Free Republic

The FBI is sending out a warning that two local state election boards were breached by foreign hackers. This comes amid increasing concerns from Donald Trump supporters about the possibility of a “rigged” election. Several news outlets are reporting that the hacking occurred in Arizona and Illinois. In a bulletin the FBI wrote: The FBI received information of an additional IP address, 5.149.249.172, which was detected in the July 2016 compromise of a state’s Board of Election Web site. Additionally, in August 2016 attempted intrusion activities into another state’s Board of Election system identified the IP address, 185.104.9.39 used in...

Says they’re all orphans and widows because the men are 'all dead' Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth from Illinois blatantly misled attendees at a forum this week when she claimed that the United States does not accept military-aged male Syrian refugees into the country. Duckworth, who is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk for his Senate seat, said Wednesday at a roundtable event with the Illinois Farm Bureau that the U.S. predominantly accepts Syrian women and children who are widows and orphans. Duckworth went on to imply there are “no men of military age” brought into the United States under...

In Illinois, and many states, public service has little to do with serving the public and everything to do with using the public’s money to serve politicians. Whenever we open the books, Illinois is consistently among the worst offenders. Recently we found Cook County animal control officers making $105,000; suburban school administrators at $503,000; university doctors earning $1.3 million; and 72 small-town ‘managers’ out-earning every governor of the 50 states.

California and New York — where almost 1 in 5 Americans live — are on their way to raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the activists who spearheaded those efforts are now setting their sights on other similarly liberal, Democratic-led states. Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are among the states with active “Fight for $15” efforts, and even economic experts who oppose the increased rate see it gaining momentum. “There is lots of pressure to do this,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director who is now president of...

Donald J. Trump routed Senator Marco Rubio in Florida on Tuesday, driving him from the Republican presidential race, and easily won the primaries in Illinois and North Carolina, amassing a formidable delegate advantage that will be exceedingly difficult for any rival to overcome. But with a victory in Ohio, his home state, Gov. John Kasich denied Mr. Trump one of the night’s biggest prizes and made it considerably harder for him to clinch the nomination outright. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas finished second in Illinois and North Carolina and was locked in a tight race with Mr. Trump in Missouri,...

Tuesday March 15, 2016367 of 2,472 delegates at stake

Donald Trump keeps his lead in winner-take-all Florida, at 44 percent over Ted Cruz's 24 percent and Marco Rubio's 21 percent. In Ohio, Governor John Kasich is tied with Trump 33 percent to 33 percent, in two of the big winner-take-all delegate prizes up on Tuesday. In Florida, home-state Sen. Marco Rubio has been trying to get traction against Trump, but still trails. Sen. Ted Cruz has overtaken Rubio in Florida. In Illinois Trump also leads, 38 percent to 34 percent over Cruz, who is in striking distance, with Kasich back at 16 percent. The findings across the three states...

In Florida, Trump holds a 2-to-1 advantage among likely GOP voters over Marco Rubio, the state's U.S. senator, 43 percent to 22 percent. They're followed by Ted Cruz at 21 percent and John Kasich at 9 percent. In Illinois, Trump gets the support of 34 percent of likely GOP primary voters, Cruz gets 25 percent, Kasich gets 21 percent and Rubio gets 16 percent. But in Ohio, Kasich, the state's incumbent governor, holds a six-point lead over Trump, 39 percent to 33 percent - followed by Cruz at 19 percent and Rubio at 6 percent.

A riot broke out at a prison in southern Alabama, authorities said on Saturday, and a local news website said inmates had set fires and overturned beds. An unidentified dispatcher with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office confirmed the disturbance at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Mobile, but declined to give details about the situation. It was unclear what caused the riot and whether there were any casualties. "We are not taking any calls," said a woman who answered the phone at the prison. She then hung up. News website Al.com posted photos...

The Illinois has reconfirmed its ruling from 2013 that a basic Illinois weapon law is facially unconstitutional.  It ruled in People vs Burns that the Aguilar decision stands and was correct.  From courthousenews.com: While a state may prohibit felons from carrying readily accessible guns despite the Second Amendment - and in fact Illinois has a law forbidding felons from possessing any kind of firearm - the AUUW law applies to everyone. In reversing the appellate court ruling and vacating the conviction and sentence, Justice Anne Burke wrote for the court: "The offense, as enacted by the Legislature, does not...

A Chicago T-Mobile clerk won a gunfight with two would be robbers on 13 January, 2016.  The gunfight happened on the far South side, after the robbers displayed handguns as they entered.  Neighbors said that the store had been robbed several times previously.  The armed clerk has not been named.  He hit both suspects multiple times.  The suspects are in the hospital.  The store is locally owned.  It has been reported that T-Mobile corporate has no legal influence on store policies about employees carrying firearms.  Neil Tadros is the district manager for T-Mobile. From chicagotribune.com: The employee shot both...

Two would-be robbers who were fatally shot at a liquor store in the Gresham neighborhood Saturday night have been identified as a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy, authorities said. Keshawn Marzette, 15, of the 8300 block of South Throop Street, and William Larson, 17, of the same address, were pronounced dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Autopsies Sunday determined both died of multiple gunshot wounds and their deaths were classified as homicides, the office said. The two were shot to death by a store employee about 8:30 p.m. when they tried to rob...

December 21, 2015 Illinois Poll: Donald Trump 30%, Ted Cruz 15%, Marco Rubio 13% by sundance A new poll from Illinois shows candidate Donald Trump retaining a sizable lead amid the top tier candidates. 2,104 voters polled (margin of error 2.5%):( POLL DATA LINK ) (Chicago Sun Times) Trump, at 30 percent, is the top GOP presidential candidate in Illinois, according to a new poll, with double the points of Sens. Ted Cruz at 15 percent and Marco Rubio at 13 percent.[…] GOP pollster Joe Caccitolo, who runs Compass Consulting, conducted the automated telephone survey of 2,104 likely Republican voters...

On April 17th of 2015, John Hendricks reacted quickly and accurately to stop a mass shooting, likely saving numerous lives.  John Hendricks is a black man who was exercising his Constitutional rights in Chicago, a town where they had been suppressed for generations.  Hendricks was taking a break from accepting Uber fares when he saw a man rack a slide on a pistol across the street.  Then the man began firing at a group near him.  Hendricks acted rapidly and accurately.  He fired about six times and hit the attacker three times, an excellent record of 50%, much higher...

A shooting  in Gage Park, in Southwest Chicago, illustrates why gun control activists (disarmists) have fought so hard to keep people with concealed carry permits out of the city. In this case, the armed customer shot and killed an armed robber who was attempting to rob a cash exchange store where the owner's two teenage sons were working.   To understand why disarmists hate the idea of concealed carry permits, read the comments from people in the area.  From dnainfo.com: From the store owner and the boys' mother: "All I know is that someone came in here threatening my sons,...

The United States Department of Education has given Palatine, Illinois School District 30 days to reach a “solution” that allows a “transgendered” boy who says he is a girl to shower with the girls. Failure to comply could result in the loss of federal Title IX funds.The young man in question “identifies” as a girl. The school district has allowed him to play on the girls’ sports team. He is called “she” by school staff who refer to him by a female name. He says his “rights” are being violated because the school district asks him to change clothes behind...

A 75-year-old veteran used his Army knife-fight training to stop a man armed with two hunting knives from going after a roomful of children Tuesday at an Illinois public library, the Pekin Daily Times reports. Sixteen children were getting a chess lesson from James Vernon in a room at the library when 19-year-old Dustin Brown allegedly came in with a hunting knife in each hand screaming that he was going to kill people. Vernon tells the Washington Post that one thought went through his mind: “This can’t happen here and I’m not going to let it happen. These kids are...

Sixteen children and a handful of their mothers found the only door to their library room blocked by a man who held hunting knives in each hand as he screamed, “I’m going to kill some people!” Dustin Brown, 19, specifically wanted to kill children Tuesday at Morton Public Library, he said after the would-be victims escaped safely. Had he brought a firearm instead, “It would’ve been a different story,” James Vernon said Thursday. Blood was shed, but mostly Vernon’s, because the retired chess club teacher kept his cool, gave his class an avenue of flight and remembered the knife-fight training...

(CNN)—The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years. Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man, brought his partner, Iwan, as well several other friends to the Vatican Embassy on September 23 for a brief visit with the Pope. A video of the meeting shows Grassi and Francis greeting each other with a warm hug. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Grassi declined to disclose details about the short visit, but said it was...

The Pentagon has responded to a globally-released ‘Kill List’, asking law enforcement to give extra protection for military personnel whose personal information was released,News Channel 10 reports. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports the Pentagon spent the weekend notifying the soldiers who appeared on the list, and urged city police departments and military police to increase patrol in the neighborhoods where the targeted live. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) published the list days ago, a report that contained names, photos, and home addresses of U.S. Armed Forces personnel, causing alarm in cities potentially at high-risk....