Free Republic

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — A new bill under consideration in the Illinois House would allow individual municipalities to impose their own, local motor fuel tax on top of the state’s gas tax. House Bill 1283 would create the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law, allowing cities, towns and villages to impose their own gas tax, at a rate not to exceed 3 cents per gallon. The bill was introduced by Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-80th). Illinois residents currently pay the second-highest gas tax in the country besides California, at 66 cents per gallon.

President Donald Trump angered much of America’s education establishment Thursday when he signed an executive order to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education “as quickly as possible.” Predictably, ahead of the signing, teachers unions issued dire warnings about how this would imperil students. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, arguably the nation’s most influential teachers’ union, called Trump’s anticipated plans an “attack” on education that would cause “chaos.” In fact, if the department were to vanish, American parents would be surprised at how little things would change. It would merely return power closer to the...

Watch live Los Angeles officials give update on wildfires US News Gov. Newsom passes the buck to ‘local folks’ when asked about hydrants running out of water during Pacific Palisades fire By Allie Griffin Published Jan. 9, 2025 Updated Jan. 9, 2025, 6:51 a.m. ET 792 Comments Gov. Gavin Newsom passes the blame to 'local folks' when asked about water situation Ad Loading 00:00 / 00:30 California Gov. Gavin Newsom passed the blame on to “local folks” when grilled over fire hydrants running out of water during the raging Pacific Palisades fire — and said he couldn’t even respond to...

The left is targeting the electoral system and local election boards. Their strategy appears to be simple: Make the rules. Decide the game.Democrats have been on a swing-state crusade to rid election boards of anyone who is more concerned with the fairness and accuracy of our elections than with making sure the Democrat comes out on top. The left’s strategy is predictable yet effective. Utilizing a sophisticated information campaign that includes law articles, op-eds, boots-on-the-ground activism, and large amounts of funding from a handful of elite megadonors, the crusade targets GOP candidates at the local level, as Politico recently reported.The...

Let’s discuss the latest BLS report on employer costs with a special focus on teachers.Employer costs from the BLS, chart by MishEmployer Cost SynopsisGovernment Wages Plus Benefits: $61.27Private Wages and Benefits: $43.78Government Wages: $37.90Private Wages: $30.76Government hourly wages are 23.2 percent more than private workers on average.Benefits are the real killer.Government total compensation is 39.9 percent more than private workers.What About Teachers?Employer costs from the BLS, chart by MishTeachers make $37.90 per hour in direct wages. But they make a whopping $79.38 per hour in total benefits.Benefits for teachers are a mere 109 percent of wages.Economic FairnessEducation Week reports Biden...

The federal government won an 8.7 percent profit of $37.5 billion from the resident population of 2.9 million refugees and asylum seekers in the 15 years before 2020, says a celebratory report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report also notes that the imported refugees also inflicted a 7.3 percent loss of $21.4 billion on the taxpayers who fund state and local governments. The report calculated the costs by comparing the $739 billion in taxes paid by migrants and their families to their $723.4 billion in government aid.

LIMA — Police arrested an 18-year-old Lima man in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl earlier this week. According to a press release from the Lima Police Department, officers arrested Malik Dennis, 18, on Thursday on a charge of suspicion of murder. He’s charged with killing Lauralye Sterling, 14, at her home. At 2:24 a.m. Tuesday, officers were dispatched to a residence at 778 Greenlawn Ave. regarding a possible homicide. They found Sterling inside the residence, dead from a gunshot wound. According to her obituary with Harter and Schier Funeral Home in Delphos, Sterling was a freshman at...

Grandma took Grandson to school this morning and found out that it's a Teacher in Service Day (that's what it was called back in My days in school anyway) so they returned home. This is the 2nd time that this has happened. I asked why don't they put this information on the Monthly Calendar so We know about it. Grandma said that they expect someone to check the School Website to find out. So I asked what was the site Name and I will check for this since I'm online a LOT. When I got to the site it was...

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will make $4.6 billion available to help states, localities and tribes implement their climate plans. The funds represent the bulk of a $5 billion effort under the Inflation Reduction Act to help local and state governments cut their greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The administration has already put an additional $250 million to help them develop the plans. Biden administration officials told reporters that four states — Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and South Dakota — declined to participate; major metropolitan areas in those states did receive planning grants.

A woman who was waving a gun at people on a North Bellmore intersection was struck by an officer’s vehicle, according to Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. The woman fired the weapon into the air Tuesday afternoon at the corner of Bellmore and Jerusalem avenues. An officer then struck the suspect with his vehicle and recovered the semi-automatic handgun. The woman, identified as a 33-year-old African American, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and is in custody.

Zhao captured the information in surreptitious recordings and photographs, including “operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support,” prosecutors said. “The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan,” the release explained. In exchange for that information and details about Naval Base Ventura County and a base on San Clemente Island, Zhao allegedly received $14,866.

We need a National org / States / LOCALs Forums. Hierarchical directory. (cities/districts/user defined down to the school if citizens want/need) groups to inform, unite and call to action locally. imo. Off the controlled Big Socials. So we can address stuff like this and Primary out RINOs in each district and region. Any time there was a call to meet at Lansing MI it would show up on my feed the day after. https://www.facebook.com/groups/michforprincipledgovernment/posts/1325667701661224/ So that citizens can unite nationally and locally in a safe trusted web domain, and start becoming effective against the controlled media/big tech. Given the folder,...

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a bill on Friday to establish a commission with the power to remove local prosecutors who “refuse to uphold the law.” Kemp’s office said in a release that he established the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PACQ) with his signature to serve as “a valuable oversight mechanism” for district attorneys and solicitors-general throughout the state. The office said the commission will ensure these officials fulfill their constitutional and statutory responsibilities.

Donald Trump deserves the legal scrutiny he’s getting — which has come from many corners on many counts. Yet of the long list of alleged violations, the likely charges on which a grand jury in New York state voted to indict him are perhaps the least compelling. There’s cause for concern, and caution, ahead. [cut] Breaches of campaign finance law undermine democracy and deserve to be taken seriously. Yet the potential downsides of indicting Mr. Trump ought to be taken seriously, too. This prosecution is now bound to be the test case for any future former president, as well as,...

Detectives with the Homicide Bureau of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the scene of a shooting at Mabel’s Roadhouse, where an off-duty sheriff’s deputy took his own life, officials confirmed Friday morning. A Sheriff’s Information Bureau official confirmed that an off-duty deputy took his own life in a shooting at the bar some time before 2 a.m. The deputy, who was 33 years old, served two tours in Afghanistan during his four years in the Marines, and had three years with the department, according to his father. Becky Hansmann, owner of the bar, who made the post Friday...

Unofficial Results Last updated Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 1:13:43 AM (9 hours ago)

Banks will not be bailed out. They will be bailed-in using your money. Banks are already starting to collapse around us. The fractional banking system is a complete joke. It is at zero right now and your money is not safe.

A new body cam footage released by Arizona authorities shows a male suspect being shot to death after pointing a handgun at a police dog’s head. The incident occurred on August 25 in Tucson, Arizona.

Border Patrol agents caught three illegal immigrants wearing ghillie suits meant to help them blend into the New Mexico desert, the federal agency reported last week. The trio, after being caught, is seen wearing so-called ghillie suits in photos posted to the Border Patrol’s social media accounts. Ghillie suits are often used by hunters to blend in with the outdoors.

A Florida man has lost one of his eyes after being busted by a K9 following a traffic stop, police said. The 30-year-old man, identified as Terrell Bradley, said the Gainesville Police K9 also chewed up his finger after he was apprehended following a traffic stop. The Gainesville Police Department investigated the incident and has temporarily taken the K9 off duty.