Free Republic

Chicago police are investigating the shooting death of a man shot while in the middle of a Facebook Live stream on the city's West Side. A video viewed almost two million times on Facebook showed Kevin Watson, 42, getting out of a car. Seconds later, gunfire can be heard. It happened mere blocks away from a police station in South Austin. Close friends of the victim who witnessed the deadly shooting spoke exclusively with ABC7. The shooting happened around 6:14 p.m. Wednesday in the 5000 block of West Madison Street in South Austin, Chicago police said. Watson was sitting in...

NRA has often reported on failed “gun buyback” programs in cities across the country as being worse than useless. Unfortunately, for some, these programs have led to even more dangerous and life-threatening consequences. While the Chicago Police “gun turn-in program” website states that “all guns are destroyed and never returned to the streets,” that was not the case for Twanda Willingham. Ms. Willingham recently filed suit against the City of Chicago and others after she was shot with a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun that had been relinquished to Chicago police at a gun turn-in event in December 2023. The...

Billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has responded to fellow Democrat and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's assertion that billionaires should not exist. “How much money you have doesn’t determine what your values are,” Pritzker said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “I’m a Democrat because I believe that we’ve got to stand up for our democracy and against the MAGA Republicans who are literally trying to take away people’s rights all across this country.” Advertisement Pritzker has an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion, according to Forbes, in part due to his family’s ownership...

Despite President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the Washington D.C. police force and deploy the National Guard to fight violent crime in the nation’s capital, he cannot deliver on his threat to do the same in Chicago, state and local officials said Monday. “If we need to, we’re going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a man there who’s totally incompetent. He’s an incompetent man,” Trump said, referring to Mayor Brandon Johnson. “And we have an incompetent governor there. Pritzker is an incompetent,” Trump added, referring to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. And now...

DECATUR, Ill. (Gray News) - A substitute teacher in Illinois pleaded guilty sexually assaulting an 11-year-old student during “play dates” at her home, according to reports. Former Decatur Public Schools employee Alley Bardfield, 34, pleaded guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault, according to WCIA. She reached a partial plea deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to the sole count against her.

How asinine. Despite Republicans constituting 38% of the vote in California, Gov. @GavinNewsom recently redistricted to give Democrats 82% of the congressional seats (providing Republicans only 9 out of 52 seats) - a 20% advantage. Now, even though California’s constitution prohibits mid-decade redistricting and is done by an “independent” commission, he wants to gerrymander further. That’s what should be “shocking.” According to the Texas Democrats that fled our state (without calling out what California and other blue states have done), if Republicans do redistricting, it’s a threat to democracy. Yet, if Democrats do redistricting, it’s democracy itself. How disingenuous and...

Indefensible.. In a baffling turn of events, the media actually questioned whether Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is really qualified to be the standard bearer against gerrymandering on account of his state being more rigged than a south side backroom poker game. KRISTEN WELKER: I do want to look at the map of Illinois. Let’s take a look at this: despite President Trump winning 44% of the statewide vote in 2024, Republicans hold only three of Illinois’s 17 districts. These districts seem to be to maximize Democratic advantage. What do you say to those who argue that it’s hypocritical for you...

Illinois Gov. JB . ...Pritzker slammed President Donald Trump as a "cheater" and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a "joke" days after welcoming Texas Democrats who fled their state in protest of GOP-led redistricting efforts.... .

U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 unfairly tilted the political landscape, costing Republicans critical congressional seats.. The U.S. Census Bureau admitted in 2022 that it significantly miscounted the population in over a quarter of U.S. states during the 2020 census, affecting the allocation of House seats and Electoral College votes. ... certain states — despite Republican and independent populations outnumbering Democrats — remain heavily controlled by left-wing lawmakers due to gerrymandering and the Census Bureau’s admitted miscalculations. ... In California, they have 43 Democrat representatives and nine Republicans. In Illinois, they have 14 Democrats and three Republicans,” Levin said. “In Maryland,...

Texas Democrats are preventing quorum needed for Monday's vote on maps that could add 5 Republican congressional seats ... Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is rolling out the red carpet for Democrat state lawmakers who fled Texas ... The lawmakers fled Texas in order to prevent the quorum needed in the Republican-dominated state legislature to vote on Monday on the new redistricting maps, which passed a committee vote this past weekend along party lines. ... The redistricting push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the House and cushion losses...

Several other states are also facing new scrutiny as the Trump administration refocuses election-law enforcement... The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Pennsylvania for a wide range of information on how it manages voter registration and voter rolls, as part of what it calls “nationwide efforts” to monitor compliance with a key federal voting statute. In a June 23 letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, the department asked for 14 categories of information on the state’s voter registration activities, including how voters are added to and removed from the voter roll, and how the state prevents unauthorized...

Democrats are struggling to convince the public that they are outraged that there is gerrymandering afoot in Texas. It is no easy task, particularly after Texas Democrats selected Illinois as their sanctuary state, a state considered the most gerrymandered in the country. Trump received 45 percent of the vote in the state, but Republicans have only 14 percent of the congressional seats. Even the New York Times admitted that gerrymandering has favored Democrats across the nation. However, the winner of the Claude Rains award must be Marc Elias, who has expressed disgust over the notion of gerrymandering despite the fact...

The Democrats of Texas protesting against gerrymandering by fleeing to Massachusetts -- 40% GOP vote, ZERO GOP members of Congress, 12% state house representation -- is *chef's kiss*! ... Massachusetts put the Gerry in Gerrymander!

Rep. Ramirez (D-IL) says in Spanish: "I am a proud Guatemalan before I am American"

In his second post-office visit in Chicago, former President Joe Biden stopped to accept an award from the National Bar Association, blasting President Donald Trump without ever saying his name to the crowd at the Hyatt Regency in the Loop Thursday evening. “Judges matter, courts matter, the law matters, and the constitution matters,” Biden said. “I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under this president. … Get ready folks, he’s just starting.” Biden Thursday decried the abduction of immigrants from their families and communities while highlighting attacks on civil rights and voter access. “There are moments...

Newly appointed Chicago Park District Supt. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa issued a statement saying the temporary art would “celebrate Chicago’s diverse communities” in a proposed “Peoples’ Plaza.” The new plaza is expected to open in late summer or early fall after pavement restoration. Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, viewed the move as a betrayal of the innovative agreement he cut with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration nearly three months ago. The deal called for the Columbus statue in Arrigo Park to be “loaned” to the civic committee for display in a new Chicago Museum of Italian Immigration...

The Democrat indicated to former Fox News host Megyn Kelly that he does not agree with his party on whether biological males should be allowed to compete in women's sports, and that biological males cannot actually become women. Potential Democratic presidential contender Rahm Emanuel on Monday admitted in a news interview that a biological male cannot actually become a woman, marking a significant break from what has become the mainstream view in his party. Emanuel, who previously stated he was "in training" to run for the Oval Office, is a powerful figure in Democratic politics, having served as the ambassador...

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has once again joined a coalition of other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over new rules that could bar immigrants without legal status from health and education programs. The suit, announced Monday, seeks to stop a series of orders from federal agencies that would block people from the early childhood education program Head Start, Title X family planning, adult education, mental health care and community health centers based on immigration status.

Gov. JB Pritzker has officially signed the Illinois "Squatter Bill" into law on Monday. The law will make it easier for police to remove squatters from someone's home, bypassing a possibly months-long eviction process Previously, squatters were allowed to stay at the property during the court process to get them out. The law differentiates squatters from tenants, making it easier for property owners to regain control of their home. "This outdated eviction law has treated squatters the same as tenants, leaving property owners in limbo and tying the hands of law enforcement," Pritzker said.

2024, prices jumped 800% at PJM Interconnection, a “traffic controller” part of the grid that provides service in 13 states as well as D.C. .. PJM operates the largest power grid in the U.S., with around 67 million customers—that’s more than 20% of the American population. ... amid a dwindling supply and an increase in demand, “Prices for power plants landed at $269.92 per megawatt-day, compared to $28.92 per megawatt-day” in 2023. ... prices are set to spike again, and the projection for this year is around 20%. If you live in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey,...