Free Republic

After almost two weeks of uncertainty, Burke edged out Clayton Harris III for the nomination, with mail ballots tallied Friday sealing the most hotly contested race of the primary a full 10 days after the polls closed. The Associated Press called the race over — and the two candidates agreed.

The new head of Boeing’s troubled commercial airplane unit said the planemaker faces a “pivotal moment” as it works to boost quality and address significant concerns from regulators and airline customers after a panel flew off a 737 MAX 9 jet in January. “This is a pivotal moment for us, and we have serious work ahead to build trust and improve our operations,” said Stephanie Pope, who was named president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes ... Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would leave by the end of the year, while the company’s long-time head of commercial airplanes, Stan...

A Chicago veterinarian has been arrested for possessing and exchanging child pornography just days before he was due to fly to California to collect a baby he has purchased via surrogate. Adam Stafford King, 39, allegedly posted online about his plans to sexually abuse the infant boy once he was in his custody. King, a veterinarian who specializes in ophthalmology, was arrested on March 22 for trading child pornography under the username @pervchiguy in a chat with an unidentified man in New York. King posted in the chat that he liked young children “in the single digits” and preferred boys....

A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a stabbing spree Wednesday afternoon in Rockford, Illinois, that left four people dead, including a U.S. postal worker and a teenage girl, and seven other victims injured, police said. The suspect, Christian Soto, was arrested in the frenzied attack, according to the Rockford Police Department. Soto faces four counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder, as well as two counts of home invasion with a dangerous weapon, authorities said. A motive for the attack remains under investigation, police said. The names of the slain victims were not immediately released,...

An adult male allegedly stabbed multiple victims in the Rockford, Illinois area on Wednesday, leaving four people dead, one in critical condition and four others in stable condition, authorities said in a press conference Wednesday. A postal worker is among the four individuals who died, Rockford Police confirmed. Details about the other victims have not been released.

On Monday’s edition of NBC’s “MTP Now,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) said that the only way to have success against Hamas is through diplomacy and “Hamas is much more than a military organization, it’s a movement. And the manner in which Israel has conducted this war is a recruiting tool for Hamas. So, they’re really not accomplishing what they want to do if the destruction occurs at the level it has so far. They need to be much more surgical and tactical.” Quigley stated, “[A]ny success there is going to be done diplomatically. So, those efforts to get a ceasefire...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A state parole board member resigned Monday after recommending the release of a man who a day later attacked a pregnant Chicago woman with a knife and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son while he tried to protect her, according to authorities. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board's handling of the case prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to order that procedures for dealing with situations involving domestic violence be revamped. Pritzker announced that LeAnn Miller, 63, of Junction submitted her resignation. Miller had prepared a report recommending Crosetti Brand's release from prison. The 37-year-old felon had repeatedly violated orders...

G.M. had provided information about braking, acceleration and speed to LexisNexis Risk Solution and Verisk, firms that generated driver risk profiles for insurers... General Motors said Friday that it had stopped sharing details about how people drove its cars with two data brokers that created risk profiles for the insurance industry. The decision followed a New York Times report this month that G.M. had, for years, been sharing data about drivers’ mileage, braking, acceleration and speed with the insurance industry. The drivers were enrolled — some unknowingly, they said — in OnStar Smart Driver, a feature in G.M.’s internet-connected cars...

The FBI is seeing a growing problem of false emergency calls designed to trigger a significant police response. These false reports of hostage situations, kidnappings, and bomb threats put both first responders and innocent people in jeopardy. At least 600 people were victims of swatting since last year, according to FBI data. Swatting even led to an innocent Kansas man being killed by responding officers. FBI Special Agent Siobhan Johnson said the bureau has created a special unit of 700 individuals from 350 law enforcement agencies across the country to collect data to identify patterns and solutions. The FBI created...

Business Strong Illinois economy has been very good for business Posted March 24, 2024 5:02 am By Frank Manzo IV Don’t tell the naysayers, but Illinois’ economy continues to remain strong. We are America’s sixth-largest state and fifth-largest economy, now generating $1.1 trillion annually — more than 13 other states combined. Indeed, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Illinois’ economy has expanded by $217 billion over the past five years. That’s more than all the goods and services produced every year in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Alaska combined. Put simply, our businesses, workers, residents, and visitors...

CHICAGO -- Chicago voters have rejected a one-time real estate tax on properties over $1 million to pay for services for homeless people. It’s a loss for first-term Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who championed the so-called “mansion tax.” The proposal would have incrementally raised the city’s real estate transfer tax on properties valued at more than $1 million. Supporters estimated it would have generated $100 million annually for homeless services, including for mental health care. There are roughly 68,000 homeless people in Chicago on any given night. The measure also pitched lowering the transfer tax on properties under $1 million,...

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The gap in the race for Cook County State's Attorney has narrowed even more. The Chicago Board of Elections added more than 10,000 votes to its total count on Saturday after its director of public information said he mistakenly left out some vote-by-mail ballots. The unofficial count now stands at 368,990 ballots cast after the 10,659 additional votes were added, bringing the citywide turnout to 24.44%. There are 1,509,554 active registered voters. "In adding up the total number of Vote By Mail ballots the Board had received back so far, I mistakenly left out additional ballots that...

(The Center Square) – Two dozen Republican U.S. senators are pushing back against the Biden administration's plan to increase taxes on the U.S. oil, natural gas and coal industries to the tune of over $110 billion. U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., led a coalition of 24 senators expressing “grave concern regarding the administration's continued hostility towards American energy production.” In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, they wrote, “America's working families and small businesses are facing immense challenges including high energy prices. At the same time, our allies and partners across the globe are asking for reliable American...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) gave us another amusing demonstration of his ability to humiliate Joe Biden’s unqualified judicial nominees during Wednesday's confirmation hearing. United States District Judge Nancy Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois, who has been nominated by Joe Biden for a spot on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, had previously signed a brief supporting a ban on "assault weapons" in Illinois state courts in the 2010s, yet, when he asked her to define "assault weapons,” she couldn’t. “You said, ‘assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate...

When a wave of migrants began arriving in Democratic-run cities far from the Southern border two years ago, officials welcomed them with open arms. Now they’re limiting aid to new arrivals as their instinct for compassion confronts hard budgetary realities. In recent days, New York and Chicago — two of the nation’s largest cities — have instituted substantial changes to their shelter policies. In Chicago, the city began evicting migrants who had overstayed a new 60-day time limit, saying it did not have the resources to meet the need. In New York, migrants had benefited from the city’s right to...

⚡️Campaign Finance🧵: Adam Kinzinger Have you ever wondered what becomes of socially awkward politicians with no marketable skills, aside from crying on cue, when they are gerrymandered out of public office? Better yet, do you ever wonder what happens to all the leftover campaign $$ they bilked out of pussy-hat wearing cat ladies in the name of saving our Democracy™? If the answer is yes, this one’s for you! Prior to finding fame in the J6 fallout, the most remarkable thing about Mr. Kinzinger was just how unremarkable his congressional career had been. Despite representing the reddest district in IL...

The Kane County Board appeared to swing to the right Tuesday as three conservatives who align themselves with former President Donald Trump were on the verge of sweeping out their more moderate colleagues. If the early unofficial results as of 9 p.m. Tuesday night stood, the formation of Kane County’s version of a Freedom Caucus may have begun with Trump-friendly conservatives unseating at least two fellow Republicans, each with more than a decade of experience. Half of the 24-member county board was up for election. Eight of the 12 county seats on primary ballots are represented by Democrats. But few...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago announced a first-of-its-kind lawsuit Tuesday against Glock, the manufacturer of some of the most popular handguns in the U.S., alleging Glock is facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns in the city, a news release from the mayor's office said. "The lawsuit alleges that Glock unreasonably endangers Chicagoans by manufacturing and selling in the Chicago civilian market semiautomatic pistols that can easily be converted to illegal machine guns with an auto sear - a cheap, small device commonly known as a 'Glock switch,'" the release said. The suit is the first to use Illinois' new Firearms...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least 18 people were shot, four fatally, in weekend gun violence across Chicago, police said. A man was critically injured in a shooting in Greater Grand Crossing on Sunday afternoon. A 20-year-old man was stopped in his vehicle in the first-block of West 79th Street about 3:06 p.m. when a "known offender" came up on foot and shot at the man, hitting him three times in the body, police said. He was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. No one is in custody. A man was killed in a shooting in Irving...

Behind a West Loop migrant shelter, dozens of cars sit without license plates. Several of their owners stand nearby, acknowledging they lack licenses to drive them. But they increasingly have been driving, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of police data that suggests sharp rises in arrests among migrants for breaking traffic laws. The analysis found many are now being detained in Chicago each week for driving- or vehicle-related infractions, roughly at five times the rate from last summer. “Start where you are. Do what you can. Use what you have,” said Jose Fernandez, 30, from Trujillo, Venezuela. It’s difficult...