Free Republic

A new report released by the Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) says that only 16 percent of 15- to 17-year-old teens in Baltimore have been raised in an intact, married family. The report, released Wednesday and compiled in light of the recent Baltimore riots, cites Census Bureau statistics showing that, in terms of family units, Baltimore is “one of the five least intact counties of America,” along with Cuyahoga, Ohio; the Bronx, N.Y.; the District of Columbia; and Shelby County, Tenn. The report cites studies indicating that children who grow up in intact, married families are...

The terrorist group says they will murder Pamela Geller and kill anyone who shields her. The terrorists also say they have 71 fighters in 15 different states and they 23 have signed up already for missions like the failed Sunday attack in Garland, Texas. Via Sooper Mexican: Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem “The New Era” To our brothers and sisters fighting for the Sake of Allah, we make dua for you and ask Allah to guide your bullets, terrify your enemies, and establish you in the Land. As our noble brother in the Phillipines said in his bayah, “This is...

Several times I’ve written for The American Spectator on the person of David Axelrod, the figure most responsible for giving America two terms of Barack Obama. My first piece was a cover feature for the March 2012 print edition, titled, “David Axelrod, Lefty Lumberjack.” This lengthy profile was followed by an August 2012 piece titled, “All in the (Political) Family.” Then followed still more writings on Axelrod and friends, particularly the new material I reported in my book on Obama’s communist mentor, Frank Marshall Davis. David Axelrod These writings got a lot of attention. I discussed the topic a number...

The Black Lives Matter people protest the shooting of blacks by white cops. Yet, blacks are killing blacks weekly in cities like Chicago. Why aren't Blacks Lives Matter people protesting black-on-black crime? Do black lives only matter when police are involved? And only when white police are involved?

Chicago has a simple financial choice: Stay in frying pan or get in the fire. That in simple terms is what Moody's Investors Service said in a report today about the difficult options the Emanuel administration faces over the city's woefully underfunded pension funds. The city must cut spending and raise taxes now or the risks of becoming insolvent will grow, forcing even harsher decisions later. The credit rating agency offers a sobering reminder of what's at stake in the eight-page report, which focuses on the pensions problems. ... A CUT ABOVE JUNK. Moody's, typically the most conservative of the...

The Obama presidential library will be located in Chicago, according to media reports. The University of Chicago reportedly beat out three other finalists that submitted bids to build the library — the University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University in New York and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu — according to NBC News. An official announcement is expected in mid-May, CBS 2 Chicago reported. The foundation overseeing the creation of the library did not respond to a request for comment. The Windy City, where the president and first lady lived and worked before Obama was elected to the Senate...

An editor for the conservative website Breitbart News on Thursday announced he will run for the House seat vacated by former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.). Mike Flynn launched his campaign for the seat representing Illinois’s 18th District from his hometown of Quincy. “The political party bosses in Washington and Springfield, and the special interests they represent, wanted a coronation for their hand-picked candidate,” Flynn said in a statement. “Yet another go-along-to-get-along seat warmer who won’t challenge the status quo.” “Central Illinois deserves a choice and as a lifelong conservative reformer, I plan to give them one.” The conservative journalist will...

Contrary to the emotional blackmail some leftists are attempting to peddle, Baltimore is not America’s problem or shame. That failed city is solely and completely a Democrat problem. Like many failed cities, Detroit comes to mind, and every city besieged recently by rioting, Democrats and their union pals have had carte blanche to inflict their ideas and policies on Baltimore since 1967, the last time there was a Republican Mayor.In 2012, after four years of his own failed policies, President Obama won a whopping 87.4% of the Baltimore City vote. Democrats run the city of Baltimore, the unions, the schools,...

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) took to the House floor Tuesday night to urge African-American mothers follow the example of a Baltimore woman who forced her son to leave the city's riots. Video of Toya Graham slapping her son for participating in the Baltimore riots went viral. Rush, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said mothers of African-American children should use their "awesome powers" to push back against violence. "I would like to make a special appeal to African-American mothers across this country. That they begin to use their awesome powers to take back our streets from the daily violence...

Amid civil unrest in Baltimore, Wednesday’s game between the White Sox and Orioles at Camden Yards has been moved to a 1:05 p.m. CT/2:05 p.m. ET start and will be closed to the public, the Orioles announced Tuesday. The game had been scheduled for Wednesday night. The change comes after Monday and Tuesday’s games between the teams were postponed due to safety concerns after rioting broke out near the stadium. The latest round of demonstrations follow the recent death of Freddie Gray, 25, an African-American suspect who had been taken into police custody.

n Monday and Tuesday, games between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards were cancelled due to safety concerns related to protests and civil unrest in Baltimore. Because of a lack of common off days among teams in the typical Major League Baseball schedule, additional cancellations would have been nearly impossible to make up, but the solution is still stunning: Wednesday's game will be played in front of an empty stadium. From an Orioles press release: After consultation with Major League Baseball and city and local officials, tomorrow's game between the Orioles and the Chicago White Sox...

News Man accused of killing cop and ex-CHA officer to stand trial Posted: 04/26/2015, 12:25pm | Rummana Hussain Opening statements are expected Monday in the trial of a South Side man accused of killing a Chicago Police officer and a former Chicago Housing Authority cop. Timothy Herring, a 19-year-old parolee at the time of the double murder Nov. 26, 2010, allegedly told his friends that he killed “two polices” because he didn’t want to go back to jail. Authorities said Herring, fitted with an ankle bracelet, opened fire when he returned to the scene of a burglary he’d committed hours...

If you or I lived rent free for five years in an apartment in pricey Washington, DC, we would have to pay income taxes on the value of the rent on the place. But apparently not Rahm Emanuel. The wonderful Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times writes: We already knew that BP and its folks were significant contributors to the record $750-million war chest of Barack Obama's 2007-08 campaign. Now, we learn the details of a connection of Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayoral wannabe, current Obama chief of staff, ex-representative, ex-Clinton money man and ex-Windy City political machine go-fer. Shortly...

The Chicago Public Schools — already facing a federal criminal investigation of its CEO and a projected $1.1 billion budget deficit next school year — now must pay a price for those problems through higher interest rates on a new $300 million bond deal. The rates lured investors to buy the bonds, which CPS says it will use to pay off recently completed construction projects. But they also mean Chicago taxpayers will pay more over the life of the borrowing deal, financial analysts said Wednesday. The main bond issue — for $280 million to be repaid over 25 years —...

This week at the The University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, long-time immigration activist Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) said the potential Republican president he could work best with to pass comprehensive immigration reform is Jeb Bush. Gutiérrez said, “We would have to stay with the Bush family,” explaining George W. Bush tried twice to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

A Machesney Park man is falsely accused of killing his girlfriend and holding a 7-year-old hostage. It's called "swatting" and police say it's a growing trend. It's when a person calls in a fake police report with hopes of having someone else's home raided by law enforcement. "I was sleeping, literally sleeping." It was supposed to be like any other day for Drew Terpstra, that is until he opened up his bedroom door. "I heard 'Police, police!' and I was like what's going on right now? I'm sleeping and all of a sudden, I get up, go out of my...

This past Friday, an Uber driver with a permitted concealed handgun stopped what likely would have been a mass public shooting. Police arrived on the scene quickly, but the Uber driver had still already taken care of the situation before they arrived. From Mitch Dudek in the Chicago Sun-Times: . . . 20 other cases are also listed.

Rubio’s right that this is a hypothetical and that nothing like the Gang of Eight bill could pass the House right now. But Mickey Kaus is right that it’s a darned fine gotcha, a way to gauge how far Rubio’s willing to go in renouncing his signature “achievement” as a senator. What if Rubio defeated Hillary next year and the party’s leadership decided to capitalize by doing something splashy to show Latino voters that the new, Rubio-led GOP was ready to engage them like never before? A bill like the Gang of Eight bill getting past the House isn’t...

Opposition to Common Core continues to spread well across party lines, no matter how much the educational establishment tires to minimize the blowback. “Illinois state officials have threatened to withhold funding from school districts that refuse to administer a new state exam aligned with Common Core State Standards,” the American School Board Journal reported in the current issue of the magazine. “The threat, issued in a letter earlier this year to school districts, followed a Chicago Public Schools announcement that it would not administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam.” “In explaining their decision,...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under fire since last year when reporters caught his police-driven SUV running red lights, is still running red lights and putting the good people of Chicago in danger: ... How flagrant? Check out the videos. First up, running a red light and making a left turn: And here’s the mayor’s SUV reportedly running the light and driving into the wrong lane: