Free Republic

What could be worse in Illinois right now? It's November and ‘Da Bears' are barely above .500, while the hated Packers are undefeated and the Lions (the Lions?!) are positioning themselves for a playoff run. Here's what could be worse. Illinois' state budget, filled with gimmicks, constructed for years on promises for which there were no revenues, and sustained by borrowing of the type that would make even a loan shark blush, is in serious meltdown mode. Less than a year after the state raised taxes by some $7 billion in the face of a fiscal crisis, legislators in Springfield,...

Department of Justice should never have intervened in Safoorah Khan's case against Berkeley, Ill School District PHOENIX (October 19, 2011) - Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) issued the following statement regarding the settlement of U.S. vs. Board of Education, Berkeley School District 87, Cook County, Illinois: "The decision announced on Thursday, October 13, 2011 of the Berkeley Board of Education to settle a lawsuit with the Department of Justice (DOJ) will have implications that reach far beyond the case of Safoorah Khan, a non-tenured computer...

Illinois Has Stopped Paying Bills Even For Essential Services Vincent Fernando, CFA Jul. 5, 2010, 12:56 AM Image: The White House If California was America's Greece, then Illinois is America's Spain. California's horrid financial situation initially jolted Americans with the notion that a state could fail, and now Illinois is making people realize that California's problems aren't a one-state fluke. New York Times via MSNBC: Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois’s comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing...

Mission completion means everything to 232nd CSB Maj. Eric K. Little, the executive officer of the Springfield-based 232nd Corps Support Battalion, Illinois Army National Guard, performs a radio check before departing on a convoy transporting fuel from Forward Operating Base Speicher to Forward Operating Base Mackenzie. FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT, Iraq -- Sometimes forgotten are the Army’s support units which keep Soldiers fed, weapons loaded and vehicles rolling.These units face the same dangers as infantrymen as they travel the roadways to ensure Soldiers have the necessary supplies to complete their missions. While it may be a difficult responsibility...