Free Republic

‘Congress should not be operating as business as usual… Colleagues of mine should not be able to go to church or to go to the neighborhood gas station…’ While plotting upcoming protests, Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., urged demonstrators to target congressmen at church. “Folks, colleagues of mine should not be able to go to church or to go to the neighborhood gas station — if they pump their own gas, because I work with a lot of billionaires,” Ramirez said. “They should not be able to, without seeing community asking them ‘What the hell are you doing [for] my Social...

(The Center Square) – One of several examples the U.S. Department of Justice gave of how federal officials have been obstructed by Illinois’ migrant sanctuary policies involves an illegal alien released from jail later being accused of murder. “In January 2025, federal officials issued a detainer request for an alien who was being held in Cook County jail on sexual assault of a minor charges,” the DOJ said. “Pursuant to Cook County’s restrictions, law enforcement officers did not respond to the detainer request … Following the alien’s release from local jail, he was arrested and charged with homicide just 17...

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has ordered state agencies to review and potentially boycott business with El Salvador due to its role in detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A statement from the Democrat indicates he believes this is a strong stance in support of due process for an alleged MS-13 member and suspected human trafficker. “The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” Pritzker said. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything...

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a left-wing Democrat who has represented the 9th congressional district of Illinois since 1999, will reportedly announce her retirement next month at the age of 80. Politico reported: Rep. Jan Schakowsky is planning to announce next month she won’t seek reelection after 14 terms in the House and has started informing allies of her retirement decision, according to two people granted anonymity to describe the private conversations. The veteran Illinois Democrat, 80, confirmed in a statement that an announcement is forthcoming, though she did not say what it would entail: “I’m going to announce my plans on...

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will not seek a sixth term next year, confirming to WBEZ in an Illinois exclusive that he will leave office in 2027 in a long-awaited move certain to set off a massive, intraparty succession fight. “I’ve decided not to run for re-election. So a year and a half from now, I’ll be wrapping up. I plan on working full-time until that moment, but I’m not going to be waging a campaign for re-election,” Durbin said during an interview in downtown Chicago. A major reason for his decision boiled down to one thing: his age. By...

Illinois bureaucrats are here to protect your kids... from you. People can’t get out of Illinois fast enough. Only two other states lost more residents between 2023–24, and the state has actually lost population for 10 years in a row. The tax burden, weather, heavy regulation, and crime levels all contribute to its residents seeking an exit. So, taking this mass exodus into account, you’d think the state would try to appeal to the families that remain. Well, think again. The Cubs (and maybe even the White Sox) are more likely to win another World Series before Illinois considers the...

Illinois Republican state Rep. Dan Ugaste is speaking out against a “nationwide literacy crisis” that counts Illinois among the more than 40 states where just one out of every three fourth grade students are now meeting reading proficiency standards. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress report card shows that in Illinois, just 30% of fourth graders are hitting such standards. In a 2024 national exam, the state's students finished 29th in the country for the percentage of fourth graders at or above proficiency. “This is a huge problem across the country, but it's a real problem here in...

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) says it will continue to ignore a federal directive barring the participation of biological male athletes in high school girls’ sports. Previously, the State of Maine announced it would not comply with the directive, issued as an Executive Order by President Donald J. Trump in February, and now faces a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). ISHA’s president, Dan Tully, claims that state law preempts the federal restriction and requires Illinois high schools to accommodate so-called transgender athletes, who are biological males, by allowing their participation in girls’ sporting events....

Move highlights how legal threats from the Trump administration are discouraging DEI.. Illinois has suspended a minority-only scholarship after the Department of Justice threatened to sue the state, the department said Friday. The department’s move, which came in the wake of a Washington Free Beacon report on the program, is the latest example of how the Trump administration’s legal saber-rattling has deterred the use of racial preferences. The program, which gave minorities financial aid to complete a master's or doctoral degree, was run by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and included some of the top universities in the state,...

A Washington state man accused of making more than 20 swatting calls across the U.S. and in Canada, leading to law enforcement responses to his false reports of bombings, shootings and other crimes, pleaded guilty. Ashton Garcia, 21, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a news release. Garcia was initially charged with 10 felony counts. Garcia placed the calls to agencies in Washington state, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado,...

By taking himself out of the running for a third term as governor next year, Pritzker could position himself as a leader with big ideas rather than an official forced to explain why Illinois keeps losing taxpayers and businesses. "He’s a bold presence in a party that often seems hesitant to wield power as aggressively as the GOP. But his record in Illinois is also a liability. If he runs again, he’ll be forced to defend an ugly reality: Illinois remains a state with some of the highest taxes in the country, a poor business climate, anemic job creation and...

The sanctuary cities of Chicago and Philadelphia have canceled their annual Cinco de Mayo parades, citing fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting criminal illegal aliens. The decision, announced by local organizers, is being slammed as a blatant attempt to harbor lawbreakers and undermine federal immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown on illegal immigration. In Chicago, the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla pulled the plug on the Little Village parade, a long-standing celebration of Mexican-American culture, claiming the community is “frightened” by ICE’s efforts to apprehend illegal aliens. Hector Escobar, president of the...

I have been provided with several rations’ worth of bitter amusement over the last few years , when reading various news stories, especially those concerning incidents of murder, rape, mayhem and property crime – most of which can be laid at the door of a certain violently dysfunctional urban demographic – and then comparing the sympathetic manner in which that specific demographic is presented in pop entertainment. Yes, just as the sun rises in the east, one can absolutely count on black urban youth being cast as hapless, misunderstood yet endearing rascals, automatically the prime suspect in a murder actually...

The Illinois school district that faced national scrutiny for allegations of forcing middle school girls to change in the same locker room as a transgender student has been referred to the Department of Justice. The law firm America First Legal (AFL) made the criminal referral of the district Deerfield Public Schools 109 to the DOJ on Tuesday, urging the department to investigate the district and middle school where the allegations occurred for potential violations of federal and state law. AFL alleged the district violated Code § 241, also known as the "Conspiracy against rights" statute, which makes it a federal...

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump signed four executive orders Tuesday promoting the deregulation and expansion of the “beautiful, clean coal” industry in the U.S. The first order White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said might be “one of the most significant executive orders” the president has issued so far. “This directs all departments and agencies of the federal government to end all discriminatory policies against the coal industry. This ends the leasing moratorium that prevents new coal projects on federal land, and it’s going to accelerate all permitting and funding for new coal projects,” Scharf said. The other...

The president will direct agencies to boost coal leasing, mining and exports. But these steps are unlikely to usher in a coal renaissance.President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Tuesday aimed at boosting the struggling U.S. coal industry, according to White House officials.Flanked by coal miners wearing hard hats at the White House, Trump will direct federal agencies to loosen various restrictions on coal mining, leasing and exports. He will instruct the Interior Department to resume coal leasing on millions of acres of public lands, and he will order the Energy Department and other agencies to study whether...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Purpose. In order to secure America’s economic prosperity and national security, lower the cost of living, and provide for increases in electrical demand from emerging technologies, we must increase domestic energy production, including coal. Coal is abundant and cost effective, and can be used in any weather condition. Moreover, the industry has historically employed hundreds of thousands of Americans. America’s coal resources are vast, with a current estimated value in the trillions of dollars, and...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — A bill that would ban “black market” restaurant reservations in Illinois has passed out of the House. HB2456, or the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act, would prevent third party services from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling restaurant reservations without a written agreement. “At a time when local restaurants are operating with extremely tight margins and working to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, they shouldn’t have to deal with third-party services snatching up their reservations and selling them at a premium, which leads to no-shows and confusion that only hurts their bottom lines,” said State Representative Margaret...

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (Gray News) - A special education teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at school during a tutoring session. According to the Downers Grove Police Department, Christina Formella, 30, sexually assaulted the boy in a classroom at Downers Grove South High School during a tutoring session before school in December 2023. Formella worked there as a special education teacher and soccer coach. The boy’s mother discovered the alleged sexual assault when she looked through a text message thread on her son’s phone and reported it to police on March 15. Formella was taken into custody...

Extremely Liberal Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson lashed out in a fiery response to threats from America’s newly appointed and tough-as-nails Border Czar, Tom Homan. Homan warned he’d prosecute Johnson if he interfered with planned ICE deportation raids in Chicago. In a CNN podcast interview, Mayor Johnson fiercely defended Chicago’s sanctuary policies, calling Homan’s threat reprehensible. Mayor Johnson has doubled down on refusing to deport illegal immigrants from the city, drawing direct fire from Tom Homan and the Trump administration due to their shielding of illegal immigrants. Johnson’s resistance comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement nationwide, making Chicago a...