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
Tags: Bill Brady, Bruce Rauner, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Tribune, Illinois GOP, Jim Durkin, Mike Madigan, sex abuse scand, Tim Mapes, Tim Schneider
Illinois Politics, LGBTQ Agenda, Marriage, Family & Culture | David E. Smith | 
June 14, 2018 4:00 AM | 
Comments Off on Illinois Republicans Miss the Target in Target-Rich Environment–Again
Written by David E. Smith
In this week’s podcast episode, Illinois Family Institute lobbyist Ralph Rivera and contract lobbyist Mark Johnson join Monte Larrick to discuss some of the action, and inaction, that occurred during the spring Illinois General Assembly session.
Rivera and Johnson weigh in on Illinois’ new budget, the possibility of a tax increase after the November election and the House resolution proposing a progressive income (“fair tax”) plan, as well as the danger of an even greater Illinois Exodus than we’ve experienced to date.… Continue Reading
Tags: Bruce Rauner, casino gambling, Donald Trump, HB 40, LBGTQIA Curriculum Mandate, recreational marijuana, SB 1564, taxes, taxpayer funding of abortion, video gambling
Illinois Politics | David E. Smith | June 13, 2018 6:57 AM | Comments Off on SPOTLIGHT: Illinois General Assembly Session Recap
Written by John Biver and David E. Smith
Illinois Family Action wants to provide an update regarding the upcoming leadership vote tomorrow of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee (SCC).
The Illinois GOP SCC is the state party’s governing board, with one member chosen from each congressional district. Those elections took place last month at county party conventions across the state. Tomorrow, the SCC will meet to elect a party chairman for a four-year term.
The reason this committee and the party chairman is important is that the quality of messaging, candidate recruitment, and support are dependent on the quality of the party leaders.… Continue Reading
Tags: Barb Viviano, Bob Grogan, Bruce Rauner, Chapin Rose, Char Foss-Eggman, Fred Floreth, Jack Dorgan, Jan Weber, Jay Reyes, John Cullerton, John McGlasson, Judy Diekelman, Mark Hosty, Mark Shaw, Michael Bigger, Michael Madigan, Roger Claar, Ryan Higgins, Sean Morrison, Shaun Murphy, Stan Bond, Tim Schneider
Illinois Politics | David E. Smith | May 18, 2018 1:39 PM | Comments Off on An Update on the Republican State Central Committee Party Leadership Vote
Written by John Biver
Three Illinois conservatives who have a keen understanding of politics were asked by Illinois Family Action to comment on the upcoming meeting of the Illinois Republican Party’s State Central Committee on May 19th.
A lot is at stake — here are just two related items. First, there’s the question of the establishment’s tampering with the county party State Central Committee elections last month. The outcome of one of the races is being contested.… Continue Reading
Written by Pat Hickey
You got that right, Al.
Party-line, lock-step, propaganda-swallowing Americans have been with us always. New York Loyalists wanted nothing to do with the Sons of Liberty, and now Deplorables and the Resistance spit at one another.
Can’t we all get along?
Nope. Never have.
When I was ten years old, Chicagoans had the choice of reading these daily newspapers:
- Chicago American, 1900–1939 (became the Herald-American and then Today)
- Chicago Daily News, 1876–1978
- Chicago Sun-Times, 1948–present
- Chicago Tribune, 1847–present
- Chicago Defender, 1905–present
- Southtown Economist 1906 to 2014 (swallowed by the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times News Group)
Now, at the ripe milestone of 66 years, this Chicagoan has the choice of not reading the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
In the last article, I listed several reasons for Illinois conservatives to be encouraged. As someone who has paid close attention to the downward trajectory of our state for over twenty years, the items I listed are not small things.
I left off at the good news that President Donald Trump is changing national politics. His example can be followed here in Illinois, a state where a lot of forgotten men and women live and work.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
Many eyes instantly glaze over at the mention of “grassroots” level politics. Conservatives who don’t look to government or the political arena for their sustenance, tend to prefer to leave the fray to others.
In Illinois, that is a problem. The fiscal and moral mess of our state doesn’t exactly attract the best and brightest into the arena. Yet our can be flipped if those silent conservatives across the state (and yes, even in Chicago) step up and join the fight.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
GOP County…what? Conventions? Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know about them. The tired old guard Illinois Republican Party establishment didn’t want you hear about the conventions. The attendance of rank-and-file platform-supporting Republicans in this state would not have been good for them and they knew it. In fact, in Cook county the convention was run as a closed-door session where the party rules were not followed — you can read about one example here.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
Tomorrow at Republican Party County Conventions across the state, conservatives will be engaging in the battle. I have never been more encouraged about the prospects for the success of those supporting the right policy reforms within the next few years than I am now.
When Bruce Rauner signed HB 40 and made it legal for pro-aborts to use your tax dollars to fund the murder of unborn babies, several Republican leaders in our General Assembly condemned Rauner and supported a challenger against him in the primary.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
Monte Larrick sits down with Dave Smith and John Biver to discuss the results from the last month’s election, including voter turnout from both sides, Jeanne Ives’ narrow loss, and why we need to show up in November to help local candidates despite the two men at the top of the ballot.
While the turnout for this primary was the highest it has been since 2002, a closer look at the numbers reveals bad news for Republicans.… Continue Reading
