Free Republic

Black Chicagoans are increasing their calls to “turn Chicago red” in the coming elections in response to the growing border crisis that has flooded their neighborhoods with illegal aliens at the behest of “welcoming” Mayor Brandon Johnson. Windy City residents Cata Truss and Mark Carter appeared on Fox & Friends First on Jan. 5 with the vow to vote for Republicans in 2024 after the massive failure of Mayor Johnson and the Chicago City Council to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants.

Detroit Gets The Destination Nod Over Chicago DETROIT (WWJ) – Detroit is better than Chicago!! That’s according to at least one travel writer, who has compiled a list of over-rated destinations and suggested alternatives. While Michiganders can give you a plethora of choices in the state that are select and unique it’s always nice to get a nob from outsiders. Among the reasons David Landsel tells travelers to try the Motor City over the Windy City? World-class architecture, a great music scene, and cheaper and better beer. • Typical Detroit neighborhood • Community activists in Chicago promote "peace"

A homeless convict was ordered held without bail Tuesday for allegedly beating and sodomizing a Schiller Park man with a tree branch in Grant Park. Cortez Foster is accused of beating the 65-year-old victim so bad late Friday, he remains intubated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with severe head trauma, eye and nose fractures and brain swelling, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Morgan Creppel said. Doctors had to remove the tree branch, 7 inches long, 1/2 inch in diameter, from the victim’s rectum, Creppel said. The two men did not know each other but they were “interacting” before the beating in...

Stimulus: A group of ministers wants a big-box retailer to create jobs in a desolate area of President Obama's hometown. In a largely jobless recovery, why are the labor unions and political bosses fighting the clergy? Unemployment in the Chicago area was 11.3% in February. Joblessness on Chicago's South Side was and is probably much higher, according to Omar McRoberts, a University of Chicago sociology professor who studies urban poverty. So you'd think that if there was a chance to bring hundreds of jobs to an area that badly needs them, there would be little resistance. And you'd think that...

So much that you need to know about the Catholic Church’s social policy problems can be summed up in one word: Chicago. On race, abortion, guns, immigration and “community organizing,” Catholic Church officials in the Windy City have forged unholy alliances with radical left-wingers and enablers who undermine the faith—and the faithful. Exhibit A: the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Racial Justice and one of its most notorious priests, the Rev. Michael Pfleger. This week, Chicago Cardinal Francis George—who also happens to be president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops—presided over a gala ceremony honoring Pfleger with a “lifetime...

It’s a rough way to start the weekend. Chicago Tribune Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat running for President Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate seat this fall, woke up this morning to see his face blazoned across the top of the Chicago Tribune with the headline: “$20 MILLION IN LOANS TO FELONS.” Broadway Bank, the Giannoulias family bank, has been under scrutiny as it struggles to avoid a federal takeover. Giannoulias’s role at the bank has become a key issue in the Senate race against Republican Rep. Mark Kirk.

Politics: Another bank failure is nothing new these days — except if the bank is run by the family of a U.S. Senate candidate who profited handsomely and lent millions to a convicted felon. But then, that's the Chicago way. 'I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat-cat bankers on Wall Street," President Obama said in a recent interview with "60 Minutes." Speaking to those bankers, he said: "You guys are drawing down 10, 20 million dollar bonuses after America went through the worst economic year that it's gone through in — in decades,...

Chicago public school bureaucrats skirted public competitive bidding rules to buy 30 cappuccino/espresso machines for $67,000, with most of the machines going unused because the schools they were ordered for had not asked for them, according to a report by the CPS Office of Inspector General. That was just one example of questionable CPS actions detailed in the inspector general's 2008 annual report. Others included high school staffers changing grades to pump up transcripts of student athletes and workers at a restricted-enrollment grade school falsifying addresses to get relatives admitted. In the case of the cappuccino machines, central office administrators...

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he is not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and plans to stay on the job. In his first official statement since his arrest on corruption charges last week, Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-Uh-vich) says he will fight until he takes his "last breath." ... The Democratic governor says he intends to "answer every allegation in a court of law."

Gov: Chicago may get troopers, National Guard By DON BABWIN | Associated Press Writer 5:14 PM CDT, July 16, 2008 CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday raised the possibility of bringing in state troopers or even the Illinois National Guard to help Chicago combat a recent increase in violent crime -- an offer that Mayor Richard Daley didn't know was coming. Appearing at signing ceremony for a bill that toughens the penalty for adults who provide guns to minors, Blagojevich said "violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of control." "I'm offering resources of the state to...

The early Las Vegas consensus favors The Chicago Bears (9-1) in their match up against the New England Patriots (7-3) by 3 points -- a mere field goal. But I think the Nov. 26 game may be even closer than that. Last Sunday, the Bears demonstrated they are the premier team of the NFC with the 10-0 win at the Meadowlands, vs. the ridiculous New York Jets. Despite getting just 121 passing yards from Quarterback Rex Grossman, they prevailed. But they must play much better offensively this week in their third road game in a row. I don't know if...

Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd) collapsed on the City Council floor this afternoon after delivering a speech in favor of a resolution calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. The 72-year-old alderman was standing near one of the exit doors to the City Council chamber, on the 2nd floor of City Hall, about 1:25 p.m. during the council's regular meeting. Ald. Virginia A. Rugai (19th) had just started to speak when another alderman got the chairman's attention by yelling, "Call 911!" A recess was called and proceedings came to an immediate halt as Natarus' colleagues ran to him. An aide...

The Hillary FReeping started in Chicago this morning with breakfast at Svea, a sweedish restaurant across the street from Women & Children First, the gay & lesbian book store that "hosted" the Beast. I was the first to arrive followed quickly by Chicagolady, GRRRRR, Endeavor and her friend (who came all the way from Champaign), SteveA (who came down from Milwaukee), Unspun. While everyone was enjoying breakfast, I walked over and talked to the police cheif and some officers and let them know our purpose and peaceful intent. They were happy to have us there and gave us a prime...

Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene resigned after acknowledging he engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a teen-age girl, the newspaper said Sunday. In a note on the paper's front page, editor Ann Marie Lipinski said Greene, 55, acknowledged the sexual conduct with a girl in her late teens whom he met in connection with his column.