Illinois Republicans Miss the Target in Target-Rich Environment–Again

Written by John Biver and David E. Smith

Illinois Republicans never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Whether it is reaching enough Illinoisans with the facts about the dire fiscal state of Illlinois or about the terrible consequences of the misnamed “Equal Rights Amendment,” GOP leaders can’t seem to make use of the many teachable moments that occur weekly in Illinois politics.

One such teachable moment presented itself in a shocking investigative report by the Chicago Tribune on pervasive child sexual abuse within the Chicago Public School system that exposed that “Over a decade, police investigated more than 520 cases of juvenile sexual assault and abuse in Chicago’s public schools.”… Continue Reading

The Left’s Slippery Slope

Written by Elad Hakim

Republicans and Democrats agree on little these days.  This is especially true when it comes to certain social issues.  For example, many Republicans believe in the traditional definition of marriage (man and woman).  Democrats, on the other hand, take a much broader approach.  Republicans tend to believe that a person is born as a man or a woman and that science dictates one’s sex.  Democrats have a different view.  One thing is certain: the country is currently on a left-leaning, steep, and slippery slope to the abyss.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Springfield Rundown

Written by John Biver

Laurie Higgins joins Monte Larrick and Dave Smith to discuss the Illinois Senate’s approval of the ERA, and they also discuss the LGBTQIA history curriculum legislation currently in consideration in the Illinois General Assembly.

Can the ERA be stopped in Illinois now that it has passed the state senate? “Yes,” Laurie Higgins said, because the “ERA actually says nothing about women.” The language of the proposed amendment does signal, however, that it will eradicate abortion restrictions and it will end sex differentiation in private spaces.… Continue Reading

LGBTQ Roots in Legal Weed Campaign Run Deep

Written by Pat Hickey

During the Illinois Primary, I wrote about the people behind the Marijuana Legalization Campaign:

Democrats Dan Biss and JB Pritzker want Illinois more than one toke over the line, and Chris Kennedy and Bruce Rauner want others to tell us if it is safe and fun.

Like the lottery and casino gambling, recreational pot will also free Illinois from want, debt and care.  Dope will make our kids smarter and turn selfish people into Jimmy Kimmel.

Transgressing the Diversity Dictate

Written by Robert Knight

“All I know is what I read in the papers,” Will Rogers used to say when opening his vaudeville act. In that spirit, here are two items in the news that shed light on our current culture.

In a full-page newspaper ad that ran during the Winter Olympics, Edward W. Stack, chairman of DICK’s Sporting Goods, basically paraphrased Rodney King’s admonition to the Los Angeles rioters in 1992:  “Can we all get along?”… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: LGBTQQAP Plans for Illinois Schools

Laurie Higgins and John Biver join this week’s podcast with David Smith. They discuss the ongoing push in Springfield to pass a bill which would celebrate the LGBT movement in school curricula K-12, the Delaware proposal where students “may self-identify their race or gender identity at school, and, there will be no requirement that parents be notified if the child communicates to the school that their parent would be not supportive.” (Read more HERE.)… Continue Reading

Southern Poverty Law Center Is a Hate Group

Written by Josh Goldstein

Like many leftist organizations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, started out with good intentions. It was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joseph Levin and is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.  The Southern Poverty Law Center rightly condemned, as did conservatives such as the great William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan, the American Nazi Party and the Democrat-affiliated Ku Klux Klan.

A favorite SPLC tactic was suing Klan affiliated organizations for their crimes and then distributing the money to the victims.  … Continue Reading

Any Given Sunday: Identity Politics and the Illinois Republican Race for Governor

Written by John Biver

Here is one definition of the expression “any given Sunday”:

It comes from American professional football, which is played (mainly) on Sunday. The full adage goes “on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team,” meaning that a weaker team still has a chance against a stronger opponent. A related sports phrase is “you have to play the games (to determine the outcome).”

The IFI series on Identity Politics and Paraphilias continues to highlight one of the many the opportunities that the American political left has given the American political right.… Continue Reading

Gay Cakes Are Not a Constitutional Right

Written by Daniel John Sobieski

One wonders what would have happened if the Sweet Cakes by Melissa case involved not the owners refusing to be coerced to violate their religious conscience by providing a cake not to two same-sex people celebrating their union and calling it a marriage, but rather a Muslim bakery being forced to bake a cake decorated with a cartoon picture of the prophet Muhammad covered with bacon sprinkles.

Would the bakery in that scenario be forced to pay a heavy business-killing fine for actually believing that the Founding Fathers meant freedom of religion when they enshrined it in the First Amendment? … Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Things You Don’t Hear About Gender Dysphoria

Written by John Biver

Laurie Higgins joins David Smith on this edition of Illinois Family Spotlight. Laurie is the Illinois Family Institute’s Cultural Affairs Writer.

They discuss transgender issues and gender dysphoria, including the requirements to be a transgender person; co-ed restrooms and locker rooms; the emotional toll taken on kids who witness transgender children in their schools; people who have been sexually molested, and transgender birth certificates. Also, one of Laurie’s recent articles.

Some conservatives are buying into “transgenderism,” but as Laurie Higgins points out: “Being castrated doesn’t turn a man into a woman.