Free Republic

A burglar shot and killed by a mother as she hid her baby in a closet during a home invasion was a serial criminal who'd only recently been freed from jail.

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...

An Illinois judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to enforce arrest warrants against derelict state House Democrats. The Democrats fled to Illinois last week to block the Republicans from voting on a new congressional redistricting map. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened the derelict Democrats with arrest and removal from office if they didn’t return to the Capitol. Judge Scott Larson said Paxton failed to “present a legal basis for the court to obtain subject matter jurisdiction over this cause of action…” The Hill reported: An Illinois judge on Wednesday declined Texas Attorney...

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.

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...

Attorney General Eric Holder says nine Obama appointees in the Justice Department have represented or advocated for terrorist detainees before joining the Justice Department. But he does not reveal any names beyond the two officials whose work has already been publicly reported. And all the lawyers, according to Holder, are eligible to work on general detainee matters, even if there are specific parts of some cases they cannot be involved in. Holder's admission comes in the form of an answer to a question posed last November by Republican Sen. Charles Grassley. Noting that one Obama appointee, Principal Deputy Solicitor General...

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...

In Texas, the Republican majority in the legislature wants to redraw the boundaries of several congressional districts. Democrats are boycotting the legislature in an attempt to prevent this outcome. The Republican majority has issued arrest warrants, but the boycotters have taken refuge outside the jurisdiction of the warrants. Some fled to Massachusetts and others to Illinois. The current number of Texas' congressional seats held by each Party are 25 for Republicans to 12 for Democrats (a 68% to 32% edge for Republicans over Democrats). If the Republican redistricting plan goes through it is projected to change the ratio to 30...

From a tiny hotel room that resembles a prison cell, James Talarico says that he will stay away ‘for however long it takes’ to stop a Trump-backed redistricting plan. James Talarico isn’t like most Democrats. For starters, the Texas state representative is a Joe Rogan–friendly guy whose twang leaks out between critiques of the billionaire class. This week, Talarico is making news for leading an exodus of Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a redistricting vote that could carve out as many as five new Republican congressional seats and help the Republicans keep their House majority next year....

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.... .

ST CHARLES, Ill. — Texas House Democrats in Illinois were evacuated from their hotel Wednesday morning after the hotel received a bomb threat. “This morning, a threat was made against the safety of the members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred,” a statement from House Democratic leadership said. “We are grateful for Governor Pritzker, local, and state law enforcement for their quick action to ensure our safety.” End excerpt

Late-night host Stephen Colbert confronted Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker with gerrymandered maps of Illinois congressional districts on Tuesday amid Texas Republicans' efforts to redraw the state's congressional map. "If you are considering doing a little more redrawing in Illinois, you already have some crazy districts in Illinois. Take a look at this. Look at [district] 17 here. It does that, then it comes up here, and it sneaks around there and goes all the way up here and then goes right over there like that," Colbert said as he gestured, describing the districts. "Is this common for all states...

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, tried to block a member of the Texas House from closing out a news conference on Monday in Illinois, thinking she held the coveted final speaking slot. Crockett joined a group of Texas House lawmakers who had fled to Illinois over the weekend to block Republicans from voting on a congressional redistricting map. - snip - Crockett took to the podium at the Warrenville, Illinois, news conference on Monday by first announcing, “I will be your last and final speaker.” - snip - Crocket said her fellow congressional Democrats’ response to Republican...

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 Texas House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday afternoon calling for the arrest of dozens of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to prevent a congressional redistricting vote from going forward. At least 100 of the 150 members of the Texas House must be present for a quorum so business can be conducted.

Dozens of Texas Democrats plan to flee the state amid a special session Sunday afternoon, making a last-ditch effort to disrupt a mid-decade redistricting attempt forced by President Donald Trump, according to two people briefed on the matter. It marks their second act of breaking quorum — when the state House will lack the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — since 2021. And it comes as the party scrambles to counter the aggressive action in Texas, intended to keep Republicans in power in Congress next year by creating five GOP-friendly seats in the state. Four years ago,...

BNSF Railway donated a historic SD70MAC to the Illinois Railway Museum. Locomotive 9400 was built in 1993 and is notable for being the first production locomotive (i.e., non-demonstrator) to feature modern AC traction, making it the precursor to thousands of units with this groundbreaking technology. BNSF made the donation earlier this summer, and IRM announced it on July 31. IRM plans to eventually restore the unit to its as-delivered appearance, Burlington Northern’s green and cream “Executive” livery from the early 1990s. Following testing of freight diesels equipped with AC traction motors in the early 1990s, BN ordered the first production...

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...