Free Republic

Not all NASCAR people are siding with Trump -- with Dale Earnhardt Jr. throwing his support behind NFL protesters ... despite several NASCAR owners bashing them. After POTUS said NFL owners should fire any "son of a bitch" who takes a knee, two of the most powerful men in NASCAR gave major stamps of approval. Richard Petty said, "Anybody that don’t stand up for that ought to be out of the country. Period." Team owner Richard Childress was asked what he would do if any of his staffers protested the anthem -- "Get you a ride on a Greyhound bus...

Starting this September, Hillary Clinton will be touring the U.S. and Canada to promote her latest book, “What Happened,” in which she talks about her experiences during the 2016 presidential elections. The exciting news is her stage in Chicago will be the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, speaking on Oct. 30. Although it is not an event promoted by RU, it is a big deal to have Hillary Clinton speaking in the campus. Students are interested in attending but the average ticket goes for $200, which may be too much for some RU students. “I think it is pretty cool...

Black Chicagoans Ignore Dem Leaders, Pull Epic Conservative Move By Kim Smith on September 19, 2017 at 3:38pm Black women in Chicago are coming to the realization that the best defense is a good offense. Despite Democrat leadership in the crime-ridden city imploring citizens to let law enforcement handle the exploding crime, residents — primarily black women — are thinking for themselves and buying guns for self defense. The Chicago Tribune reported that nearly 1,400 black women in Illinois have received concealed carry permits in 2017. That number has gone up since last year and is almost twice the 800...

Melrose Park police sent an appalling message over Labor Day weekend when they auctioned off an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to raise money for their police union. EDITORIAL They apparently did not care that Melrose Park, the very town they have sworn to serve and protect, bans possession of AR-15s — semiautomatic rifles that can load magazines with multiple bullets. ADVERTISING The village bans the gun for good reason. Nobody need such a powerful weapon to protect themselves their homes or to hunt. And the guns can be exceptionally dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. But, as Robert Herguth...

The Chicago-based group Truth in Reporting gives the state a grade of “F” in its new 50-state analysis of government spending and budgeting. Specifically, the report’s authors faulted New York for its relatively high pension and health care obligations, as well as its high tax burden. California, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts earned similarly low scores from the group.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich has issued a decree banning guns in all parishes, schools and other facilities across the archdiocese. The decree, effective Thursday, echoes statements the cardinal has made over the past two years in support of banning guns from churches. It stipulates that anyone found with a gun on archdiocesan property will be asked to remove it from the premises and won't be allowed to return until it's gone. Clerics and staff members also will face disciplinary action. The decree does not prevent clergy who own guns legally for hunting or sports from keeping their firearms inside a...

At first glance, nothing differentiates Vernetta Robinzine from passers-by in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's Far South Side. On a recent evening, like most people on a workday, she donned business casual attire with a loose, bright blouse. But her daily wardrobe includes something unseen that gives her confidence. Robinzine, 51, is a gun owner with a concealed carry license. Since she received her permit in late spring, she carries her firearm wherever she goes. ADVERTISING "It's like a part of me now," Robinzine said with the smile. Data show Robinzine is part of a burgeoning group in Cook County:...

Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner rejected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s call for a bill of rights for immigrants Wednesday, claiming that only Congress could pass such a law. Emmanuel called for the bill of rights after declaring Chicago a “Trump-free zone” Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Chicago Tribune reported. While Rauner denied Emmanuel’s request, the governor was not opposed to further protections for illegal immigrants. Instead, he called on Congress to take action. “I do not believe this challenge for these children can be...

WOODLAWN — The Obama Foundation is asking the four construction teams vying to build the presidential center to set high standards for local and minority hiring. The foundation announced four finalists Thursday morning and also the standards for hiring the foundation is setting for each. Each of the firms has to lay out how it would meet a commitment to awarding half of its subcontracts to “diverse suppliers,” which expands the normal definition of firms from women and minority-owned firms to also include veteran-, disabled- or LGBTQ-owned firms. As the definition of inclusive hiring is broadened, the foundation is specifying...

For nearly three years, the state took away more than $300 a month from Soukup in an apparent paperwork mistake that officials now are trying to undo. All the while, 73-year-old Soukup said she scraped by on her Social Security check and lost hope she would ever again see her pension. According to the official incorporation records for the station filed with the secretary of state's office, Soukup was never the owner or a listed officer. Everything was in the name of owner Wanda Skonie. The Tribune, using a common Internet search, quickly found addresses for Skonie in Florida, where...

President Trump continues to receive scorn over his assertion last year that vote fraud accounted for Hillary Clinton’s raw vote majority. Democrats and their shills are unanimous in denouncing the “false claims” ~snip~ When the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was announced, it was denounced as a waste, an attempt to intimidate minorities, and a scheme to violate privacy, which has caused states to refuse to release public data requested by the commission. Its investigator, J. Christian Adams, is being vilified. Even Republicans expressed reluctance to Politico over the investigation. Senator Chuck Schumer bizarrely linked vote fraud to Charlottesville....

Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday signed into law one bill that would protect immigrants who are in the country illegally from being detained solely because of their immigration status and another that would automatically register many Illinoisans to vote. The Republican governor's approval of the controversial immigration legislation marks a victory for immigrant advocates and a defeat for the more conservative members of his party, who had lobbied against it.

The two women, mothers of young men, cried and shouted as they stood near the Discount Mega Mall in Little Village on Tuesday night. Both heard their sons had been shot. People around them spoke of a dead boy lying somewhere at the mall on 26th and Whipple streets, killed by police. Someone said four people had been shot. Others drove off to check hospitals. Finally, an officer yelled to the growing crowd: "Nobody was shot. You can all go home. Nobody was shot." But the yelling and confusion continued into the night, fueled by rumors that drew more and...

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to sign into law on Monday both an automatic voter registration and an immigration measure that would limit the role of local law enforcement in federal efforts -- a move that may spark some backlash among his conservative base. The immigration legislation would prohibit police in Illinois from detaining or arresting a person based on their immigration status or on federal immigration detainer.

Illinoisans already pay some of the highest, if not the highest, property taxes in the nation. An analysis of the past 15 years shows that property taxes are growing far faster than residents’ ability to pay for them. Between 2000 and 2015, the total property taxes Illinois local governments collected doubled. Household incomes in Illinois, in contrast, only grew 31 percent over that time period. Because taxes have grown so much faster than income, the burden property taxes impose on Illinoisans has grown significantly. In 2000, property taxes consumed 4.4 percent of household incomes. In 2015, property taxes consumed 6.7...

Abraham Lincoln has joined George Washington on the list of those targeted by Chicagoans in a national debate over Civil War-era monuments. Alderman Raymond Lopez took to Facebook Wednesday night to decry a defaced statue of the nation’s 16th president in the Englewood neighborhood. The giant bust appears to have been damaged after someone in the 15th Ward sprayed and ignited a flammable liquid. “What an absolute disgraceful act of vandalism. This bust of Abraham Lincoln, erected by Phil Bloomquist on August 31, 1926, was damaged & burned,” Mr. Lopez wrote, a local NBC affiliate reported. “If anyone has any...

A 52 year old man in Elgin, Illinois was taken by surprise after a prostitute he hired through a website turned out to be his own wife of the past 19 years. The man had been using the site for some months to hire prostitutes and meet them for sex at motels in neighboring areas. Last weekend, the man told his wife he was going out drinking with work colleagues, when in reality he was traveling to a motel on the outskirts of town. Upon checking into the motel the man used his phone to access his regular website used...

MOLINE -- Building the new Interstate 74 bridge will take years, but certification to bid on the jobs building it should only take about 90 days. The Illinois Department of Transportation held a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification and supportive services workshop Monday evening at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St. At the workshop, officials from IDOT shared information on how those who are in presumed disadvantaged groups can bid on contracts associated with the project. To qualify for DBE certification, the business owner must have a personal net worth of less than $1.32 million. Engineering consulting businesses must average...

In recognition of the 70th anniversary of India's Independence, an official letter from President Donald Trump will be presented Sunday at Naperville's India Day Grand Celebration. The letter reads, in part, "Thanks to the irreplaceable contributions of Hindu and Indian Americans, the future of our valued partnership has never looked brighter, and we continue to foster even greater cooperation for future generations," according to a news release. The celebration, hosted by the Indian Community Outreach Organization and sponsored by the Republican Hindu Coalition, is one of the largest in Indian-American festivals in the United States. The day is aimed at...

High-priced government workers cost taxpayers in Illinois $10 billion a year, with municipal managers in areas surrounding Chicago reaping the most benefits. Illinoisans are struggling under the highest property taxes in the nation, a declining population and the nation’s worst income growth, but one group is still doing pretty well – government workers. According to OpenTheBooks.com, Illinois has 63,000 public employees making more than $100,000, costing taxpayers $10 billion. These government workers range from auto pound supervisors to corrections nurses to junior college presidents and more. One of the most lucrative government fields is that of village and city managers,...