Illinois Budget Deficit: Worst of the Worst

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois ended 2010 as the most indebted state in the union. Sadly, not a thing has been done so far in 2011 to make it better. Instead, it will get worse.

As State House News reports, the state rings in at number 50 in the nation’s most broke states.

Illinois owed $37.9 billion more than all of its assets combined, including cash, investments and property, as of July 1, 2010, according to a recent statewide financial audit by the Illinois Auditor General William Holland and Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.

So far and just like the states unpaid vendors, even taxpayers expecting refunds got stiffed because the state somehow forgot to put $1.4 billion in the refund fund for taxpayers that overpaid their taxes. Now those awaiting refunds will have to wait.
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Illinois Budget Deficit: Worst of the Worst”


Union Writing the Book on Intimidation and Violence

-By Warner Todd Huston

F. Vincent Vernuccio had a great piece in the Washington Times a few days ago revealing the the handbook written by the SEIU that teaches union thuggery to union operatives.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has a 70-some-page manual that came to light in a recent court case.

SEIU is in federal court defending itself against charges of racketeering and extortion filed by one of its unionizing targets, the catering company Sodexo Inc.Sodexo’s court discovery recently revealed an SEIU “Contract Campaign Manual” on “Pressuring the Employer.” Union pressure is nothing new, but what SEIU recommends is not limited to organizing drives and strikes. Rather, the pressure takes the form of a so-called corporate campaign, whereby the union allies itself with outside third parties to raise intimidation to a new level.

Vernuccio explained that the most recent efforts of the SEIU to push businesses to the edge of bankruptcy so that they are vulnerable to being taken over by union operatives even going to the point of secretly getting the businesses to agree to work with the SEIU to prevent other unions from trying to contact its employees.
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Union Writing the Book on Intimidation and Violence”


Congress: When Will These People Retire?

-By Warner Todd Huston

My friend Iowahawk recently Tweeted (@iowahawkblog) an interesting fact:

“91 of 435 US representatives and 40 of 100 US senators are over the SS retirement age. 15 members of Congress are over 80.”

So, why are these people telling all of us that we need to retire at 65 while they are sticking in there long past their “sell by” date?

Just wondering.


Conn. Unions Have Trouble Reading Hand Writing on Wall

-By Warner Todd Huston

Cities, counties and states (not to mention the federal gov’t) all across the country are overspent, out of cash, and deeply in the red. One reality that has been hitting all these government entities has been a series of tough negotiations with government employee unions. Unions are loathe to take cuts, certainly, but the reality is that in many cases it’s either cuts or layoffs. More and more unions are realizing this and taking the cuts to avoid losing jobs. The foolish government employees in Connecticut seem to be insensible to reality, though.

Strangely enough, even the government union bosses in Connecticut understood the pickle they were in. Union bigwigs negotiated cuts with the Democrat controlled state legislature and Democrat Governor Daniel Malloy. They did this with the understanding that none of their rank and file would lose their job.

Unfortunately for the unions, many of the members seem too foolish to “get” it. They voted the concessions down. Now Governor Malloy is saying he has little choice but to get rid of thousands of workers.

Nice move, fellows.
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Conn. Unions Have Trouble Reading Hand Writing on Wall”


For Every Awful Gov’t Action There is An Equally Awful Reaction, Horses Worst Hit!

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a jester of a Chicago Alderman named Ed Burke who back in the early 1990s made local radio audiences laugh by his plaintive plea of “what about the horses” on the floor of Chicago’s City Hall. He was worried that horses in downtown Chicago’s carriage trade were somehow being mistreated and so he tried to pass all sorts of absurd new regulations in Chicago to help his equine buddies. His plea rings in my ears as I read this new story of the “unintended consequences” of federal regulations meant to save the horses that has only made their lives more miserable.

Since we became a country there have been businesses geared to dispatch and butcher ailing, broken down, or unwanted horses. These horse abattoirs may be remembered once upon a time as supplying some of the raw materials for glue factories. But they also supplied the meat for zoos, circuses and increasingly for meat markets overseas where consumption of horsemeat by humans does not carry the cultural shock that it might here in the United States.

But congress knew better, you see. Congress had become the ultimate horse whisperers and could read the horses minds to know that they felt abused by these evil slaughterhouses. And so, because congress is oh, so caring, that august body passed laws that materially harmed horse slaughterhouses in America. These rules eventually made such businesses close up and disappear in the USA.

It’s for the horses, ya know?
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For Every Awful Gov’t Action There is An Equally Awful Reaction, Horses Worst Hit!”


No Hiccups in State’s Construction Plan‏

From the Office of GOP Minority Leader Tom Cross…

After action by the General Assembly today — the state’s construction program will continue without interruption this summer keeping tens of thousands of people on the job repairing our state’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

This is another example of the General Assembly working together this session to achieve the common goal to put our state back on the right track.

We worked together to pass a budget that spends less money than we did last year—and made some tough choices to keep our spending down.

This has to be our new way of life.

We are not finished working on budgets that continue to bring our spending under control and reforming our government to make our state a place we can be proud of.

CLICK HERE to watch my comments on the House Floor today.


What Economic Turnaround?

Obama and his cohorts want to sell the American people a bill of goods. DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz is telling the country that Democrats “own” the “recovery.” Only one problem. There ain’t one.

Don’t buy the lies, folks. Don’t do it.


Cal. Union Launches Effort to Recruit Republican Candidates

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is a novel approach. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest government employee unions in the nation, has decided that they’ve had enough of all those darn Republicans that are… well… acting like Republicans. So, the union has lighted on a new way to be rid of all those darn Republican-like Republicans. They are going to sponsor their own Republican candidates in upcoming elections in the land of fruits and nuts.

The SEIU has created a new “Republican” political action committee (PAC) meant to recruit purported moderate Republicans to run for office to replace the Republicans now sitting in Sacramento. SEIU is calling this PAC the “Golden California Committee.”

The name of their PAC reminds me of the phrase, “don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” This golden shower that the SEIU is trying to pull off doesn’t fool anyone. The SEIU has no interest in helping Republicans. They have but one goal, to implement laws and government regulations that give to government employee unions payoffs, higher salaries, and outrageous benefits and pensions that exceed anything that the general public will ever see. They know that the only way to do this is to control government from both sides of the aisle.
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Cal. Union Launches Effort to Recruit Republican Candidates”


Holding the Line on Spending, Driving Cuts

From the office of Illinois GOP House Minority Leader Tom Cross…

As we wrapped up the regular spring legislative session this week, Illinois House Republicans drove the General Assembly to a balanced budget by only allowing the Governor to spend money that we estimate we will receive in revenues next year. That number is $33.2 billion—any dime we receive above that number will go to pay down our backlog of bills.

Our spending level is $2 billion less than what Governor Quinn wanted to spend and $1 billion less than what the Illinois Senate originally wanted to spend.

In fact, in a last ditch effort to spend more money, the Illinois Senate sent us legislation that would have tacked on more than $400 million. We rejected that.
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Holding the Line on Spending, Driving Cuts”


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!”


Bait-and-Switch: Democrats Unveil New Map

From the office of Ill. GOP Minority House Leader Tom Cross…

Dems Deny Vote on Fair Map Proposal; Shun Public Input in Favor of Partisan Map

In a stunning reversal of their oft-repeated pledge to lead an open and transparent redistricting process, House and Senate Democrats introduced a brand new partisan legislative map late yesterday which was different from the one publicly released last week. This bait-and-switch follows weeks of public hearings held throughout the state to obtain local citizen input on how Illinois’ new map should be drawn; a mere days after three public forums held within the past week on the original publicly-released map.

So much for transparency.
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Bait-and-Switch: Democrats Unveil New Map”


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”


Illinois Redistricting Update‏

Tom Cross, Illinois GOP Minority Leader…

Democrats in both the House and Senate released legislative redistricting maps last week. In the House, Democrats waited to release their map until late Friday afternoon giving the public practically no time to review it before a planned Sunday hearing in Chicago. If you wanted an explanation you had to ask for it in writing. Democrats promised an open and transparent process – this isn’t it.

Despite claims from House Democrats that their map is fair and competitive, a number of Latino organizations have stated at hearings and in news reports that their population is under-represented. Since the last map was drawn in 2001, the Latino population grew the most in the last ten years in Illinois.
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Illinois Redistricting Update‏”


Racebaiter Chicago Priest Reinstated By Spineless Cardinal

-By Warner Todd Huston

Father Michael Pfleger, one of the most hateful and divisive priests on the American Catholic scene, has been temporarily given back his position as pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church on Chicago’s South Side by Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George.

In a new statement posted on the website of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Father Pfleger apologizes for threats to leave the Church that he made in a radio interview last month saying he feared that his comments were hurting the Church — something he claimed he didn’t intend.

With public apology in hand, Cardinal George has reinstated this hatemonger to his former role as pastor of St. Sabina Church in order to allow him to help find a new pastor and help with that transition. Apparently he has until December to make the arrangements.
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Racebaiter Chicago Priest Reinstated By Spineless Cardinal”


Ill. House GOP Leader Cross: House Passes State Budget, Drives Down Spending‏

From the office of Illinois GOP House leader Tom Cross…

For years, House Republicans have driven the discussion on the need for fiscal discipline and to stop spending money we don’t have. Today we took a dramatic step forward passing the first budget in years that actually forces the state to live within its means; and actually spends less than we did the year before. We are pleased that our friends across the aisle joined us in this fiscal discipline.

See the video HERE.

It is never easy to make cuts, but the budgets we passed this week will keep our promise to spend no more than our revenue estimate of $33.2 billion. This is the only way we’re ever going to get our bills paid and get our state finances back on track.
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Ill. House GOP Leader Cross: House Passes State Budget, Drives Down Spending‏”


If You’re Democrat And Constantly Lose Elections, Get a State Job Anyway

-By Warner Todd Huston

Feeling low, spunky? Feeling sad because you lose election after election, my friend? Crying because, no matter how hard you try, those idiot voters won’t put you in office where you’re sure you belong, donkey-boy? Well, fear not, sparkey. YOU are a Democrat and in THIS state you always win, even when you lose. In this state, as a Democrat, you get to feed at the public trough, paid by the taxpayers whether you can win election or not.

So, welcome to the hind teat of government, Dan Seals. Oh, you are a major loser, but, gosh, you are on top of the world now because the Illinois Democrat Party has rewarded you with a sinecure from the state. As the Chicago Trib’s Clout Street reports

Democrat Dan Seals, a three-time losing congressional candidate on the North Shore, is getting a state job.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn today hired Seals as his $121,090-a-year assistant director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. He starts Tuesday.

Yp, even loser Democrats come out with fistsfulls of taxpayer’s cash in this corrupt state.
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If You’re Democrat And Constantly Lose Elections, Get a State Job Anyway”


Do SEIU Members Know Their Union Consorts With America’s Enemies?

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is one thing that always flummoxes me. Over the last few decades American labor unions have increasingly become adjuncts, associates, pals, close friends — what ever you want to call them — with anti-American groups like the Communist Party USA and various socialist, anti-Israel groups, and pro-terror groups like the many pro-Palestinian groups. So, what the hell are the regular, presumably true American rank and file members doing about this fact? Are they aware of it? If they are aware of it why do they sit idly by while their union leaders consort with enemies of the United States of America?

The May Day rally in L.A. is just the latest example of major American unions joining hands with commies, socialists, terror-supporters and anti-Americans.
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Do SEIU Members Know Their Union Consorts With America’s Enemies?”


Union Operative That Wants ‘Financial Panic’ and Communism Still Working at SEIU

-By Warner Todd Huston

You may remember back in March that an audio tape was released upon which an SEIU operative expressed his desire to destroy the American economy by creating “financial panic” and overloading the system. This, it was proposed, could lay the groundwork to turn America into a perfect communist society.

The union operative in question was a guy named Steve Lerner and he works for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The fact that it is he “works” for the SEIU is certainly news. After all, when the tape was released we were all assured that Lerner was fired by the SEIU because of his communist-inspired rambling.

However, we have since found out that this anti-American nutcase has not been fired by the union. In fact, he was present at a recent executive board meeting.
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Union Operative That Wants ‘Financial Panic’ and Communism Still Working at SEIU”


Indiana Democrat Fleebagger’s Hotel Bill Completely Paid for by Unions

-By Warner Todd Huston

It wasn’t long ago that Indiana Democrats fled the Hoosier state so that they could avoid doing their job in the state legislature. These Democrats self-righteously claimed that they were doing this “for the people” and insisted that they should be considered as heroes. One Indiana Democrat even claimed that his running off to Illinois to luxuriate in a resort hotel was somehow just like being a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

Well, after weeks and weeks of patting themselves on the back as working “for the people” we now see just who these fleebagging Democrats were really working for… and it sure as heck wasn’t “the people.”

A recent campaign finance report was released that shows that the entire $84,953.70 hotel bill at the Comfort Suites Urbana was paid for by unions. That’s right, unions.
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Indiana Democrat Fleebagger’s Hotel Bill Completely Paid for by Unions”


Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Attacks Apple iPad

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chicago area Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. is apparently as fickle as he is uninformed about economics and the Constitution both. In March we saw him praising the Apple iPad as technology so important that he wanted to have the federal government buy one for every American student. Only a month later he was calling the iPad a destroyer of American jobs. Talk about a whiplash inducing turn around.

In March, Jackson was pleased to announce a brilliant idea to put a provision into the Constitution that gives every student an iPad and a laptop computer. After a week of ridicule, Rep. Jackson doubled down on that plan saying that the iPad had so fundamentally altered education that it should be a right.

And now, only a month later Jackson has made a complete turnaround on the iPad calling it a destroyer of American jobs.
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Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Attacks Apple iPad”


Tax Freedom Day – Action Alert‏

From the office of GOP Minority Leader Tom Cross…

Congratulations! Today is the first day of 2011 that earnings you make can start going towards meeting the needs of you and your family. That’s right – we’ve worked the first 105 days of the year just to pay our federal, state, and local tax obligations for the year, more than a quarter of the way through 2011.

In recognition of this sobering fact, today is Tax Freedom Day in Illinois; a reminder of just how much we must pay in taxes each year before our hard-earned dollars can finally start working for us.
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Tax Freedom Day – Action Alert‏”


Democrat New Tone: Penn. Pol. Asks if She Can Kill a Colleague, ‘Blow His Brains Out’

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yes, it’s that new age of Democrat political civility rearing its ugly head yet again. During an April 12 debate on gun control Pennsylvania State Representative Margo Davidson of Philadelphia wondered aloud on the House floor if it might be OK for her to blow the brains out of one of Pennsylvania’s Republican Representatives.

Before we even go on with this story, imagine if a white, male, and Republican politician had asked during a debate on policy if it would be OK if he blew the brains out of a black, female, Democrat. Just imagine what would be happening to such a man should he have done this. Certainly his name would be on the lips of every TV newscaster for at least a week after he said such an outrageous thing. Movements would be born to oust him from his elected position. Colleagues would be condemning him. Race-baiters would be flocking to the state for vigils. Further his own party would be denouncing him in no uncertain terms.

But what we have here is a black female, a Democrat from a big city, and no one is paying any attention at all. Obviously it is not a big deal. Apparently we are expected to just move on as if there is nothing wrong with a black woman expressing the desire to kill her political opponent.

Double standard is the nicest thing I can say about it.
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Democrat New Tone: Penn. Pol. Asks if She Can Kill a Colleague, ‘Blow His Brains Out’”


Even American ‘Cowboys’ Now Government Teat Suckers

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last month when the current series of budget debates began to heat up, the ineffectual leader of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate thought he had a great little point against proposed tax cuts by crying that the cuts would destroy Nevada’s “Cowboy Poetry.”

Oh, the humanities.

You might recall that last month Reid ambled up to the podium on the floor of the Senate and loosed his six shooters on GOP tax cutters saying that the cuts would kill off the famous cowboy poetry event held every January in Elko, Nevada.

As idiotic as that claim is, there was a paucity of replies to Reid’s claims by the very cowboy poets that he claimed he was wearin’ the white hat for. Well, The New York Times has a piece rectifying that problem by giving speaking space to some of the cowboys involved in this taxpayers funded event.
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Even American ‘Cowboys’ Now Government Teat Suckers”


Budget Victory: All Right, Tea Partiers, Time to Stop Whining and Learn Politics

-By Warner Todd Huston

Sorry Tea Partiers, but the GOP won this budget battle despite that you didn’t get all you wanted, this was a major GOP win. In fact, treating it otherwise endangers further cuts and bigger budget wins. If the drive to cut the budget stops now, it might be YOUR fault!

What is that you say? Gosh, we only got a paltry $38.5 billion in cuts? You say this is a loss because we were promised $100 billion and even that is a drop in the bucket with a budget trillions overspent?

Yes, your laments are all true to a degree. And here’s the “but” you know is coming…

…but it’s time for you Tea Partiers to grow up and learn a little something about reality and politics. Oh, you can scrunch your face up all you want over that dirty word, “politics.” But you’d better come to learn, it, live it, and love it if you really want to keep your influence and continue pushing the government down this new path to the budget cuts.
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Budget Victory: All Right, Tea Partiers, Time to Stop Whining and Learn Politics”


Voting Democrat is Wholly Illogical Based Only on Childish Feelings

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is one of those chain emails that I rarely bother with. But this one is particularly funny and bitingly true. Well, true after I rewrote it a bit…

Why I Vote Democrat

  • I voted Democrat because I believe a 4% profit by oil companies on a gallon of gas is obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% (or more) isn’t.
  • I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending my money than I can.
  • I voted Democrat because because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it. And if I can stop those other people from saying those things then let’s write a law or something.
  • I voted Democrat because because I’m way too irresponsible to own a gun and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves who strike without notice.
  • I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can’t tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don’t start driving a Prius, buy Carbon Credits, or do without modern comforts.
  • I voted Democrat because I’m not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all murderers on death row alive.
  • I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits at my expense.
  • I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make a profit. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as we Democrats see fit.
  • I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few weeks to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters otherwise.
  • I voted Democrat because I think that it’s better to pay billions to get oil from people who hate us, but not drill for our own because it might upset some endangered beetle or a gopher or something.
  • I voted Democrat because I am sick and tired of all the mean-spirited rhetoric in politics. And if you don’t like that, you are a racist, homophobe that wants to kill old people and children… oh, and you’re a Nazi.
  • I voted Democrat because while we live in the greatest, most wonderful country in the world, I want to change it all with that promised “HOPE AND CHANGE.”
  • I voted Democrat because the United States has been the most evil influence on the world and we need to take her arrogance down a notch. After all, we are worse than terrorists, our school teachers told us so!
  • But most of all I voted Democrat because it makes me better than YOU just because…. well, just because it makes me feeeeeel good.

I was reminded of this one by Texas Fred who has a great blog. See it at: http://texasfred.net/
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Voting Democrat is Wholly Illogical Based Only on Childish Feelings”


IL House Repubs: Pay Cuts, Murder Registry and More‏

From GOP House Minority Leader Tom Cross…

10 % Pay Cut for Lawmakers Clears House

House Republicans this week helped pass legislation requiring lawmakers to take a 10 percent pay cut in Fiscal Year 2012 – a $1.2 million savings for taxpayers, said House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

“We must lead by example. We have been pushing tirelessly for state government to live within its means—when looking at reductions in our budget, we must look at ourselves-first,” said Cross.

Illinois state representatives and senators receive the fifth highest paid salary in the country. Only California, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan pay their legislators more than Illinois. The current annual salary for an Illinois legislator is $67,836; if HB 2891 becomes law, the annual salary will be $61,052.
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IL House Repubs: Pay Cuts, Murder Registry and More‏”


Indiana Democrat Fleebagger Compares Himself to Our Soldiers

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is nothing worse than some self-interested politician acting as if his partisan political agenda makes him serving his country just like our brave soldiers at war. But here we have it from Indiana’s 69th District Democrat Dave Cheatham, one of the Hoosier State Reps that ran off to Illinois to avoid doing his job at the state capitol.

But what is worse than this cretin claiming that his running off to Illinois to stay at a resort hotel for a week on the taxpayer’s dime is somehow just like being a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan is the fact that the union thugs in the audience applauded for this politician, heartily agreeing with the whole misconception!

Representative Cheatham (and isn’t it just right that his name has CHEAT in it?) was at a union meeting with Indiana’s union-sold teachers in attendance when he told the audience that he was just like our soldiers when he ran off to Illinois. Disgustingly, the teachers in attendance gleefully clapped for the man’s conceit.

So, here you have it, Representative Cheatham saying that his running off to Illinois to sit in a resort hotel is “just like” our soldiers going off to Afghanistan.
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Indiana Democrat Fleebagger Compares Himself to Our Soldiers”


VIDEO — Who’s More Responsible: Charlie or Washington?

Who is more fiscally responsible: Charlie Sheen or Washington? Duh! Charlie the Warlock. Washington spends $30 million, the same as Charlie’s salary, in less than five minutes. Now that’s a fastball… At least Charlie knew not to spend more than Two and a Half Men was paying him.

Courtesy of Bankrupting America.


Ill GOP House News

From Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross…

Years of advocating for fiscally conservative and responsible budgeting by members of the House Republican caucus finally seems to be resonating with leading Democrats in the House. Wednesday, House Republican Leader Tom Cross testified alongside House Speaker Michael Madigan before the House Elementary and Secondary Appropriations and the General Services Appropriations Committees on legislation they are co-sponsoring that reinforces the concept that the state cannot spend more money than it takes in.

House Bill 3639, House Bill 3697, and House Bill 116 require the state to fully fund the public pension systems in FY12 and House Bill 117 which passed the Public Safety Committee, requires the state to allocate $2.137 billion to pay debt service on bonds.

Cross_Madigan_HB117 from Illinois House Republicans on Vimeo.

The House also passed on Wednesday a bi-partisan, House Resolution 158, which specifies that any revenue the state receives exceeding $33.2 billion, the estimate adopted in House Resolution 110, should be used to pay down bills. This estimate is $2 billion less than the Governor proposed spending in his FY12 budget plan.

Last week the House passed House Resolution 156 establishing the percentage of general revenue funds each appropriations committee would have available to work with as they develop their budgets.
The allocation is as follows:

  • Elementary and Secondary Education – 28.742%
  • General Services – 5.158%
  • Higher Education – 8.761%
  • Human Services – 50.631%
  • Public Safety – 6.978%

“This series of legislation is putting the legislature on the right path to passing a state budget that is balanced and does not exceed what we can afford – that helps ensure the tax increases passed in January will be temporary,” said Cross. “It also provides schools, human service providers and others with some certainty knowing how much money will be available as they prepare their own budgets. That is something they haven’t had for years with the Democrats’ lump sum budgets. It’s good to see our persistence is finally paying off and we are going to continue to hold the Democrats’ feet to the fire to reduce spending and balance the budget.”