Free Republic

Vatican Cardinal: No Papal Blessing for Matteo Salvini A close collaborator of Pope Francis said this week that the Vatican would never give a papal blessing to Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, comparing him to an abortion clinic and Venezuelan dictators. The papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, responsible for distributing charitable gifts on behalf of Pope Francis, said that parchments conveying the pope’s blessings can be requested for religious occasions such as first communions, confirmations, weddings, and anniversaries, but they cannot be given to people if this would produce scandal.

Politico scored a journalistic coup with its exclusive 2014 profile on Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of the agency's targeting of conservative groups. But a former Illinois lawmaker who said Politico contacted him repeatedly that year with questions regarding claims he was targeted by Lerner in the mid-1990s has been left wondering why the news group chose to ignore his documented dealings with the former federal official. "I was shocked," Al Salvi told the Washington Examiner's media desk, describing what he characterizes as several "lengthy" interviews with Politico reporter Rachael Bade. Lerner went after his 1996...

Because he posed a threat to Dick Durbin’s US Senate election in 1996, Illinois Republican Al Salvi was threatened by a United States government official. That official was Lois Lerner and she was using her position as a representative of the Federal Election Commission. In the course of her FEC inquisition of Salvi for alleged election law violations, Lerner made a statement that amounts to extortion. Following the Chicago way, Durbin made a series of FEC complaints against Salvi and Lerner took the point in handling his case. According to Salvi, at one point Lerner made an offer to him...

The government’s war on conservatives hasn’t stopped. On Saturday, Christine O’Donnell revealed a second onslaught from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in addition to the illegal accessing and abuse of her income tax records by the Internal Revenue Service. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is investigating the IRS on that. News recently broke that the IRS targeted Dr. Ben Carson, for the first time, immediately after he criticized Barack Obama. O’Donnell revealed on Saturday morning that the FEC is demanding payment of tribute (my words) to settle false accusations invented by a George Soros front group. Perhaps such shakedowns are an...

<p>WASHINGTON -- As soon as the Constitution permitted him to run for Congress, Al Salvi did. In 1986, just 26 and fresh from the University of Illinois law school, he sank $1,000 of his own money, which was most of his money, into a campaign to unseat an incumbent Democratic congressman. Salvi studied for the bar exam during meals at campaign dinners.</p>

Republicans took a step toward political revival Tuesday in Illinois, where they nominated viable moderates (relatively speaking) in two key races. Performances this fall by Judy Baar Topinka and David McSweeney, while isolated to specific races, could say a lot about how Republicans fare in midterms elections. Not just in the Land of Lincoln, but in suburbs across the country. Putting a higher priority on victory than ideology, GOP primary voters chose Topinka, a polka-dancing, cigarette-smoking, foul-mouthed moderate with ties to disgraced former Gov. George Ryan (R), over two buttoned-down conservatives vying to challenge Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), in what...

Tomorrow is primary day in Illinois and there are three races to watch. The first, and biggest, is the GOP primary for Governor which has essentially boiled down to a two person race between moderate Judy Baar Topinka and conservative Jim Oberweis.Topinka is the only Republican currently holding statewide office (Treasurer) which demonstrates her appeal in a state where the GOP has basically been reduced to a smoldering heap of ruins. However, Topinka's longevity also has a downside; she has ties to the lowly-regarded Illinois political establishment and she served with former Governor George Ryan - who sits awaiting...

Salvi vs. Obama? Wednesday, July 21, 2004 By The Leader-Chicago Bureau CHICAGO -- Chicago Public Radio is reporting that Al Salvi is telling colleagues he is rested and ready for another run at the U.S. Senate. According to reporter Carlos Hernandez-Gomez, the former state representative and 1996 GOP U.S. Senate nominee is waiting for State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) to make his decision before going public. Gomez reports that Salvi will commit $1 million of his personal fortune to 'jump-start' his campaign. Reports have been swirling for days that Salvi has been in contact with national level politicos, including Speaker...