better-Educated, More-Tolerant Kids. Politicians Hate That

Homeschools outshine public schools. J.D. Tuccille writes:

In 2014, SAT “test scores of college-bound homeschool students were higher than the national average of all college-bound seniors that same year,” according to NHERI.

“Mean ACT Composite scores for homeschooled students were consistently higher than those for public school students” from 2001 through 2014, according (PDF) to that testing organization, although private school students scored higher still.

Elizabeth Warren’s ‘Wealth Tax’ Is Unconstitutional

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax is either unconstitutional or regressive. Jibran Khan writes:

Because a direct tax must be “apportioned among the several States” according to “the Census or Enumeration herein”, the total revenue of the tax would have to be decided beforehand by the government, and then apportioned to each state by population, not by any wealth-related measure. So if a state contains 10 percent of the national population, it will pay 10 percent of the tax, regardless of wealth.

As Matthew Franck pointed out on Bench Memos in 2012 (emphasis added):

Under Trump, US Economic Freedom Rises Significantly

U.S. economic freedom is at its highest level since 2011. Anthony Kim reports:

According to The Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, America’s economic freedom has seen a dramatic boost—from 18th place in the world to 12th place in the span of just one year. America’s score ticked up by more than a full point from last year, reaching the highest level in eight years.

The annual index—now celebrating its 25th year—provides an overall snapshot of almost every country’s level of economic freedom. It takes into account a variety of factors, like taxation, regulation, and trade. It is relevant to our job prospects and the prices we pay for goods and services, not to mention what kind of appliances and cars we can choose and buy.

Madigan in the news: Power. Privilege. Politics

CHICAGO - Illinois Policy Institute's Austin Berg sent out an email to subscribers Tuesday, explaining the group's take on the news that a meeting including Speaker Mike Madigan was recorded by then-Chicago Alderman Danny Solis. Solis was reportedly cooperating with an FBI investigation.

Berg writes: 

The federal investigation that led to Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s indictment also extended to the most powerful political player in the state, a new report reveals.

The FBI secretly recorded a business meeting between Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and a hotel developer who had been directed to Madigan’s law firm by Ald. Danny Solis, according to an affidavit obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Solis announced he will not seek re-election earlier this month following news that he had secretly recorded dozens of conversations with Ald. Ed Burke.

An FBI agent writes a sentence in the report that has exploded statewide, Berg writes:

Illinois safest state for animals, not human babies

SPRINGFIELD -  While Illinois has some of the toughest laws to protect innocent animals from human cruelty, they're not nearly as protective of human babies still in their mothers' wombs.

The 2018 U.S. Animal Protection Laws Rankings Report issued annually by the Animal Legal Defense Fund ranks Illinois as the safest state for animals in the nation. 

"Holding strong at the top for eleven years, Illinois has maintained its rank as first in the nation for animal protection laws," the report says. Illinois is followed by Oregon (2), Maine (3), Colorado (4), and Massachusetts (5).

Letter to Editor: The IL GOP has the nerve to ask for donations?

By Brad Baber - 

Yesterday I received a letter from IL GOP chairman Tim Schneider asking for a donation. In the letter is a litany of excuses as to why Republicans lost big in the 2018 election, but nowhere in the list did he put any of the blame on the IL GOP or Bruce Rauner. Let’s get back to that in a minute.

The previous IL GOP chairman, Pat Brady openly advocated against the platform of the party. He was an ally to Illinois Democrats, and solely advocated for his own agenda, not that of IL Republican voters. He was confronted many times for his treasonous acts towards IL Republican voters and finally forced out when his presence was no longer tenable.

Thorner: Illinois native leads effort to unveil hidden government spending

Adam Andrzejewski (l) with Ed Martin (r) of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum

By Nancy Thorner - 

It is not only right, it is crucial that taxpayers know exactly how the money the government demands from them is spent.  It is also critical that those taxpayers interact with those making spending decisions.

That's the underlying motive for what Adam Andrzejewski does with the non-profit group he founded in Illinois several years ago. It's making a difference.

Rossi: How the GOP Needs to Sell the "Wall" to Voters

By Randy Rossi - 

It is absolutely amazing for informed Americans to watch Democrats successfully stall adding to the “wall” on our southern border that has successfully protected American sovereignty for decades where it exists. Presented properly, the facts for a “wall” are so overwhelming it should be a “no brainer”! Sadly as is so often the case, the GOP is absolutely right on the issue but they have done a poor job of selling their case to the voters while the Democrats as usual are wrong on the issue but they have done a great job of selling their destructive position that goes against all Americans.

The GOP needs to explain why a “wall” is good for all Americans with hard and simple facts that a vast majority of Americans would immediately understand and realize impacts them. First and foremost the GOP needs to explain how illegal immigration hurts them and their children. Hard facts from FAIR show that illegal immigration costs American taxpayers over $100 billion a year by using our health care, schools, and legal and police resources to support between 11-12 million illegal immigrants that broke the law to be here. What every American citizen and legal immigrant should understand is that in addition to that cost, illegal aliens are taking away those critical and limited medical and education resources from them and their kids. Massive teaching resources are being diverted from their kids to illegal immigrants which hurts their kid’s educations. We all wait longer in emergency rooms because illegal aliens go there for free healthcare at our expense. This is a big deal that hurts all of us.