-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The Illini Republicans club at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is facing backlash after posting an illustration on social media of a masked gunman holding a weapon to a kneeling man’s head — alongside the caption, “Only traitors help invaders.”
In a written statement released Monday, the Cook County State’s Attorney Office said in part, “Because this order changes the process for how felony charges are evaluated, a thorough analysis is being conducted to assess its legality.”
House Bill 4339, the Jesse Jackson, Sr., Young Voter Empowerment Law, would require Illinois high schools to provide students with opportunities to register to vote. Participation on the part of students is voluntary, and the bill explicitly prevents partisan organizations from getting involved.
State Sen. Darby Hills filed Senate Bill 2744 to provide income tax credits for employers of the developmentally disabled. “They want to be able to be hired, and these would be tax incentives for businesses to hire people with developmental or mental disabilities,” Hills said.
“The more Democratic governors learn about it, I fully expect that most will come around and participate,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. “Because from our perspective, it’s free money.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker remains undecided about opting into the program.
In one case, Anuar Abdrakhmanov, of Kazakhstan, is charged with taking control of a legitimate Kentucky-based company called Priority One Medical Equipment and using it to submit approximately $666 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for continuous glucose monitors and catheters between March and August 2024.
“Despite all the self-congratulation over clearance rates, the public is not feeling safer. A 2024 survey required by the CPD consent decree found only 33 percent of residents think Chicago Police are doing a good or very good job protecting the city — virtually unchanged since 2020 — and just 27 percent trust that reform will have lasting impact. “
“The ideal national political figure to lead the Democratic-Republicans is Rahm Emanuel, the former Mr. Everything — congressman, chief of staff to Barack Obama, mayor of Chicago, ambassador to Japan. A lifelong Democrat, Emanuel has no future in his old party. … In recent months, Emanuel has been opining in conservative organs such as The Wall Street Journal about how America has lost its focus on education, the fount of all success, and on the importance of rather traditional family values.”
And though CTA ridership has improved since the years immediately following the pandemic, it is still only about 70 percent of 2019 levels. And yet, according to public data, the CTA has about 470 more bus operators than it did in 2019 and the same number of rail operators as it did that year — 880.
Seventy-one Illinois banks have failed since 2000, including 22 in Chicago.
From Ald. Andre Vasquez to Gov. JB Pritzker, local lawmakers are issuing clarion calls to “Abolish ICE” or “Abolish Trump’s ICE.”
“It’s the anti-business attitude, high tech that are strangling us,” Wirepoints Executive Editor Mark Glennon warned. “You never see any effort to make life easier for employers here. The state of Illinois is like one big oppressive intermeddling HR department with countless rules and regulations that strangle people.”
State Rep. Anna Moeller said Senate Amendment No. 2 to House Bill 2371 would prevent manufacturers from imposing limits that make it harder for providers to deliver discounted medication.
” Chicago, Illinois—as distinct from the West Side of Chicago—is a sleepy little village of 25,000 in the western suburbs where Mayor Daniel Bovey, with the grace of a rhinoceros and the wisdom of a donkey, just leapt into the leftist anti-ICE movement with both feet, which are now covered in excrement.”
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has resisted making its financial audits public, and we are starting to learn why. The union recently produced audits going back to 2020, and the records show that its finances haven’t always received a clean slate by its official independent auditor.
If recent trends in population growth and migration continue, the Brennan Center projects that Texas would gain four seats, Florida three, and Georgia, Arizona, Utah, North Carolina and Idaho one each in the reapportionment after the 2030 Census. California would lose four, and New York two. Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island would give up one apiece.
“From moronic proposed taxes to racist comments, Johnson has brought some of the greatest devastation to the city since the Great Fire. Deeply unpopular, he often uses race-baiting commentary or gimmicks to distract voters. The latest is his chest-pounding press conference where he declared ‘we are putting ICE on notice in our city.'”
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also announced that she is spearheading a project to reveal the names, personal information, and locations of ICE officers while pro-migration activists are trying to block law enforcement operations. Also in Illinois, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has warned ICE officers and other federal law enforcement not to remove or obscure the license plates on official vehicles because he claims it is a violation of state vehicle operating laws.
The ages of the victims range from 15 to 70.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER