Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott threatened Sunday to remove dozens of House Democrats from office after they fled to the state to block a GOP-led redistricting plan during a special session of the legislature. 
In a <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-statement-on-house-democratic-quorum-break">statement</a>, Abbott gave more than 50 Democrats who left the state to deny a quorum &#8211; effectively halting the legislative process &#8211; until 3:00 p.m. on Monday to return or face removal proceedings. Abbott said that the actions of the Democrats amounted to “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office” and that Texas law empowered him to fill the vacancies. 
“Real Texans do not run from a fight. But that’s exactly what most of the Texas House Democrats just did,” Abbott said. “Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business.”
The special session, which began on July 21, was set to address a variety of issues, including redistricting, flood relief, abortion, and taxes. Democrats could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-republicans-drop-new-congressional-map-that-would-flip-5-democrat-seats-red">lose</a> as many as five House seats if Republican-backed maps are implemented, prompting backlash from state and national Democrats. 
“The absconded Democrat House members were elected to meet and vote on legislation—not to prevent votes that may not go their way,” Abbott said. “Every session, legislators on both sides of the aisle find themselves on the losing side of a legislative vote. And every session, most of those legislators find a way to disagree agreeably and behave like adults, rather than going AWOL.”
Abbott also said that some Democrats could face bribery charges if they solicited donations to pay for the $500 daily fine for skipping the special session. 
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also called for the truant Democrats to be arrested. 
“Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately,” he <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/1952114350153490634">said</a>. “We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.”
The Texas Democrats went to Illinois, where they held a press conference on Sunday alongside Democrat Governor JB Pritzker. 
&#8220;Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump so that Donald Trump can steal these communities’ power and voice,&#8221; Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/texas-democrats-head-illinois-deny-republicans-quorum-redistricting-rcna222743">claimed</a>. &#8220;We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities. We&#8217;re not here to play political games, we&#8217;re here to demand an end to this corrupt process.&#8221;
Texas House Democrats have previously fled the state in efforts to block other legislation from being passed, including an election integrity bill in 2021. That bill ended up passing after a weeks-long standoff that ended when a quorum was restored after the vacant lawmakers were threatened with arrest.

Governor Abbott Holds News Conference On Winter Weather Moving Through Texas

Abbott To AWOL Texas Democrats: Respect Voters Or Be Removed

Congress

Greg Abbott

Illinois

JB Pritzker

Politics

Redistricting

Texas

Three Democratic governors are set to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month as they face questions about state policies that inhibit federal immigration enforcement.
The House Oversight Committee said Tuesday that Governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Kathy Hochul of New York, and Tim Walz of Minnesota will appear on June 12 to testify about immigration enforcement in their states. As the Trump administration has promised mass deportations, Democratic officials across the country have indicated that they will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security.
“Sanctuary policies only provide sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens. Former President Biden created the worst border crisis in U.S. history and allowed criminal illegal aliens to flood our communities. President Trump has ended this crisis and now we have the most secure borders in decades,&#8221; House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) said.
&#8220;The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.&#8221;
Illinois has been a sanctuary state <a href="https://www.fairus.org/issue/do-you-live-1-11-sanctuary-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">since</a> 2017, when then-Governor Bruce Rauner (R) signed the Illinois Trust Act, which blocked local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement actions. In New York, state agencies are not allowed to work with ICE, and a state court ruled that neither state nor local law enforcement should hold illegal immigrants at ICE&#8217;s request.
Legislation to make Minnesota a sanctuary state has failed in recent years despite pushes from Walz and the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.
&#8220;My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws,&#8221; Walz <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/jeff-johnson-tim-walz-minnesota-sanctuary-state/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2018. &#8220;The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do so.&#8221;
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), there are currently eleven &#8220;sanctuary states,&#8221; including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, in addition to the District of Columbia.
The hearing with the governors follows one in April, where the House Oversight Committee also questioned the mayors of sanctuary cities like Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York.

JD Vance And Tim Walz Face Off In Vice Presidential Debate In New York

Lawmakers Demand Dem Governors Explain ‘Reckless’ Policies Impeding Trump’s Immigration Agenda

House Oversight Committee

Illegal Immigation

James Comer

Kathy Hochul

Minnesota

New York

Tim Walz

President Donald Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called out Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) over recent remarks that he said could easily “be construed as inciting violence.”
Miller took questions outside the White House on Monday, where he was asked about Pritzker’s call to action for Democrats and his assertion that Republicans should not be allowed a moment of peace.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Stephen Miller (<a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephenM</a>) on Gov. JB Pritzker: &quot;His comments, if nothing else, could be construed as inciting violence.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/9LZ642LS4H">pic.twitter.com/9LZ642LS4H</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1916965070375944537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Pritzker, speaking at McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in New Hampshire on Sunday, said, “Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I have now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and every microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.&#8221;
Miller’s response was simple: “What I would say is that his comments, if nothing else, could be construed as inciting violence.”
The longtime Trump adviser went on to note that the president had already survived two assassination attempts and law enforcement had foiled numerous other credible threats on his life, and the comments made by Pritzker expressed the kind of sentiment that could potentially drive more of the same.
Miller also pointed out that left-wing attacks resulting in property damage and destruction — like the recent spate of attacks on Tesla dealerships and vehicles — were only a short leap away from physical attacks against people.
“Once you tolerate, and once you allow for attacks on property, you’re just a step away from throwing Molotov cocktails into people’s homes,” he said.
Miller briefly mentioned how the normalizing of political violence — driven by rhetoric like Pritzker’s — led to scenarios like former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz saying she felt “joy” when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was executed on a New York street.
Miller then addressed the fact that Pritzker, along with several other Democrat governors, was attempting to “wage war” against the federal government on issues like illegal immigration in which the federal government had supremacy to make, implement, and enforce policy.
”I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

Stephen Miller Speaks To Media At White House

‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like It’: Stephen Miller Blasts JB Pritzker For ‘Inciting Violence’

Democrats

Donald Trump

Political Violence

Republicans

Approaching one hundred days into the new administration, the Trump administration is declaring the border is secure. Illinois’ Democrat Governor JB Pritzker is fueling presidential buzz after a fiery speech targeting Trump. And, while courts block Trump’s agenda, the administration strikes back – arresting judges charged with illegally shielding migrants.
It’s Tuesday, April 29, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Starting this week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/morning-wire?row=1&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel">Morning Wire is now available on video</a>. You can watch today’s episode here:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Trump Secures Border &amp; Pritzker 2028? | 4.29.25" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-dqoZeBHcSs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you’d rather listen to the news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trump-secures-border-pritzker-2028-4-29-25/id1576594336?i=1000705378424" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Trump Secures Border In 1st 100 Days</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-913251" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-1-1024x568.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="568" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-1-1024x568.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-1-300x167.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-1-768x426.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-1.jpg 1281w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The White House is celebrating 100 days of  Donald Trump’s presidency – and a huge part of its focus is on securing the border.
The White House has placed roughly 100 posters of deported illegal aliens and their various criminal offenses in plain view of the White House lawn to highlight the administration’s efforts to secure the border and deport illegal aliens, prioritizing individuals with particularly serious criminal histories.
&#8220;I started in Border Patrol in 1984,” Border Czar Tom Homan <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1916837072322638274">said</a> in a White House press conference on Monday. “I&#8217;ve been at this for over 40 years. I&#8217;ve worked for six presidents. &#8230; Joe Biden was the first president in the history of this nation who came into office and unsecured the border on purpose. … Now, President Trump and this administration, the success is unprecedented … border numbers are at historic lows.”
Border crossings have dropped dramatically since Trump took office – according to the Department of Homeland Security, encounters at the border have fallen by 95%. Members of the administration credit the close collaboration of several departments, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security for the rapid turnaround.
<h2>Democrats Position Themselves For 2028</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-913253" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-2-1024x573.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="573" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-2-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-2-768x430.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-2.jpg 1278w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Democratic lawmakers are stepping up their rhetoric against President Trump, with one presidential frontrunner being accused of inciting violence against Republicans.
Following the election, the big question for lawmakers on the Left was whether they should work to find common ground with Donald Trump and Republicans or oppose their every move. Polling shows the majority of the party’s voters now support the fight Trump approach, and lawmakers on the Left seem to be listening. This week, Illinois Governor JD Pritzker turned heads at a speech to Democrats in New Hampshire.
 “Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption, but I am now,” Pritzker said. “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace!”
At this point, that’s basically boilerplate rhetoric from the far-Left, but it’s a bit of a surprise coming from Governor Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire who’s generally been considered more of a mainstream, establishment Democrat. In a sign that he’s looking to shake that label and prove his progressive credentials, Pritzker had a clear message for moderate Democrats who’ve taken the common-ground approach with Trump. “Do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of black people and trans kids and immigrants instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.”
“The Democrats have no plan, no vision, and no leader,” Congresswoman Lisa McClain, chair of the House Republican Conference, told Morning Wire. “And when you can’t beat us on the issues, you have to personalize it. … they can’t debate the issues because they’re on the wrong side of the issues.”
Some Democrats are urging the party to take a more unifying approach – notably California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has invited Right-leaning guests on his podcast and walked back some of his previous statements on gender issues. The problem for Newsom and other Democrats pushing that strategy is that they were on the record for years saying the exact opposite, so they now run the risk of looking like flip-floppers to moderates, and sellouts to progressives, who are the loudest contingent on the Left.
One silver lining for Democrats is that President Trump’s <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/approval-rating#google_vignette">approval rating</a> has taken a hit in recent weeks. Three polls from ABC, CNN, and The New York Times all show him at 42 or 43% — 12 to 14 points underwater. His biggest hit has come from his handling of the economy — an issue where he’s typically been most popular. CBS has him down to 42% approval on the economy &#8212; that’s a ten point dip in the last two months. NBC has him at 40%, and Washington Post shows him with just 39%. If those numbers don’t improve, Republicans could be facing an uphill battle in the midterms — the big question is if Democrats can unify and capitalize, or whether their divisions will lead to another crushing defeat.
<h2>The Judiciary vs The Executive</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-913255" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-3-1024x567.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="567" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-3-1024x567.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-3-300x166.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-3-768x425.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Subheader-3.jpg 1277w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Federal judges stepped in and blocked several of President Trump’s executive orders last week. The court orders targeted Trump’s moves on elections, immigration, and his efforts to reform the federal government.
Last week, the Trump administration suffered several high-profile setbacks in the courts. On Tuesday, a judge in the D.C. Circuit ordered Trump to reinstate Voice of America employees while his order to deconstruct VoA and other federally-funded outlets moves forward. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to seek the return of a second deported migrant – a 20-year-old Venezuelan national who was deported to El Salvador after he was convicted of drug charges earlier this year.
Then on Thursday, that same judge in Maryland blocked some of the Department of Education’s anti-DEI efforts. The judge said that the department’s guidance to universities to scrap DEI programs or risk losing federal funds violated the First Amendment. Another federal judge in D.C. blocked parts of Trump’s order on federal election reform – specifically parts that required a voter to prove citizenship in order to register for federal elections. That same day, a federal judge in California blocked the administration from withholding funds from cities it deemed “sanctuary” jurisdictions that refuse to work with deportation enforcement. Finally, to end the week, a federal judge in D.C. blocked the administration from banning unions across dozens of federal agencies.
Vice President JD Vance called it a “pattern” that “is not consistent with the Constitution.” As he explained on X, the “Biden administration does something the American people elected Donald Trump to undo,” but then a “lawless district court judge substitutes his policy preferences for the will of the people.” The administration is clearly frustrated with how these cases are playing out in court, and how consistently judges issue these sweeping orders that in many cases go way beyond whatever question the plaintiff sued over to begin with.
Meanwhile two judges have been <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-two-cases-involving-judicial-misconduct-and-obstruction-law">arrested on charges of obstruction of justice</a> after aiding and abetting illegal aliens in their attempts to evade immigration authorities.
<a href="https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1915826498533310904">According to</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi, Judge Hannah Dugan of Wisconsin snuck a defendant, who had illegally entered the United States in 2013 and was facing charges of domestic violence, out of her courtroom when she learned ICE was outside waiting to pick him up. Former Judge Jose Luis Cano and his wife were arrested after allegedly sheltering a fugitive member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Cano and his wife were also charged with evidence tampering – according to the federal affidavit, Cano attempted to scrub the social media account of an alien tenant living on his property and went so far as to smash a cell phone with a hammer to prevent police from accessing its contents.

MorningWire_4.29.25_V1

Morning Brief: The Border Takes Center Stage At White House And Judges Run Wild

Border

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

When an obnoxious group of political activists suddenly goes silent, it&#8217;s usually a sign that they&#8217;re regrouping in some way. That&#8217;s especially true after the activists suffer a crushing defeat in a national election. It&#8217;s only natural to assume that, under those circumstances, the activists have gone underground for a bit in order to refine their messaging. They&#8217;re putting their best minds together to come up with a platform that might appeal to more people. Or at the very least, they&#8217;re taking steps to make sure that, when they emerge from hiding, they&#8217;re not seen as even crazier and less convincing than they were before. That&#8217;s the bare minimum you&#8217;d expect. Think about how the Indians realized they were on the losing side of the whole debate over &#8220;who gets the land,&#8221; so they came back and decided to settle for owning a bunch of casinos instead. There&#8217;s a strategic retreat, then an effective comeback.
This is the playbook that we&#8217;ve seen again and again. But after this week, it&#8217;s clear trans activists and the LGBT movement have thrown out the manual. Following their rejection at the ballot box in November, trans activists have decided against the idea of moderating their insanity. Instead, they have elected to double down on the most extreme and demented aspects of their ideology.
They have devolved to a degree that, if you weren&#8217;t paying attention, you might have thought was impossible. We are now at the point where trans activists are embracing cruelty that isn&#8217;t even cloaked with the usual lies about &#8220;scientific consensus&#8221; or anything like that. These people are now endorsing child abuse, without reservation, right out in the open. That&#8217;s always what they&#8217;ve stood for. Now they&#8217;re not even attempting to hide it.
In order to understand the depths of depravity, you need to watch the scene that unfolded at a school board meeting on Thursday in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A woman named Nicole Georgas began by telling the school board that her daughter is a 13-year-old student at a local middle school. And recently, her 13-year-old was forced to share a bathroom with a male student. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 PARENT SPEAKS OUT 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5QB6E-Aqh9Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Before we play the rest of Nicole Georgas&#8217; statement, it&#8217;s worth pointing out that, strangely enough, no one on the Left is calling this situation a &#8220;constitutional crisis.&#8221; She&#8217;s pointing out, correctly, that the state of Illinois is defying Trump&#8217;s executive order on gender ideology. And in the process, they&#8217;re disregarding the civil rights of children at a systemic level. If you listened to the Left&#8217;s complaints about how outrageous it was that the Trump administration ignored a judge&#8217;s order when he deported Venezuelan terrorists the other day, you might think that they&#8217;d be equally upset about what the state of Illinois is doing in this case. But of course there&#8217;s no outrage, because these people are more than happy to ignore orders when they feel like it. And the state of Illinois should lose federal funding immediately as a result.
If you don&#8217;t agree with that, then you&#8217;ll change your mind after you hear the rest of Nicole Georgas&#8217; statement.
Listen as she explains what the adults at this middle school allegedly forced her child to do, against her will:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 PARENT SPEAKS OUT 2" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lqka-RRQ79M?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To restate: This woman is saying that school officials forced her 13-year-old daughter — and several other young girls — to change in front of a male student in a locker room at a middle school. Those school officials, she said, include the district’s assistant superintendent for student services, the school’s assistant principal, and the director for student services.
If this claim is true — and as you&#8217;ll see in a moment, there&#8217;s no reason to doubt that it is — then the school officials who forced these girls to change in front of a boy are guilty of sexual assault. You could probably add kidnapping and child endangerment charges as well. The fact that this took place in a school should not provide any kind of cover for these people. If anything, it should make the charges even more serious. And whatever charges are brought, it&#8217;d still be too light of a punishment. Try to imagine what you&#8217;d do, as a parent, if you learned that an adult was forcing your daughter to get naked in front of a male, against her will. Criminal charges would probably be the least of that particular adult&#8217;s problems.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1557-the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
At a minimum, we need conservative DAs to start pressing those kinds of charges against the people pushing this madness. This goes beyond the realm of a political debate or a &#8220;constitutional crisis.&#8221; This is child abuse. And if there were any good-faith members of the trans activist community — if any of them were capable of some level of basic human decency — they would admit this. They would acknowledge that, indeed, it&#8217;s possible to go too far in the process of affirming gender ideology. And that point is reached when you&#8217;re forcing children to expose themselves to members of the opposite sex.
But because there are no good-faith trans activists, you can probably guess how this mother&#8217;s statement was received. As soon as she was finished, &#8220;boos&#8221; rang out in the room. One person asked her why she was &#8220;obsessed&#8221; with the genitals of children, which is one of those stock arguments these activists use all the time, even though it makes no sense whatsoever. They could be exposing themselves to you and your children in the park, and then when you object to it, they&#8217;ll accuse you of being &#8220;obsessed.&#8221; Then, a few other activists spoke at the school board meeting, and they continued to take cheap shots at the mother. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="007 ATTACKS ON PARENT" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-31ulVAg1do?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is the dominant mode of thought, such as it is, among trans activists at the moment. If you&#8217;re a mother who doesn&#8217;t want your daughter to be forced to strip in front of males in middle school, then you&#8217;re a &#8220;bully.&#8221; You&#8217;re an extremist, as identified by Left-wing propaganda outfits. You&#8217;re &#8220;obsessed&#8221; with genitalia. And on and on.
One particularly threatening trans activist took things a step further, and railed against &#8220;white supremacy&#8221; and the &#8220;white God.&#8221; And this person did so while wearing a shirt that reads, &#8220;Protect trans kids,&#8221; with a picture of a knife. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 Wacko" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yj6PFKBJy0s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The framing of course is that the male student is being &#8220;targeted.&#8221; So they can force a girl to undress in a place she doesn&#8217;t want to undress, in front of this male student. And the girl isn&#8217;t being targeted in that scenario, supposedly. Instead, the male is being targeted. He&#8217;s not getting to see the girls undress, so he&#8217;s the victim here. It doesn&#8217;t exactly take Freud to understand the psychology underlying this whole movement.
To the extent that any of these activists presented something approaching an argument, it was to suggest that actually, these girls did have the option of requesting private changing rooms. That came up a few times during the school board meeting. But I&#8217;m going to focus on this one clip, featuring a trans-identifying individual who uses the name &#8220;Charlie.&#8221; Charlie uses &#8220;they/he&#8221; pronouns, so we&#8217;re going to go ahead and use &#8220;she&#8221; to describe her, because it seems like it&#8217;s probably the most accurate option. Charlie says that she also has a trans middle-schooler, which of course is maybe the least surprising revelation imaginable. If trans activists are good at anything, it&#8217;s indoctrinating their own children. In any event, here&#8217;s Charlie&#8217;s big moment, where she reads from an Illinois law that&#8217;s supposedly about &#8220;human rights&#8221;:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 PRIVATE OPTION" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KH2sGW13jyU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is the extent of the concessions that these people were willing to offer. They&#8217;re saying that anyone who &#8220;wants more privacy,&#8221; under the law, can use a separate bathroom. They can request some other accommodation.
Put aside the fact that, in this case, that other accommodation apparently wasn&#8217;t provided. What they don&#8217;t address is the obvious question, which is: Why can&#8217;t the boy request the &#8220;other accommodation,&#8221; in this scenario? Why do all of these girls have to request their own accommodations, but the male doesn&#8217;t? The reason is apparently that it would make him feel bad if he isn&#8217;t included in the girl&#8217;s locker room. But the fact that his presence makes girls feel bad — feel unsafe and vulnerable — simply doesn&#8217;t register. As you heard from that trans activist, the girls&#8217; feelings of &#8220;discomfort&#8221; are simply considered invalid. The trans activist never explains why this discomfort is invalid. Neither does the Illinois law.
But we all know the explanation, which is that these activists, above all else, are sadists who crave power. They relish the prospect of forcing women and girls to take part in this charade. From their perspective, the more degrading the process is, the better. Everyone must be forced to participate. Whatever mental harm 10 or 20 middle-school girls might suffer as a result, they simply don&#8217;t care. Their only goal is to ensure that the male in the scenario gets his satisfaction.
The argument from these trans activists only got worse from there. Here&#8217;s a couple of them:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="010 LOT OF TRANS PEOPLE PASS, INSPECTIONS" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PmPJEy0c9Fc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So the second woman just yells about pronouns. Nothing new there. And the first woman makes a familiar logistical argument, saying some trans-identifying children supposedly &#8220;pass.&#8221; And therefore, unless we want to inspect their bodies, we need to just accept whatever those kids say.
First of all, of course, it&#8217;s not true that any &#8220;trans-identifying&#8221; middle-schoolers actually &#8220;pass&#8221; for a member of the opposite gender. The child in this situation certainly didn&#8217;t come close to passing. And for that matter, none of the activists at this school board meeting came close to &#8220;passing,&#8221; either. Humans have evolved for a very long time to develop certain sex-specific traits, and to perceive those traits in others. A child who throws on a wig from Party City isn&#8217;t going to overcome that.
But even if we assume, for the sake of argument, that some child somehow manages to fool everyone at school into thinking he&#8217;s really a girl, it&#8217;s still completely insane to endorse the idea that he should then have access to girls&#8217; locker rooms. Just because he manages to fool people and sneak into those locker rooms doesn&#8217;t make his actions justified. It&#8217;s like saying a bank robber is justified if no one notices he pulled off the heist. Deception is still wrong, whether it&#8217;s detected or not.
This is a basic moral principle — one of many basic moral principles that trans activists have abandoned. If this school board meeting demonstrates anything, it&#8217;s that these people are never going to become more moderate or sensible, no matter how badly they lose national elections. As I&#8217;ve pointed out before, most of the adult trans activists who continue in the fight are either trans themselves or have trans kids — or in some cases, both (as we saw at this school board meeting). They will never let it go, because to let it go would be to admit that they&#8217;ve maimed and mutilated themselves or their children. That is a level of self-reflection and acceptance that trans activists, as the ultimate narcissists, are simply incapable of achieving.
What that means is that it&#8217;s now the responsibility of law enforcement officials, at both the state and federal levels, to prevent trans activists from continuing to abuse children. There are clearly no limits to their depravity at this point. If we want to end this sickness, executive orders and court cases simply aren&#8217;t enough. The school officials who embraced this perversion need to go to prison. The school districts that enforce these policies need to lose federal funding. Simply put, there is no legal penalty too excessive for child abusers. And if we want to protect children and prevent anything like this from happening again, it&#8217;s time that the people responsible started facing those penalties.

MixCollage-18-Mar-2025-01-49-PM-3339

Trans Activists Hijack A School Board Meeting To Verbally Attack A Concerned Mother

Bathrooms

Gender

LGBTQ

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Parental Rights in Education

Public Schools

School Boards

school district

Transgender

Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s incoming border czar, blasted Illinois Democratic leaders during a speech in Chicago this week as Trump draws up plans for mass deportations.
Homan discussed the incoming Trump administration&#8217;s plans during a GOP holiday party in the Windy City on Monday and urged Democrats Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to work with the president-elect, Fox 32 <a href="https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-deportations-tom-homan-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Both Pritzker and Johnson have vowed to fight Trump&#8217;s mass deportation policy.
&#8220;Chicago is in trouble because your mayor sucks and your governor sucks,&#8221; Homan said.
Homan said of Johnson, &#8220;If he doesn’t want to help, get the hell out of the way,&#8221; according to the <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/donald-trump/2024/12/09/border-czar-tom-homan-donald-trump-chicago-pritzker-brandon-johnson-immigration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Sun-Times</a>. Johnson has <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2024/11/12/chicago-will-remain-sanctuary-city-despite-trump-s-threats-mayor-brandon-johnson-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promised</a> to stand in the way of federal agents apprehending illegal immigrants in Chicago. After the election, the Democratic mayor <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2024/11/12/chicago-will-remain-sanctuary-city-despite-trump-s-threats-mayor-brandon-johnson-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Trump a &#8220;tyrant&#8221; and said his plans to clamp down on illegal immigrants are &#8220;unconscionable and dangerous.&#8221;
Pritzker has similarly vowed to stand between the federal government and illegal immigrants. The governor shot back following Homan&#8217;s comments and said that Trump&#8217;s border czar &#8220;does not have the authority to do the things that he’s talked about,&#8221; NBC 5 Chicago <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/pritzker-pushes-back-on-trump-border-czars-promises-of-mass-deportations/3622500/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“Being a border czar is not an official position in the government,” the governor said. Pritzker added that he&#8217;s &#8220;open to dialogue&#8221; with Homan.
Following Trump&#8217;s election victory last month, Pritzker said that the federal government would have to go through him to deport illegal immigrants in Illinois.
“To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” he said. “You come for my people. You come through me.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
Multiple Chicago residents slammed Mayor Johnson and other Chicago officials over the sanctuary city policies during a recent city council meeting, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/chicago-residents-slam-stupidity-mayor-brandon-johnsons-liberal-policies-during-city-council-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;Mayor Brandon Johnson, you took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Or when you took an oath, was it only intended to fight for the 10th and 14th amendments regarding illegal aliens?&#8221; asked Zoe Leigh.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t want illegals in our community. We don&#8217;t want migrants terrorizing our own people and to have y&#8217;all sit up here and say we have to accept 7 million dollars being given to them when you have black people already struggling and need help,&#8221; added Chicago resident O. King. &#8220;It is a disgrace.&#8221;
Earlier this week, Homan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-homan-explains-how-democrats-protecting-illegal-aliens-in-sanctuary-cities-states-will-backfire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> sanctuary cities like Chicago about releasing illegal immigrants back onto the street after they commit a crime.
&#8220;If you let us in the jail, we can arrest the bad guy in the jail, in the safety and security of the jail. One officer could do that. But when you release the public safety threat back in the community, you put the community at risk,” he said. &#8220;You put my officers at risk. You put the alien at risk, because here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to release that guy in the community, I’m going to send an entire team to go look for the guy in your community.&#8221;

Tom Homan

Tom Homan Says ‘Chicago Is In Trouble’: ‘Your Mayor Sucks And Your Governor Sucks’

Tom Homan Says 'Chicago Is In Trouble': 'Your Mayor Sucks And Your Governor Sucks'

Brandon Johnson

Chicago

Immigration

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker refused to say over the weekend that it was wrong for Democrats to ignore the will of the voters and force President Joe Biden off the ticket because Democrats &#8220;weren&#8217;t feeling&#8221; good vibes from Biden&#8217;s campaign.
Pritzker made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; when asked about comments made by former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain.
&#8220;I do think the president was pushed by public calls from elected officials for him to drop out, from donors calling him to drop out. And I think that was wrong,&#8221; Klain recently told CNN. &#8220;The president had won the nomination fair and square; 14 million people went and voted for him and the vice president as vice president.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723848169620000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3E3OUC3roIcb5fjwk-l_Ct">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
When Tapper asked Pritzker if it was wrong for Democrats to force Biden out, Pritzker responded: &#8220;Well, I want to remind you that, I mean, there is an enormous amount of reverence for Joe Biden.&#8221;
&#8220;I think everybody was looking at the polls and seeing that there were some real challenges ahead,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is a danger on the horizon here, and that is that Donald Trump might become president again. And it&#8217;s a danger that a majority of Americans will reject. But they need to know that who they&#8217;re voting for is somebody that they can be excited and electrified by.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723848169620000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Sf3qpHNBu8vICyZg-J1qc">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;And I think they weren&#8217;t feeling that about Joe Biden,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Having said that, this is a man who&#8217;s accomplished more than 3.5 years than most presidents get done in eight. So we&#8217;re going to see a celebration of him. We&#8217;re also going to see how Kamala Harris has brought the party together with Tim Walz, by the way, a good friend of mine and a fellow Midwestern governor, who&#8217;s an everyday guy and somebody that everybody relates to.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovPritzker</a> says “there is an enormous amount of reverence” for Biden among Democrats but tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a> Americans “need to know that who they’re voting for is somebody that they can be excited and electrified by, and I think they weren’t feeling that about Joe Biden.” <a href="https://t.co/vzI7u27Glc">pic.twitter.com/vzI7u27Glc</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1825181431506583816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

J.B. Pritzker

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Refuses To Say It Was Wrong For Democrats To Ignore Voters By Forcing Biden Out

Media

In his 2024 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXBZnmtOMGk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the State address</a>, Illinois Democrat governor JB Pritzger, who attacked Texas GOP governor Greg Abbott for sending illegal immigrants to blue states, declared that Illinois did not “ask for this manufactured crisis” of the huge influx of illegal immigrants.
“Over the last 18 months, more than 35,000 have arrived in Illinois, most of them landed here in buses sent by Governor Abbott of Texas. Abbott willfully planned the arrival of these individuals in locations and at times that would engender the maximum chaos for the city of Chicago,” Pritzger fulminated.
“Maybe some of you think we should just say &#8216;This is not our problem&#8217; and we should just let the migrant families starve or freeze to death,” he continued later. “But that’s not what decent Midwesterners do. That’s not what leaders do. We didn’t ask for this manufactured crisis but we must deal with it all the same.”
Although Pritzger claimed Illinois under his leadership “didn’t ask for this manufactured crisis,” on August 2, 2021, he issued an <a href="https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.23653.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> “expanding protections for immigrant and refugee communities and further establishing Illinois as the most welcoming state in the nation.”
“The new laws strengthen the TRUST Act and make Illinois the second state in the nation to require local officials to end partnerships with ICE, address hate crimes against immigrant communities, expand workplace protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and create the Illinois Immigration Impact Task Force to ensure state programs and policies best serve immigrant residents,” Pritzger added.
He also signed an executive order “creating the Welcoming Illinois Office, to report to the Office of the Governor and the Secretary of the Department of Human Services while being housed and supported by the Department of Human Services. The Office will work to coordinate, develop and implement policies and practices to make Illinois a more welcoming and equitable state for immigrants and refugees.”
“Throughout my governorship I&#8217;ve directed my administration to adopt policies that make Illinois a welcoming state for immigrants, and I&#8217;m proud to sign these accountability measures into law to advance our cause,” Pritzger wrote. “Every family, every child, every human being deserves to feel safe and secure in the place they call home. I am committed to making sure that value defines what it means to live in Illinois.”
In his State of the State address, Pritzger also admitted, “States and cities in the country’s interior are not equipped alone to handle the rapid influx of new arrivals that we have seen. The White House and the federal government need to step up, to coordinate and manage these asylum seekers.”
In addition, he promised to send the immigrants who arrived in Chicago to other places in the state, declaring, “This plan includes our efforts to divert as many people as possible away from temporary shelter to more permanent settlement, wherever that may be. Not because we are unwelcoming of immigrants, but because Chicago’s shelter system is near capacity.”

DES MOINES – JANUARY 15: Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker speak

Illinois Dem Gov Says He Didn’t Ask For ‘Crisis’ Of Immigrants. Look What He Stated In 2021.

A federal judge has blocked a new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/illinois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illinois</a> law that targets crisis pregnancy centers in the state, saying that it violates the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/first-amendment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Amendment</a>. 
The bill that was signed into law last week by Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/j-b-pritzker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.B. Pritzker</a> (D-IL) allows the state’s attorney general to investigate a case of alleged consumer fraud against crisis pregnancy centers accused of deceptive practices, but it has raised concerns that it would be used to target pro-life centers that suggest <a href="https://www.liveaction.org/news/research-really-shows-abortions-physical-risks/">an association</a> between abortion and breast cancer or infertility.
&#8220;The bill is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment,&#8221; U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston <a href="https://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/story/news/local/2023/08/04/anti-abortionists-celebrate-halting-of-illinois-pregnancy-centers-law/70525909007/#:~:text=Injunction%20halts%20Illinois'%20new%20law%20aimed%20at%20ending%20pregnancy%20center%20deceptive%20practices&amp;text=%22The%20bill%20is%20painfully%20and,in%20federal%20court%20in%20Rockford." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Thursday. 
&#8220;There&#8217;s no doubt who the Attorney General wants to win or lose in the market place of ideas, but the government doesn&#8217;t get to decide that,&#8221; Johnston, a Trump-appointee, added. &#8220;The people do.&#8221;
Almost immediately after the law was enacted, the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm that fights in defense of religious liberty and free speech, filed a suit challenging the law. 
“Free Speech won today in the Land of Lincoln — pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Peter Breen, the executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, <a href="https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/thomas-more-societys-peter-breen-responds-to-federal-court-victory-protecting-pro-life-pregnancy-centers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> after the judge&#8217;s ruling.
The suit was filed on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Women’s Pregnancy Services, Rockford Family Initiative, Relevant Pregnancy Options Center, and the Pro-Life Action League.
“Across the nation, pregnancy help ministries are being discriminated against by laws that target their life-affirming work,” said Breen. “The injunction granted today sends a strong, clear message to the country that the First Amendment protects pro-life speech.”
Centers found guilty of alleged &#8220;misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation&#8221; could have faced $50,000 in fines if found guilty. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1690455510071000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zc8zwWGoXeRzcNJLiJVWI">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Pritzker <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/08/04/illinois-law-crisis-pregnancy-centers-blocked/fe3d6e66-32f9-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html#:~:text=The%20bill%20was%20championed%20by,consumer%20fraud%20in%20such%20cases." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he believes that the law will ultimately take effect and keep women in the state from accessing so-called “misinformation.”
“I’m disappointed that the far-right is interfering with the ability for women to access safe medical care without deception or lies,” he said. “This law is constitutional and I am confident that the law will ultimately be found constitutional and we’ll continue to work alongside Attorney General Raoul to ensure Illinois patients are protected from misinformation.”
Vermont has instituted a similar law taking aim at pro-life pregnancy centers, a law that is also being challenged in court.

Vice President Kamala Harris Travels To Chicago

Federal Judge Blocks Illinois Law Targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers: ‘Violation Of The First Amendment’

Federal Judge Blocks Illinois Law Targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers: 'Violation Of The First Amendment'

Abortion

First Amendment

Pro-Life Movement

Governors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tony-evers">Tony Evers</a> (D-WI) and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gretchen-whitmer">Gretchen Whitmer</a> (D-MI) announced plans this week with two other Midwest states to design a scenic route along Lake Michigan for electric vehicles (EVs), which currently make up less than <a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/AUTOS-ELECTRIC/USA/mopanyqxwva/">1% of all vehicles</a> on the road in the U.S.
The 1,100-mile route near the Great Lake’s shoreline is being heralded as an “eco-tourism attraction” and will include numerous EV charging stations to make the scenic drive convenient for EV owners. The so-called “electric Route 66” will connect major cities and tourist attractions, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and Traverse City, Michigan.
Evers celebrated the plan as a win for the environment. “Making our beautiful coastal communities not only more accessible to EVs but protecting them through lower emissions is a win-win for Wisconsin,” the Wisconsin governor <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/325c3ad">said</a>. “We’re proud to support this multi-state partnership as we work to implement our first-ever Clean Energy Plan and continue our efforts to bolster Wisconsin&#8217;s tourism industry.”
Evers and Whitmer will join forces with J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) and Eric Holcomb (R-IN) on the project dubbed the “Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour” that could cost up to $4 million.
In a previously signed <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/leo/-/media/Project/Websites/leo/Lake_MI_Circuit_MOUdocx1.pdf">Memorandum of Understanding</a>, the four neighboring states said that one of the objectives of the EV route was to “support organizations to build, maintain, and encourage use of a robust EV tourism attraction around Lake Michigan.”
Michigan’s Democratic governor first announced the “Lake Michigan EV Circuit Tour&#8221; last September at the Mackinac Policy Conference. At the time, the project was estimated to cost between $3.5 and $4 million, <a href="https://www.govtech.com/fs/multi-state-partnership-to-bring-ev-circuit-to-lake-michigan">according</a> to GovTech.com.
Whitmer said the EV route will help bolster the state’s economy and provide more jobs for autoworkers while giving EV drivers the option to travel longer distances.
“Today, Michigan is proud to lead the Lake Michigan Electric Vehicle Circuit Tour, a partnership between fellow Midwestern states to grow our economy, create more good-paying jobs, and lead the future of mobility and electrification,” Whitmer <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2022/08/03/whitmer-announces-michigan-joining-three-other-midwest-states-to-build-lake-michigan-ev-circuit">said</a> in a statement released Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s largest employer, Ford, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-plans-to-cut-8000-jobs-so-it-can-fund-ev-push-report">reportedly</a> preparing last month to cut thousands of jobs to help the company fund its EV projects. It was unclear how many of those cuts would affect Michigan-based jobs.
In March, Ford admitted that its EV project would not be profitable until at least 2025 when its next generation models come out. Ford CEO Jim Farley also said at a conference in February that EV portfolios were “under-earning.”

Electric Vehicle

‘Electric Route 66’: Midwest Governors Collaborating On Scenic Road Trip Circuit Designed For EVs

Midwest Governors Collaborating On Scenic Road Trip Circuit For Electric Vehicles

electric vehicles

Gretchen Whitmer

Indiana

Michigan

Tony Evers

Wisconsin

Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/j-b-pritzker">J.B. Pritzker</a> (D-IL) blasted Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, formerly the richest man in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/illinois">Illinois</a>, for moving himself and his company from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/chicago">Chicago</a> to Miami, <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/florida">Florida</a>, amid soaring <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/crime">crime</a> in the Windy City.
Griffin — whose $29 billion net worth places him among the 50 richest men on the planet, according to the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a> — moved to Miami after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wealthiest-man-in-illinois-moves-his-business-from-chicago-to-miami-amid-feud-with-democratic-leadership">voicing concerns</a> about the lackluster business environment and rising crime rates in Chicago. He announced last month that Citadel, which manages $51 billion in assets, will likewise relocate to Florida.
In <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000182-0c83-d06c-afbb-8d9354400000">prepared remarks</a> for a meeting of Florida Democrats last weekend, Pritzker criticized Griffin for leaving Illinois and for supporting Governor <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ron-desantis">Ron DeSantis</a> (R-FL).
“So like a spoiled rich kid, Griffin announced he was taking his toys and leaving Illinois,” Pritzker said. “Where did he move to? You guessed it. His $400 million, 20-acre Palm Beach estate. And he’s one of Ron DeSantis’ largest donors.”
“Really really sorry about that,” he continued, adding that supporting DeSantis over former President Donald Trump is “a little bit like saying you’ve never been a fan of Darth Vader but you support the Empire’s political agenda.”
Florida, however, saw the nation’s largest net domestic migration between July 2020 and July 2021, with over 220,000 people moving to the state, according to the U.S. <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-population-estimates.html">Census Bureau</a>. Florida was followed by Texas and Arizona, while New York, California, and Illinois led the nation in terms of numeric decline.
Pritzker also defended the reputation of Chicago which, under the leadership of Mayor <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/lori-lightfoot">Lori Lightfoot</a> (D), recorded <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lightfoots-chicago-records-797-homicides-in-2021-most-among-u-s-cities">797 homicides</a> in 2021 — the highest of any other American city that year.
“Just for the record, Chicago should be no one’s punching bag,” Pritzker argued. “It’s a beautiful city that boasts glorious summer festivals, the very best cultural institutions, entertainment and food, and the kindest and most amazing people you will ever meet. It’s the birthplace of gospel music and the Blues Brothers. It’s where Barack Obama came from. We’re a diverse, compelling place with a proud history.”
Citadel is one of several major companies to move its headquarters out of Chicago in recent months. Construction machinery maker <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/caterpillar-inc-to-move-global-headquarters-out-of-chicago-area-into-texas/2857142/">Caterpillar</a> and airplane manufacturer <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/05/05/boeing-will-move-headquarters-from-chicago-to-dc-metro-area/?sh=2ffb83d863cf">Boeing</a> are respectively moving to Irving, Texas, and Arlington, Virginia.
Nevertheless, the office of Pritzker — with whom Griffin has feuded — said in a statement to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ken-griffin-moving-citadel-from-chicago-to-miami-following-crime-complaints-11655994600">The Wall Street Journal</a> that “countless companies” are still opting to stay.
“We will continue to welcome those businesses — including Kellogg, which just this week announced it is moving its largest headquarters to Illinois — and support emerging industries that are already creating good jobs and investing billions in Illinois, like data centers, electric vehicles and quantum computing,” Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said.
Chicago is slated to host the Democratic National Convention in 2024. As President Joe Biden’s poll numbers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-americans-even-a-majority-of-democrats-dont-want-biden-to-run-in-2024-poll">continue to fall</a>, many Democrats — including Pritzker and Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) — have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsom-buys-ad-space-in-florida-desantis-campaign-responds">ventured</a> into the Florida political sphere, fueling speculation of <a href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/pritzkers-florida-speech-fuels-presidential-ambition-buzz/d347918e-7308-4a62-af28-e30d83cdf135">presidential ambitions</a>.

Collage Maker-22-Jul-2022-12.32-PM

Illinois Governor Takes Parting Shot At State’s Richest Man For Moving To Florida

Illinois Governor Pritzker Blasts Billionaire As He Leaves For Florida

Florida

Ron DeSantis

The office of Illinois Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/j-b-pritzker">J.B. Pritzker</a> arranged to have the state secretly pay a former campaign aide who had been fired from her government job for stealing after she threatened to use her connections to get out of trouble, a state official claimed in a newly unsealed legal filing.
The state attorney general filed to dismiss the whistleblower&#8217;s lawsuit, which would mean allegations of improper political influence will not be probed. But the now-public allegations tell a disturbing tale of corruption and patronage in the Land of Lincoln.
Jenny Thornley was the chief financial officer and director of legislative policy for the Illinois State Police Merit Board, an anti-patronage agency which exists to &#8220;<a href="https://www.illinoistrooper.com/">remove</a> political influence and provide a fair and equitable merit process.&#8221; Although she lacked a college degree, she boasted on her resume that she has &#8220;been heavily involved with the following IL races at a high level, Cheri Bustos, Tammy Duckworth, Susana Mendoza, JB Pritzker&#8230; and many more,&#8221; according to court documents. Facebook photos picture her with a who&#8217;s who of Democrat elite.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"></a>
In January 2020, Thornley&#8217;s boss, Jack Garcia, wrote to the Merit Board&#8217;s chairman that he had caught Thornley forging his signature to pad her salary with overtime, according to court documents. Then-Program Administrator Emily Fox &#8212; who is now the Merit Board&#8217;s executive director and who filed the lawsuit &#8212; said, for example, that Thornley billed for 32.5 hours in overtime in September 2019 even though camera footage showed that not only did she not work overtime, but she frequently left during regular hours.<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3"></a>
On January 27, 2020, Thornley texted a mutual friend of her&#8217;s and Garcia&#8217;s and told him, &#8220;Garcia does not know who he is messing with, and that the Governor&#8217;s office would get involved if Mr. Garcia did not back off,&#8221; according to an affidavit.<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4"></a>
<div id="attachment_413077" style="width: 246px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-413077" class="size-full wp-image-413077" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/fb3.jpg" alt="" width="236" height="383" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb3.jpg 236w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb3-185x300.jpg 185w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px" />Jenny Thornley and Nancy Pelosi / Facebook</div>
Four days later, Thornley filed a workers compensation claim saying she had suffered bruising and PTSD from being sexually assaulted by Garcia on January 23, the day after Garcia reported her alleged embezzlement, according to court documents. On the claim form, she listed her employer as the &#8220;Governor&#8217;s office,&#8221; and said that she worked directly for the governor, the documents show.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5"></a>
An independent investigation commissioned by the state later found that the next day, Thornley emailed the governor&#8217;s chief of staff Anne Caprara; that she spoke on the phone with Pritzker&#8217;s general counsel, Ann Spillane, and said she &#8220;looks at the Pritzkers as friends&#8221;; and that on February 2, she texted the governor&#8217;s wife, M.K. Pritzker.
On February 3, the Merit Board moved to fire Thornley and seek criminal prosecution, according to lawsuit papers. Around that time, Thornley told the governor’s Deputy General Counsel Scott Lerner that &#8220;I just really want to make sure that this doesn&#8217;t look bad for Governor Pritzker and MK Pritzker,&#8221; the state investigation found.
According to court filings, the governor’s office advised the board to hold off on firing Thornley and instead put both her and Garcia on leave. The governor&#8217;s office also advised the Merit Board to hire the law firm of McGuire Woods to do an independent investigation, Merit Board Chairman Reeve Waud wrote in an email contained in court filings.
<div id="attachment_413078" style="width: 1198px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-413078" class="size-full wp-image-413078" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mugshot.jpg" alt="" width="1188" height="694" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/mugshot.jpg 1188w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/mugshot-300x175.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/mugshot-986x576.jpg 986w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/mugshot-768x449.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1188px) 100vw, 1188px" />Jenny Thornley mugshot</div>
McGuire Woods conducted a thorough investigation costing $550,000, the lawsuit says. As it dragged on, leaving Thornley paid and the Merit Board with no leader even though he had passed a lie detector test corroborating that he did not sexually assault her, Waud wrote to the governor’s office in April that “The Board is unanimously of the view that this has gone on long enough, that your intervention was and remains unwise and inappropriate&#8230; If the Governor feels differently, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the entire situation with him.&#8221;<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6"></a>
<h2>&#8220;Your intervention was and remains unwise and inappropriate&#8230; If the Governor feels differently, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the entire situation with him.&#8221;</h2>
In July, McGuire Woods produced a 133-page report concluding that the evidence showed that Thornley stole from taxpayers, and that it did not support that Garcia sexually assaulted her. It also said that Thornley falsely claimed to have COVID to avoid being interviewed by the investigators. She was fired.<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7"></a>
But in September 2020, Fox discovered that Thornley had been receiving workers comp, even though she had already been terminated and even though this would normally require the Merit Board, her employer, to be aware of it and have the opportunity to challenge it, according to the lawsuit. A claims adjuster said it was being handled by Kevin Richey at Central Management Services (CMS), an office close to the governor, the suit said.<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8"></a>
&#8220;Mr. Richey stated he has the authority to override any case, which he did in this particular case,&#8221; Fox wrote in a contemporaneous memo. &#8220;Mr. Richey reiterated he could not provide detailed information, but that the Governor’s Office was involved in all communication and decisions regarding this case&#8230; stating that he must be &#8216;evasive&#8217; with me.&#8221; That meant that Thornley was being paid 75% of her salary, &#8220;tax free with benefits and insurance coverage.&#8221;<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9"></a>
Garcia attempted to get the Inspector General to investigate the workers comp claim involving Thornley allegedly claiming she worked for the governor, and the governor’s office’s mysterious cooperation, but it did not seem interested, according to the lawsuit.
That led Fox to file a qui tam whistleblower suit, which allows people with knowledge of government fraud to pursue it through the courts, and can allow them to share in recovered funds as a reward.
&#8220;The success of Thornley&#8217;s most recent false statements is a consequence of the direct involvement of the Governor&#8217;s Office,” the lawsuit said. “There is no reason the Governor&#8217;s Office should be involved in Thornley&#8217;s schemes, except for Thornley&#8217;s personal and political relationships with the Governor and/or M.K. Pritzker.&#8221;<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10"></a>
<div id="attachment_413079" style="width: 630px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-413079" class="size-full wp-image-413079" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/fb1.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="625" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb1.jpg 620w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb1-298x300.jpg 298w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb1-571x576.jpg 571w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/07/fb1-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />Jenny Thornley and JB Pritzker / Facebook</div>
Thornley was indicted on seven felony counts related to the alleged timekeeping fraud in September 2021, and her workers compensation benefits terminated a few days before the indictment. But she has not been charged for filing a workers comp claim over a sexual assault that the government concluded did not occur, or for falsely stating that she worked for a different office.
In December 2021, attorney general Kwame Raoul moved to have the whistleblower complaint thrown out, stating, &#8220;The State moves to dismiss Relator’s Complaint based on an exercise of the State’s discretion to do so.&#8221; The case was dismissed, causing the case to no longer be under seal. Fox intends to appeal.
Four of the five Merit Board members, including Waud, have since been replaced. The legislature inserted a provision into a spending bill that had the effect of forcing Garcia out of his position.
A spokesman for Gov. Pritzker did not return a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
Thomas Devore, a Republican running to replace Raoul as attorney general who has studied the case, said &#8220;this is exactly why our state is corrupt. These kind of issues on a grand scale are exactly why people don’t trust the government.”

Illinois Governor’s Office Made Secret Payments To Former Campaign Aide After She Was Caught Stealing From Taxpayers, Lawsuit Says

Illinois Gov. Pritzker’s Office Made Secret Payments To Former Campaign Aide After She Was Caught Stealing From Taxpayers, Lawsuit Says

Fraud

Nancy Pelosi

Menu