Pay Up America, Each of You Owe The Govt $534,000

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama will not take a check. You must sign over your homes, your 401k’s, the pink slip to your autos, all your savings…. come on America, be patriotic, pay Obama what you owe him. It amounts to $534,000 per person, so you better get your accounting in order.

Where does this $534,000 number come from? USA Today says that a little known government report pegs the government’s unfunded mandates at $61.6 trillion. Yes, that’s trillion with a “t.” That is the amount of money that all the un-Constitutional spending by the federal government will cost the taxpayers if it all continues to be mandated by law, court orders, regulations, and back room deals made by grasping government officials…

Read the Rest at RightPundits.com.


Ill. Democrat Assaults Fellow Senator On Floor of Senate!

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently, when anyone dares question an Illinois Democrat he gets violent… even if he’s a state senator and he’s right on the floor of the senate itself.

51st District Senator Kyle McCarter (R- Lebanon) objected during the debate today about the ComEd utility legislation the Democrats were pushing. His fellow Senator, the 36th District’s Senator Mike Jacobs (D, Moline), was pushing a vote on the bill without telling everyone present that his father, former senator Denny Jacobs, was a lobbyist for ComEd, the company that would benefit most from the bill.

Sen. McCarter rose to his feet and calmly alerted the house to the fact that not only was Senator Jacobs’ father a lobbyist for ComEd but that the Democrat Party was the largest recipient of ComEd’s campaign cash.
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Ill. Democrat Assaults Fellow Senator On Floor of Senate!”


Illinois State Legislators Try to Explain to Fox Business Network Why Ill. Is Going Bankrupt

FOX Business Network (FBN) has been airing a series called, “Entitlement Nation: Makers vs. Takers.” The last episode will feature a special focus on two of the biggest entitlement programs in the country: Social Security and Medicare.

FBN will interview Illinois House GOP leader Tom Cross and State Treasurer Dan Rutherford to examine how entitlements have affected the Land of Lincoln… I’ll answer that, by the way: badly.

When: Friday, May 27th, 2011; 11 AM/ET
Where: FOX Business Network (FBN)

(AT&T, Channel 211; DISH, Channel 206; DIRECTV, Channel 259)


Will Illinois Be America’s Greece?

The chief fiscal officer of tax-and-spend Illinois is preparing to warn lenders that allowing it to borrow any more money would be a major risk. Will his be the first state to go bankrupt?

Treasurer Dan Rutherford is a Republican in a very blue state, and the usual critics will say his warning is political grandstanding. We think the guy who counts Illinois’ money has simply embraced fiscal reality and sanity in shouting from the financial rooftops: “Don’t help us anymore; we can’t afford it.”

Rutherford on Monday said the state was in a deep hole and needed to stop digging and that he was willing to contact all the major bond houses and warn them that lending Illinois more money would be a “major risk.”

“If I need to send letters to the rating companies to tell them the treasurer of Illinois is opposed to more borrowing, I’m going to do it,” Rutherford said. “We need to cut our spending and break our unsustainable borrowing cycle before we realize a further financial disaster.”…

Read the rest at Investors.com.


Political Corruption: An Illinois Specialty

-By Warner Todd Huston

In just one more example of the thousands of examples of political graft in Illinois, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that being a board member of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board is one giant no-show, do-nothing pay off to friends, family, and allies of Illinois’ Democrats. Members make up to $100,000 a year to do practically nothing on this useless board and we, the people, are paying through the nose for it all.

Members of this board have a grueling yearly schedule, indeed. They meet once a month. Well, “meet” is relative as rules allow them to just phone it in… literally… as members constantly “attend” the meetings by listening in over the phone. So, yes, they are paid up to $100,000 a year to make a phone call once a month.

Even so, maybe you’d think that their actual duties are time consuming aside from that big once a month meeting? Not according to the Post-Dispatch. You see, the board also has full time, paid staffers that assemble all the reports and then make the recommendations for the board members to vote on. When the members “meet” they usually just rubber stamp the work of the paid staffers.
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Political Corruption: An Illinois Specialty”


Newt’s Tuesday Blogger Conference Call

-By Warner Todd Huston

I just finished with a blogger conference call held by Speaker Gingrich in which he tried to further explain where he stands on Paul Ryan, the budget, and Obamacare.

Newt has have been characterized as “trashing Paul Ryan,” and Ryan himself took a swipe at him on a Chicago radio show (Ryan said something like, “with conservative like him who needs enemies?”), and of course many see his purported attack on Ryan as a violation of Reagan’s famed 11th Commandment. So Newt has a lot to answer for, for sure.

He’s badly confused the situation and some are calling for him to drop out and give it all up. Even Rush Limbaugh is claiming that Newt knows he can’t win the nomination and this whole thing is just an effort at positioning himself for other things in the future. (Rush says Newt might just be angling for a position at the Aspen Institute)
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Newt’s Tuesday Blogger Conference Call”


GM Exec: Reporting GM’s Failures Hurts… Republicans?

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an odd turn of events, former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz thinks that anyone that criticizes GM is not only “mis-informed” but insists that those “foaming ideologues” that criticize the car giant are “damaging the Republican Party.”

It is interesting that an executive in the company derided as “Government Motors” is trying to direct attention away from his minders in the Obama administration and toward the opposing party, and just before a general election at that.

It is also interesting to see Lutz defending GM as the “future” of the car business. Lately GM has not been turning out the sort of products that puts the company at the head of much of anything.
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GM Exec: Reporting GM’s Failures Hurts… Republicans?”


Left Laments Ryan’s GOP Budget NOT Raising America’s Ire

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left is desperate to color Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s GOP budget plan (The Path to Prosperity, as it is styled) as the end of America, crazed to call his plan a killer of old people, and maniacal about saying that the GOP and Ryan want to destroy the country by asking for a few budget cuts. The left even claims that “the country” or “the people” are against the GOP budget proposal. But even lefty blogger Dave Weigel is asking the seminal question: where are the protests?

Now, there does seem to be enough evidence that the people are not very optimistic about America’s economic outlook. And members of Congress are certainly feeling the heat over the budget. I recently spoke to GOP Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Peter Roskam and he confirms that. So, the American people are exercised about the budget. They just aren’t mad about the Ryan plan.

The fact seems to be that the Democrat’s are losing the issue and all their demagoguery against Ryan — led by the chief demagogue in the White House — are not winning the American people over to their side by trying to make Paul Ryan out to be an ogre.
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Left Laments Ryan’s GOP Budget NOT Raising America’s Ire”


Rep. Peter Roskam on the Ryan Budget Plan: Obama’s Lack of Leadership Gives GOP a Leading Issue

-By Warner Todd Huston

No one but the worst sycophant thinks that President Obama’s latest stab at a federal budget is a serious plan. In fact, that he’s come before the American people again with a second budget plan itself bespeaks of a president badly floundering on the issue. This has left the Republican Party, and more specifically the GOP led House of Representatives, as the only real game in town on the budget, the debt, and in correcting the Bacchanalia of spending that Congress has indulged for nigh on the last 100 years.

Sadly the Old Media has let Obama skate on the fact that this is his second stab at a budget. If this had been a Republican president forced to throw away his first budget plan, forced to offer a second one, the Old Media would be proclaiming him a president in trouble, a failed leader, a man without influence. Obama, however, has been given a complete pass on his total failure to lead and convince.

Regardless, the GOP has proven to be the adults in the room here with its public face of Paul Ryan and his “path to prosperity” budget plan. As flawed as it might be it is the only serious plan on the table at this time.

I recently spoke to GOP Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R, IL) about the House plan.
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Rep. Peter Roskam on the Ryan Budget Plan: Obama’s Lack of Leadership Gives GOP a Leading Issue”


Wasteful Referendum Defeated in Suburban Lamont

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the election day success stories enjoyed by Americans for Prosperity, Illinois, occurred in nearby Lamont. A wasteful school referendum was defeated in Lamont and AFP was at the forefront of educating voters on the facts as they went to the polls.

Residents of Lamont had become tired of seeing their taxes go up every single year while the District constantly cried poor, so due to requests from residents, AFP – Illinois began an effort to understand exactly why the budget and the taxes for Lamont’s School District 113a have been constantly rising for every one of the last eleven years.

Upon investigation, AFP discovered that while revenues for the district have risen 50% over the last eleven years, the District’s spending has risen 77% during the same time.
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Wasteful Referendum Defeated in Suburban Lamont”


Instead of Budgeting, Congress is….

With all of the attention on the BP oil spill, the European debt crisis and even financial regulatory reform, the fact that Congress hasn’t passed (and will likely not pass) a federal budget for fiscal year 2011 is flying under the radar.

To quote the words of the House Majority Leader, “The most basic responsibility of governing — enacting a budget.”

So what has Congress been so busy doing that they can’t find the time to pass a budget?

Courtesy of Bankrupting America.


Ill. Reps. Roskam and Kinzinger on Troop Funding Bill

Two of Illinois’ Congressmen have released statements on the Troop Funding issue that has arisen with this looming government shutdown. The White House has claimed that our soldiers — many of whom are currently at war — won’t get paid.

Congressman Peter Roskam, 6th District Representative and the Chief Deputy Whip of The House Republicans, and Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, he of the 11th District, have each released a statement on the paying of our troops.

Congressman Peter Roskam

“A full 47 days after the House first passed H.R. 1 – and a year after House Democrats failed to even introduce a budget – the House has once again acted to keep the government open, cut spending, and fund the troops for the rest of the year. It is astonishing that President Obama is threatening to veto a bill to fund our troops – without stating a single policy objection – particularly when our troops are now in three different foreign conflicts. I’m disheartened the White House and Senate Democrats are putting politics ahead of funding our troops and keeping the government open. We owe it to our troops to make sure they are getting paid when in harm’s way.”

http://roskam.house.gov/

Congressman Adam Kinzinger

Today, on the 47th day since the House passed H.R. 1, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) spoke out in support of the Troop Funding Bill which would fund the Department of Defense through the remainder of FY2011, while cutting $12 billion in federal spending and keeping the government running for one week so a long-term solution will be reached, avoiding a government shutdown.

“As a military pilot, I have friends serving our country who are wondering if they’re going to get paid if the government does shutdown. I say, ‘Ask Harry Reid; we’ve tried to make sure you continue to get paid.’

“I’m disappointed by the news that our Commander-in-Chief has threatened to veto this legislation that would ensure members of the military receive their paychecks and avoids a government shutdown. I urge the Senate to stand up for the men and women who put their lives on the line and make certain they receive funding while making real spending cuts.

“I was sent here to cut spending and make government efficient and effective, not just in the short term, but in the long run for our children and grandchildren. I don’t think it’s any secret that we cannot continue down this reckless trajectory. We’ve kicked the can down the road for too long and now, there’s no more road left.

“It’s time to tackle the spending to ensure the fiscal soundness of this country for future generations.”

http://kinzinger.house.gov/


Roskam and Kinzinger Applaud House Passage of Energy Tax Prevention Act

Bill prevents EPA from instituting job-crushing energy taxes

Congressman Peter Roskam, Chief Deputy Whip, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger have issued statements after the House passed the Energy Tax Prevention Act, 255 – 172, to block the EPA from imposing cap-and-trade by regulation:

Congressman Peter Roskam

“I applaud the House for blocking new job-crushing energy taxes on families and employers. Americans have already overwhelmingly rejected a national energy tax by cap and trade, and the EPA’s proposal is just a back-door effort to accomplish exactly that by regulation. Unilaterally regulating greenhouse gases would increase energy costs in every home and every business, meaning higher bills and less jobs. It would cripple manufacturers – job creators – who use roughly one-third of our nation’s energy. For my manufacturers in the western and northwestern suburbs of Chicago, I’m glad the House acted to stop this job-crushing regulation.”

http://roskam.house.gov/

Congressman Adam Kinzinger

“Twenty-one months ago, Washington Democrats forced passage of the controversial cap and trade legislation through the House of Representatives. While cap and trade failed in the Senate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still attempting to enforce a backdoor cap and trade system on the American people.

“Today, the House approved the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. Without this legislation, we are simply stepping to the side while the EPA imposes a cap-and-trade agenda which could mean even higher gas prices, increased utility rates, manufacturing jobs being sent overseas, and hampering our overall economic recovery.

“The Energy Tax Prevention Act is an effective, bipartisan approach to stop the EPA’s cap and tax agenda. It takes necessary steps to protect jobs and restores the Clean Air Act to its original purpose by repealing action already taken by the EPA to impose a bureaucratic climate change agenda.

“Manufacturers and energy producers at the local and national level, such as Edison Power in the Eleventh Congressional District and the National Association of Manufacturers, have made it clear that the Energy Tax Prevention Act is necessary in order to curtail the EPA’s overreaching regulations and create the certainty job creators need to grow their businesses and get more folks back to work here at home.

“Congress must focus on removing these regulatory obstacles in order to create long-term economic growth.”

http://kinzinger.house.gov/


Michigan: Teachers Trying to Hide Union Activism in School Email Accounts

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michigan’s union thugs have found a new way to hide their on-the-job union activism from the prying eyes of public transparency — or at least they think they have. Activist school teachers are using their state-sponsored email accounts to discuss their strike ideas, their union work slow down ideas and other illegal activities but are claiming that these emails are “personal” and therefore should not be open to Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the state’s budget hawks, government transparency advocates, and the news media.

Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently reported that the Michigan Education Association has sent out messages to its members that they should exclude any emails sent from school-owned email accounts in FOIA requests because they are “personal” emails and are legally not eligible for FOIA requests.
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Michigan: Teachers Trying to Hide Union Activism in School Email Accounts”


Let’s Have Some Patience on the Budget Cuts

-By Warner Todd Huston

For decades I have been sick and tired unto death of the massive overspending, arrogance, and outright graft of Congress. Like many of you I felt the Tea Party movement was a bolt out of the blue, but a welcome one. I was also jazzed when the 2010 Republican wave overtook Washington and installed so many freshmen congressmen pledging to cut the federal budget. Also like many of you I am frustrated with the slow pace of cuts and would love to see them come faster.

One of the loudest voices decrying the slow pace of the cuts often comes from the radio talkers. Folks like Limbaugh and Levin, for instance, are heard to lament that the GOP is not being proactive enough with the budget cuts. They say the $10 billion that the House Republicans have been successful in cutting so far with the pair of short-term continuing budgets is a drop in the bucket, that it is almost a joke.

It’s easy to make the case, too, that saving $10 billion is the least of efforts especially when Obama has run us up to $2.5 trillion in debt… and here is where the “but” comes in (not to mention where I get hardcore conservatives mad at me).
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Let’s Have Some Patience on the Budget Cuts”


Why Did Rep. Paul Ryan Vote for Destructive Union Giveaway?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Wisconsin’s Republican Representative Paul Ryan is one of the most well known budget hawks in Congress today. Yet seeming to defy that reputation last week Ryan voted against putting a halt to a budget bloating union giveaway. So what happened?

The amendment was an effort to end project labor agreements on federal construction projects in 2011. This is the sort of thing one would think that every Republican would naturally vote for. Yet the final vote left the tally standing at a tie which meant the measure failed to pass. Twenty-six Republicans voted against this good amendment, Ryan being one of them.
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Why Did Rep. Paul Ryan Vote for Destructive Union Giveaway?”


Illinois Republicans Donating to… a Democrat?

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is why Illinois politics is called “the combine.” It’s because all too often there doesn’t seem to be a whit of a difference between Republicans and Democrats — not always, but all too often. They even donate to each other’s campaigns. RepublicanNewsWatch.com has the latest examination of the sort of one-hand-washing-the-other-style of politics that has destroyed Illinois.

In this case it is the story of all sorts of Republicans donating many thousands of dollars to the campaign of Susan Mendoza, the liberal that ran (and won) for Chicago City Clerk.
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Illinois Republicans Donating to… a Democrat?”


VIDEO: Harry Reid and the Mystery Of The Draconian Budget Cuts

Do you need a visual representation to help you understand the budget mess and the inadequate cuts being discussed? Well here it is. And you can couple it with a drinking game, too, apparently…

You can see other great videos like this at the 1,000 Pennies YouTube page.


URF to Primary Illinois Republican Legislators That Vote for Tax Increase

From the URF…

WINFIELD, IL – The United Republican Fund (URF) has announced that they will aid in the recruiting and support of primary challengers to any Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly that votes in favor of raising taxes during this lame duck session.

“The problem is not a lack of revenue,” said Mike Uremovich, President of the URF. “The problem is spending, which the Governor and Legislature continue to increase.” According to the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, real spending by the Illinois General Assembly rose more than 26% between 2000 and 2009 after adjusting for inflation. “We don’t need to raise taxes; we need to cut spending from a budget that has exploded. Raising taxes as this state struggles to come out of a recession is economic suicide.”
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URF to Primary Illinois Republican Legislators That Vote for Tax Increase”


NoIllinoisTaxHike.com: Sign the No Tax Petition

Say No to the Illinois Democrats’ 75% Tax Increase

Sign the Petition at NoIllinoisTaxHike.com

Governor Pat Quinn, Senate President John Cullerton, and Speaker Michael J. Madigan (who’s also the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois) are trying to rush through a 75% Tax Increase in the final days of the lame duck session of the State Legislature.

This is the latest example of life in Illinois Madiganville.

While Illinois’ budget problems are grave, the answers lie in first attacking the excessive spending and enacting structural reforms that are needed before any new revenues are even considered. We cannot let the Democrats drive business out of Illinois and all of the jobs that go with it.

Madigan, Cullerton and Quinn talk a big game about reform and job creation, but they fundamentally lack the courage to make the tough decisions to put Illinois on solid financial footing. We are the only state in the union to push massive tax increases without accompanying spending cuts. Even other states with Democrat Governors like New York and California have recognized the need for cuts before tax increases. Reform exists everywhere but in Illinois Madiganville.

Please go to NoIllinoisTaxHike.com or to Madiganville.com to sign the online petition to send a strong and clear message to Springfield: Say No to the 75% Illinois Tax Hike!

Sponsored by the Illinois Republican Party. www.weareillinois.org

Please contact your State Representatives and tell them to VOTE NO on the tax hike. CLICK HERE for a list of our Illinois State Reps.


Hey, Liberals: Obama Lied to You on ‘Tax Cuts For the Rich’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Byron York assembled a collection of some of the many times that candidate Barack Obama told us he’d “roll back” those Bush tax cuts “for the rich.”

Of course, we all know there was never any “tax cuts for the rich,” but from the left’s perspective, Obama has lied to them big time. Will they accept this fact or will they ignore it and pretend everything is still fine proving that they, too, are liars?

  • “It’s true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.”
    Chester, Pennsylvania, October 28, 2008

  • “We are going to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, those making more than $250,000 a year.”
    Lake Worth, Florida, October 21, 2008

  • “Yes, I’m going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.”
    New Philadelphia, Ohio, September 3, 2008

  • “I think it is very important to roll back the Bush tax cuts on some of the wealthiest Americans.”
    Chesapeake, Virginia, August 21, 2008

  • “We’re going to have to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the top one percent.”
    Fargo, North Dakota, July 3, 2008

  • “I’m going to roll back the Bush tax cuts back to the levels they were in the 1990s.”
    Interview with Fox News Channel, June 26, 2008

  • “I will roll back the Bush tax cuts on people making over $250,000.”
    Watertown, South Dakota, May 16, 2008

  • “We are going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.”
    Raleigh, North Carolina, May 3, 2008

This is just a tiny fraction of the number of times he made this claim, too. York has more in his piece. Go check it out.

This just shows that this president is probably a bigger liar than any we’ve ever had in office.
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Hey, Liberals: Obama Lied to You on ‘Tax Cuts For the Rich’”


A Detailed List of Earmarks in The Omnibus Spending Bill

-By Warner Todd Huston

Pork, pork, pork. It’s enough pork to make a Southside Chicago BBQ joint greasy with envy. Yes, it’s a bacchanalia of pork spending and earmarks in the Omnibus spending bill, for sure, and we now have the database to prove it.

Senator Tom Coburn has posted a Google Spreadsheet data base document on line and there you can see how much the earmark costs us, where it is going, and which of our congressmen asked for the earmark.

There’s One million, five hundred eighteen thousand dollars for animal vaccines in Greenport, New York. There’s three hundred grand for the study of phytoplankton in Boothbay, Maine. Millions going to various drug enforcement programs across the country. Ten mil is being shelled out to the “John P. Murtha Foundation” for… well, just because John was such a prince of a guy. There’s a mil six hundred thou for the “Brain Safety Net,” so that brains can be safe… and stuff. Lots of cash for the study of renewable energy, various road and bridge projects, and educational efforts. Even more cash to the Department of Energy for the “Office of Science” because, well, only government can do science, ya know?

So far there have been 6,715 earmarks attached to the Fiscal 2011 Omnibus Spending bill that Congress is now considering.
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A Detailed List of Earmarks in The Omnibus Spending Bill”


Waste: Feds Gave ACORN Half a Million for ‘Fire Prevention’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jonathan Strong of the Daily Caller has another sad tale of massive government waste involving the criminal group ACORN.

Everybody knows about ACORN, the dead, but not really dead activist group charged with all sorts of improprieties and illegalities, the most significant of which is voter fraud, including registering Mickey Mouse to vote.

But how did ACORN, a “grassroots reform” group, get grant money reserved mostly for local fire departments to do “fire prevention” work?

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Waste: Feds Gave ACORN Half a Million for ‘Fire Prevention’”


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tax Hike Agreement

-By Warner Todd Huston

All day the Democrats and Republicans have been trying to reach an agreement on extending the Bush tax cuts. They may be close to an agreement. GOP Senate minority leader McConnell issued a statement today on the issue:

A Framework of a Bipartisan Agreement to Prevent Tax Hikes

“Members of the Senate and House will review this bipartisan agreement, but I am cautiously optimistic that our Democratic friends will have the same openness to preventing tax hikes that the administration has already shown.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Monday regarding a framework of a bipartisan agreement to prevent tax hikes on every American taxpayer :

“I appreciate the determined efforts of the President and Vice President in working with Republicans on a bipartisan plan to prevent a tax hike on any American and in creating incentives for economic growth. Their efforts reflect a growing bipartisan belief that a new direction is needed if we are to revive the economy and help put millions of Americans back to work. Members of the Senate and House will review this bipartisan agreement, but I am optimistic that Democrats in Congress will show the same openness to preventing tax hikes the administration has already shown.”
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tax Hike Agreement”


Democrat Hires Entire Family to Run Town of 200 Residents (Media Forgets to Mention He’s a Democrat)

-By Warner Todd Huston

Newly elected Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski is leaving the office of mayor of the Village of McCook, Illinois. Now, a few weeks after the election, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he and his father before him have filled village government with relatives from top to bottom raking in a combined $350,000 in yearly salary (not including benefits), tax money elicited from a tiny village of only 200 some residents.

Naturally, in another installment of the “name that party” game, the Chicago Sun-Times seemed to somehow forget to mention in its coverage of this outrageous nepotism that Tobolski is yet another corrupt Democrat who is only in government for personal enrichment and to dole out goodies, high paying jobs, and pension benefits to his relatives.

Also just as naturally, the Chicago Sun-Times somehow forget to release this story before the recent election. Obviously the Times didn’t want to hurt the election chances of this Democrat on Nov. 2.
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Democrat Hires Entire Family to Run Town of 200 Residents (Media Forgets to Mention He’s a Democrat)”


County Gov’t Update: Property Tax Info and More

From the office of Timothy O. Schneider, Cook County Commissioner…

Property Tax Information

Residents should have received their 2009 2nd installment property tax bills last week. The property tax bills are due December 13, 2010. Many people in the Northwest suburbs noticed an increase in their property tax bill this year. The Illinois Department of Revenue set a record high multiplier of 3.3701 to bring assessment in line with the rest of the state, up more than 13 percent from last year. When the General Assembly extended the 7 percent homeowners exemption the amount of the exemption decreased from $26,000 to $20,000.

It is important to remember that Cook County has not raised its property tax levy for 16 years. In addition, please note your property tax bill is now itemized, detailing exactly where your tax dollars are being spent (school district, municipality, township, county, ect.).
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County Gov’t Update: Property Tax Info and More”


Senate Republicans Vote to Ban Earmarks

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, after Senate GOP minority leader Mitch McConnell agreed to go along with the anti-earmark policy that the Tea Party voters were urging, the Senate voted to ban earmarked spending.

Earmarks are those little spending clauses added to bills that otherwise have nothing at all to do with the earmark and are emblematic of the wasteful spending indulged by Congress.

According to Roll Call:

Senate Republicans threw down the earmark gauntlet Tuesday by adopting a resolution calling on Democrats to adopt a voluntary ban moments after they adopted an identical ban of their own.

The challenge, authored by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), calls for Democrats to swear off requests for “a congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit or limited tariff benefit” during the 112th Congress.

Adopted by voice vote by the Republican Conference, the challenge came shortly after GOP Senators agreed to an identical ban proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.). Although Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.) objected to the ban — and expressed his strong opposition to it during the GOP’s closed-door meeting — he did not block a voice vote on the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has repeatedly dismissed demands for a moratorium on earmarks over the last several days.

Notice, folks, that the Democrats want to continue unabated the wasteful spending by our representatives in both the House and the Senate. Democrats live to waste our tax dollars.

It is heartening that the Republicans have heard the voters and are willing to follow that directive to begin the long, hard road to end wasteful spending. Certainly eliminating earmarks are a tiny step in the right direction, but it is a step and a welcome one, indeed.
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Senate Republicans Vote to Ban Earmarks”