TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalIllinois attorney general launches civil rights inquiry into bus company
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is investigating a bus company that serves University of Illinois students for potential civil rights violations, the latest fallout in response to the company’s racially tinged weekend ad that disparaged Chinese students and the university’s admissions policies.
Madigan’s office announced Monday it had issued a subpoena for Suburban Express, a bus company based in Champaign that provides shuttle service from various universities to O’Hare International Airport and Chicago-area suburbs.
The office is investigating whether the company’s policies and practices violate the Illinois Human Rights Act, a probe based upon the weekend email promotion that boasted “you won’t feel like you’re in China when you’re on our buses,” according to the statement. Madigan is seeking documents, records and other information from the company to evaluate its business operations.
Suburban Express has 30 days to comply with the subpoena, according to a statement from Madigan’s office.
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-university-of-illinois-bus-company-ad-pawar-20171204-story.html
Conservative magazine: Rauner is 'worst Republican governor in America'
A cover story in the latest issue of the National Review, a conservative magazine, calls Gov. Bruce Rauner “the worst Republican governor in America.”
The story, which includes a cover illustration of Rauner wearing a leather jacket and standing in front of a crashed motorcycle, cites his signing of House Bill 40, a move that infuriated pro-life Republicans who said the governor had vowed to veto it. The bill calls for the state to pay for abortions for Medicaid recipients and women covered by state employee health insurance.
“The betrayal capped a season of defeats for conservatives, including an income-tax hike, a big bailout of Chicago’s public schools, and turning Illinois into what critics of illegal immigration are calling a ‘sanctuary state,’ says the article.
The article also mentions the state’s financial troubles, including its low credit rating, “highest level of unfunded pension liabilities” and dwindling population.
Read more: http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171201/conservative-magazine-rauner-is-worst-republican-governor-in-america
Statehouse evacuated for three hours after bomb threat
The Illinois State Capitol was evacuated for about three hours Monday after authorities received a bomb threat.
The threat was phoned in about 2:30 p.m., and Secretary of State Police evacuated the building, said Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Secretary of State, which manages the building.
The all-clear was given at 5:19 p.m., and nothing was found, Druker said. Four bomb-sniffing dogs from the Secretary of State Police and one from the Springfield Police Department searched the building.
The legislature is not in session.
During a crucial House budget vote in July, lawmakers and hundreds of others in the Capitol were locked down while police investigated a suspicious substance found outside the governor’s office.
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171204/statehouse-evacuated-for-three-hours-after-bomb-threat
(short article)
Rauner on Dems: They will sock the middle class with a tax hike that Madigan and his puppets want a
Rauner on Dems: “They will sock the middle class with a tax hike that Madigan and his puppets want and it will destroy Illinois”Gov. Rauner was asked today what his core message will be to Republican primary voters…
I will win the general election. I will win the general election. And if we don’t win the general election, nothing else matters. If we go back to being a one-party state that’s controlled by one person, we don’t have a future. We don’t have a future.
You know what will happen? We will get a massive income tax hike. The candidates controlled by Madigan, all of them have said, ‘The answer to our problems is a massive income tax hike.’ And they say ‘Let’s tax the rich. Let’s tax the rich.’ Well, first of all, you watch business owners flood out of this state when that happens, and our unemployment rate’s gonna go through the roof.
But also, there’s no such thing as a ‘just tax the rich’ plan. No such thing. Doesn’t happen. What happens is the middle class gets socked whenever you do an income tax hike. And if you want proof of that, and I need you guys to focus on the truth on this, look at the states that have done a graduated income tax. Ask New Jersey how it’s gone. New Jersey put in a big graduated income tax to try to tax the rich. You know what? Their middle class, you make $40,000. $40,000 is not a high income. It’s a middle class income. You make $40,000 in New Jersey, you pay six and a half percent. OK?
In New York, graduated income tax. They say ‘Let’s tax the rich.’ In New York, you have a middle class income, you make $40,000, you pay seven and a half percent.
Read more: https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/04/rauner-on-dems-they-will-sock-the-middle-class-with-a-tax-hike-that-madigan-and-his-puppets-want-and-it-will-destroy-illinois/
Rauner repeatedly lashes out at reporters over Madigan: You're playing games and you're not
Rauner repeatedly lashes out at reporters over Madigan: “You’re playing games and you’re not reporting the truth to the people of Illinois”From the end of the governor’s press conference this morning…
Reporter: Governor, how long will you continue to blame Mike Madigan for the state’s problems?
Gov. Rauner: ‘Til he’s gone. I mean, I mean, he’s been in charge for 35 years. The guy’s become a millionaire off of high property taxes in this state. It’s not a coincidence that we have the worst property taxes in America. He’s become a millionaire by making them high, and having a tax appeals law firm on the side. And he holds businesses in Chicago hostage to use his law firm. The system is broken.
He controls, he’s rigged his primary. He has rigged his Democratic primary. He has rigged it, ladies and gentlemen. If you guys won’t report it, shame on you. He has rigged the system, he controls it. It’s a Mafia protection racket. And until he’s gone, we aren’t going to fix Illinois and we aren’t going to have a good future.
Reporter: So, who do you think his candidate for governor is?
Rauner: [Laughs] Oh, c’mon. You know what? If you guys are asking that question you’re playing games and you’re not reporting the truth to the people of Illinois. You’d better answer that question yourself. You’ve been around, you know the answer to that question.
Read more: https://capitolfax.com/2017/12/04/rauner-repeatedly-lashes-out-at-reporters-over-madigan-youre-playing-games-and-youre-not-reporting-the-truth-to-the-people-of-illinois/
In lieu of Trump, Chicago to form legal unit to sue corporations
CHICAGO — The city of Chicago is planning to create a legal team dedicated to suing corporations and other organizations that it believes violate the law, a move that officials have said will fill the breach created by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The city’s corporation counsel, Edward Siskel, told the Chicago Tribune that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Law Department will have an “affirmative litigation” unit as part of next year’s budget. Four attorneys will be permanently assigned to the unit.
Siskel said the unit will also use other city lawyers and outside counsel as needed.
The city is currently suing Uber and Equifax for their slow response to data breaches. The city’s lawsuit alleges that hundreds of thousands of Chicago residents could have been harmed by the exposure.
Emanuel said this month that he also intends to sue U.S. Steel after one of the company’s northwest Indiana plants spilled toxic metal into a waterway less than 20 miles from one of the city’s Lake Michigan water intakes.
Read more: http://rockrivertimes.com/2017/11/30/in-lieu-of-trump-chicago-to-form-legal-unit-to-sue-corporations/
Tune in now, comrade: Liberal couple broadcasts nationwide
He could be anywhere. In front of you in the HyVee checkout line, or maybe behind. Go to church? Careful, now: The man known as Driftglass is an usher. The church’s name, like Driftglass’s true identity, is best kept confidential. He claims, even swears, that he does not take money from the collection plate.
This is what it’s like for a diehard liberal who’s spent the past decade podcasting from Springfield in a blue version of Rush Limbaugh, pointing out the foibles of Republicans, CNN, Fox News and other GOP enablers in the media. He has a job, he pays taxes, but he occasionally encounters Republicans in his professional life, and so Driftglass is not necessarily eager to go on Front Street, even though he and his wife, Frances Langum, aka Blue Gal, produce a weekly podcast that is available to anyone with internet access.
“I don’t want my politics to get in the room before I do,” explains Driftglass of his insistence on anonymity. His moniker comes from a collection of science fiction short stories authored by Samuel Delany. “It means industrial waste glass that has been pounded into something that looks beautiful.”
After more than 400 episodes, Langum and her husband have this down pat. With themselves as bosses, butter-smooth voices made for radio and no commercials to squeeze in, their podcast lasts about an hour, and if it runs a few minutes over or under, no biggie. It sounds remarkably professional as the couple sprints from one topic to the next, with nary an “er” or “ah” or “um” marking time as they consider what they should say next.
Read more: http://illinoistimes.com/article-19415-tune-in-now-comrade.html
Listen to The Professional Left at http//professionalleft.blogspot.com.
Maternity Milestone: Uterus transplant deemed a success after a year when woman gives birth
DALLAS—It took well over a year to determine if a woman who received a womb transplant would become the first in the U.S. to give birth, transplant surgeons in Dallas said Monday.
Baylor University Medical Center officials said at a news conference that the mother has returned home and her newborn son is fine. He remains hospitalized for monitoring.
It took months to ensure that the transplanted uterus would be functional and then many more to determine if the implanted embryo would prove viable, Dr. Tiffany Anthony said.
Officials on Friday confirmed the birth. They have declined to identify the mother, who was born without a uterus.
Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2017/dec/05/maternity-milestone-uterus-transplant-deemed-success-after-year-when-woman-gives-birth/702766/
Justices reject Houston appeal over benefits for gay spouses
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has declined to step into a case over a Texas high court ruling that says gay spouses may not be entitled to government-subsidized workplace benefits.
The justices' action Monday comes without dissent or comment. It means a Texas court now will have to rule in a lawsuit from social conservatives who want to block spousal benefits for gay city employees in Houston.
The case follows the Supreme Court's 2015 decision extending same-sex marriage nationwide. One issue is whether that ruling means governments must provide the same benefits to all married employees.
Texas' Supreme Court said the justices did not decide that issue.
The Texas court reversed its earlier decision to stay out of the case after coming under pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and other leading Republicans.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/state/article_4d9cd592-d904-11e7-90d1-c3c79bbcd9fe.html
(short article)
Farenthold pledges to repay taxpayers for sexual harassment case
Congressman Blake Farenthold, who made national headlines after it was disclosed his settlement of a sexual harassment federal lawsuit cost taxpayers $84,000, has vowed to borrow enough money to repay the government.
The four-term Corpus Christi Republican said in a television interview with KRISTV on Monday his plan to make the payment does not change his often-repeated assertion that he did not harass former communications director Lauren Greene. Green worked for him in his Washington, D.C., office for about a year and a half.
"I want to be clear that I didn't do anything wrong, but I also don't want taxpayers to be on the hook for this," Farenthold said in the TV interview. "And I want to be able to talk about it and fix the system without having people say 'Blake, you've benefited from the system. You don't have the right to talk about it or fix it.' "
When reports that the settlement was paid by public funds surfaced on Friday, Farenthold said in a statement that federal law prohibited him from discussing the matter in detail. His office did not respond to a request for an interview from the USA Today Network on Monday, but he told the television station he now believes he can talk about it.
Read more: http://www.caller.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/04/farenthold-pledges-repay-taxpayers-sexual-harassment-case/918991001/
What Blake doesn't understand is that even if he pays back the entire amount with interest, he still has benefited from the system. Blake kept his job, Lauren didn't keep her job.
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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