Free Republic

Videos recorded by cameras in two Buffalo Grove squad cars show a U-Haul truck near the end of a wild police chase two years ago, veering from side to side in traffic and racing around street corners before a crash that killed a suburban teenager and injured two others.

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Chicago’s gun laws have been challenged in federal court since the Supreme Court’s decision on the D.C. ban. But, City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges has told two City Council committees she’s confident Chicago’s law will stand. Georges tells Aldermen the Supreme Court’s decision on Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban shouldn’t apply to Chicago, because previous Supreme Court rulings have said Second Amendment "right to bear arms" doesn’t apply to local governments, like Cities. She says D.C. is a federal jurisdiction. And Georges is confident that, and other arguments, will prevail, at least in the lower courts. But, she...

Official Complaint Filed: Obama Lied on Bar Application July 24, 2008 · http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/official-complaint-filed-obama-lied-on-bar-application/ I learned about this complaint to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission via a comment on my blog. The documents can be found on this website. The complaint by “Anonymous” alleges that Barack Obama committed criminal acts and was untruthful about them on his Bar application in that he: 1. Used illegal drugs, then concealed his drug use by lying about it; 2. Failed to report unpaid criminal citations, including parking violations where the fines totaled more than $200.00 or remained unpaid. The requested action is...

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone "It's humiliation," Perry said. Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector. "He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the...

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state: the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”—United States Constitution, second amendment of the Bill of Rights Subject only to the police power, the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.—- Constitution of the State of Illinois, Article 1, Section 22 Illinois’ 1970 Constitution provides gun grabbing counties and city councils with an invaluable mechanism so as to create two strata of gun rights in Illinois. One strata that would pass muster south of I....

For the Pritzker family of Chicago, the 2001 collapse of subprime-mortgage lender Superior Bank was an embarrassing failure in a corner of their giant business empire. Billionaire Penny Pritzker helped run Hinsdale, Ill.-based Superior, overseeing her family's 50% ownership stake. She now serves as Barack Obama's national campaign-finance chairwoman, which means her banking past could prove to be an embarrassment to her -- and perhaps to the campaign. Superior was seized in 2001 and later closed by federal regulators. Government investigators and consumer advocates have contended that Superior engaged in unsound financial activities and predatory lending practices. Ms. Pritzker, a...

Lynwood, Illinois - Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches (7.62cm) or more of their underwear in public. The mayor of Lynwood, Eugene Williams, says young men walk around town half-dressed, keeping major retailers and economic development away. The American Civil Liberties Union says the ordinance targets young, black men. Young adults in the village, like 21-year-old Joe Klomes, say the new law infringes on their personal style. He said leaders should instead spend money on making...

Illinois should go to a military strongman form of government. Instead of the pretense of representative democracy, we should submit to one of those charismatic, totalitarian dictators with the Captain Kangaroo get-up who makes people disappear. After all, isn't that what the "Chicago 9" are doing? The Chicago 9 are the nine Chicago Democrats who live within about five squares miles of one another and who control more than $70 billion worth of government and more than 125,000 public sector jobs in Illinois. [The 9: Daley, Blagojevich, (Lisa) Madigan, White, Hynes, Giannoulias, Jones, (Mike) Madigan, Stroger] It was reported last...

GOP Senate challenger Steve Sauerberg called Dick Durbin's patriotism into question during a taping of a radio broadcast to air Sunday morning on WBBM 780-AM. Noting Durbin's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning flag burning, Sauerberg said the founding fathers "never had to deal with ultra-liberal Americans who hate their own country." When asked if he was referring to Durbin, he said "I think he’s an ultra-liberal. Whether he hates his own country, I cannot determine for the gentleman,” but that he "wonders a lot" about Durbin's patriotism. Sauerberg also attacked Durbin for a speech he gave in 2005 condemning...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Village of Morton Grove to Repeal Gun Ban Friday, July 18, 2008 Fairfax, VA. – Today the Village of Morton Grove moved to avoid imminent legal action by the National Rifle Association by amending its Village Code to remove the current handgun ban and incorporate sections of the Illinois Criminal Code. “We are pleased that the Village of Morton Grove took steps to repeal its draconian gun ban,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. “Finally Village residents can exercise the same constitutionally-protected rights that the rest of the country enjoys.” Final...

For 23 years, the Rev. Andre Allen has led DuPage County’s oldest predominantly black church and worked to improve race relations in the broader community. But the pastor of Second Baptist Church in Wheaton may be ousted Saturday if a majority of his congregation votes for his dismissal. The special meeting was called in light of Allen’s arrest on charges alleging he committed battery and disorderly conduct Nov. 2. Police said he passed himself off as a self-defense instructor to female clients exercising at Lifetime Fitness in Schaumburg. It’s his second such arrest in 10 years. Leaders of the 101-year-old...

--snip-- Violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of control," Blagojevich said at the bill signing ceremony. "I'm offering resources of the state to the city to work in a constructive way with Mayor Daley to do everything we can possibly do to help stop this violence," said the governor. The summer of 2008 will be remembered as especially violent. Blagojevich said there's been a child shot nearly every day since June 26, with 29 Chicago Public School students shot since last fall

William Greene would like to register his guns with the city of Chicago. So would Charles Wilson, Ronald Wallace, Alberto Ortega, J. Anthony Clark, Nashaat Mhanna, Thomas Scileppi and Darrell Powell. And for the life of me, I don't really understand why we shouldn't let them. Each of the eight men appeared before a city hearing officer Tuesday to argue that the Chicago Police Department erred in rejecting their efforts to register -- or in many cases re-register -- their firearms. I was in attendance mostly by accident, thinking I'd be seeing cases brought under the city's handgun ban ordinance....

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz - Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate, Dr. Steve Sauerberg, on abortion, trade, Earmarks, immigration, O'Hare airport expansion, No Child Left Behind, parental choice in education, the Iraq War, the Terrorist Surveillance Program, tax cuts and much, much more. Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate, Dr. Steve Sauerberg, debates and discusses with show host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz whether we should have more or less; government restrictions on abortion, free trade, Earmarks, legislators bringing home the bacon," immigration, O'Hare airport expansion, No Child Left Behind, parental choice in education, Iraq War,...

In June I commuted for an hour and a half each way and learned what the radical increase in gas prices means. One day while stopped at a busy intersection, two demonstrators came out with signboards strapped to them. One said something like: Al Gore fell on his head at birth. Drill for oil now! The appearance of such demonstrators is a sign of the times. John McCain for President and Steve Sauerberg for U.S. Senator from Illinois are calling for nuclear power as well as more domestic oil drilling. Meanwhile, Democrats Obama and Dick Durbin do nothing on drilling....

From the Chicago Sun-Times article on grants distributed by then-state-legislator Barack Obama. (Records from 1997 to 2000 weren't available.) There's a shock. His state legislative office records may have been thrown out, he told us. He's never released a specific list of law clients, instead giving a list of all of his firm's clients, numbering several hundred each year. His campaign will only confirm representation when the media comes to them with a specific case. He won't release his application to the state bar. He's never released any legal or billing records to verify that he only did a few...

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN? | Gov offers to send state troopers and National Guard copters to fight gang violence Calling violence in Chicago "out of control," Gov. Blagojevich on Wednesday offered to lend state troopers and National Guard helicopters to the city to augment the Chicago Police. The governor is considering forming an "elite tactical team" to help the Chicago Police fight gang problems, a source said, adding that the unit could later be sent across the state to deal with gang problems at any city's request. It's fair to say that violent crime in Chicago is out of control....

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...

That’s right; Barack Obama and the Saudi-funded radical Islamic front group calling itself the Council on American Islamic Relations are on exactly the same page: Obama says New Yorker insulted Muslim Americans.

A former corrections officer has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the Kane County Sheriff's Department, claiming he was forced to resign after refusing to shave his traditional Muslim beard. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, seeks unspecified damages and a letter of apology to Abal Zaidi, who says he was forced out of the department because of his faith. "I always had a beard as long as I can remember," Zaidi, 31, said in a brief telephone interview Tuesday. "They were just giving me a hard time." According to the lawsuit, Zaidi, of Streamwood, was a Kane County...

New Polling Shows Sauerberg within Striking Distance of Durbin Durbin Barely over 50% in Ballot Test against Sauerberg (Lombard, IL) – The campaign of U.S. Senate nominee Steve Sauerberg, MD, today released new polling on his race against long-time incumbent Senator Dick Durbin. “This polling confirms what we have long believed,” said Christopher Hage, Sauerberg’s Campaign Manager. “No amount of money from Washington special interest groups will be able to change Dick Durbin’s disastrous 25- year record in D.C.” The polling, conducted by Southern Outreach, an Atlanta-based firm, shows Durbin struggling to break 50% in the uninformed ballot match-up against...

A federal appeals court in Chicago has ruled that fair-housing laws do not extend to permitting a Jewish resident to nail a mezuzah to a door frame, prompting an outcry from the Jewish community. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling on Thursday (July 10), decided the federal Fair Housing Act does not accommodate a resident’s religious requirement to affix the Jewish emblem to a doorway, if the ban on hallway displays applies to everyone regardless of religious beliefs. The case stems from the condominium association at Shoreline Towers, a Chicago housing complex, enforcing a rule...

(IsraelNN.com) An American court of appeals has ruled in a split decision against the right of Jews to post the traditional mezuzah on the doorposts of a condominium apartment if the bylaws of the building prohibit signs and objects on outside doors. The mezuzah contains parchment with verses from the Torah and is an ancient tradition commanded by the Torah before the Exodus of Jews from Egypt. We cannot create an accommodation requirement for religion. In the 2-1 decision, the court stated, "The hallway rule ... is neutral with respect to religion. It bans photos of family vacations, political placards,...

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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - When Republican leaders recruited Dr. Steve Sauerberg to unseat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, their goal was not so much to win as it was to keep the Democrats busy and on the defensive. Sauerberg's latest campaign filing shows he has little money to take his campaign on the offensive. And he may not be able to raise significant cash or put more of his own money into the effort, though a campaign spokesman says Sauerberg will spend what it takes to win. As of July 1, Sauerberg had $1.07 million, about $1,500 less in his campaign...

Gov. Rod Blagojevich used his amendatory veto power Monday to rewrite a House bill that would require medical costs associated with autism to be covered by insurance. About 26,000 children in Illinois have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and families often cover treatment costs using personal funds, according to a governor's office news release. Blagojevich and other supporters instead want insurance companies to cover up to $36,000 a year for diagnosis and treatment of autism, including speech therapy and psychiatric services, as well as doctor visits until a patient reaches 21. “Since most insurance companies do not cover the...

Illinois Senate Bill 1093 Introduced February 22, 2001 Amended in Judiciary Committee March 27, 2001 Passed by the state Senate on March 30, 2001 - - - - - 92_SB1093eng SB1093 Engrossed LRB9207891WHtm 1 AN ACT concerning abortion. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 is amended 5 by changing Section 6 as follows: 6 (720 ILCS 510/6) (from Ch. 38, par. 81-26) 7 Sec. 6. (1) (a) Any physician who intentionally performs 8 an abortion when, in his medical...

(SNIP) Borling, who described himself Friday as a "Republican-leaning independent," praised Abboud as "a fiscal conservative and a social moderate" with "extraordinary judgment and intelligence." He also took a swipe at Manzullo, serving his eighth term by saying: "The nation suffers from career politicians who believe they are owed lifetime appointment." Borling faulted Manzullo for his key role in importing Alan Keyes from Maryland to carry the Illinois Republicans' banner in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, a move that Borling said "was and is an outrage." Borling, who supports abortion rights, said Manzullo exhibits a "lack of toleration and moderation...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Chicago Tribune Media Group said Monday that Ann Marie Lipinski would step down as the editor of its flagship newspaper, with the publication preparing to go through another round of layoffs and shrink the number of its printed pages. Lipinski had been editor of the Tribune since 2001 and had been with the paper since 1978. Her resignation will take effect on Thursday. In a statement, Lipinski said that "the position is not the fit it once was." The Tribune said that Gerould Kern, the paper's vice president of editorials since 2003, will serve as...

Reason Number 64,112 as to why Republicans in Illinois lose: opposition to their own party platform. Here's the setup for latest skit in the Illinois GOP's long-running burlesque show: At the quadrennial Republican State Convention in Decatur last month, Illinois Republicans adopted the following plank in their party platform, "We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to balance the state budget and provide for a responsible capital development program without resorting to the expansion of gambling..." (page 3 of the "2008 Platform", bullet point #6 for those scoring at home). That plank was proposed and ratified by Republican...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqIlXfkylD4“If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case.”Sen. Dick Durbin on the Senate Floor

Ryan Lizza writes a New Yorker article entitled "Making it: How Chicago shaped Obama." If you ask me, Barack Obama does not come off well here. Calculating politicians, ready to find scapegoats and godfather to pull levers for him and shower money unto him. But more importantly, 15 pages later, I find no evidence that Obama accomplished anything other than helping out on Project Vote. My guess is that he allied himself with ACORN on that one, but we don't see any information on that. Lizza ignores his work on what he calls the two "liberal foundations" -- which is...

Chris Grissom and his wife were sitting up in bed at the Hotel Blake the evening of July 3 watching "The Late Show With David Letterman" as their two children, ages one and four, slept in the next bed. That's when they heard what Grissom said sounded like a firecracker in the next room. » Click to enlarge image Tennessee native Chris Grissom posted a video to YouTube that shows how a bullet hit the Hotel Blake and traveled through his family's hotel room and ended up in the room adjacent to theirs. (YouTube.com) RELATED STORIES Weis meets with aldermen...

The larger point of Jesse L. Jackson's criticism of Barack Obama -- if not the crude way he expressed it -- touched a nerve among some African American political activists who have been unhappy about the senator 's pointed critiques of absentee fathers and other problems in the black community. Eric Easter, a blogger on the joint Web site of Jet and Ebony, two black-oriented magazines, wrote yesterday that some of Obama's rhetoric "smacked of calculated political expediency" in an effort to win over white voters. The criticism was similar in some ways to the reaction to comedian Bill Cosby,...

A Peoria, Illinois, pastor is challenging United Way's funding of Planned Parenthood. Pastor James McDonald of Providence Church says Planned Parenthood operates large abortion mills in Chicago and in Champaign, Illinois. "...[A]nd that troubled us greatly in the Christian community, and we wanted to encourage United Way to do what was right -- which is to stop funding completely," he explains. But abortion is not the only issue troubling McDonald. He objects to the supposed "comprehensive" sex education strategy Planned Parenthood promotes. "I am...very concerned about what [Planned Parenthood is] doing -- not only to the American family, but to...

If the Rev. Jesse Jackson has trouble with something Sen. Barack Obama has said, why does Jackson wish to have the senator from Illinois neutered? Don't get me wrong. Jackson is within his rights to charge...that Obama's pitch for federally supported faith-based initiatives is "talking down to black people." I don't share that assessment. But here's what nags at me: If Jackson's problem is with the words leaving Obama's mouth, why does he want to relieve the man of his testicles? Jackson, in a comment caught on a microphone that he thought was turned off, said of Obama: "I wanna...

As a state senator, Barack Obama gave $100,000 in state money to a campaign volunteer who failed to deliver on a plan to create a botanic garden in one of Chicago's most blighted neighborhoods. Obama -- who was running for Congress when he announced the project in 2000 -- said the green space in Englewood would build ''a sense of neighborhood pride." Instead, what was supposed to be a six-block stretch of trees and paths is now a field of unfulfilled dreams, strewn with weeds, garbage and broken pavement.

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I was particularly pleased with this post, assessing the pattern of Obama's career. Stemming the tide of urban decay in Chicago’s worst neighborhoods in the late 1980s was beyond even the most tireless efforts of one man. “Sisyphean” is the term that keeps coming to mind, but I would note that what Obama actually accomplished – “a successful effort to convince the city of Chicago to locate a jobs placement office on the far South Side and his part in a drive to push the city to clean asbestos out of a housing project in the same area [Altgeld Gardens]”...

He vowed to 'work tirelessly' to build an oasis for Englewood. It never happened. As a state senator, Barack Obama gave $100,000 in state money to a campaign volunteer who failed to deliver on a plan to create a botanic garden in one of Chicago's most blighted neighborhoods. Obama -- who was running for Congress when he announced the project in 2000 -- said the green space in Englewood would build ''a sense of neighborhood pride." Instead, what was supposed to be a six-block stretch of trees and paths is now a field of unfulfilled dreams, strewn with weeds, garbage...

As a state senator from the South Side, Barack Obama once arranged for a $200,000 state grant to jump-start an urban venture capital fund for a non-profit group run by Rev. Jesse Jackson. The grant was the very sort of faith-based initiative now at the center of an uncomfortable rift between Jackson and Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The money was spent, but the promised investment pool for job-poor neighborhoods never materialized, an example of the mixed record for Obama and other officials in getting results from such programs. Obama's embrace of this approach, championed by President George W....

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Proponents of gun rights gathered in the Loop Friday to push legislation legalizing concealed weapons in Illinois. Among the speakers at the rally was a Texas state representative whose parents were among 23 people gunned down at Luby's cafeteria in 1991. Recent rallies at the Thompson Center have been demands for gun control laws following fatal shootings of Chicago children. Thursday, the plaza was full again, but the message was from those demanding the right to bear arms. In a show of support for responsible gun ownership, about 200 chose the plaza of the Thompson Center for...

By Leah HopeCHICAGO (WLS) -- Proponents of gun rights gathered in the Loop Friday to push legislation legalizing concealed weapons in Illinois. Among the speakers at the rally was a Texas state representative whose parents were among 23 people gunned down at Luby's cafeteria in 1991. Recent rallies at the Thompson Center have been demands for gun control laws following fatal shootings of Chicago children. Thursday, the plaza was full again, but the message was from those demanding the right to bear arms.

Sauerberg prescribes U.S. health care fix Steve Sauerberg still sees patients for about two hours each morning. The rest of the day, the family doctor travels the state, urging Illinois voters to elect him in November to the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Dick Durbin.Sauerberg, 55, of Willowbrook, has headed a medical practice in LaGrange for about 25 years. Now the physician hopes to launch a second career doctoring the American government - especially the nation's health care system. Sauerberg • Candidate PROFILESteve Sauerberg , 55, Republican candidate for the U.S. SenateOccupation: Family physicianHome: WillowbrookFamily: wife, Nancy; children, Neal,...

HOW much player-hate can fester in one man's heart? Apparently, quite a lot if you're the Windy City's World-Class Windbag. Jesse Jackson has spent his entire life in love with the microphone. He knows them intimately. He's such an aficionado of the mike that Detroit's beloved late mayor, Coleman Young, dismissed one of Jackson's failed vanity bids for the presidency by noting that "all he's ever run is his mouth." Jackson's claim to have been caught unbeknownst by a "hot mike" slurring and threatening Barack Obama is complete hogwash. Somewhere, deep down, he wanted the world - and Obama -...

Will there be a MORTGAGE-GATE controversy in the 2008 election? Judicial Watch has filed a complaint against the sweetheart deal that Senator Obama Barack has received in terms of a mortgage. So has Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, who is chair of the Senate Banking Committee. One must ask the question are these two Democrats: are they Dumb, Dishonest, or both -- to have accepted these sweetheart mortgage deals for their personal life? Should the US Justice Department start investigating these politicians and others for such deals to receive favorable treatment in legislation now that the mortgage industry is in serious...

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $57,631,404 million in federal funding for Illinois transportation and economic development projects.  The Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations includes funding for the following projects:Department of TransportationFederal Transit Administration: CTA Circle Line, Chicago.  $8 million for new transit service extending from North Riverside Park Mall to Chicago central business district.  The Circle Line's goal of connecting existing lines with commuter lines is particularly important to serving the entire region.  The Circle Line...

Attend the Second Amendment Freedom Rally in Downtown Chicago on Friday, July 11! In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Heller ruling that upheld the Second Amendment as an individual right and struck down the D.C. gun ban, Governor Rod Blagojevich was quoted as saying; "I want express my extreme disappointment with the decision issued today by the Supreme Court," and, "I am an advocate for common sense gun laws." The Supreme Court says we've been right all along, but Governor Blagojevich thinks he knows better. To show Governor Blagojevich where his gun-owning constituents truly stand, please join featured...

A watchdog group filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Senate Ethics Committee Wednesday against Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) over a discounted mortgage he received from Northern Trust. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group, filed the report after The Washington Post reported that Obama received a discount on a mortgage for a Chicago home valued at $1.65 million. The complaints said the Illinois senator received a loan at the interest rate of 5.625 percent, which Judicial Watch says is lower than the standard rate of between 5.93 and 6 percent indicated by surveys....

Barack Obama has made some strange decisions regarding secrecy and records. His state legislative records are missing and may have been thrown out, there are questions about his answers to his application to the state bar (keep in mind the DSCC demanded George Allen release his in 2006), and he released a one-page letter from his doctor summarizing his medical history (contrasted with McCain allowing reporters to examine nearly 1,200 pages of health records). He and his former law firm say Obama only did a few hours of work for nonprofit firms connected to convicted donor Tony Rezko, but no...