Free Republic

Lamar CoulterQUINCY -- A Chicago man who prosecutors said was playing the "knockout game" was sentenced to probation Monday during a hearing in Adams County Circuit Court. Lamar Coulter, 21, could have received up to four years in prison on a felony aggravated battery charge, but was sentenced to 24 months probation and 270 days in jail by Judge William Mays. This is Coulter's first felony offense. Mays ordered Coulter to spend 180 days in the Adams County Jail. With day-for-day good time credit, Coulter could be out in 90 days. Coulter was arrested on June 27 after two separate...

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) was forced to apologize on Tuesday, after attacking a political opponent for being an "Orthodox Jew" at a radical leftist J Street conference. At the conference, Schakowsky negatively painted Joel Pollak, her opponent in 2010 elections, by highlighting the fact that he is a religious Jew - a choice of words that the crowd responded to by booing Pollak. In her comments, she criticized Pollak for being a "Jewish, Orthodox, Tea Party Republican." The remarks can be seen in the following video, with the specific reference to Pollak starting at 52 seconds in.

Giuliani: Well, his — his grandfather introduced him to Frank Marshall Davis, who was a Communist. Readers of The Fact Checker wanted to know if Giuliani’s comments were accurate. So we reached out to Cliff Kincaid, president of America’s Survival, a group that seeks to expose Communist and Marxist influences. The Pinocchio Test We carefully considered the facts underlying this assertion, and the evidence is slim. We may never definitively know one way or another, but it is time to put it to rest. Three Pinocchios

Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke says that Senator Dick Durbin should explain his own previous opposition to the nominations of black women before accusing Senate Republicans of racial motivations for not confirming attorney-general nominee Loretta Lynch. Last week, after Republicans said they would only hold a confirmation vote for Lynch if Democrats approve language barring taxpayer funding for abortions in a human-trafficking bill, Durbin took to the Senate floor and invoked Rosa Parks, accusing Republicans of making Lynch “sit in the back of the bus.” But as Clarke points out, Durbin voted against the nominations of black women on more...

olitics: Sen. Dick Durbin, who says Republicans have shoved attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch to the "back of the bus," once filibustered and opposed the GOP nominations of black and Latino appeals court judges. Last week, Durbin accused Republicans of forcing Lynch, President Obama's African-American nominee to replace Eric Holder, to "sit in the back of the bus" until a vote on a controversial sex trafficking bill could be held. That thinly veiled reference to the moment in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat in a Montgomery, Ala., bus was meant to paint Senate Republicans as...

Move to eliminate all U.S. funding for diplomacy with Iran Congressional leaders have begun pressuring their colleagues to cut off all U.S. funding for the ongoing talks with Iran over its contested nuclear program as the Obama administration rushes to hash out the details of a deal in the coming months, according to multiple sources and a letter that will be sent next week to appropriators in the House of Representatives. With the deadline approaching, congressional Republicans have been exasperated by the Obama administration’s efforts to prevent them from having any oversight over the deal.

By Eric Boehm | Watchdog.org After working one day as a substitute teacher in Illinois, David Piccioli could be entitled to an annual pension of more than $30,000. And he’s suing the state to make sure he gets paid. Piccioli is a retired union political activist who’s already pulling down a pair of state pensions from Illinois’ beleaguered public retirement system. But he’s taking the Teachers Retirement System to court to squeeze more money out of the state. The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that Piccioli is already collecting $31,000 annually from the Teacher Retirement System, but he could get an...

Yesterday, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin took to the floor of the senate and accused the Republican caucus of institutional racism over the postponement of a vote confirming Loretta Lynch as the next attorney general.

The resignation of U.S. Rep. Aaron "Abs of Steel" Schock should come as no surprise. The Illinois Republican from Peoria was once a rising GOP establishment star. And now his career is in shambles after weeks of questions over spending. At least Schock has two things going for him: He's got great abs. And those of us who are challenged in the great abs department — I protect mine by wrapping them in fat — can appreciate perfection. And the other thing is what Schock said himself: He's not some old crusty white guy.

WASHINGTON — Embattled Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., facing a growing number of questions over his use of taxpayer and campaign funds on Tuesday announced that he will resign from Congress on March 31. By stepping down now, Schock likely heads off a probe in the works by the Office of Congressional Ethics and a likely examination of his spending by the House Ethics Committee. It does not automatically shut off inquiries, if there are any, from the Federal Election Commission or the Justice Department. Schock’s resignation comes as his legal and public relations team knew more revelations were probably coming...

Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock is resigning his seat in Congress. The 33-year-old Republican has been dogged by questions about his spending of taxpayer and campaign dollars. On Monday afternoon, POLITICO posed a lengthy set of questions about charging the government and his campaign tens of thousands of dollars in questionable mileage reimbursements. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/aaron-schock-resigns-116153.html#ixzz3UfUrBF40

ILLINOIS GUN OWNER LOBBY DAY Rally and March Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Let your voice be heard in Springfield! 10:30 a.m. Doors open - Prairie Capital Convention Center - sandwiches, drinks available at concessions 11:45 a.m. Registration/Rally, Prairie Capital Convention Center 1:00 p.m. March to the State Capitol to lobby legislators 3:00 p.m. Rally at the Rotunda! 4:00 p.m. Buses depart for home (north side of Capitol on Monroe Street) Thank you to those who signed up for a bus to IGOLD. All schedules are being turned in to the bus captains at this time. Let's make this a great...

A popular Illinois congressman once considered a rising star in the Republican party is in deep trouble for reportedly using taxpayer money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that includes stays at luxurious hotels, world travel, expensive cars and private jet rides to concerts and pro sporting events. The lawmaker’s name is Aaron Schock and he’s only 33, but he’s a seasoned politician who should have known better than to use public funds as a personal piggy bank. For six years he’s represented a working-class district in Peoria, Illinois in the U.S. House. One national media report says he had a...

Sneed exclusive . . . New York is where they’d rather be. So let’s cut to the chase. Sneed is told by impeccable sources that President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, want to live in New York when they leave the White House. “They want New York, plain and simple,” said a top Sneed source who asked to remain anonymous — but has a relationship with the Obamas. “It’s not an unusual decision,” added the source. “The Clintons moved to New York after Bill Clinton left the presidency. It’s a happening place.” “They love the vibe in New York...

'Game The system’? Nonprofits, Including Farrakhan-Tied Group, Enjoy Windfall From Farm Subsidies Published March 09, 2014 FoxNews.com, Emily Boyd Walker Several nonprofits that have little to do with farming or are in poor standing with their local governments have been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in farm subsidies over the past decade, federal records show. They include an Islamic charity tied to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, a Midwestern group devoted to waterfowl habitat, and a major conservation group with few farms to its name. The group tied to Farrakhan, called the Three Year Economic Saving Program, has...

Everyone missed what is now, in hindsight, a crystal clear signal that the White House knew that the buffalo chips were about to hit the fan; and that they are very worried.On April 21, the White House announced that Neil Eggleston would be the new counsel to the president. It didn't get much notice, but in light of recent events, it's a really big deal.

Despite it being the year of our Lord 2015, at least one CHIditarod participant seemed to think it was OK to wear blackface. Event organizers apparently told him to remove the makeup, but people who believe blackface to be OK do not strike me as the type willing to listen to reason. The man was part of the #TooSoon team, a group that ostensibly dressed in an intentionally offensive manner. The man in question was dressed as Bill Cosby — why limit yourself to just blackface when you can make rape jokes in the process — and was joined by...

Does Gov. Bruce Rauner's pension math add up? Is it possible to cut spending $2.2 billion immediately, save taxpayers $100 billion over 30 years, protect everyone who's already retired and amortize $111 billion in unfunded pension liability without pushing current state workers and teachers into near-poverty when they retire? I spent most of the past week trying to get an answer to that question, talking to Rauner's team, independent financial experts and key lawmakers. My tentative conclusion—I say “tentative” because deciphering actuarial tables makes nuclear physics look simple—is: probably not.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Just as the weather warms up, it's test time for Illinois students. All are required to take the Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers, known as PARCC. Many parents want to opt out of the new standardized test, but legally they can't; only students can refuse to take it. Now, some state lawmakers have introduced legislation letting parents make the decision, known as House Bill 306. "It will give parents the right to write a letter on students behalf opting student out of standardized tests," says Rep. Will Guzzardi. HB 306 also says schools...

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...