"Some of the cases stagger the imagination.... The U.S. justice system isn’t perfect, and wrongful convictions do happen. But the powerful political and financial incentives to recast contested convictions as cases of racially motivated corruption should give taxpayers pause before footing yet another multimillion-dollar settlement. When facts become subordinate to politics and payouts, justice is the loser." Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560: Why We Need to “Relentlessly” Make the Blue State-Red State Case
November 5, 2026
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Glennon raised the stakes of the moment in broader civilizational terms: “This election in Illinois is not about the usual pedestrian issues… it’s about nothing less than whether Western civilization survives in our democratic republic of America because [the left], just on the open border alone, will destroy the country, and now they’re bringing in the jihadists, frankly, into the party.” Audio and summary linked here.Audio and summary linked here.
New Trier High School made national headlines nine years ago as a “canary in a coal mine” for political indoctrination in public schools. The canaries lived.
Among the consequences of economic growth that badly lags national averages are billions of lost revenue every year. Yet denial reigns in Illinois, fueling the vicious cycle of demand for higher taxes.
That’s all the Illinois taxpayers do these days is pay pay and pay some more.
That’s how they like it otherwise they would vote differently. Give the people what they want. More spending and the other guy can pay.
You may be right to the extent that voters who depend on direct and indirect public support are increasingly buying in to the “tax the rich” philosophy. While some of these voters (who are often dubbed “parasites”) don’t understand the mechanics, politicians do. Long term, this will seriously harm the economy. But these voters (and the politicians who own them) aren’t really long-term thinkers. That’s where the “banquet table” metaphor is apt. Get to the table, grab what you can while you can. The same metaphor applies to public employees who retire and scoop up pension funds from the seriously… Read more »
Are “taxpayers” a class of citizens who have standing to file a class action? Who would the defendants be? Perhaps a government entity that settles a case rather than fighting it. Perhaps lawyers who have sued a governmental entity within the statute of limitations [not the statute applicable to the “injured” party but a different statute applicable to improper tactics at the trial seeking damages for wrongful conviction]. Those tactics might include inflammatory or inaccurate arguments. How far can a lawyer go in persuading a [supposedly neutral] jury to make large awards to scoundrels who contributed to a situation where… Read more »
The number of potential plaintiffs “wronged” by the city and its agents is likely to be infinite. The statutes of limitations provide little protection for the alleged offenders. How long before the first suit claiming damages for a ruined life caused by “failure to educate” or “failure to protect?” Municipal bankruptcy would only assist with one tranche of claimants. One solution is complete insolvency … causing judges and legislators to go unpaid. The legal system, including the lawyers, has become a civilization-eating enterprise. The government is probably the best example of lawlessness as manifested in its failures to enforce the… Read more »