Free Republic

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The federal indictment against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the halls of state and local government, with politicians from both sides of the aisle condemning Madigan's alleged behavior as "deplorable" and "disturbing."Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, a political foe of Madigan's for years, said Wednesday "may be the darkest day in Illinois government history." "This is not just an indictment against Michael Madigan, but it's an indictment against the Democrat Party of Illinois that he ran for decades," he said. "But the public needs to get answers from the speaker,...

the much awaited Illinois June 28 Primary Election Day is upon us. Here's where we'll be keeping track of live updates from Election Day across the Chicago area, along with what you need to know about who's on your ballot ...

ILLINOIS's highest-profile GOP primary is the race between Republican Reps. Rodney Davis and Mary Miller in the new 15th District, one of the nation’s six incumbent-versus-incumbent primaries. ... < > 13th District in south-central Illinois to be a D+7 seat ... But the GOP could still hold this seat in a Republican-leaning midterm environment. Republicans look likely to pick either former federal prosecutor Jesse Reising or nonprofit president Regan Deering, as they’ve raised the most money and are on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of candidates to watch.

Prepare to vote!

Fourteen Senate Republicans bucked the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment advocates on Tuesday to advance bipartisan gun control and school safety legislation. In a 64-34 vote, the Senate voted to begin debate on an ambitious rewrite of the nation’s firearm laws. Although only a simple majority was needed to take the measure up, 14 Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted in favor.

Congressman Sean Casten's daughter dies aged 17: Teen is pronounced dead at family home - days after her father spoke of his 'tremendous pride' after she organized training on how save someone's life from a gunshot wound Rep. Sean Casten's 17-year-old daughter Gwen Casten died on Monday morning The teenager died at the family's Downers Grove home, local police said Days before her death, Casten said he had 'tremendous pride' in his daughter She was an anti-gun violence advocate and organized training in her school to teach kids how to pack a gunshot wound Last year, Gwen and her father...

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police say a woman shot her husband twice, possibly in self-defense, in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Police say the 34-year-old woman fired from a car at Chew and Brinton streets around midnight Friday. The 40-year-old husband was struck in both of his legs. The gunfire also damaged an unattended, parked car and a nearby home. Police found the woman in her car around the corner from the scene. Investigators say she is cooperating. "She does have an active protection from abuse warrant against her husband. We did verify that through our computer system. So there is...

The Illinois Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) requirement came in with the enormous gun control push done by Democrats in 1968, during the Johnson administration. In 2017, an Illinois state judge, T. Scott Webb, of White County, found the FOID unconstitutional. The case made it to the Illinois Supreme Court, where it was sent back to the District Court for clarification.In 2021, it was found to be unconstitutional again and has again made its way back to the Illinois Supreme court. From the decision, Case 17-CM-60, 26 April 2021:“A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second...

Republicans ostracized from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this weekend in Orlando, Florida, are staging their own counterprogramming in Washington, D.C., this weekend. The Republicans opposed to former President Donald Trump are gathering for the Principles First summit Saturday and Sunday, and the speakers list includes anti-Trump Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., the two GOP members who are skirting House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's partisan Jan. 6 Select Committee. "Principles First is excited to announce a two-day grassroots summit at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Feb....

Villa Park State Rep. Deb Conroy (Democrat) wants to "isolate or quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments."

Ten out of 13 members of the Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Department quit at a fire district board meeting on Monday night after a convicted arsonist was appointed acting fire chief. The Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Protection District Board of Trustees met in East Carondelet on Dec. 20 and fired Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Chief John Rosencranz, KTVI reported. The board gave no reason for the termination as they replaced Chief Rosencranz with Prairie Du Pont Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief Jerame Simmons, who was sitting at the same table. In a statement released after the meeting on...

"If you're going into that coffee shop to pick-up and go, you don't need to show proof. But if you're gonna linger, you're gonna eat that muffin, you're gonna sit down with your laptop, you gotta show proof of vaccination." Clip...

Gun turn-in events, labeled with the Orwellian term “buyback” are making a small comeback in the United States. Most of them are occurring in states where private sales are not allowed by law. They are not occurring in states which require the valuable property to be sold for the public’s benefit. Illinois has a version of the law that requires private sales to go through the state website, identify the purchaser of the firearms with a Firearms Owner Identification (FOID), and be assigned an approval number. This eliminates privacy from private sales. It becomes unworkable for private purchasers to buy...

On November 4, 2021, the Cook County (where Chicago is located), Illinois board amended a gun and ammunition tax which had been ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court on October 21, 2021. From chicagotribune.com: Cook County commissioners voted Thursday to amend a guns and ammunition tax that was found unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court, aiming to give the measure another lifeline by designating that money for violence prevention. In a 12-2 vote, with three commissioners absent, the county board approved the amendment, which states all revenue from the firearm and ammunition tax must go toward programs or operations...

CHICAGO - An elderly man with a concealed carry license shot and killed a robber in Chicago on Saturday afternoon, police said. The 77-year-old was in a garage on East 89th near MLK in West Chesterfield around 12:30 p.m. when the robber drove up. The robber pulled out a gun and demanded the elderly man's stuff, police said. Instead of handing his things over, the elderly man pulled out a gun and shot the robber in the head and chest, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. On Sunday, he was identified as Bernard Peterson. Chicago Police said...

On November 9, 2012, Cook County Illinois created a special tax on guns. On November 18, 2015, the County board added a tax on ammunition. At the time, this correspondent believed the tax to be unconstitutional on its face. So did the Illinois Advocacy Group for Second Amendment rights, Guns Save Lives. They filed a lawsuit, challenging the tax law, on December 17, 2015. The lower courts in Illinois did not agree. They did not find a problem with the taxes. Guns Save Lives appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. The case was decided on October 21, 2021. The decision...

The men shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in August 2020 can potentially be referred to at his trial as "rioters" or "looters," a Wisconsin judge said Monday while reiterating his long-held view that attorneys should not use the word "victim." Defense lawyers maintain the young man acted in self defense when he fatally shot two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The protesters were shot during a demonstration against the police shooting of a Black man. Rittenhouse was among armed civilians who said they were there to protect businesses after nights of arson and looting. "Let the evidence show what the evidence shows,...

In the Kyle Rittenhouse self-defense case in Kenosha, Wisconsin, much has been written about prosecutors choosing to charge Kyle with “Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.” and the exemptions to the law which apply to Kyle. The legislative history in Wisconsin and of the particular law, 948.60 are at the crux of the matter. Rifles and shotguns, which are not considered “concealable” in Wisconsin or federal law, have never been defined as “dangerous weapons” under Wisconsin law. The definition of “dangerous weapons” is very limited.It is reasonable that rifles and shotguns were excluded from the list...

On September 13, 2021, Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. rendered an opinion and order. The ban on possession of firearms by concealed carry license holders in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) is unconstitutional. The judge issued a temporary stay on the order to give the Illinois legislature six months to address the issue if it so desires. From patch.com: CHICAGO — A state law that bans the concealed carry of firearms in the Cook County Forest Preserve District is unconstitutionally broad, according to a federal judge.U.S. District Judge Robert Dow issued a ruling Monday that found a...

President Biden went for a bike ride at the beach on Sunday amid multiple national crises and he refused to answer reporters' questions as he biked past them. "Mr. President, what will you tell Emmanuel Macron?" a reporter asked as Biden sped by. "When are you going to call Macron?" another reporter asked.